Motable Monday

This morning was a very spooky looking morning, fitting of the week before Halloween. It was cloudy, dark and cool with a spectacular fog in the air. I got to work a little early, so I walked around to get some photos. Do you remember this tree?

There were turtles almost shell to shell all over the spring. The river must be getting cooler. The spring stays around 70 degrees, year round. In the summertime, the river gets warmer than the spring and likewise, in the winter, the river gets colder than the spring. Turtles are cold blooded and use their environment to regulate their body temperature. These two turtles were taking advantage of the shallow water at the end of the spring run, very close to the river. They were close to the warming sun, in warmer water, and close enough to the protective cover of the dark river water to make a quick escape from park visitors or other terrifying things.

I don't know if I will ever have enough photos of the fog over the water of the spring.

At the cabin porch, I enjoyed another of my favorite views.

I heard some noise above me and was barely able to capture this Pileated Woodpecker who was busily probing the tree for tasty morsels of insect. It had a companion, but they would never stay put on the same side of the tree.

After my morning paperwork and weekly paperwork were done, I read and answered a few e-mails, I faxed a form to get a free upgrade for the park cell phone, and I faxed a time sheet for an employee. I made sure that the worker staying in the park had a few things to work on, and I headed out on my Monday errands. While I was at Ichetucknee, I talked with my assistant manager for a while about a new fuel card program and we sat down to discuss my review. It went well and then my manager arrived. After catching up with both managers, I headed back to Troy. There, I tied up a few loose ends, talked with a few park visitors, and planned the rest of my week. When my evening relief came in, I chatted with her and then headed home for the day.