In The Work Place
Questions from Sunday Brunch.

For the past twenty-file years I worked full-time as a computer professional. In January of this year I was "severed due to acquisition".

The only job I have now is part-time volunteer work doing botanical inventory at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.

These answers are for my Kalamazoo Nature Center work.

• 1. Do you work full-time, part-time or do you work a seasonal job? The work is part-time and seasonal, May through October.
  
  
• 2. Are you more often on time, early or late for work? Early. I'm usually early for whatever I'm doing.
  
  
• 3. Have you ever called in sick when you actually weren't? No.
  
  
• 4. How many hours per day do you put in? Two hours once a week.
  
  
• 5. Do you socialize with any of your co-workers? Not yet. We are going to have a get-together of all the volunteers at the end of the season.

Working At the Nature Center
I couldn't be more pleased with my plant inventory partner, Luanne. We match in age, physical ability, and plant identification skills. She's good company, sticks to the task at hand, and has a talent for spotting a species we haven't identified yet before I ever see it.

Up and Over
Our first challenge of the day is to get over this fence. There's a parking lot inside the fence, but it's usually not open during the week.

The first time I tried it, I wasn't confident I could make it over. Now I'm an experienced fence climbing grandma.


Source Pond
One of our destinations is this source pond. It is a half mile hike through an old field and a hardwood forest.

Someday I'd like to just hike out to the pond, quietly sit, and see what there is to see.


Michigan Lily
Last week Luanne spotted a brightly colored something off the trail in a pit like depression. Usually when we spot something that's in a challenging spot, we're able to find the same plant growing elsewhere in a spot we can easily access. Not this time.

While I was wondering how we were ever going to get to them, Luanne said, "Will you help me out if I get stuck?"

Well, of course I would.

It was a beautiful clump of Michigan lilies, well worth the effort.