Kathleen's Window: Back To The Prairie- January-March 2018

Monday, December 10, 2018

Back To The Prairie- January-March 2018

January, February, and March flew by while volunteering at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, with a week's visit from our granddaughter, and my brother Brian staying with us a few days. Our days were filled with helping our visitors explore the prairie, identify the wildlife, and be awed by the dark star-filled skies. We helped the rangers by manning the office, and Greg gave swamp buggy tours for the guests. A few times we were able to take a vehicle and go exploring the 54,000-acre preserve. We reconnected with old friends, both volunteers and rangers. We survived a tornado warning while spending happy hour in the Family Campground shower house with other volunteers, campers, and dogs. Luckily, we did fine. There was no tornado strike in the campground as there was last year, a week after we left.

When the wind stills, you can hear pollinators in every direction!

You can see lots of alligators from Grandpa's shoulders

Local resident - Red Shouldered Hawk

The Prairie Loop Trail

Ibises on final approach

We decided that for the summer we wanted new experiences, so we did not return to Geneva Point Center in New Hampshire. We had been longing for an extended time on the coast of the Pacific Northwest. During my downtime in Kentucky the previous Fall, I e-mailed some sites on the coast. We were looking for a lighthouse hosting position. We were able to secure two volunteer jobs. For May and June we would be at Cape Disappointment State Park where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean, and then for July through Labor Day at Moran State Park on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands. Both are Washington State Parks, and would afford us completely new experiences in beautiful coastal settings!