Around the Park

Yesterday I took some sick time--my husband's cooking?--but not the whole day. I went in a little late because I had someone planning to come to the office to buy her annual pass. I also wanted to check restrooms in the campground, go out to Bellview for garbage, and check on the two areas on the south side of the lake--the Wetlands and South Beach. I always pick up a lot of cigarette butts at South Beach for some reason. I tell myself that each one I pick up is one less the park visitor has to see. I'm thinking of planning a Facebook post about cigarette butts--how bad they are for wildlife, how they pollute, and how long they take to biodegrade.

I like checking our equestrian areas. Most of the horses are friendly and so are the dogs. The other day when I was out there checking fee compliance, etc, I saw a couple of people riding their horses back to the parking lot. I overheard the woman talking to her dad (she addressed him as her dad later), saying that I (as a ranger) had my role here too. I'm assuming he had said something that wasn't very nice because I was checking for fees, but I was also there to empty the garbage and clean the restrooms. I know a lot of people expect parks and other areas to be free, but cleaning supplies, gas, and garbage bags all cost money and the facilities aren't cheap to maintain. One of the hardest parts of our jobs is helping people to see that, and to understand why they do have to pay for these park areas.

On Sunday, I cleaned up the equestrian group use area after our last group of the year. There is an informal group using the area, including the arena, next weekend but they didn't make a reservation. They just called to make sure there were no groups scheduled when they were planning to come out, because they would plan around those groups.

As I was cleaning campground restrooms yesterday, a magpie was watching me and chirping at me as I worked. I think they like to supervise!

Jack is our solar-powered office cat. He is in charge of catching mice and keeping them out of the park office. He was actually abandoned at the park around 5 years ago and is now very spoiled. He soaks up the sun, has a cat door so he can come and go as he pleases, regular cat food, a litter box, and treats. Our volunteer buys his food and I buy his treats and cat litter. I keep telling him it's a good thing all of that is cheap!