Date: 5/27/13
For the first time in my life I have ventured into the south
for more than a week. I am a week into my internship at Carl Sandburg Home
National Park located in Flat Rock, North Carolina. This park is located in the
southwestern NC; only a 20 minute drive from South Carolina. The Sandburg farm
is geographically a 264 acre plot of eastern Appalachian foothill. Extremely
pretty with some very unique flora. I’ll get to that in a relatively short
amount of time, as that I am here studying forest conservation.
However, let me run a few items past the complaint
department. I love traveling. Cultural differences are one of the various
aspects that make travel so interesting and enjoyable. Finding people of
different walks of life with new and exciting ideas are inspiration to me. The
American South, though, doesn’t vibe with me. Look, I’m a northerner thick and
thin. The way people in the north are raised is a mixture of many things. And
it comes out to we are fast moving and, in most cases, high strung. Yes, we may
not realize how high strung we are until we travel, but we are. This is
something I’ve noticed in the South. People are very laid back. Far to laid
back. The Western United States can be extremely laid back as well, but the big
difference is that the South harbors some of the most aggressive people in this
country. It’s is a weird atmosphere. What compounds this even more is the
unrelenting friendliness. In most cases I suspect it may be fake friendliness,
but EVERYONE says hi. For someone from the Northern lands this much constant
friendliness is tiring. The blunt way to put it is that New England and the
Eastern North are full of assholes. That doesn’t mean we can’t make pleasant conversation,
no. What it does imply is that we do not and will not say hello to EVERYONE you
pass one the street. I still can’t fathom doing this for the rest of my life.
By the end of the summer I’m going to be flipping people off just because I’m
sick of talking to people. Deliver me to the snowy lands of my Northern
forests.
One can be sure that I will have many more complaints before
the next 9 weeks are over with, but for now I will move on to what I have been
up to…and my assessment of the “great” Carl Sandburg’s Home. To make this more
interesting I will describe my week before my review of this author’s home.
DAY 1)
I rolled in on Monday the 20th of May around 1:30
PM after a 7 and half hour drive. I was tired but alert enough to get myself
settled. After parking I wandered my way to the second building that is the
headquarters of the National park staff. Jerri, the parks supervisor, met me
and squared me away. She got me a key to the green farmhouse that I am
currently writing from and rode with me to show me around. The meeting we had
was rather short. She told me when to be at work in the morning and some basic
logistical data. Most of the information that I need will be from Irene, the
biologist who hired me, when she gets back after this week. First week here and
the woman I am supposed to be learning off is out of town. No big deal. It
gives me a week to learn the park. Knowing ones surroundings is extremely
important. After unloading my Jeep, which drove the whole way like a champ, I walked
around a bit and read some. Two days before leaving I obtained the newest Dan
Brown novel, Inferno. I grew up with the man who did most of the research for
the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. 8 or so years ago he urged me to read
Dan Brown. I finally gave in and I am ever so happy about that. Dan Brown is a
great read. For something is a step up from a trash fiction read I would
suggest him. Anyway, I met my roomie, Sierra. We chatted and then I crashed. I
work 7 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. Sleep came around 10 P.M. I was ever so tired and just
passed out.
Day 2) – Tuesday 21st
This was my first day of work (obviously). Up at 6 A.M. and
a short walk to the maintenance bay to meet Ernesto, my boss’s assistant.
Staying in the park is rather nice. I pretty much only have to drive when I
need groceries or need the library…and both of those are rather close to the
park. So my orientation was easy stuff. Ernesto showed me around the park. We
gardened a bit. Mostly pulling weeds. I was briefed on some of the main
invasive species that are in the park (ie: Autumn Olive, Japanese Honeysuckle,
and various others that are slipping my mind). One plant that I’m learning to
hate is poison ivy. I know what you are thinking: Don’t you hate that already?
You know…it’s not a problem back home in Ohio. However, this park has the worst
case of poison ivy I’ve ever seen. Seriously, my run in with the stuff on
Thursday will show that.
Anyway, back to the action. While gardening many of the volunteers
joined us. Though, I’m starting to think they were doing more harm than
helping. The morning went by in a flash. The afternoon was full of watering the
gardens and fixing the watering system (which consists of a sprinkler wedged
into a PVC pipe). I spent most of my day trying to remember names and learning
the geography.
After work I hung with the girls (Sara and Sierra) for the
evening. A trip to Sara’s and then the grocery rounded out the night.
Day 3) – Wednesday 22nd
Today I got quickly certified on the Gator. Geeeeeeee, like I
haven’t driven one of these before. The government loves their paperwork. I don’t
think I ever want to work for the government full time. State parks for me if I
end up finding work with them. Who knows what the future holds. So I watched my
John Deere video about the gator and took it out. I have become the driver at
the moment. So on this day we had no volunteers, as they only come around on
Tuesday’s and Thursdays, Ernesto and I make ourselves useful by spraying
herbicide on poison ivy, yanking an invasive lily on top of the mountain, and
various other small tasks such as this. Have I mentioned that the south is far
too laid back? We have been shooting from the hip most of the week. To the
point that I barely remember Wednesday. I know I checked my email in the office
and yanked some invasive species on a trip to Glassy Top Mountain. That was pretty much Wednesday. After work I
had my nose in a book all night. Yes, the same Dan Brown book.
Day 4) – Thursday 23rd
The volunteers were back this day…and it was eventful. The
whole morning was dedicated to one task: transplanting Milkweed. If you are
thinking that this involves Monarch butterflies, you are correct. To set the
scene we have a goat barn (Ms. Sandburg was a world renowned goat breeder) and
behind that barn is a field that is contracted out to a farmer for production
of hay. To the left of the goats grazing field is a small pasture that has an
outbuilding and isn’t used for anything in particular. The task was to transplant
Milkweed that would be destroyed in the hay harvest, to the unused pasture. The
operation took nearly 3 hours and countless trips in the gator across the
tourist area of the goat barn. Over the course of that 3 hour time span we
moved maybe 120 plants. I do hope they survive. I would hate to see all of that
work go down the tubes. I suppose we
shall see by the middle of week 2.
The afternoon was semi uneventful, we just some basic
watering and weeding. I ran into some last minute paperwork that needed to get
finished quickly and that ate the day. After work it was more time for reading.
Can we tell that I make friends with quickness? Didn’t think so.
Day 5) – Friday 24th
With a three day weekend looming I was anxious for the day’s
work to end. As I went into the office the first thing I asked Ernesto was what
we are doing today. My insane self pointed out the day before that some of the
trees were starting to get English ivy climbing up the trunks. This concerned
me. This park has a full sized old growth American Chestnut and several
American Elm trees. If one can’t grasp the importance of this statement…let me
spell this out. American Chestnut tree was nearly wiped out by a blight.
American Elm tree is just not all that common. My lack of knowledge on this
tree may be missing a blight type incident in its past as well. So the fact
that I was seeing English Ivy, which grows up anything it can, growing up the
trunks of these trees concerned me. Also, the park has a large abundance of
Eastern/Carolina Hemlock. I’m sure if you are in the know you will wonder if
the trees are suffering from the Wooly Adeljid. Well, these trees have been treated
and are mostly healthy. A few have the blight, but are getting treatment. That
is exciting. Healthy trees are a fantastic thing. I wish we could have saved
more American Chestnut trees.
THE WEEKEND!!!
Day 6) – Saturday 25th
Today was an exploratory day, but not before I got a good
run in. And a good run it was. For an hour and fifteen minutes I galloped around
the village of Flat Rock. In retrospect I probably should have not run on the sides
of some of the roads. It may or may not have been dangerous. I survived and
that is what matters. After that adventure I cleaned myself up and ventured
into Hendersonville to find the library. I needed to check my email. On route
to adventure I found an Autozone. Remembering that I was in need of some
Seafoam for my trooper of a Jeep I made a pit stop. Not only did I find the
solvent that I needed, but I found directions to the library. The destination
was only but a few blocks away. After exiting the automotive store I found my
turn and also that a town festival was in the process of happening. It turns
out the 25th and 26th had a Garden Jubilee scheduled. My
luck! I wanted to explore this town and this was going to make it much more
interesting. However, the priority of email came first.
The library was a nice large house of knowledge. Not much
traffic surrounding the building. I do love smaller towns for this. As a side
note, it would seem that Flat Rock and subsequently Hendersonville are one of
the largest retirement communities in the country. The area is full of wealthy
old folks. No wonder everything is so pricey here. Thankfully, the library is
free. I sat down for several hours and spent some time online. The more time I spend
away from the internet the quicker I can get things, such as email and youtube
checking, done in a hurry.
After leaving the library, I stashed my lap top and ventured
to the Garden Jubilee. The fest was sponsored by Lowes. I’m not really into
gardening much. I’m sure my Mum and Aunt would enjoy this far more than I did.
That being said, I did find a few points of interest. But, mostly I spent time rummaging
through antique and general stores of Hendersonville. And speaking of my Mum
and Aunt, I talked to both while trotting around the town.
Eventually, my legs began to tire and hunger set into my
stomach. I walked back to my faithful steed and headed home, but not without a
stop at The Fresh Market. This is a wonderful, if not expensive, natural foods
store. I was quite pleased with finding it and will be going there more. They
have all of the items that should be in a normal grocery, you know…whole foods
without chemicals. I won’t get back on my soap box. Promise.
The last stop was the park and dinner. Eating was quickly
done and I spent the remainder of this evening with my face buried in a book. I
fear this summer is going to speed by. I am not looking forward to my last year
of graduate school. Not one bit. I would like to just work on my own projects.
Make some money. Not have to worry about being tested or doing huge projects
that I could care less about. All in due time. What doesn’t kill you…
Day 7) – 26th
This was a highly uneventful day. I got up and did some calisthenics,
got a shower, and shoved my nose in a book a majority of the day. The Dan Brown
novel would be done by Monday.
Day 8) – 27th
Today is Memorial Day. The park is having a music fest from
10 A.M. until 4 P.M. and I have the day off. Unfortunately, there are enough
old people that it appears the cast of Night of the Living Dead heard a call
for free brains in the park. The music was eclectic and good. The Celtic fiddle
player, Jaime Lavel, would have been more enjoyable if I wouldn’t have been
harassed by an ex-party junkie from New Jersey most of the set. I kept going
back to the house and reading. What can I say…I’m a sucker for a good book. The
Dan Brown novel was finished today. Next up comes Charles de Lint’s Moonheart.
And that was the first week…ish. It was enjoyable. Nine more
to go and a project on Granitic rock formations. Not my cup of tea, but I only
have to do a presentation on them. I’m starting to think I just need jobs that
keep me traveling. A traveling blogger would be fantastic. That way in my down
time I can just woodwork and scale model. Oh well, food for thought. More on
this North Carolina venture next week.
