Got the Gold Ring - Assignment to Clean Toilets

I's been a long time since I've had to do much cleaning of public toilets on National Wildlife Refuges, in fact not since I occasionally got got the chance to go clean one porta potty located on the Sacramento NWR auto tour.  I felt that I needed to make sure other volunteers understood the  procedures involved to have a really clean bathroom for our patrons - while, of course, making sure the job was fun to do.  For that story, click here.

This past Friday, I was given the day off because I'd volunteered to work Tuesday, first to judge the Folkston Middle School Science Fair, then to work on getting an inventory database set up to put the inventory back in with category numbers.  Bill had invited me to to help him clean up campsites and my boss, Gracie had said I could even count this as work.

We met at 7:30 A. M. and started to slowly get ready.  Bill was not looking forward to the wind chill added to the forty degrees we already had. I hoped that two hats, long underwear,  a fleece top and nylon windbreaker, along with my nylon pants and my boots would be enough.

We loaded up brooms, shovels, bathroom cleaning equipment, a chain saw and lots of toilet paper. Then we set off to go to two shelters, Coffee Bay and Canal Run.  We planned to clean them up and cut anything causing obstructions in the boat trails. Bill also planned to cut some of the fallen trees to give the next campers firewood.

Leaving from the boathouse

This trail, known as the Orange Trail, is open to boats with motors, so it is deeper and wider than are the strictly canoe trails. We motored slowly to keep from totally freezing.  I  can't take pictures with my gloves on and soon couldn't feel my hands.  I enjoyed watching the birds spring up from their reflections and then rise high above them as they flew off down the canal. But the day was cloudy, and most of my pictures of  moving birds were blurry.

View down the canal

We broke up an Anhinga party

Our first stop was at Coffee Bay.The bathroom is the first  to appear,  but it is separated by a strip of land from the actual shelter.  Bill had lots of trees to cut into firewood at this site, which suffered a lot of fire damage in the huge wildfire two years ago, so he didn't get in my way of cleaning the bathroom.  It wasn't until I got finished that I thought it might be interesting to write a blog on how to clean a bathroom,wilderness style.  So I made sure to get a few pictures of the process.

Map showing canoe trails

Over fifty sandhill cranes flew away from just behind the trees when we stopped

By the time I'd finished working on the bathroom, Bill had cut and stacked firewood and cleaned out the fire ring. We probably spent only fifteen or twenty minutes there. Then we headed up the trail to Canal Run.  This is the prettiest location I've seen.  And the shelter is in a good place to be able to do some more paddling from it.

A pretty shelter location with enough land for a fire ring. 

This time, Bill didn't have much wood in the camp to cut up so soon he was butting  in on MY job.

And that job consisted of:

• Sweeping out the porta potty, from top to bottom to get rid of spider webs, leaves and other loose dirt. 
• Spraying the entire inside and outside of the porta potty with Simple Green and letting it sit a few minutes. 
• Scrubbing any supper dirty places with the broom.
• Dipping up buckets of water and throwing it all over the potty. Repeat as needed to rinse dirt down and out
• Wiping out the walls and bench with paper towels
• Sweeping out the water/dirt from the floors.
• Scrubbing and then rinsing the outside to get rid of the green algae growing on it. 
• Pouring a little simple green over the boards leading to it, waiting, then scrubbing off a thick coat of potentially slippery algae. Rinsing. 
• Putting three rolls of toilet paper into a little plastic garbage bag to protect it from the damp, then setting the bag on the bench. 

That's it!

In the sweeping stage

Me whipping down the inside- note my two hats - and note the green boards where I'm standing

Almost finished with the inside cleaning

Bill, stealing my job, and scrubbing down the outside

Bill took what was to be a really excellent picture of me giving the job a thumbs up on the way to add the toilet paper.  However neither of us removed the lens cap before snapping the picture. Hopefully, if you are using this as a guide, you'll be able to manage this final step without the picture.

I made Bill let me help shovel out the fireplace and stack the firewood

And I still had plenty of time to photograph these shelf fungi

With all this hard work, we were ready for our lunch break. 

Compare this picture of the toilet to the picture of Bill scrubbing it -
 he does good work - and note the boards are mostly clear of algae

Heading back - I added the last jacket I'd had as a reserve so I could stand the chill factor

We got back about 1:30 P. M.  I took a nap while Bill did some other chores. He works 40-50 hours a week.

I'll definitely choose cleaning bathrooms over closing out the cash drawer, any day. Can I please clean more of them?

And more good news.  Today I THINK I finished the new inventory database.  And we only have to put new PLUs on the miscellaneous items before we are physically finished. 

Rebuilding Project

Warning!!! Long post.

Last week,  I got a wonderful e-mail from Susan, one of the staffers.  It said I could go over to the west side the following Thursday and help rebuild Mixon's Hammock Shelter.  I just had to show up at the maintenance shop at 7:00 A.M. Of course, I said yes.

Thursday was going to be quite cold, so I dressed in long underwear tops and bottoms, nylon pants and a fleece top, a light windbreaker, and two hats - one that my friend Tracy made me for Christmas topped by my sun hat, which also makes a good windbreak.  I had my usual smart wool socks on my feet.  I thought about wearing my canoeing boots, but then remembered that we can get in and out of the boats without getting wet, so I just wore my old low hikers that are now falling apart.(Shoulda taken the boots.) And I had my dry bag all packed with food, water, and my fleece pants, in case the weather was colder than I thought it would be. I also remembered to pack my leather work gloves.

Not long after I got to the departure site, two young volunteer guys and Wild Bill, another resident volunteer, showed up and we loaded up for the hour plus drive. Steve and I shared the back seat of the truck.  I read a book while he slept. We finally got to the other side where we met JD, the staffer who was the building foreman, and Bruce, another volunteer who is living at Banks Lake.  We divided ourselves into three boats and started off. The young guys fitted themselves among the tools in JD's work boat.  I went with Wild Bill, and Bruce went to get another boat.

Getting ready for a cold ride

JD, Steve and Tyler among the equipment and tools

Too cold to fly

Soon we were at Mixon's Hammock Shelter, which is only a few miles from the boat launch, down the Suwannee River.  I was excited to see more of this area. (If you didn't read about my first foray, click here.)

Arriving at the work site- behind Tyler is the porta potty and it's tank, in two pieces

The plan for the day was to get the piles driven, then add the cross ties, being sure to make a place for the porta-potty tank. The guys sawed the four corners of one end of each post off to make a point, then lined it up where it needed to go Tyler, and later Steve ,balanced on cross ties or a piece of lumber across the cross ties to drive the post down through the peat with a sledge hammer.

Tyler driving a post

As soon as the post got a little stable, the guys attached a pile driver.  This ran from an air compressor in the boat and made short work of driving the pies several feet into the peat. But the cold made the compressor cranky and it took several minutes to start.

Bruce setting up the pile driver

JD and Tyler holding the post straight while the pile driver works

Meanwhile, Bill and I hauled the old lumber away.  This platform is being completely rebuilt.
Most of what we walked on was the old platform, but the builders balanced on new cross ties to set new piles. The back part had been torn completely down and this was the part being rebuilt. The old wood was stacked on the front part or was just lying around on the (wet ground behind the platform.

Bill hauling a load of boards off the hammock

I hadn't been told to bring boots - and JD didn't bring me any waders.  So I mostly only hauled lumber from the platform to the boat, while Bill did the long hauls. When our boat was full, we took it back to the boat house area to dump it.

Besides the heavy photography work, I hauled wood across the platform to the boat

Boarding

Capt. Wild Bill with a load of lumber and me

A few of at least 1000 ibis we passed 

We hauled three of  these 12'" X 3" X 12' boards back 

Back at the work site, we found the guys had started to connect the posts they had just set. It took a person at each end to hold them in place while JD or another volunteer screwed them in. The generator had to run the rest of the day to keep recharging batteries for the drill.

Hauling in the heavy cross tie

Hang tight, there

Drill master

Even though I took about 400 pictures, after a while I was sure I had documented everything worth showing.. When I got bored, I went for a walk and took some artsy pictures, then came back and sat in our boat and read a book.

This camp is mostly used by boy scouts and has a fire pit and walk-around room

The guys continued to add posts and then connect them until they had all the posts driven and connected in the back area. They got half or more of the supporting cross ties in as well. JD, Steve. and Tyler made good use of their waders.

Building from the water up

The only bad time was when they checked the measurements for the porta potty tank and found one was way too big and the other too small. JD solved the problem by deciding to rotate the tank. This then only required adding one piece of a board to make that side smaller, and then moving an internal cross piece and relocating it a bit further apart from its neighbor.  This done, they gathered up their equipment and we all prepared to leave.

Bruce leaving with his load

Looking all done, there, Steve

Two and a half boat loads of lumber waiting for the dump truck

I had so much fun that I'm planning to go back next Wednesday, one of my days off.  I'm hoping to get to tear down the front portion.  I may have to bring my own crowbar or fight Steve, since that's his favorite job as well. JD expects this to take four more days - but the first three days next week are expected to be rainy so it may not get finished next week. But soon it will be a great place for young boy scouts to come and enjoy the swamp.

Meet an Extradorinary Craftswoman

While wandering from booth to booth at the Cane Grinding Festival at Okefenokee NWR, I was attracted to some wonderful functional art.  Some of it was decorated gourds that had been cut into bowls and decorated in various ways.

The gourd on the left has a drawing of the Chasser house and yard on it

Each pine cone "leaf" has been taken off a pine cone, then glued back into the pattern of a pine cone

Then I looked up at the woman  who was showing her work and realized that this was Sally, a local volunteer. She is currently running the gift shop for Okefenokee Wildlife League, the friends group of this refuge. She seems to be a quiet, but friendly number cruncher so I was blown away to see this whole other side of her.

In addition to the gourds, I was even more impressed by  her baskets.  She had two on the table and was working on another one that was attached to deer antlers. Her medium is long leaf pine needles and raffia.  This is the same medium that the Coushatta Indians, that live in East Texas and Central Louisiana use to make their baskets.  Since I went to school with some of this tribe and loved their work - even had a large basked with a lid when I had stuff - I felt a kinship with her.

This basket won first place at a local fair.

This tray tied with the pine cone gourd bowl for my favorite piece.

I lingered at the table to listen to Sally discuss with visitors how she made this gourd basket.

To make this basket.....

First make sure the gourd is dry.  Then cut the top off of it. Scoop out all the seeds and pulp.

When it looks like this, color it with shoe polish then punch holes around the neck  to hold the trim and mount the handle. Click on the picture to more easily see the holes she has started around the top. 

When the visitor left,  she went back to working on the basket in progress.  See how she is working it around the deer antlers? She uses a needle to weave the raffia around the bundles of pine needles.

I thought she must be a local person who had learned this craft from her relatives.  But she is actually from up north - I think she said Pennsylvania.  She learned to make split oak baskets when she lived up there and then took up this type of basket making and gourd decoration after she moved down here. 

Getting to meet people like Sally is one of the most exciting aspects of this traveling life. Another traveler wrote in his blog that when you travel, you don't become lonely because you have left your friends behind - you still keep up with them - but are now able to meet  lots more of the same kinds of people you enjoy.

That is certainly true of me - and sometimes I even get old friends to come visit me.

This blog is scheduled to come out right before Thanksgiving. I'm going to have Thanksgiving early since I want to go to Cumberland Island Thanksgiving Day.  I'm making only my absolute favorite parts of the traditional dinner - the turkey, the cornbread dressing, Momma Stamberg's cranberry sauce, and the pie filling which I'll just have a a pudding. I invited one of the staff over because she is cancelling her plans to travel, due to the storm.  We'll be enjoying dinner on Wednesday night.

So far, the turkey is in the brine, the cranberry sauce is freezing and I'm about to make the dressing.

Hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful and that the storm doesn't stop you from your intended destinations or keep your guests away.  But either way, hope you have enough time to list all your blessings.

A Sweet Treat

What's sweet, hot, melodic, interesting, and engaging?

The Annual Okefenokee Cane Grinding Festival, that's what.

There is one house remaining on Chesser Island which is on the auto tour here at Okefenokee NWR. It was built by Tom Chesser and his wife Ida, for the gigantic sum of $200.00. The rest of the Chesser family lived nearby and they all made a living raising sugar cane and tobacco, and harvesting turpentine.  They also had a garden, chickens and hogs. I'm sure they also hunted and fished since this area is rich in ducks, wild turkeys, and deer.

The best first view of the house is from the staff/volunteer entrance through a tunnel of trees

Tom's father moved into the area in the late 1890's and some members of the family lived on Chesser Island until after the Refuge was established in 1937.  Tom and Ira lived in their house until 1958. Their relatives still live in the area and some of them work for the Refuge or for Okefenokee Adventures, the concessionaire that offers guided tours and rents canoes and kayaks. So staff that have been here the longest, have lots of stories to tell along with the relatives that work here.

 The Refuge has maintained the house.  Ida took her furniture with her when she moved out but helped the Refuge staff buy furniture in the same style. So the house is one of those living museums with volunteers acting as docents to bring the history alive.

One of the AmeriCorps workers visits with the horse who is waiting to grind the cane

Each year, a local volunteer grows cane and then donates it to the refuge. Other volunteers, including several of the Chesser descendents, come to help grind the cane, boil it up, and then can it. They also showcase hunting, fishing, the natural history of the swamp, old-time games, quilting, soap making, and other crafts. Local musicians also come and play and there are old-timey  games and activities for children (and the young at heart).

The cane grinder is ready to go - just add horse and a person to feed the cane into the grinder

I came back on my break to find all the cane had been pressed and the juice was bubbling away in the cauldron.   It takes about three hours to make the cane syrup.  Oh yes, and be SURE not to watch the pot or it may never make.

Not watching the cane boil - but being ready to add wood as needed

 Each year, a local volunteer grows cane and then donates it to the refuge. Other volunteers, including several of the Chesser descendents, come to help grind the cane, boil it up, and then can it. They also showcase, hunting, fishing, the lore of the swamp, old-time games, quilting, soap making, and other crafts.

The Blue Goose and Ali the Alligator made an appearance

Naturalist Don Berryhill brought his skulls and told mesmerizing stories - this one about alligator teeth

Sarah, a staffer and husband Noah had a booth on hunting and fishing

Jackie discusses how to make lye soap

Some of the musicians I didn't get to hear

My boss, Gracie Gooch  gives the start for two AmeriCorps bag racers

The loser of hop-in-a-gunney sack race

Kids enjoyed trying to keep their hoops going

I had to work the visitor center and didn't get to catch all the action. Check out the Refuge's Facebook album for more pictures. (And a little redundancy.)

Sorry for the lateness.  I work Wednesday - Saturday and with wanting to do exercising, find out more about the area, get settled in and just goof off, I'm falling behind on my blogs.  I'll try to catch up soon.