Giving always gives back

Ever since I took my Master Naturalist class last year, I have learned the fun of volunteering.  I had never really volunteered for any sort of cause previously but have since been offering up some of my rare free time to help out. 

Saturday was a very busy day in Boise.  The Great Potato Marathon was going on (which I plan on running the 3K portion of next year), The Green Expo along with the Boise City Farmers Market that just kicked off a few weeks ago, and at the MK Nature center, the annual representation of International Migratory Bird Day.  This is one of the few events I was able to volunteer for last year as well.  Taylor and Bridget joined me as they had a good time last year and wanted to go again.

This year I was in charge of the Greenbelt entrance and greeting people as they came off the Greenbelt.  Since we were there early we got a good glimpse of the marathoners starting out...and there were a LOT of them.  The Nature Center is right in the heart of Boise and backs up to the Boise river.  It is astounding the amount of wildlife that passes through there.  In the first hour, I saw a mink, a young whitetail stag, a great blue heron, and a fox pass through near my booth.  The deer hung out all morning and the heron was fishing the pond most of the time.

My post wasn't the most glamourous of jobs but I still really enjoyed it.  After the threat of rain went away, it turned out to be a nice morning.  I was able to relax, visit with fellow citizens, educate some youngsters and out-of-towners, watch some bird banding, and witness some of the great wildlife diversity Idaho has to offer.