This week is roof time. All hands on deck, the entire volunteer crew plus intermittent help from local staff cut and install porch roof rafters. It is going pretty smoothly. Winds kick up by the end of the week so roof sheeting will have to wait for a calmer day – -next week.
Our first efforts are trail maintenance. Muscles are complaining a little but it is satisfying work. Birding is pretty good and the cold snap seems to have beaten the mosquitos back.
This fellow is keeping watch at the entrance gate to the refuge.
We are settled in at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge for our volunteer stint until February. Veteran’s Day Federal Holiday has the staff off for a couple days so we are taking the opportunity to just explore the refuge. We get started in earnest Tuesday.
I should have just signed up when
we were there but I hesitated then chickened out. We are climbing around on a tour of an historically accurate replica of Columbus’s Nina. It is a beautiful “old” ship that travels around the US with a sister ship, a slightly scaled up Pinta. The first mate calls out, we are looking to replace our cook for the trip on down to Mobile for the winter. It is to be about a 3 week stint including one stop at Ashland KY. How bad a decision could that possibly be? I should do it! I’m going to do it! Let me think about it. They sail in two days. I should have signed up right then. With a bit more time to think I lost my courage. Next time!
They sail the loop next year: around Florida, up the east coast, through the St Lawrence Seaway, across the Great Lakes and back down the rivers to the Gulf. They are actually under sail in the open waters vs under power on the rivers. Hmm. ninapinta.org The Columbus Foundation
It is 8AM and bird walk time so we head up to the visitor center. Surprise. Who do we find waiting there; two of our fellow 2014 Aransas volunteers. We spent a few hours catching up on things and chatting about future travels. They and another couple (Sally and Harry) are heading to Alaska this summer. They are putting the finishing touches on their travel plans so we gave them our two cents worth of recommendations and experiences.
We converged at Canale’s in Tivoli TX: Dave, Wanda, Glen, Shauna, Penny and Kent and I. It was a mini reunion for friendships struck while volunteering at Aransas. What fun!
We had a wonderful lunch with Shauna and Glen; they volunteered at Aransas at the same time as we did. The Missoula area is their home stomping ground and they are back up here visiting with their kids. We met up at the Montana Club and tied up a table for hours sharing travel stories and plans. It is amazing how separate meanderings cross paths now and again. It was fun to get together.
We are lending a hand to a local group, Friends of Aransas and Matagorda Island National Refuge. They have some pretty ambitious plans for a native plant pollinator garden. The first steps include clearing and applying stone to a pathway, running irrigation lines, and building fence to keep feral hogs out. It is some pretty serious shovel work but things are shaping up.
Ready for the Plants
When they get to the planting phase it is out of my hands. I can’t tell plantings from weeds!
The concept of Friends groups that support federal and state lands is amazingly widespread. They seem to be grassroots local groups that raise money, advocate for and provide volunteer resources to support operations and special projects. I suppose it is a sign of the funding priorities of both levels of government. It’s not all bad though. Involvement of locals is certainly a healthy thing for all of these properties. Perhaps one day when we settle somewhere….
Benches to provide seating for naturalist classes and to create storage for those ubiquitous gulf coast home décor items, hurricane shutters. 
We built and installed them on the second floor porch of the visitor center here at Aransas. They aren’t exactly fine furniture but not too bad looking!