The city Disneyland is in is so great.  It looks like France in the Sims 3.  I wish I could have just explored.  I love walking through neighborhoods!  I wanna go back!  Maybe move!

Versailles is really nice.  It’s cute.  Everything was dead at the palace but it’s probably really cute too when it’s not.  People just eat bread and chocolate.  Because the food sucks.  Everyone is skinny.

I saw an accordion man in the subway in Paris.  And all the things in Paris that really aren’t cool.  Got scared a lot because people I can’t understand kept touching me in uneasy ways.

I had clotted cream in London and watched Extras all night.

I really like Edinburgh.  There’s grass and creepy things.  Andy Serkis movies on the TV.  Creme Egg McFlurrys.  I saw my first rainbow with all the colors.  I saw my first blue water.  Grass!  But then I got sick.
 
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll on the plane home.

All my pictures are here.

When we left the issue in capable hands to get the pump pumping again, it was lunch time.  I was not ready for lunch yet.  I returned to the office and sent a response to a fire marshall inspection.  With my mind clear and the smell of sewage no longer lingering in my nose, I headed home to get a bite to eat.  After lunch, I inched forward a little more on a project that I need to complete by the end of the week.  I have to enter our natural resource project needs into a database which tracks such things.  Last week, I was able to locate the program that I need to use and got logged on.  Today, I had someone show me how to enter the info, but I was not yet authorized to do so.  I had to call a help desk and then another contact to gain those permissions.  When I finally was able to get somewhere, I got called away.  The Ranger Academy participants had graduated and were ready to go home.  I had to walk through and check their cabins and restrooms to make sure that they were clean enough.  It was starting to rain and everyone was eager to hit the road.  My coworker gave me a hand and everyone cheered when we gave the thumbs up.  Park Rangers are great at cleaning!  It was fun to watch them all say their good-byes and then flee to their vehicles.  We stuck around to take care of some last minute items and then headed home.

Thought of the Day #66
Between grease traps and lift stations, I have had more than my share of smelly things to deal with this week.  As a Park Ranger and now as an Assistant Park Manager, I have felt like a plumber on so many occasions.  I’m sure that the iconic image of a Park Ranger in your head does not include a plunger, but human waste really becomes a big part of the job whether it is litter or sewage.  I remember being a little surprised in college when I had to take a waste water treatment class and I visited almost every waste water treatment plant within 45 minutes of the school on different field trips.  If you think about it though, managing natural resources includes managing our impact on them.  Waste water is treated and it returns to our water table.  We have to make sure that waste water is treated effectively and consistently or else it can be detrimental to something that is so important to life, clean water.

I had a few little rescue missions today.  Once I had to pick up two Ranger Academy participants who missed the bus for their field trip.  We didn’t really know where the rest of the group was headed, but we tried one area and went the other way when we didn’t see tire tracks.  We caught up to them just as they were leaving the spring area.  I also took some jumper cables to someone at the Sand Lake parking area whose battery had failed.  That was right after it stated raining, of course.  While I was there though, I noticed some of the biggest Thistles that I have ever seen.  They were just beautiful.  I set my camera up under the cover of my rain jacket and snapped a few photos with my lens pointed down so that I didn’t catch any rain drops.

It was a quiet day, but a good one.

Thought of the Day #67
With the park so slow, I had time to have conversations with the rangers.  That was nice.  I am still getting to know them all.  When a camper checked in who had a similar last name to mine, one of the rangers asked me about my name.  He told me that he had known a guy with the same last name years ago in Lake Park, FL.  He told me that he worked with him at the fire station.  My jaw dropped to the floor.  This ranger worked with my Dad 30+ years ago.  We really couldn’t believe the coincidence and began exchanging details.  It really was true.  I immediately called my parents and put them on the phone with the ranger.  They had a great time passing memories back and forth and they are looking forward to meeting up again after all these years at some point when my parents come for a visit.  My Dad was the fire chief so the ranger called me chief for the rest of the day.  I had to laugh when I walked into the ranger station and he said he was seeing me with the beard that he remembers my dad having…. I guess there is a bit of a family resemblance.  It really is a small world.

Thought of the Day #68
On Monday, I visited Katie’s Landing, which is one of our distant, northern properties.  It is another launching point for boats on the Wekiva River and a nice picnic area.  The property has served this function for many years, but it was just acquired and redeveloped by the park recently.  There is still some construction that is being finished up, especially at the water’s edge.  There is a bulkhead that is in the midst of construction to keep the river back in place.  A surface to launch boats will also be added.  Every time I visit Katie’s Landing, it makes me want to go kayaking.  I will get around to it soon.

I stopped by the ranger station on my way back to the office and learned that their copy of the operations manual was very out of date.  While I was at the office, I printed the chapters that had been updated since the existing copy had been made.  I also checked my e-mail and responded to the e-mails that needed attention.  My new fire boots that were ordered last week came in.  I decided to wear them right away to try to break them in before I have to spend 8 hours stomping around in the woods on a burn.  I’m glad that I did.  Just the walking that I did today very nearly caused blisters.  The boots are tall, leather lace-up boots.  The soles are Vibram, so they are more resistant to hot embers on the ground.  They have to be tall to make sure that no burning embers land in your socks, and the all leather sides offer more protection than most shoes.  The tall, stiff leather is hard to break in.  I can’t believe that I didn’t take a photo of them!  Here is a link to what I found when I Googled, looking for my boots.  I stomped around the office like I was wearing ski boots, most of the morning.
I was expecting a septic company and the county health inspector to arrive at 11:00 to pump the grease trap at the dining hall.  At 10:00, I got a call on the radio that the septic company had arrived.  I met them at the ranger station and led them to the area that needed attention and then had the chance to talk to them.  They had finished their last job early and tried to reach the health inspector to notify him that they would be early.  They weren’t able to get a hold of him though, so I hung out with the septic guys for an hour.  The health inspector wanted to be present when the trap was pumped so that he could inspect it.  I answered a lot of the questions about the park that the septic guys had and we sat and watched some Fox Squirrels for a while.  It was really kind of cool.  After watching them for about 20 minutes, we decided that there were a total of four of them.  They were playful with each other and about the same size and coloration, so I am guessing that they were siblings.  They really camouflage with the trees and the Spanish Moss very well.  Do you see all three of the squirrels in the photo below?

When the health inspector finally arrived, we all watched the grease get sucked into the truck.  It was pretty gross and pretty smelly.  Now I know what the entire grease trap looks like and exactly how it operates.  I now officially know far more than I ever wanted to about grease traps.

That was pretty gross wasn’t it?  Here is one more Fox Squirrel photo so that the grease trap is not the last photo that lingers with you when you are done reading the blog.

The rest of my day was much less exciting, thankfully.  I visited the campground once to check on the WiFi set up.  A visitor had reported that it wasn’t working.  I turned the system on and off and removed one of the air cards and replaced it and had it up again in no time.  I also replaced some of our signage to encourage people to participate in our survey about the WiFi connection.  I also got caught up with my coworker on needs for the weekend and current events in the park.  It was unusual, but I went home on time and didn’t get any calls after I was home.  It was great!

Thought of the Day #69
Sherman’s Fox Squirrels are a Species of Special Concern in Florida.  Their numbers are declining because of habitat loss or degradation.  They are much picker about the places that they live than the average Grey Squirrel.  The Fox Squirrel prefers to nest very high up in pine trees.  When an area that is predominately pine is not permitted to burn on a regular cycle, hardwoods move in and become the dominate species.  When this happens, the Fox Squirrels are forced out to other areas.  In addition, Longleaf Pine, specifically is a favorite food of the Fox Squirrel.  Many natural stands of Longleaf Pines have been harvested in the past and replaced with faster growing, less desireable pines.  The fact that there are so many Fox Squirrels in the park is a great compliment to the land management in this park.  The regular cycles of prescribed fire are keeping these unique creatures happy at Wekiwa.

It was a busy and productive day, all around the park.  It was really nice to go home on time with the park running smoothly.

Thought of the Day #70
The Florida Wild Turkey, also called an Osceola Wild Turkey for a Seminole Indian Chief, will start becoming more scarce in the next month or two.  The toms have been out and about, chasing the hens and soon the hens will start nesting.  The Turkey hen will lay ten or more eggs in a nest on the ground in a well hidden spot.  She will pick a spot where she won’t be discovered, but it will also be close enough to water and foraging areas that she won’t have to be far from her nest for too long.  We won’t see the turkeys much at all while they sit on their nests for nearly a month.  When the eggs hatch, the chicks stay in the nest for only a couple of days.  Then the hens will group together again and there will be huge groups of mothers and chicks roaming about together.

I was also near a burn zone that was burned shortly before I started at Wekiwa.  I have blogged photos of this area before, but it has really greened up dramatically since mid March.

Thought of the Day #71
The point was made at the campfire tonight, that sitting around a fire is deeply rooted in our human history.  Its interesting to think that we are doing the same activity that people have done for thousands of years.  Its an amazing force that can bring so many people together.  I think everyone has memories of sitting around a fire with plenty of good conversation.  Our discussion Monday about technology in the campground shows how much some things have changed, but its nice when some things stay the same.

With everyone off in their separate directions, I headed to the office to finish up the paperwork from the north properties that I started yesterday.  I took care of all of my office work and headed home for a quick bite to eat.  When I returned, I met with the closing staff who were just arriving, and discussed the game plan for the rest of the day.  We had to put the finishing touches on the youth camp area in preparation for Ranger Academy.  The newest Park Rangers from all over the state will be staying at Wekiwa for the next week while they get to know each other and the Florida Park Service.  I helped to blow off walkways while another ranger mowed and weed trimmed.  I washed the dining hall windows and lined up the rocking chairs on the dining hall porch.  I even spent some time troubleshooting the audio-visual equipment.  It was a long and busy day, but it was full of fond memories of my Ranger Academy.  As I walked the pathways around the cabins and fire circles to make sure that they were clear of debris, I remembered lots of late nights with my fellow rangers around the campfire.  For a full picture of the youth camp area, follow this link to an informational document about the youth camp.  The second page has a map of the area and shows the arrangement of the cabins.

I spent a little bit of time in the Rec Hall, which functions as the classroom during the Academy.  It was fun to see all of the books and notepads and pens lined up for the new Rangers.  Their cups say Water Is Life, Drink It Up!  When we had the AV equipment up and running with the bugs worked out, we tidied up the room a little more and headed out.

Tomorrow, our guests will arrive and Ranger Academy will begin.  We will also be carrying on business in the park as usual.  I have quite a few commitments throughout the day tomorrow.  I hope it all runs smoothly.

Thought of the Day #72
What do you have to teach a person to make them a good Park Ranger?  Priorities have shifted back and forth throughout the years and its fun to listen to the stories of Ranger Academies of years past.  There is always a large classroom element to the Academy because there is a lot of information to take in regarding the rules and regulations, the function and workings of park service, the history of the state and our organization and every graduate of our Ranger Academy must be able to recite our mission statement.  There are also classes or physical team challenges to touch on the topics of prescribed fire, vehicle maintenance, park maintenance, visitor services, etc.  It is a great experience, and I think that the friendships and acquaintances that I made throughout Academy were the best part of it all.

In addition to the pavilions and the playground equipment, there is also a restroom in this area and several picnic tables with grills.  The picnic area is nicely contoured and landscaped to give definition to each picnic table area.  The whole picnic area is out of sight of the busy spring area but it is within easy walking distance.

Across the parking lot from the picnic area is more recreation space.  There is a sand volleyball court and horseshoe pits.  The park has horseshoes that can be borrowed from the ranger station.  There is also an additional grill and some picnic tables for this area.

When I headed back into the office after lunch, I spotted a caterpillar on the fence railing near the parking lot.  It is a Tussock Moth caterpillar.  There are several different Tussock Moths and their caterpillars are similar in the arrangement of their hair, but not in the colors or patterns.  If you do a Google Image Search for “Tussock Moth Caterpillar,” you will see a colorful selection of the amazing creatures.

In the afternoon, I headed to the more distant park properties to do our weekly Assistant Manager check of the areas.  I started at Katie’s Landing.  It was peaceful and beautiful, as always.  When I checked the iron ranger, I found my friend the frog.  There were two frogs there the last time I checked it.  When my coworker checked it last week, I asked him if he saw the frogs.  He told me that he saw one of them.  Later, when he was going through the envelopes collected, I heard laughter from his office. He announced that he had found the other frog.  Today, the now lonely, remaining frog was still there.  When I started to put the lid back on the box, the frog leapt out and clung to my shirt.  It was as if it wanted me to take it to join its friend.  I thought the frog was better off where it had been living and I carefully put it back in its hiding place.

When I made it back to the office, I started the paperwork for the two properties that I visited.   I also got a few phone calls and had to go out to the campground to reboot the router.  The Wifi had stopped working, but it was a quick and easy fix.  It was a busy day but it went by quickly.

Thought of the Day #73
I am interested by the idea of a WiFi internet connection in the campground permanently.  In some ways, I am surprised that this has not been the norm in Florida State Parks for years.  Hotels and public spaces and even whole cities are offering WiFi hotspots, so why wouldn’t a campground?  On the other hand, I understand the sense of alarm when some people do not think of getting back to nature with their laptop in hand.  What do you think?  Does technology have a place in the campground or do we need to get back to the days of tents and the light of a campfire?  I don’t think that there is a right answer, but I’m interested to hear the different opinions and viewpoints.

I thought I would include the usual amount of plant life and animal life as well.

 
The last photo is a Sherman’s Fox Squirrel.  It was one that I saw often between Troy and Adams Tract.  They are more common here at Wekiwa and I hope that I will be able to “catch” another one for you at some point.  They are interesting to me because they are much bigger than the ordinary Grey Squirrels that we haven an abundance of.  The also vary greatly in their color patterns.

Thought of the Day #74
It was nice to do some park rangery things today like using the mower and the leaf blower.  Those are activities that I really enjoyed at Troy and I don’t get to do enough of here at Wekiwa.  The mower was the same brand that I used at Troy, but it was a different model.  It was a little smaller which was nice because I could easily reach the top of the deck with my feet.  I had to stretch my feet out and use my tip toes so that my legs didn’t dangle from the high seat on the Troy mower.  Eventually, a volunteer made a step for the mower at Troy so that we could all sit comfortably.  The smaller mower was not as powerful though, I would not have had so many leaves still in my yard if I had been using the Troy mower.  There are other mowers to choose from here at Wekiwa though.  Maybe next time I will try a different one in my yard.  It will take me a while, but I hope to get to know all of the equipment at Wekiwa, one driver seat at a time.