Volunteer Appreciation Week

Apparently this is National Volunteer Appreciation Week.  It was decided that today the volunteers on this refuge would be appreciated by having a Crawfish Boil in our honor.  (perhaps you can guess this northern girl’s reaction to that)

Into the huge pots went potatoes, mushrooms, sausage, onions, jalapeno peppers, and 70+ pounds of live crawfish.

Lots of seafood boil spices were added as well.  There were two pots.  One was labeled spicy, and the other mild for those of us with less tolerant palates.  That was thoughtful.

While everything is boiling around in there, a special paddle is used to stir things up.  Crawfish season has just begun, and these were some of the first ‘mud bugs’ of the year.  This was my second crawfish boil that I have been to.

Since Diana and I were working the VC today, we helped get things ready.  We both helped set up the tables and chairs, and Diana went with Doug to get all of the ingredients.  Fellow volunteer Don cleaned the pots and got the water boiling.  Diana also prepped all the ingredients for the boil while I manned the front desk.  We had quite a few visitors today.  By the time Doug came to relieve us so we could partake, there were no seats left at the tables.  They were filled by staff members, interns, and three volunteers.

So, we went outside and dug out our eats from coolers.  Diana really likes crawfish, so she was pretty pleased.  I picked out one piece of sausage, a potato, and a piece of corn.  We ate outside near the VC back doors. 

This was Diana’s plate.  I did manage to eat one crawfish tail, but that was it for me.  The potato and corn about burnt my lips and tongue off!   My favorite part of the meal was the root beer float for dessert.  I must say that I was the only person that wasn’t enthusiastic about this culinary experience.  As some others have remarked, it’s just not in my DNA.

My overall reaction to this celebration is that I could have lived without it.  Aside from the fact that I wasn’t crazy about the menu, the volunteers did almost all the work in the preparation of this meal.  (Doug, the volunteer coordinator did do the cooking)  Two of the fire crew also sought Diana and I out to say thanks for volunteering, but in general I just felt it was a ‘feed’ for staff.  Maybe I’m just getting old and cranky, but to my way of thinking if you are going to honor people you don’t have them do the work and you make a place for them to sit and be appreciated.  Enough said.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy