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.
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| When the wind stills, you can hear pollinators in every direction! |
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| You can see lots of alligators from Grandpa's shoulders |
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| Local resident - Red Shouldered Hawk |
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| The Prairie Loop Trail |
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| 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!
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| A black vulture reluctantly letting us walk past |
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| Blue Heron |
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| Sunset over the Prairie |
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| Tour guide on duty |
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| Heading out Military Trail on the buggy |
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| Crossing the Grasshopper Sparrow basin marsh in the swamp buggy |
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| Carnivorous Sundew flowers |
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| Stopping at Cowboy Hammock |
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| Scary smoke from the prescribed burn! |
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| Sand Hill Cranes with babies hiding |
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| The gator holes got crowded as the water level dropped. This is Stumpy. Named after his tail! |
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| Finishing a long ride |
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| Working hard (playing) on the Kubota UTV |
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| Swallow Tail Kite |
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