Wetlands Tours

I volunteer at the wetlands near my house as an educational tour guide. When schools send kids on field trips, I teach them about the wetlands, their purpose, and the plants and animals that make that area their home. I've toured kids from 3-year olds through high school seniors. Most of the kids are pretty cool. I've wanted to adopt a few of them, and I've wanted to push a few over the cliffs. Actually, I've probably wanted to push more of their teachers over the cliffs. A few act like it's their day off and they want nothing to do with their unruly classes. That annoys me. Anyhow, I took a group of high-schoolers out today. They were good and they managed to complete their plant research project, do some restoration weeding, and go on my hike. The hikes are the best part, getting out into nature. And we are entering into the best time of the year--all the plants are coming back to life after being dormant during the late summer, fall and early winter. Everything is green, the wildflowers are starting to bloom, the fragrant purple sage is coming back to life, and lots of animals are out and about. Today we saw tons of rabbits and ground squirrels, lizards and cormorants, great blue herons and snowy white egrets (my personal favorite!) But best of all, the highlight of the day, holy crap, we saw a coyote!!! It was a treat because coyotes are not usually out during the middle of the day. He watched us, and even followed us for a while--fortunately he was on the other side of a fence. One of the girls asked "Can he climb that fence?" And while I know he can, I said "Let's hope not!" No need to induce mass hysteria among high school girls! But we were safe and everyone was happy that we got to see him. That coyote, while keeping an eye on us, was doing exactly what we were doing--enjoying another flawless, sunny, 75-degree winter day in Southern California!

My New Year's Resolution

I flew across the country last week for Christmas. Those of you who have read my blog, or know me, are aware of my bad luck with air travel. After losing my luggage 11 times, I only do carry-on whenever I fly now. I like to sit in the front of planes, on the aisle, so I was boarding zone #4 when I left home. Because of that seat assignment, I was the first person forced to check my bags at the gate, checked though to my destination--not to pick them up in the jetway. I was teary and close to hysteria. All of the Christmas presents I bought for my family were in that bag--and, with my luck, I never expected to see it at my destination. To make matters worse, when I got on the plane, there was enough overhead space above my seat. And, I spied the boarding pass of the guy next to me--he had zone #3. What's up with that?? Hes' right next to me. Why am I #4 and he's #3? I was not happy. Well, I made it to Columbus and, like a miracle, my bag actually arrived with me! I almost started crying again! It's been years since I've seen my suitcase on the baggage carousel. A few days pass, my vacation is over and I'm happy to be heading home. This time I was boarding zone #5. The same crap happened! I was forced to check my bag at the gate again. For the record, my luggage has ALWAYS been lost on my way home after Xmas. Always! It's one of the main reasons I started doing carry-on only. This time the guy next to me had boarding zone #2. Zone #2!! I was zone #5--and sitting right next to him! Seriously, what's up with that?? And there were 3 huge, empty overhead bins. They could have loaded at least a dozen more roller bags. This time I wasn't just not happy, I was livid! Miraculously, once gain, I got my bag. At this point, you may be wondering why I titled this blog "My New Year's Resolution." Here's why: I am OBSESSED with beating the airlines at this game. How do they load a plane? You would think back to front. But no, on my way home, the entire front of the plane was full, the back was full, and the middle, where I was sitting, was the last to be loaded. What kind of sense does that make??? None! I must figure out this game, I HAVE to win! So, I'm busy strategizing and coming up with some plans. My New Years Resolution is to beat the airlines at this game. It's my new goal for 2011!