Thoughtful Thursday

Today was a laid back day.  It was too hot to stay very busy outside.  We are now at the very end of our fiscal year and can't do any more spending, so any projects that need supplies are on hold until we get our new budget information.  Most of the administrative staff was squeezing in some time off while they could and some of the rangers as well.  I myself am only working a half day today, so the blog will be posting nice and early today.
Even with the slow pace of the day, I managed to get some things done and even got to explore the park a little more today.  I took care of paperwork in the morning.  We are saying goodbye to a temporary employee today, so I did her termination paperwork.  She was one of our clean-up people, so I decorated a toilet brush (a clean one, of course) with her name and a thank you note.  Everyone had a good laugh about it.  We also had some other park service trinkets around that I gave her to remember us.


Later in the morning, I was dropping some paperwork off at the ranger station and I got a call to come back to the office with my camera.  A Barred Owl was perched above the courtyard in front of the office.  A group of office personnel had gathered to watch the owl and as each person arrived, the owl moved its neck around to get a good look.  We all agreed that the owl was enjoying people watching today.


In the afternoon, I drove out to the Youth Camp to meet with one of the directors to coordinate some canoe transport.  They are beginning their staff training and the kids will start arriving on Sunday.  The Youth Camp is really coming to life and its fun to see.  I had a good view of the "bowl" behind the Rec Hall at the youth camp while I was out there.  It was just burned last month and most people would never know to look at it.  I love that fuzzy look that the new Wiregrass gives the ground.


While I was in the area, I drove out to the Primitive Youth Camp for the first time.  There are three campsites deep in the woods for scout groups and other organized youth groups.  The road to the Primitive Youth Camp is over a mile long and it really feels like you are getting away from everything.  On my way out there, I came across another Softshell Turtle.  I'm sure that she was considering the road as a good place to lay her eggs.  I'm glad that I came along at the right time to convince her otherwise.  Her shell is very interesting from the back, it looks like a big helmet.



When I made it to the Primitive Youth Camp, I was in awe.  It was a beautiful area, full of Live Oaks.  The entrance to the camping area is marked by a bridge that crosses a depression that evidently has water in it sometimes.  The bridge was made last year by an Eagle Scout.  There are three campsites, each with benches around a fire ring and a couple of picnic tables.  There are even restrooms way out in the woods.  They are primitive sites though, so the restrooms are just a step above an outhouse.  They do have running water though.  I think they are very nice for being primitive site restrooms.




When I was back in the main area of the park, I was about to walk down to the spring.  It was looking much busier than the last few Thursdays I have seen.  The hot weather and the end of school have definitely increased our visitation.  Before I made it to the spring though, I got called back to the office to meet with a person who is holding an event at one of our distant properties over the weekend.  I went over some details with him and then decided to call it a day.  I don't know how many more quiet days like this I will have this summer, so I might as well take advantage of them while I can.

Thought of the Day #7
I enjoy hearing reactions to my blog.  Quite often, I get calls or e-mails from friends, family and co-workers who want to talk about something they saw on the blog.  Sometimes it surprises me to know who has been following it each day.  Sometimes I feel like a celebrity.  I have been at work taking a picture of something and hear someone pipe up "oh, is this going to be on the blog!?"  Its fun, this has been my 365 days of fame.