After a long ten hours of driving, I arrived at Okefenokee NWR early in the afternoon of last Tuesday. After I found out I was scheduled to work the next four days, I got enough stuff out of the car to live a few days and make enough room to go on a grocery run.
My spinning head woke me up early. I leaped up and started finding places for the stuff covering all the surfaces. Finally I looked at the clock and realized it was only three. But moving into another time zone had temporarily stopped my personal sense of time. After working about an hour and a half, I felt like I was relaxed enough to sleep. So I did - and overslept, waking up at nearly nine.
I've pretty much been in full running mode since then. I've learned how to run the visitor center, and started exploring the refuge. My main boss is out because of sickness in her family, so I'm not sure how far into orientation I've gotten. But I've led a nature walk and helped put on a program on alligators and was prepared to give it by myself today, if I had had any takers. I've also started to plan other programs and am thinking about possible birding tours I'll be willing to do. And I've had one conversation about taking on gardening duties which apparently will include providing a map of the garden, suggesting new plants, finding plants to transplant, and locating the plants still in the garden before removing the weeds and preparing for new plantings.
I've only managed to take a few pictures in passing, so here is a very abbreviated look at the refuge.
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| The white trailer is mine - hopefully the interior will be ready to see soon |
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| View down the Suwanee Canal - its failure set the stage to save the Okefenokee forever |
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| View on Suwanee Canal Trail |
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| Some ferns are turning colors |
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| While others are still actively growing |
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| Little pond along Swamp Island Drive - a 2011 fire took out lots of trees in this area |
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| The refuge is working to restore longleaf pine savannahs |
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| Saw palmettos grow in mixed forests as well as in the savannahs |
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| Lilies and reflections |
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| Lots of canoeing/kayaking goes on here - gotta get my canoe and body refurbished |
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Source of my next adventure in the swamp-
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