It's only an average morning for nature-lover Jennifer Lolley as she stands alone in the middle of nowhere. Surrounding her is 110-acres of quiet foliage.
As she walks the trails weaving through and around bushes and trees, plant species and histories weave in and out of her conscious.
Her calm pace is this place's tender-love-and-care.
A passion begotten her before she even had a chance to reject it stems from a biology teacher mother and an innate love of critters.
This fire fuels a woman who inspires Auburn to get back out to nature.
"I was raised in it," Lolley said, glancing down to silence the chirping grasshopper ringtone. "Always had it around me. I just told my mom about my black widow collection. She was always showing us things in nature."
After moving frequently as a Navy brat, her family settled in Enterprise and had four horses.
"I always had some kind of critter," Lolley said.
Lolley graduated from Auburn University with a degree in biology. Now, she's settled in Auburn and spends her days in a world of bird's nests made for people and tree houses built for adults.
She's the first and only full-time employee of Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife's Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve.
Her office is in the wildlife sciences building and her home is among the other professors in this town.
"I like being with my people," Lolley said. "We're in such an academic world. You don't find that everywhere. I enjoy the people who live here. College towns are great."
To most children around town, she's just "The Snake Lady."
Lolley said she can be grocery shopping when a child spots her, their eyes go wide and they begin tugging on their mother's shirts whispering, "that's the snake lady."
Lolley dedicates herself to the Preserve, taking each opportunity as a teaching one. She holds camps, hikes and leisure opportunities, which have become a favorite for children and families around town, according to Lolley.
"It's made me realize the impact you can have on somebody in such a short time," Lolley said.
For Lolley, the Preserve offers an solution to the problem she calls "nature-deficit disorder" affecting children who just don't get outside much.
Lolley said her favorite part about the job is showing the children things about nature and watching them get excited.
"I can show them something scary or exciting, like a snake or a tarantula, and you can watch them change," Lolley said.
The Preserve features an outdoor classroom, a bird observation area, a turtle pond and an outdoor classroom Lolley calls her pride and joy.
Lolley said she's blessed, because she gets a place in the Preserve's history as the first of something.
"I have a job that can make a difference," Lolley said. "I like to go to work, plus my office is pretty cool."
Quick picks with
Jennifer Lolley
Movie: "Contact"
Book: "Run with the Horsemen" by Ferrol Sams
Food: Steak
Interesting Detail: Once posed on top of an 850-pound alligator
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