Philmont 2019: Day 6, Rockin Robbins, Bunnies, and Huge Moths

It's funny this year.  I've only left base camp once at Philmont.  I haven't gone to the back country yet.  Still, I'm seeing a lot of wildlife running/leaping/flying through the camp.

This morning I was driving to pick up supplies from the supply building when I saw a rabbit running the same direction as my truck.  It was a pretty good sized rabbit.  I'd guess it was 5-7 pounds.  It's ears where about six inches long.  I was told it was probably a jackrabbit.  Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me.  I'm sure I'm going to get a great shot of some of the rabbits around here.  Back in 2004 they were all over Tent City.

Here's what I was told.  Back then, a lot more campers smoked.  A lot of them smoked in their tents when they shouldn't have.  They would then drop the cigarette butts through the wooden platform the tents were sitting on.  The rabbits would then run under the platforms, and chew on the cigarette butts.

They made all sorts of jokes about the rabbits and their nicotine habit.  I don't know how much of that was true, but I do know I saw a lot of rabbits running from one tent to another in Tent City.  For clarity, the platforms were open underneath so it was really easy for the rabbits to run under them.

There are birds all over Philmont, but the bird that seems to be the most prevalent is the American Robin.  I've been trying to take a good photo of one for a few days.  I finally saw a Robin pulling a worm out of the ground, and eating it one morning.  Here are the photos I took:

Here's some movie footage I took.

Worms must be yummy if this Robin was going bonkers over this one.  There was some serious "Nom, Nom, Nomming" going on.

The previous day I had seen some baby chicks in a nest.  Again, I didn't have my camera with me.  But I vowed I would take photos of them the next day.  Here's the photo I took.

That is one empty nest.  I guess I was a day late, and a few birds short?  Thank you.  I'll be here all night.

My sister likes everything butterfly.  Oh, and moths.  My staff pointed this guy out to me so I took quite a few photos of him.  I sent all the photos to my sister, and she told me that this was a Male Polyphemus Moth.  It was cold so I was able to get really close to him.  I think I made my sister's day.

Okay, you have to admit, that's pretty awesome.  I know I'm not a professional photographer by any means, but that's really cool.  My sister sometime submits photos to butterfly forums and groups.  I think some of these are good enough to submit.  But, I may just be stroking my ego at the moment.  Still, I like these photos, and that's what counts.

It was a good day today.  There was lots of hard work, but goals were accomplished.  And I have to say, I've never been given such freedom to manage a crew or develop a program.  However, I think the bosses, and that means ALL the bosses are seeing immediate results.  It's been my experience that if bosses see improved or amazing results, they are happy with the end goal.

It reminds me of the old military saying, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way."  I think the bosses like the way I'm leading.  They like what I am getting accomplished.  So they are just standing out of the way, and letting me do it.  They realize they don't have to micromanage.  I'm taking care of anything and everything they want done.  Let's face it.  I'm making this really easy for them.  And trust me.  Bosses LOVE easy.  Bosses LOVE smooth.  Bosses LOVE to say, "That's one less headache for me."
And I have another thought.  I was told that this was going to be a thankless job.  But guess what?  I've had three people thank me in the last 24 hours.  I didn't know the one gentleman, but you can always tell from a person's attitude and the aura they expel, just how important they are.  This guy was pretty high up in the BSA.  He thanked me ever so much.  I made a joke that the bathroom now smelled pine fresh instead of like a deer in heat.  He thought that was pretty funny.

It's a lot of hard work, but I think everything will start to fall into place.  My staff (or Minions as I call them) have already taken the initiative.  But then again, they are learning from me, so they are learning to do this correctly.  I think after a week they are going to be able to walk into the showers/restrooms, and do everything without having to say a word.  They will immediately know what to do.  And if that happens, then I would like to thank myself.  (Okay, I had to stroke my ego one last time.)  Alright, now it's off to bed.

Philmont 2019: Day 3, Getting Stuff Done

I'm finally starting to get my feet under me here at Philmont.  I had a few meetings with my staff.  I also sent them to their mandatory training.  After that I met with one of my bosses.  Long story short, I ended up creating a lot of signs for an upcoming project.

I also received a few more keys.  What helped me a lot was being introduced to Dave who used to hold my position.  He helped me out with upcoming planning.  Today the incoming staff check-in's were pure madness.  This was the day that most staffers arrived.  Tomorrow will be just as bad since that's when all the program councilors arrive.

Today was also the first day I traveled into town.  I picked up a few things for the shared bathroom, as well as, things for my office.  The manager at the Family Dollar was exceptionally nice to me.  He told me the town wouldn't exist without the Boy Scouts.

I made sure to take plenty of photos today.  I've pared them down to the best photos I took.  Let's take a look.

As you arrive to check in this statue greets incoming campers.

This is the bell that Rangers ring before meals.  They are famous for making up great stories that always end up with them singing the "I want to go back to Philmont" song.  This bell marks a lot of memories for many scouts.

There are these particular type of birds that live/fly all over the property.  I keep seeing them around.  I was finally able to snag a photo of one of them.

Here is a shot of the Tooth of Time Traders.

They've recently added some plants around the property.

As I was waiting for my boss I noticed a bird nest.  I had to take a few photos of it.

I was looking at this cactus when I noticed a small bird nest in it.  I saw a baby chick in there, but I couldn't get close enough to take a photo of it.  I mean, this was cactus after all.  I couldn't just shove a branch out of the way.

My Dad has asked me if the trees the mama owl was hanging out in were cottonwood trees.  I said I didn't know, but I would take photos of the trees.  So here they are.

We didn't have so much as a rain storm, as much as we had a dust storm.  When I went out to my truck today it was covered in dirt.

I'm going to wash it eventually, but it will probably rain before that.  I figure that might take off a lot of the dust.

So that was my day.  It was a lot of paperwork, and trying to find stuff out.  It was also important to keep out of the way of all the gals in the office.  They were a wee bit stressed with over 200 staff checking in today.

I am tired, and am going to go to bed early tonight.  I really know I need it.  But I'll keep taking photos and writing blogs.  Count on it.

Philmont 2019: Day 2, Owls And Horses And Deer, Oh My!

Today I woke up, and thought, "Let me just carry my camera around.  You know, if anything happens."  And happen it did.

First I walked out to the parking lot.  On the edge of it is a small stream.  Beyond it are mountains and horses.  So I snapped a few photos.

I made my way across the street to the Philmont Training Center.  I had to attend a mandatory training seminar.  When I walked up to the front door of the assembly hall I noticed some deer just hanging around the building.  At first, I took photos from far away.  I walked up closer and closer hoping they wouldn't spook.  Guess what?  They never spooked.

I think the deer that was looking me down was the alpha buck of the group.  The deer were in the middle of losing their winter coats.  That's why they were so scruffy looking.

Next up, I was given a key to my office.  Here's what my office looks like.

I'm more than happy with it.  They said it would be the size of a broom closet, but it's more than big enough for me.  I'll be honest, I'm ecstatic with it.

Next up, it was late in the evening when I was talking to my Dad on the phone.  Out of nowhere I saw what I thought was an eagle flying across a field.  When it came closer I saw it had a flat face, so I changed my guess to an owl.

Again, I creeped up on it, and saw that it was indeed a Great Horned Owl.  It landed right in the middle of where other birds had their nests.  The other birds were going completely crazy.  They were taking shots at the owl, but the owl didn't care.

I had a hard time paring down the photos.  I took about 30 photos of the owl and edited it down to 16.  Make sure you notice the last photo.  One of the other birds is behind the owl ready to dive on it.  Wild, huh?

That owl just sat there for over half an hour.  He (or she) knew it was the apex predator of the land.  The owl was still there when I left.  Again, this is day two at Philmont, and I managed to take these photos.  That's the kind of life experience you can't buy.  This means I've got to keep my camera on me at all times.  Wow!