Wild Wonderful Wednesday: Hunting in the Ardennes

Hundreds of years ago the forests around where we now have our Bible camp would have been full of wildlife. The few people who lived in the area would have hunted all sorts of animals, including wild pigs and deer. The wolf would have roamed in the area, hunting as well. In the past century hunting of a different sort took place in these woods as soldiers of conflicting countries hunted one another during two world wars. Then the wars stopped, tourists started visiting the area and Bible camp was built (first just tents) in 1965. 

Throughout the years that we have attended and helped with Ardennes Bible Camp (ABK) we have experienced a little bit of this wild life that slumbers still in the woods around camp. Young campers love to run through the grass in our field looking for grasshoppers, butterflies, frogs and maybe even little grass snakes. In the creek babbling along the field they look for frogs and fish (although there are no fish). Periodically they cry out in astonishment as the cows on the other side of the creek come down into the water to drink. 

If you get up early enough in the morning to see the mist rising across the field, you might also surprise a family of deer munching on the tall grass just past the fence marking our land. In recent years we have been able to acquire that land, so the grass is not as high, but we still find signs of the deer visiting this area. But the land that is our camp is just a small postage stamp. Camp is still surrounded by forests full of wildlife. 

Stepping up the steep driveway leading down to our camp we regularly take the kids from a week of Bible camp on a walk through the woods. There is a short walk along the street that passes our camp. This is the most dangerous section as it is in a bend and the cars and motorcycles like to speed along this twisty road. So we make sure that the kids pay attention and walk 2x2 until we can leave the main road after about 100 meters. 

Turning left off the road we can ascend on a rough road between fields where the cows most often range peacefully. The bushhes along the road are full of blackberries and stinging nettle - a delicious risk of thorn and sting to get to sweet reward while climbing higher into the woods. The view back over the village below and into the next valley always elicits cries of awe. 

As we reach the beginning of the woods we have to chose at a typical crossroads: right, straight, or left. Going right looks like it goes downhill. It does just this for a time, again splitting with one section returning to the village. But another section continues higher up the hill. Going straight is clearly a climb and most do not want to go that way after having already climbed a bit to get to this crossroads. It is however the best place to gather blueberries. 

It is the path going left that we usually take. This is a level path running along the field we passed coming up, but just inside the trees of the forest. It follows a narrow, well-worn but muddy path. These days you can see that bikes come this way as well as horses. But if you look closely in the mud, you will also see that the wild pigs know their way through these woods and along this path. 

Each year we have to warn the kids not to pick blueberries too close to the ground. The fox and stone marten roam freely in these woods and like to mark their territory on the low-hanging bushes. So blueberries hanging low may have received a “blessing” that we do not want to share. These stone Martens, something like a weasel, have through the years also made their nests in the nooks and crannies between our building walls and roofs. One might also catch a glimpse of one of these elusive creatures if one is awake and about in the early morning. 

It is during our Fall Camp that we have to take special precautions at camp. This is hunting season. We are not allowed in the woods past sunset and there are areas where we are not allowed at all. Hunters are out hunting the wild boar. More recently we have also learned from the news that the wolf has once again made its way into these areas. 

This past week was our Fall Camp and we had a great group of young people learning about Joseph and how to deal with adversity. This week the younger kids are down at what has become our newest addition of camp Vacation Bible Camp (VBK). The Belgian schools all have a Fall vacation, so this is a good time to be down at camp with friends learning about God. 

The trees are all turning glorious colors, painting the forest in multiple shades of red and yellow and orange. The mist rises in the morning and sets into the field again in the evenings as the various wildlife steps quietly through the forest and fields, wondering who these loud kids are and what they are doing. The kids are simply hunting for a wonderful time and full life in God’s glory. 

Wild, Wonderful Wednesday

At the end of May we as a congregation were down at Bible camp, which is situated in the Ardennes. The camp land itself is just outside of a picturesque little village called Solwaster, through which a road winds and turns on its way through the village and the hills that follow. If you follow the road, you drive past a tree called the “seven oak tree” which is seven oak trees grown into one. You then wind your way to the “larger” village of Jalhay. This is also the way to the Gileppe dam. 

But if you stay at camp you can take a walk through the woods and see all of the wonderful wild things that God has given us to marvel at. Even on a walk during the day it is possible to see all sorts of amazing things. During our day at camp with the church, several of the members spotted what we figure was a lynx, a wild cat. It came sauntering onto our fields, looked up to see the people talking a bit further off (with fingers pointing) and serenely turned and walked back the direction he had come. 

We know that there are wild boar in the woods. In the Fall we are not to go into the woods after sunset because the hunters are out - as are the wild boar. I remember one of our summer camp weeks when we took the campers into the woods to play a game of hide and seek in the evening. They had to find the leaders, who had hidden themselves in the woods. But the leaders were meant to make animal sounds and scare the campers a bit. 

I was hiding up in some bushes a good way away from anyone else. The sounds that one then hears in the night are amplified as you yourself become as quiet as you can be (which is not very quiet to be honest). I am sure that I heard a wild pig further off in the woods. Then again, it could have been a badger, as they also come out to hunt in the night. It could have simply been a mouse. 

Lynx in Belgium

We have come across deer, marten (a sort of ferret), mice of all sorts and sizes, and rats. In the fields the young boys from the Benjamin week love catching grasshoppers and frogs of all sorts. We have small hazel worms (a type of salamander without legs) and bugs of every color and size.  

More recently we have been made aware that there is a distinct possibility that we could come across a wolf or two, since they have been re-introduced to the area. Of course most of these wild wonders are only visible in the early morning, dusk or deep in the night - not usually times that we are up and about. Or you have to keep your eyes open for them as you go walking along through a tuft of grass or clump of bushes. 

My experience is that God loves to surprise us. We simply have to be willing to open our eyes and see what He is showing us. You do not have to go far. This Spring our yards are all full of snails, with or without houses on their backs. Insects of every plumage buzz through our lives without us even noticing (other than the worry that they might be a mosquito). I want to be aware of what God has provided in this life so that I can also see what He is doing in my life. 

What do you see in your neck of the woods?