Today was my first day volunteering at Hawk Ridge. Everyone was friendly and polite and encouraging. I hoped to carry a hawk in a can but that opportunity came at 2:40. My shift was from 10:30 or 2:30 and I had to go. I had seen a pair of sharp shinned hawks released the day before so that was okay that I missed the chance to see a release. I was told to go and mingle with people. I can mingle. I can mingle like a pro! I mingled for four straight hours and I had a blast talking to people and learning from them. First off I saw the biology professor I met yesterday. I said "Hi. I saw you on TV last night." She laughed and said she heard about it but didn't see it herself. Being on television is one part of her job she doesn't like. All her students were gathered around her and she laughed quite often so I think she is probably a popular professor. I talked to a couple from Louisiana. They recommended I travel to Louisiana in May to see the migration. Pevito Woods near Holly Beach, Louisiana or High Island in Texas is the place to go. Birds are exhausted from flying over the Gulf of Mexico and sometimes they fall at your feet.
I talked to another couple from Little Falls, Minnesota. They live on the road going to Charles Lindberg state park. I told them about the time I took my kids fishing there and they almost caught a duck. They told me about the time they left her 90 year old parents at their home to run an errand and while they were gone the parents caught a duck with a hook in it's foot and took the hook out. She had a pair of spunky parents. This couple are now in their 90's and they have the hook on the wall in the kitchen.
One of the volunteers suggested I hand out visitor feedback cards. So I took a clipboard and a pen and some cards. People asked me if they could fill one out. I got three visitor cards filled out in an hour and that impressed the real staff.
The outhouse that got tipped over Saturday night was set upright and cleaned up nice and tidy.
I talked to a couple who live in Bloomington but are from the east coast. I mentioned I might drive out that way. They suggested I visit the CIA in Hyde Park, New York. CIA stands for culinary institute of America. If I can't get into the restaurant, at least go to the café. The food is delicious. I must visit Lake George, New York. I should go to the Corning glass factory in Corning, New York. I mentioned I wanted to go to Delaware because I have never been there. I must go to the Dupont Estate, Wilmington, and Longwood Gardens. This is the mushroom capital of the world and I should get the soup. I should go to Winterthur and take a tour. I should go to New Hope, Pennsylvania which is on the Delaware River. I must visit the Amish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I should go to Cape Henlopen in Delaware and Cape May in New Jersey. I must go to Berkeley Springs in West Virginia because I can get free spring water and take a soak in a hot tub. And I should go to Cacapon State Park because they have a new lodge with a swimming pool. And then they asked if I had heard of Skyline Drive. I said, "We are on Skyline Drive right now." They laughed and said there is another Skyline Drive in Virginia. I should also take the Blue Ridge parkway and stay at the Peeks of Otter Lodge.
I left happy and thirsty. I guess I was talking so much I forgot to drink fluids. I think I brought just the right amount of layers to wear because I was comfortable all day. Several people were frustrated that they couldn't identify hawks. I showed them my phone where I can get up to the minute results on what hawk flew by. It is better to see them but if you can't figure it out you can look up the answer on your phone.
My biggest problem all day was that my name tag kept turning upside down. I can hardly wait to go back. I really want to be there when the school buses start showing up.
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