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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

It’s Not Always Glamorous

Although there are lots of fun jobs to do here at J. Strom Thurmond COE, some projects are downright dirty jobs, but important, nonetheless.

After finishing painting all the picnic tables and shelters,

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we took on the heavy job to finish all the mulching projects around the Corp’s gatehouses, located all around Thurmond Lake.  We dug right in and loaded up several truckloads of wood chips.  Thankfully we had Laura along to help us, she’s a very hard worker.

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It started out as a very hot, muggy day, with threatening rain clouds.  We very shortly were soaked from sweating in the humidity.  Then the rain started, just a soft falling as we worked, which actually made us cool down as we worked.  We decided to push on and keep working.

Some of the gate houses already had loads of mulch dumped next to them so we didn’t have to load the truck up again.  It made the job go quicker.

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A few gatehouse areas were overgrown with weeds, so we had to pull them first before we spread the mulch.  With the three of us, it went pretty quickly.

It was some hard work, but the results looked great and we had the satisfaction of a job well done.

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At some of the gate houses the areas to be mulched were quite small, others were quite large.  So far, between our work and the work the Girl Scouts did on National Parks Lands Day, seven gate house areas have been completed, leaving us just two more  to finish up next week.

We took a day off today, letting our tired muscles and achy bones rest up.  Tomorrow, if the weather cooperates should be a more interesting day, with a completely different project.  We do love the variety of the jobs here, always something to do, even without any pin hunting.  Pin hunting is also on our agenda, but these other higher priorities need to be completed first.

I should point out that there are all types of tasks here for volunteers, and no job is a required job.  You get to pick the type of work you’d like to do, or are able to do.  Marti and I choose to do the more physical work (I do what I can with my limitations and have to be careful not to overdo it) and be outdoors, we let other folks handle the inside jobs that they enjoy, from staffing the Visitor Center, to filing and doing other office related projects.

Who would ever have thought after retiring from our careers and hitting the road fulltime, that we’d be looking forward to and enjoying working again?  :c)

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.

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16 comments:

  1. Ah, but it's a different kind of work. I'm about 'resorted' out myself and looking forward to Imperial.

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  2. The place is looking spiffy thanks to you guys. I wish I could get outside and do something, anything. All it has done is rain rain rain for as far back as I can remember. Hmmmm does that say something about the amount of rain, or my memory?

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  3. When Bill & I started RVing we were concerned about keeping busy enough... Bill even took his tennis racquet along. Didn't take long to figure out that volunteering filled our needs... and a few "jobs" down the road and we knew we were outdoor folks.... it's been a bit of trial and error, but 14 years later we think we have figured out our niche... and the tennis racquet got put in storage many years ago. Your place looks great!

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  4. There's a difference between having to work and wanting to work. I think wanting to work sounds like a lot more fun :)

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  5. I would want to plant flowers in that mulch.

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  6. That really is a win/win situation. The place looks great and you two get to enjoy the great outdoor!!! Thanks again to all the Volunteers:o))

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  7. It may not be glamorous work but you look mighty fine doing it!
    enjoy your stay and the 'work'!

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  8. We knew we wanted to volunteer both out of necessity, but to keep busy. We've met so many nice people in all the jobs we've done so far. Good looking mulch job!

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  9. Looks good and probably even better from your vantage point now that its done. You can really tell when a campground is well cared for. Things like that people notice right off.

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  10. Variety is the spice of life they say ... nice to have options on what to do. The gatehouses are looking good thanks to everyone's efforts.

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  11. Yes, who would have thought that you would be working again and so hard too!! I can't believe you enjoy all this heavy work. Maybe there really is no retirement in your future. You're a workaholic. I guess that's better than an alcoholic.

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  12. Sounds to me like the COE parks have the 'Tom Sawyer' theory worked out to a fine art. You all seem to like working - weird!

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  13. The best part is that it doesn't even feel like work. Good job on the mulch!

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  14. You guys did a great job, the mulching around the gate house looks great.

    We are like you, we love the outdoor work much better than the indoor work, unless of course it is a real miserable day.

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  15. Working outside, having fun while getting fresh air and exercise is a good way to keep busy.
    Looks like a great job you did.

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  16. You are keeping busy! When it is all done, perhaps we should come by and enjoy all your efforts.

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