Patriotic Frogs

I put up the flags today for the first time since I broke my arm. The other workers in the park have been leaving them up when they know that I will be the only one opening. I was the first one to the gate and flags this morning though, and when I opened the flag box, I found a surprise. A big, fat tree frog had found shelter in the box. I took a quick photo and encouraged the frog to shift over. The frog left a big moist circle on the flag. I put up the American flag and the POW MIA on the first pole and headed back to the box for the state flag. I discovered a second frog hiding at the bottom of the box. Another worker today mentioned to me that when she put the flags away, there were many more frogs. Do we have a new species of patriotic frogs invading the park?!


Another fun thing that I encountered this morning was right next to the flag poles, in the garden in front of our park sign. Not only was the Coontie thick, dark green, and beautiful, but the Muhly Grass was in bloom also. The grass has a gorgeous spray of purpley-pink fuzz at the top of it.


The rest of the day was not as exciting as my morning. I did the paperwork, took our empty gas can to the gas station and filled them, talked to a few divers and really had to work hard to coax them into paying to come to the park (after their dive), and looked at my schedule for next month. I also applied for a new job. Don't worry, it is still with the Florida Park Service and I have committed to blogging for 365 days, but it just may not be as a "ranger."
I have applied for an Assistant Park Manager position at another Florida State Park. This position is two steps up for me as far as pay rate goes, but it is similar to the duties that I have currently. The new position also requires that I live on-site in park housing. I have applied for an APM position two other times, but its very competitive and there are a lot of other very qualified people out there. I am trying to be confident, but also realistic by not getting too excited about it. I wouldn't have even mentioned it, but I am hoping to truly represent my job through this blog. A question that I get often is whether I get to choose which park I work in. Within the Florida Park Service, each employee applies for the position that they are interested in when it is available. We are not assigned to move to another park or promoted by our supervisors. We have to apply to each position as if it were any new job. Today, I updated my official, state application and my resume and faxed them along to the hiring Park Manager. In the coming weeks, I will be looking into the area that the park is in, reviewing information about the new park, and reading over the management plan for the new park. Hopefully, I will get a call to schedule an interview and take it from there. I am confident about interviewing, and because I have been to two APM interviews previously, I know what to expect. I will do my best to effectively represent myself and then I will hope that I am what that Park Manager is looking for. Troy has been my home for 3 years and I love it here, but I need more room to grow.