Volunteer at a Wild Horse Sanctuary

The project:
Groom, feed, paint, shovel and learn the ropes during volunteer orientation day at Return to Freedom American Wild Horse Sanctuary. The sanctuary is located a few minutes south of Lompoc, and only about a half hour from our house.

Time:
6.5 hours

Why bother?
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted a horse. During visits to my great grandparents, I spent most of my waking hours on and around horses, riding with other farm kids, even napping on horseback.

The desire has spread to my daughters now, but they haven't had much horse experience. Mr. B and I decided we should get them around horses as much as possible so they can get a feel for what it really takes to maintain horses - a lot more than feeding and brushing.

The sanctuary houses some 200 horses on 300 acres of managed lands. Its operators are constantly seeking help in maintaining the facility to meet the animals' needs. Welcoming volunteers onto the privately owned property is a incredibly fantastic idea which affords horsey folks opportunities to mingle with the animals while also getting more work done in a short period of time. (Wish I'd thought of this!)

Worth it?
Yes. We had a wonderful day at the sanctuary. The owner and staffers were friendly and helpful, educational and mindful of the fact our girls haven't had much horse experience.

Most of the other volunteers were young members of Pony Club. It was so refreshing to be around a group of such willing young workers.

And while we were shoveling horse apples, mucking out a pig pen, and performing other filthy chores, none of us were bothered. In fact, the girls' raced to get to their next pile of poop for scoopin' and, indeed, asked what MORE needed to be done as they completed each task.

Photo by JenPB. All rights reserved.

Subscribe to Public Radio

The project: Donate cash (aka "subscribe") to my local public radio station.

Time:
5 minutes

Why bother?
Public radio is my favored radio station at home and in the car. We listen to it for HOURS on end some days (usually Saturdays when our favorite programs are on). Public radio, while somewhat non-commercial (there are show sponsors, but the mentions are brief), depends upon subscribers.

Worth it?
Absolutely. I like the various view points and the variety of programs offered. And while we're growing increasingly strapped for cash (like so many of our friends and family), we'll consider this the cable bill we never see. (We dropped cable nearly a decade ago.)

Staying Connected with Grandma

The project:
Take Grandma out to lunch to satiate her craving for "real Mexican food," then run an errand with her, and enjoy some time out together.

Time:
3 hours

Why bother?
Largely explained here, but we also took Grandma to the store to pick up some toothpaste because I noticed her shopping list, then grabbed some ice cream and headed for the beach where we enjoyed a nice dessert and beautiful views.

Worth it?
Absolutely - what a pleasant, relaxing day.

Trail Maintenance and Trash

The project: Removing poison oak seedlings from the middle of a popular hiking trail, and, yep, more trash removal.

Time:
Not measured - the hike and associated recreation and work all totaled came to 7 hours.

Why bother?
I'm all for live and let live, 'til that something causes oozing rashes on my loved ones. I'm SURE poison oak serves some sort of purpose, but in our house, it's a heinous pest that should be eradicated - like ticks and mosquitoes. (At least rattlesnakes provide rodent control, but ticks? Mosquitoes?! POISON OAK!? NOTHING.)

The Snyder Trail to Knapp's Castle is a very popular route for hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders and, judging by the tracks we found today, at least one bear of considerable size. Most whiz past the oil-infested leaves that threaten to encroach upon the trail, but THESE suckers were RIGHT SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE of the trail. So much for that live-and-let-live attitude.

As for trash - we did a good thing for the trail in picking up bike parts, a CO2 cartridge (new), and other hikers' detritus. But when we arrived at Knapp's Castle, I felt like our garbage pickup was meaningless. There's so much trash at what has clearly become a drunken party spot (no one was there today - but the trash, and, OH, the glass!) I wouldn't even know where to start, let alone how we'd carry it the 3.5 miles back down the trail to our waiting van. (There's another parking area 1/4 mile or so uphill - perhaps this will be a group effort later this spring - if I can find any takers on the cleanup effort.)

Worth it?
If our poison oak scrapping saves a few others from that which is the Poison Oak Rash, absolutely. And picking up trash - well - it almost always feels worthwhile. Today, it felt like spitting in a rain barrel.

Saved the Surf Gear!

The project:
Chase down another motorist whose roof rack was open putting surf gear in danger of roadside loss.

Time:
5 minutes

Why bother?
Wouldn't it be a bummer to lose YOUR stuff 'cause your roof rack was wide open?

Worth it?
Absolutely. These folks had lots of surfing gear in their roof rack. They were visiting from out of state. It would have been, like, DUDE, a TOTAL bummer if their gear had surfed the roadside at 60 mph instead of surfing the waves at the speed of the swell.

Stinson Beach surfers photo courtesy Ianqui underCreative Commons license.

Bolinas Run

The project:
Make a quick run to a neighboring town to drop/pick up supplies for an aunt while she was busy at work.

Time:
30 minutes

Why bother?
She asked.

Worth it?
Yes. A beautiful, short drive, an easy way to help, and the kids enjoyed some time in her company without me hangin' around.

Photo courtesy Waywuwei under Creative Commons license.

Trash on the Beach

The project:
Unintended beach cleanup

Time:
Negligible

Why bother?
Don't want to leave the trash to float or blow away.

Worth it?
The largest piece was an ice chest lid (plastic) FILLED with water. Drained it, trashed it properly. Makes our favorite vacation beach a nicer place to visit.

Photo of Stinson Beach Community Commons trash can courtesy Andrionni Ribo under Creative Commons license.