Days 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Mason Neck!

Day 2:

It was such an interesting day because none of us expected the amount of work ahead of us. We began the day by learning about eagles. We learned about how large they were, how fast and high they can fly, how they choose their partner, how large the eggs are, and where they were located on the park. After this, we were taken outside where we were able to tell the difference in how hawks, eagles, ospreys, and seagulls fly. It was so awesome trying to figure out which was which! For some reason, we couldn't find an adult eagle, but we were able to find an infant. Did you know that bald eagles aren't actually "bald" until they are mature of age? They still have a nice lock of brown hair!

After having some fun bird watching, we had a small hike where we found a marsh, plenty of turtles, and interwoven pathways that we later found out led to a beaver den. Once we were done exploring, we went to work! Now, for the first day of work, we had to shovel gravel onto a little machine called "The Gator," drive it to the trail we working on, dump it on the grid, rake it till it was distributed evenly with a five inch width, and tamp it with a huge water barrel. Sounds like a lot? Yes, well, it was! But it was so much fun! Especially rolling the water barrel and smoothing things over! We did not leave until we accomplished our goal and let me tell you, the last hour that we were there, was so intense! We pitched in all our efforts to complete the last bit of the trail we had left in such little time and when we finished, it was such an accomplished wondrous feeling.

There are so many memories of this particular day that it would take at least two hours to explain, so I shall leave with this note, do NOT come between Ally and her gator. I think they're in love...but a reckless one because she abuses it sometimes by hitting trees, poor thing!

Day 3: (I'm going to be brief from now on for your convenience! I realize I tend to rant a lot!)

Look at this before pic and the completed one at the bottom!

Today was especially awesome because we got to put the finishing touches of the trail by putting in two pipes to drain water and to put a thinner soil on top. Then, in the evening, Tim, one of the park rangers, did an owl call for us and several came flying and called back. It was so suspenseful when we were quiet waiting for the barred owls to come, and when they did, we were all in an uproar! Not many were supposed to arrive but at least three or four came circling and calling back to us. Afterwords, we were able to have a s'mores bonfire at the cliff we found on Day 1. That was such a bonding moment! We told scary stories, funny, crazy ones, and while all this was happening, an army of turkeys were slowly creeping up on us. It was like a mini army taking small steps toward us, waiting for the right moment to ambush. It sounds funny now, but some of us were actually scared! Quite a handful of the group had previous experiences with turkeys that wanted to attack them, so imagine a whole army of these things encroaching towards you; kind of scary, no? Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of this happening. We were either engrossed by the stars or too scared. But best believe, we left when they got a little too close for our comfort. You don't mess with those things man!

COMPLETED trail =)

Day 4:

Our collective effort, y'all!

Alright, today was SO great! WHY?! I got a compliment from Mark (one of the park rangers)! So, I was tamping steps leading to a trail and he asks who did a particular step. I look at Mike, then I look at Tim, both in desperation hoping one of them will say they did because I think we all had this gut feeling we may have had to do it again, and so, forced, I shyly admitted I did, and he said it was really good! Man was I happy! Suddenly a load was off and filled with all this happiness! For me, to get a simple compliment like that boosted my energy so much! I was so psyched to complete tamping and rejuvenating the steps. But we did

 not just clean up steps today, we moved a huge tree out of one the trails. It took the effort of everyone of us to move it. It was really great to see how our collective effort can move things, both physically and metaphorically. Yes, we moved a tree, but we also built a trail; one that a woman told us is her favorite. We fixed the steps where so many came by and thanked us for making it better for them. Emotional movement is such a wonderful thing, n'est-ce pas?

This was also the day that we realized Sarah had a fascination, border-line obsession, with tools. You had to see this girl work for yourself! Once she started something, it was her project and hers alone. If she needed assistance, she'll call out to you, otherwise, let her hammer, rake, and smash all she wants! 

Side note, today was also the day I happened to look like MIA. I didn't see it until I saw the photos. It's quite uncanny! What do you think? 

Look at the wonderfully tamped, clean bunch of steps!

Oh, I almost forgot! We also went to the marsh and cleaned up...A LOT! It angers me how people can destroy our planet so badly. What angered me so much though was when I went to the little pond that formed and saw a row of turtles diving into water that was clearly filled with so many bottle caps, wrappers, containers, etc. I found so many odd things besides these. For example, why in the world there was a shoe, a lighter, styrofoam, and a baseball there is so mind-boggling. The turtles are living in such hazardous conditions.  It makes me so sad to think that....and what if I had to live in these conditions? If everyone thought this way, the world would be so much cleaner. I made it my mission to delve into as much water as I can without actually getting wet to get almost all the trash. Others, on the opposite side of the water, were picking up large branches and rocks and placing them in Mark's truck. I helped a bit with that and oh boy were those things heavy! We even had to break a fallen tree in half!

I can't place this where I'd like, but I hope you  can see this well enough!

Day 5:

Today was not much effort. We made the osprey nests and got to place two of the three in position! We received a call later that day that one of the nests were already being used (the one we placed at the cliff). The other one, we found the following day to have branches in it! Isn't that exciting?! What we made were being used by these wonderful creatures! It was awesome being able to see the fruits of hour labor not go to waste =)

When we had to put the osprey nests up, we had help from Bob and his team from the local power company, and my goodness! I had a lengthy conversation with Bob about the Marine Corps, the Navy, and WWII. He told me he was lucky because he was enrolled when it was "peaceful," and told me stories of places he's been, people he's seen. He reminded me of the men in my family: my father, grandfather, and uncles, all of whom have been in some sort of faction of the military. Hearing stories from another is so surreal yet nostalgic knowing that there are other men who are proud of their past and willing to share. He's met my grandfather once in passing and that was amazing to hear. But not only this, you would never think he'd had such a history simply by looking at him. Such worldly knowledge and experience! I feel like I could talk to him all day! Though we only talked for about 45 minutes, I knew I'd miss him as we drove away from his vehicle, and indeed, I did.

After putting the osprey nests up, we went on a hike to see the beaver's den, and when we finally located it, we also found a huge snake, an eagle staring at us for about half an hour near the den, and wonderful, winding trails with bridges and rocks that forked off the main trail. The trail was more of a bonding time than an exploration. I found that I have a fascination with trees. Trees are so beautiful. They stand so tall, yet were created by a tiny element. They are beautiful in their stature, roots, color, occupants, and branches: basically, in every way possible. There are so many and they all have various different functions for animals, people, and the surroundings. They can shade, let light through, and can let a downpour of water fall on you. They're somewhat a source of comfort for me because of their beauty but it's also they're smell (I LOVE the smell of bark and wood!). For some reason, it allows me to escape from everything and focus on myself, my thoughts, and be free of all burdens. Because of this, I like to sleep beside one at parks and here, it was no different. I simply think they are majestic wonders. So, while we were on the trail, I couldn't help gawking at them! P.S. I hope you don't think I'm weird! I simply have a fascination with trees and nature in general!

At the end of our trail, we were able to walk on the one we had helped create! It was such an awesome feeling walking on it and reflecting on it's conditions before we arrived. "We used our hands and created this thing," I thought.