A minor mishap dealing with HLS

Diana and I were manning the Visitor’s Center today.  In between visitors it can get a little boring, so we decided to work on an assignment that I had volunteered for last week.

The Blue Goose Passport Book is similar to the National Parks Passport Book, but the Blue Goose book lists every National Wildlife Refuge separately by state.  The idea is to get a stamp for your book at every refuge that you visit.  Most refuges have a stamp like the one in the lower right (Aransas NWR).  Before the advent of hurricane Ike, Anahuac NWR had a rather unique stamp that I really liked.  Very few refuges have unique stamps.

These are the stamps that are currently available at the two sister refuges here in Mississippi. 

The stamp being used here only went up through 2011, so a new one was needed.  I suggested that a new stamp be developed that would be unique and not dependent on a date limitation.  That’s how I got this assignment.  Doug, the volunteer coordinator, suggested I also develop a new stamp for Grand Bay NWR.

After getting a tutorial from Diana on how to find and adjust images on the computer, I chose a sandhill crane for our refuge, and pitcher plants for Grand Bay.  These two images depict the essence of each refuge in my opinion.  Then, between the two of us, we got these designs made and sent them off to the stamp maker company.  The Blue Goose is the symbol for all National Wildlife Refuges, but I feel each refuge has something special about it, and these images will bring back specific memories of a visit.  I’m pretty proud about the results.  It will be just one little thing that I’ve left behind…

And now for the minor mishap.  It was warm enough this morning that I was finally able to wear shorts today for the first time since last October.  Since I don’t wear my glasses when I first get up and get dressed in the morning, it wasn’t until I was at work that I noticed my yearly onslaught of HLS (Hairy Leg Syndrome).  It does seem to be a malady that I talk about once each year upon discovering my pale legs sticking out from my shorts.   

After work today, Emma and I sat outside as usual and, as I exercised the generator, I decided to get out my battery run shaver to rid myself of the HLS.  As I was peacefully listening to all the birds as I ran the razor up and down my leg, I felt a slight twinge.  It seems that one of the thin metal coverings to the roller blades had split, and the razor like sharpness of the break had sliced three slim gouges in my leg.  There was a bit of a delay before I felt it.  So now it looks like a three-toed sloth has scraped the front of my left leg.  Ugh!  Guess I’ll have to resort to carefully using a regular razor tonight to finish the job.

                                                   I leave you tonight with a sunset on the bayou.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy