Bobcat Build

This was my first year to work at Bobcat Build and I am so glad I finally got to participate! I might even sneak in and volunteer somewhere if I know when it is next year! It was a lot of fun. I had known about Ringtail Ridge for a while, but hadn't ever visited. The dirt road in was a little rough and so was parking, but well-paved roads aren't really what you're after when you're getting into nature. I was kind of annoyed to be waiting around for instruction for so long with all the tools sitting there. There was obviously work to be done. Once we got started, I joined the group that was taking logs to the back of the trail as part of the efforts to fix the runoff problem (where they later dug a ditch). I made a couple of round trips with Elizabeth and then I was done with that.

My main task for the day wound up being to pull weeds, as seen in the picture. Probably 90% of that gravelly area in the picture was overgrown with weeds. I felt like it was kind of a lame job to have to do, but once we started making progress, I realized how much pulling the weeds changed the whole appearance of the beginning of the trail. The sad part is that it won't stay that way forever. But I hope that I will return to that park and be able to tell someone, "Look - this was my doing - the trial is clear and the bench is accessible!" It gave the park a nice face lift. It was such an unusual but fun activity that I thought to myself that I might wind up pulling weeds at any place I find myself that needs some cosmetic help. It was nice to get to chat with Susan about some things. From life goals to roly polies, nothing is off limits when you're pulling weeds.