Jay's Shelter

The sun's warm rays hit my skin as I am in my sector. I begin to think about how to build a shelter. I found two trees that were close together and I tied a large stick to them. Then I took three large sticks and tied them to that stick, so they were slanted. This became the base of my shelter, the foundation. I collected many sticks and placed them horizontally across the three large foundation sticks to give some protection and a place to put protection. I covered the top of my shelter with pine branches, and leaves to protect me from rain. Next I rested sticks and branches on one side of the shelter so I could have protection from wind, and rain. Next came the hardest part, covering the front. I took 2 large sticks and placed them upright and tied them to the trees. Then I took every log, large stick, or branch I could find and placed them in the space between the trees and the upright sicks to create a wall in front of my shelter. After two hours of hard work and the hot sun, the shelter was completed. I was covered in sweat, dirt, and pine sap. I was exhausted and the shelter provided shade from the sun, and allowed me to cool off. I began to think about how our ancient ancestors used to live, and how they had to do this regularly. I built one in 2 hours that did not protect me fully, but our ancestors built them quickly and they were very protective. I thought about how we take many modern things for granted, like heating and cooling, toilets, beds, and running water. Thousands of years ago our ancestors did not have these things, and I can only imagine the struggle that they had to endure to survive out in the harsh and unforgiving wilderness. The shelter I built was not the best, but it was good enough for my first time, and I was happy that I was able to do it. I then sat down in my shelter, feeling a slight cool breeze, and I listened. I listened to the trees branches hitting each other and moving in the wind, I listened to the birds sing their songs and I tried to identify them. This shelter will allow me to be alone with nature and to observe it. I want to be able to feel like our ancient ancestors did thousands of years ago, and feel connected to them and to our human history.