Monday, June 30, 2014

Moving In

All hands on deck Monday...we are finally moving into the new office building here at Moosehorn NWR.

Our work days are Tuesday-Thursday, but we are here today to help with the move.


Peggy was first to move in.  She had been fretting for some time, but we all helped her make her nest and she just told me she is very happy with her new office, especially after she got her wall hangings in place.









Brent, federal officer, was proud of this new glass case to display some of the seized items.  He asked for my help and we had fun arranging the goodies.





The red material, with a value of $5000.00, is made from Tibetan antelope.

The briefcase is made from elephant hide. The carvings are ivory.




This is the reception desk and you can imagine what it looked like during the move. Things were piled high as it seemed to be the catch all!!  I could not wait to get that cleared off and tidied up.



The picture collage on the wall is one of two Bill asked me to put together several years ago and they wanted it placed there.

Monday was the hardest of the moving days. Pizzas were brought in for lunch...this is the conference room.

There were boxes of kitchen stuff dropped on the table which I quickly put away.  No picture of the kitchen though.

This brochure rack is just opposite the reception desk, and now it is getting filled.








As everyone was taking care of their own office, I arranged all the office supplies and organized them in this storage closet.  All the items were in boxes lined up in the hall next to the closet and it seemed a little daunting at first, but little by little the job got done.  Wallace helped Mike get the shelving in.

This is only half the closet in this picture.



We carried boxes of brochures down to the basement and organized this area...a work in progress.

Many boxes of binders, books, plaques and pictures were dropped in front of the stove, and I put those things away.  The committee needs to finalize where they want pictures and plaques placed.

Steve came up with some ideas of more signs for Wallace to rout and he got right to work on those.


We all gathered on the back porch for a hot dog lunch on Thursday.  

We saw a moose wandering down below.

Prior to this lunch, Bill asked if I would take the YCC kids on a tour of the refuge.  They wanted to see James Pond which is on the far side of the refuge.  Upon turning around, I got the van stuck!!! Fire came to our rescue.  We did see James Pond though.

After four days of moving, everyone seems to be settling in and the place looks great!!!




Until next time...





Friday, June 20, 2014

Fishing Derby 2014

The day started out wet and foggy when 6 staff, 3 volunteers and 2 students met at 8:00 am to caravan to Cobscook Bay State Park where we hold the event. 

Although it is a state park, the land is owned by the refuge...the state just "rents" it.

Wallace and I were given a $500.00 gift certificate to purchase all the food and drink...we planned on 120 people. The friends group did not participate this year, and I might add, we did just fine without them!!!

70 children registered to fish, add parents and grandparents which makes a good crowd. 








The pond was high with water this year, so the kids had to fight the grass.

After rules were given and the fog horn sounded, they cast out and within 5 minutes we had our first fish on.

The kids are real excited and come early to get their favorite spot.




There were some BIG trout this year. This one was almost a pound. The little boy was fun to watch, and he was not afraid to touch the fish.







Wallace grilled the "red" wieners (a Maine thing), chips and cookies are laid out on the table with soft drinks on ice.

People start eating early, and we had plenty for them to eat!!! 

The two Mikes also took turns on the grill.


Maury, biologist, has served for 40 years. He is in charge of weighing the fish. Each child can catch their limit and then they are weighed to determine the winner in each age category.

Maury was recently presented an award for his service to fish and wildlife.




We not only feed everyone, the pond is stocked with the fish and we even supply the earthworms and poles.

Here we are doling out 6 worms per child.



Time is up...people have been fed...prizes are given out as we yell out..."hot dogs, get your hot dogs here".

We had food and drink leftover...we plan on having another picnic on moving day!!!


The fishing derby was a huge success, with everyone pitching in and helping out.

Until next time...

Monday, June 16, 2014

Another Day in Paradise

I awoke at 4:00 am to a Magnolia Warbler singing.  Next a Chipping Sparrow joined in.  Made coffee, then took it outside to listen to the cacophony of songs...the birds started early this morning.  A White-throated Sparrow started singing in the distance, then a Black-throated Green Warbler woke up, joined by an Ovenbird.  It's fun to see how many birds can be identified by song.

We have been seeing bears lately, and evidence of moose on the trails.

A moose was hit by a vehicle and had to be put down! That was close to the refuge.



Nodding Trillium, Lily of the Valley, Clintonia, Canadian Mayflower, Bunchberry, Starflower, and Blue-eyed Grass are all blooming on the Charlotte Trail (my favorite trail). The apple and cherry trees are finished blooming and now putting on fruit for the wildlife.

Wallace was busy working on roads while I purchased barrels and potting soil for the flowers we just purchased. I filled 9 barrels with flowers...4 went to the new office building which has yet to be moved into.

Thursday, we took an ATV over to Bangor to be worked on. We got the approval from Bill to stop next door to pick up a toilet for our rig. We are wondering what's next to break down! This toilet has been an issue with quite a few people, including Mark and Teri. Mark, we bought a Bravura...that is what we had in our other rig and never had a problem. Hopefully, they are made the same. 

We found a fellow who came to the refuge and installed all new equipment to get our dish working again...now we have tv!!!

We were given these moose steaks...not quite a New York strip, but they were tasty.









Until next time...