Several months ago, Jane was invited to serve as a director on the board of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Kern County, a non-profit organization that provides advocacy and support for abused and neglected children in the local foster care system. CASA is largely funded through private donations received by way of an annual sequence of special events, fully underwritten by host individuals with all of the proceeds from event ticket sales going to CASA. Jane and fellow board members Toni and Terri teamed up to host a group hike and picnic lunch at one of our favorite local spots, Wind Wolves Preserve – we’d first do a 2-hour walk guided by a Wind Wolves naturalist, then return to the Preserve’s headquarters hacienda for sandwiches, salads, and desserts. Jane’s team initially sold close to 40 tickets at CASA’s kickoff event back in January, but as the date came closer, it was apparent that weather would be an issue – the forecast was 60% chance of rain and breezy conditions, and indeed, only about half the expected number showed up. Those of us intrepid souls who were not deterred by a little rain, including Cynthia and Jane’s close friend Kat, gathered at the trailhead at 10am, although it was 10:30 by the time we got all the Wind Wolves waivers signed and everyone organized. It began to sprinkle on us as we waited there, but nothing too uncomfortable (the wind did pick up a bit, and it made for a chilly time until we started walking – luckily, it sprinkled off and on for only about 30 minutes). Once underway, we proceeded southbound up the main San Emigdio Canyon trail, turning west after a quarter mile to follow the parallel trail along the creek. Our naturalist, Linda, was from the start an accomplished tour guide and leader – she would stop the group every few minutes and maintain a running commentary on the nuances of the natural scene through which we were passing, offering facts on various wonders from stinkbugs and mistletoe to bird calls and fossils and everything in between. Along the creek we passed prodigious amounts of poison oak, all very green this time of year and without the red edges on its leaves to really stand out. We followed the creek upstream, first on the east bank, then on the west, then back to the east, until we came to a small picnic area where we took a break for about 10 minutes while Linda described the small Native American community that once thrived along the creek. Heading eastward, we came upon a flat boulder into which had been drilled a grinding hole, tangible evidence of the activity Linda had just been talking about. We continued eastward across the main canyon trail and up a side gully to Raven’s Landing, a pretty overlook at the foot of the eastern canyon wall – it was beautiful being surrounded by all the green grass contrasted with the dark clouds overhead. As we left the overlook to head back, the cloud cover to the north and east suddenly started to break up – we never got full sunlight, but the day became much less gloomy as we made our way northbound down the canyon trail. After returning to the trailhead, we reconvened at the hacienda, where we’d previously laid out the lunch spread – we’d brought food for 40, so everyone both had their fill and took extra food home as a bonus. At just 1.8 miles, the short and easy hike portion was filled with new information and was a great opportunity with those who attended – however, the real highlight of the day was raising something on the order of $3,500 for CASA, more than enough to support one child with a specially-trained CASA advocate for a year. Jane already has designs on next year’s hiking event…