Feeling Better, Smarter, Friendly, and Adventurous

First, I am feeling better. I found myself hugging Kleenex, coughing,feeling weak after a few steps, and laying around a bunch for about a week. I picked up one of those seasonal bugs. Haven't dealt with a lingering cold/sinus infection like that in nearly 3 years.

That put me on sign-in table duty on a Saturday morning for Birds & Breakfast - an event we hosted over Valentine's Day weekend. I enjoyed greeting everyone in the morning and kept my hands away from the food. haha

We even had some kids join in on some of the birding. A few of these girls actually came back another day with their mom and some friends to show them some of the cool things they saw and did.

Second, I am feeling smarter. With the Birds & Breakfast event, we took some Avian Adventure Tours while participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count. I rode along a couple times working with Bill our expert birder volunteer from the Loess Hills Audubon Society. That's him on the right in this photo.

Third, I am feeling pretty friendly thanks to some good friends being in town this past weekend. We spent quite a bit of the night playing some board games, which we LOVE to do! We also took some fun photos including a few "family portraits".

I gave them a grand tour of the Park and talked about what I do here. We even went on a short nature walk despite the rather chilly temperatures.

They also enjoyed some of the friendly animal encounters inside the Education Center.

These photos remind me that I had the best hands-on critter programs I have led yet at the park that Saturday morning before my friends arrived. I had a nice size group of 9 children and 9 adults. They did a good job of listening, not crowding too much, being engaged, and asking questions. This is the sort of thing that makes you feel good. The other two programs I offered that day including a nature walk, involved 7 attendees, and we had a blast!

One more nice photo of the friends group that spent a night in one of the park's cabins with me. We made a stop at the Three-State Overlook, where it was looking  rather picturesque on that Sunday morning.

I had been feeling rather adventurous before I got sick, and I'm getting back into it.

There was one whole week where I went on an outdoor walk everyday at lunch. That was pretty nice! Gotta keep taking more advantage of where I am at.

One February afternoon after clocking out, I went on a hike. This tree caught my eye. Does it not remind you of a headless man with a collared shirt?

This is photo that I took from way down on the ground of the Nebraska prairie. While Ponca is mostly hilly and forested, grassland prairie is also in the mix.

On my Monday off, which wasn't quite as cold as other days had been, I chose to embark on a hike of the longest trail at the park. While I made some stops along the way to enjoy the view, I was out for nearly 2 hours.

Took note of some tracks below my feet, and I plan on using this photo in an upcoming program.

I spent quite a bit of time sitting at this spot overlooking the river amid my hike. In my opinion, this is one of the best views of the river from the park. I had to sit and enjoy it. Then, I could hear some screeching in the distance, so I watched a few Bald Eagles soar around for a while. It was pretty cool. While I didn't have my handy dandy binoculars or telephoto lens, it was still very cool to watch, listen, and enjoy.

Finally, something just for fun. I must mention that I see the trend of straight-legged pants being back in style. I have owned several pairs of boot cut jeans and have had a few sets of straight-legged along the way. They're not so bad. :-)

However, if they ever try to bring back the pleated pants, I will run in the other direction. Hope that last comment brings a smile to your face. Have a pleasant day, everyone!