Blue Ridge Picks and Chips

Summer Volunteering

jamiro — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:16:17 +0000

Our volunteering got cut short this summer.? We had expected to go to the Bitterroot Mountains with Fish and Wildlife.? That would have been a super summer.?? As soon as we accepted that we realized that we would have been away from home for 4 or 5 months total.?? This realization came right when things were looking really terrible for the American economic situation.? There was talk of bank failures.?? Wild.

So we thanked the ranger at the NWR and wished him well serving the nation.? We would have to stay home.

Montana is a favorite place and we have a daughter living in Montana, not more than a couple hundred miles away from that assignment.? Sounds far, but that is a lot closer than we are now. ? We live in the East and there is no place in Montana that is close to us.? Actually, the Missouri or even the Mississippi are not close.? Well for that matter, Alabama is not so close.

So we were disappointed, but things got a bit better; banks settled down, and we were not so apprehensive of leaving home for 4 or 5 months.

We get another phone call from a ranger — like, Yellowstone!? Wow - Great park. ? We say, “Yes!”? Then interest rates begin to drop steadily, not just income going down, but the chance to refi the mortgage.? So, we call and say, “Sorry!”, again.? We stay home to refinance the house and plant a garden.

We are now volunteering in our very own garden right in the back of the house.? Additionally we have started a bird garden in the front yard.? (Learned about bird gardens at Sullys Hill in North Dakota NWR-NGP.)

A little girl came riding by on her bicycle, stopped, and asked, “Are you building a bird garden?”

Everyone but me knows about bird gardens.

Her father came by a day latter to ask us to a community gathering; “Oh”, he said, “You folks are the bird garden people!”?? That sounded a lot better than “the old couple who lives up the hill”.?? We used to be Jim and Irene.

We missed our time this summer.? Maybe we can go out in the fall.

Time to Volunteer!

jamiro — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:04:47 +0000

Spring is coming.? It is time to?find a volunteer position.? We would love to do campground hosting, maybe mix in some visitor center work, or interpretive talk!?? We have even branched out and?applied at other agencies.?? Makes me feel sort of disloyal: the? FWS ?(Fish and Wildlife)? ?people are fabulous to work for.??? Part of our website is used to support our volunteer efforts.

http://www.antiquemaster.com/plate_hangers/catalog?

To contact us for some reason? ?(like you are a Ranger and?need campground hosts),?? go to?

?? http://www.antiquemaster.com/plate_hangers/catalog/contact_us.php????

Merry Christmas to all.

SLIDE SHOW - Sullys Hill, North Dakota

jamiro — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 04:51:54 +0000

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

The Slideshow is finally working!? It still contains photos from the Okefenokee Swamp NWR in Georgia as well as photos from Sullys Hill NGP and Devils Lake, North Dakota.? The summer? was fabulous;? great people and a really cool site.? For birding, it was truly excellent.? The? Sullys HIll area is a sort of natural funnel on a flyway.? Lots of species.

If you get a chance stop by.? US highway 2 will get you close.

Devils Lake is an anomaly:? a terminal lake that just keeps on growing.? Read up on this area. Stunning.

We had a site with another couple at Sullys HIll; not a campground so there was no need for a host, but we shared duties keeping the visitors’ center running.? Beautiful building with a new road since the old road was closed due to the rising lake.

These Storied Mountains

jamiro — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:10:04 +0000

We just found:

It is in wonderful condition and signed by the author.

John Parris used to live in Sylva; just a ridge over from Cullowhee, Irene’s home ground.

If you have not heard of these two towns before, that is not unusual. Both are tucked back, deep in the Smokies.

Click this link to the item in our store!

Back into the Wilderness

jamiro — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:21:10 +0000

We may be headed back into the wilderness: Time and place not known! (for certain)

Pic from Custer State Park, SD before we went to the Okefenokee.

Click for larger image.

Cullowhee High ~ Class of 1961

jamiro — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:55:39 +0000

Class Reunion, May 24, 2008?

For info, click here, then use CONTACT US button.

?Click pic to view a larger image!

Want to volunteer in a wilderness area?

jamiro — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:14:50 +0000

Volunteer opportunities with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can be found at Volunteer.gov/gov, an interagency Web site of national volunteer opportunities. This database provides you with a listing of potential volunteer opportunities nationwide.

The above is straight from the FWS web page. The volunteer.gov/gov covers all the federal agencies you are familiar with, like Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife. NOTE WELL —- the url of volunteer.gov/gov ? must have gov in the url twice otherwise you will get a different volunteer page. ? the .gov/gov gets you the page for recreational sites, wildernesses, wildlife management sites, forests, and similar areas. ? Even lighthouses — see the Apostle Islands on the Great Lakes.

Volunteers

jamiro — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:01:23 +0000

Spent a large?part of 2007 on the road out west and then volunteering in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for several months.? That was really neat. We both loved it.

If you would like details on volunteering in the parks, just ask. I will bend your ear.? Have a great day!

Jim and Irene