I hit the 5 year mark with the Florida Park Service. My park manager presented me with a certificate and my 5 year pin at our last personnel meeting. Its hard to believe that it has been such a long time. I am really looking forward to seeing what the next 5 bring.
I have been getting more comfortable in my new job. I have passed the 6 month mark though, so I guess it isn't that new anymore. I have had my first review with my park manager and have to start giving all the rangers their reviews... a big task! I have participated in several prescribed fires since I blogged last and have done lots of paperwork. Local schools are back in session and we have passed Labor Day so things are really slowing down at the park. It was amazing how quickly that change happened, it was like someone flipped a switch and all of a sudden, we don't have overcrowding in the park on weekends anymore. I am helping to coordinate more special events now that things are slowing down and the weather is thinking about cooling off a little. We have adventure races and orienteering events in the park often. They have excellent organizers and my responsibility is just to make sure that the facility is available, their paperwork is in order, and that there are no conflicts with other user groups. There is also a fundraising horseback ride coming up that I will be helping to coordinate.
One event that I thoroughly enjoyed happened last weekend. We celebrate Literacy Month every September in the Florida State Parks by offering special programs and free admission when you show your library card or donate a book. The books fill our camper library so that campers in the campground can borrow a book while they are with us. This year we also had a big event at Wekiwa. It was put together by the Florida Literacy Coalition and included several other partners to make it a great event. There were several stations that children and families could rotate through in the picnic area. There were some terrific story tellers who highlighted enjoying nature and science through reading. There was face painting and fitness, literacy programs, and even free books!! Every child who participated left with at least one book that was new to them and theirs to keep. I was impressed by one event sponsor/participant. A group called Just 1 Book was there. Their organization was started by a 10-year-old in Orlando. She started the program in her school when she learned of the poverty in a neighbouring town. She realized that if every child in her school donated "just 1 book," they could supply 763 books to other children who could really use the help. Within months, thousands of books were donated and the program is continuing to grow. Just 1 Book brought hundreds of books to the park and every child was permitted to choose one to take home.
I had my own station at the Literacy Event. It was Reading With A Ranger. It was nice to be an interpretive ranger again. I read a book about a ladybug who was searching for a good home. When we finished the book, we went on a little nature hike to see if we could find some bugs who had made their home in the park. I was impressed with the kids and how long I could keep them interested in finding bugs. I expected to only be able to keep them focused on the walk from the picnic area to the spring area. It ended up that I took them on a half mile hike and we found spiders, ants, a beetle, some damselflies, dragonflies, and more.
Another great program was the Moon Rope. Two wonderful storytellers read the book in Spanish and English and then, with the help of the kids and some excellent props, they acted out the story. Each child (and even a park ranger) got to be a different animal. They carried the colorful cut-out of the animal that they were representing. They made it to the "moon" and found gummy worms inside!
Aside from special events, I am still just plugging away with the day to day responsibilities. As I am more comfortable in my position, I am finding that I am taking more time to enjoy my surroundings. Here are some of the great things that I have seen. Rock Springs Run is a northern part of the park that I usually visit once a week. I never know what I might see there. Sometimes its Sandhill Cranes and sometimes a new flower will be in bloom. The giant, pink blossom below is in the Hibiscus family. These beautiful flowers were towering above my head and I had to walk through some thorny shrubs to get to them... well worth it, I think. Once I was through the thorns, and photographed the Hibiscus, I started chasing a Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly and followed it to a Buttonbush.
The main part of the park has shown a lot of wildlife and floral activity as well. There have been quite a few spotted fawns that I have watched grow.
Horsemint and several other flowers are in bloom in the beautiful butterfly garden which is located in the center of our parking loop near the picnic area.
One of our Park Biologists also pointed out to me an orchid that was in bloom. When I heard the name, Giant Orchid, I expected to see a very large flower. I was surprised to see that its stalk was very tall, but the blooms were tiny! Its also called Wild Coco, which might be a little less misleading.
I have been working with the Friends of the Wekiva River group lately as well. They are an organization that works to protect the Wekiva. I serve as an advisor to them and attend their monthly meetings when I can. They have monthly outings to enjoy the Wekiva River Basin, to socialize, and to attract new members to their organization. Some of those outings happen on park property. Last weekend, after work, I met with two of the board members to look at an area for a planned hike. It was a property that I haven't had the chance to explore yet. I had a wonderful time! We saw some ponds as well as some hilly areas. Those are Sandhill Cranes flying over the pond.
I saw my first Burrowing Owl which was amazing!!! I didn't get a good photo of it though, that will have to be another day. The tiny owls utilize Gopher Tortoise burrows and have the most striking yellow eyes! I did find a Quail that was willing to be photographed. I think this is the best image of a Quail that I have every captured. They are normally quick to hide in the brush.
Well, I hope that will keep you for a little while and I will try to return again sooner rather than later to share some more.
