Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Achy Breaky Endorphins



I am being a dedicated person this week.  I have just completed 4 hours of volunteer time at the local county park/swamp.  While there I pulled weeds, raked leaves, dug out poison ivy, swept sidewalks, hauled and spread mulch and pruned wild crazy overgrown trees.  I met some charming young women who work there and a very nice man who supervises the staff.  He is also in charge of the reptile and amphibian survey in our county.  Now I will get off my butt and start counting those animals and email him!  It appears that we have been sighting some rare species, so we need to be more careful about tracking them.  I also learned a few indigenous plant names and what they looked like as they were starting to go dormant.

My back aches, my feet hurt, my ankles are stiff and my hair is full of leaves and mulch.  My clothes are filthy.  But I remain unbowed, because this is a good thing to do every once in a while.  For some reason it is more inspiring than shelving books (my other volunteer effort).  This is probably because you can whistle accompanied by birds or even talk while you work and the air is wild and free.

I will carefully shower, will wash the garden tools with soap and water and will wash all clothes to avoid any trace of poison ivy.  (As a post script, I got a dot of poison ivy on each wrist...!)

Now I am off to eat enchiladas and drink a nice margarita as a reward.

8 comments:

  1. I so lived vicariously through you.
    And with no poison ivy dots, imagine.

    enjoy your well deserved evening.

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  2. nice...the margarita sounds wonderful....after my bout of poison ivy last year...no way....

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  3. Actually sounds like you had a terrific time. Even with the poison ivy!!!!! A nice long hot shower sounds good!
    And topping it off with a margarita is perfect!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  4. I've always said you should be committed. (LOL!) What dedication!

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  5. A most rewarding day.

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  6. Good for you and brave too. I had one bout with poison ivy that cured me of hanging around it, thanks for savings us chickens with your great work.

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  7. I love doing volunteer work in the countryside - here we have an organisation that organises working holidays, where you go for a weekend or a week and help out with preserving our countryside and heritage. Great fun and very invigorating! :)

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  8. Watch the poison ivy. I can get one little spot and the next day look like I have the measles.
    That evening meal sounds great!

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Glad to hear from you once again. I really like these visits. Come sit on this log and tell me what you are thinking.