I’m still alive! I had gotten behind in posting about the hikes I was
doing all spring, and then I finally got a job, which distracted me further.
This time it is a state park – Montauk State Park, which is only a few hours
from St. Louis. I got the job pretty suddenly – I was waiting to hear back
about a bunch of national park jobs, but that system had gotten backed up. I found
out that Montauk SP was looking for a seasonal naturalist, so I emailed a
resume. I talked to someone on the phone and he said they were interested and
asked me to come in for an interview – but when I got there it turned out that
they had already decided to hire me, and the interview was more of an overview!
And I started less than a week later, on June 16!
It’s been a little hectic, because this park puts on interpretive programs every day during the summer, so I had to learn some and write some new ones pretty quickly. But it’s also a lot of fun! This park is primarily a destination for trout fishing, but since all but the most determined fishermen need a break now and then, we have mill tours, and “critter encounters” at the Naturalist’s Office – or they can just come in and look at the animal pelts, and the snakes. I have really been enjoying the snakes – we take them out a lot, for people to touch and hold, or just for fun when we need a break!
There is another seasonal naturalist, Azmyth, and the Chief Naturalist is Steve. Everyone loves Steve – he’s been here for years and everyone knows him. He has been telling me that there are a lot of projects that we will be working on once the school year starts and there aren’t as many visitors – we will still do programs, especially on the weekends, but there is a lot of other stuff to do behind the scenes. It’s going to be interesting to see what – we’ve been doing things here and there all along, but there will be a lot more time.
I haven’t done any hiking yet because it’s been so hot – temperatures in the 90s and heat advisories – but I have walked out to Montauk Spring several times – I am working on organizing some pictures to post. I have also done several night hikes – walks, really, out by Montauk Lake, which is more of a long pond. I did one last night, in fact, and we saw a deer and two armadillos! No other big critters, but in the clear water we saw multiple crayfish and sculpin. And the huge trout in their pool, waiting to be released into the river.
List of wildlife seen since I started working here a month and a half ago:
It’s been a little hectic, because this park puts on interpretive programs every day during the summer, so I had to learn some and write some new ones pretty quickly. But it’s also a lot of fun! This park is primarily a destination for trout fishing, but since all but the most determined fishermen need a break now and then, we have mill tours, and “critter encounters” at the Naturalist’s Office – or they can just come in and look at the animal pelts, and the snakes. I have really been enjoying the snakes – we take them out a lot, for people to touch and hold, or just for fun when we need a break!
There is another seasonal naturalist, Azmyth, and the Chief Naturalist is Steve. Everyone loves Steve – he’s been here for years and everyone knows him. He has been telling me that there are a lot of projects that we will be working on once the school year starts and there aren’t as many visitors – we will still do programs, especially on the weekends, but there is a lot of other stuff to do behind the scenes. It’s going to be interesting to see what – we’ve been doing things here and there all along, but there will be a lot more time.
I haven’t done any hiking yet because it’s been so hot – temperatures in the 90s and heat advisories – but I have walked out to Montauk Spring several times – I am working on organizing some pictures to post. I have also done several night hikes – walks, really, out by Montauk Lake, which is more of a long pond. I did one last night, in fact, and we saw a deer and two armadillos! No other big critters, but in the clear water we saw multiple crayfish and sculpin. And the huge trout in their pool, waiting to be released into the river.
List of wildlife seen since I started working here a month and a half ago:
Deer – and fawns!
Raccoons
Woodchucks/groundhogs
Beaver
Muskrats
Opossum
Skunks
Skunks
Armadillos
Little Brown Bats
Big Brown Bats (they are still small!)
Barred Owls
The owls flew into the campground amphitheater in response to a CD of
owls calling. They thought they heard a party starting up and wanted to know
where everybody was! I’m going to be doing that program tonight, for the first
time – but I’m fairly certain the owls will show up, and that’s all anybody is
going to remember, whether or not I flub the first part!
I still have not yet seen a mink or an otter. I really want to see an otter. I mean, I REALLY want to see an otter. Multiple otters. Fortunately, it looks like I will be here all the way through October, so I have plenty of time to hope to see them!
I still have not yet seen a mink or an otter. I really want to see an otter. I mean, I REALLY want to see an otter. Multiple otters. Fortunately, it looks like I will be here all the way through October, so I have plenty of time to hope to see them!
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