Every Wednesday I volunteer at the Salem Audubon Nature Reserve in West Salem. In fact this month marks the start of my sixth year. I have worked on a number of projects in those years, but my current responsibilities are basically wondering through the Reserve photographing the work of other volunteers and all the flora and fauna, and then posting it to Facebook. Last night as I was about to go to sleep, I was thinking about what I was going to do today, and it was a pleasant thought, volunteering at the Salem Audubon Reserve, and I wondered why that was. I sort of had an epiphany moment when I realized my great joy when I was growing up was just walkin' in the woods. We moved to the county when I was 10 years old to a 5 acre property on Golden Valley Road. A couple of years later my parents purchased an adjoining 80 acres. I suddenly had a big playground to explore. Old logging roads took me into the hills and forest, alongside streams and eventually several ponds. Connecting trails made for an unimaginable variety of routes and loops. I enjoyed every minute of my time walkin' in the woods. Many times when I walked out the back door, across the lawn and through the gate I think might have not have known where I was going, but I knew for sure I was going for a walk in the woods. That's sort of what I do now at the Reserve, just a walk in the woods.
Jim's walk in the woods through the Salem Audubon Nature Reserve. Not only does he keep track of birds and fauna, he reports on troublesome situations, e.g., blowdowns, evidence of illegal camping, and vandalism, to name a few. Lee
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