Judy Lang volunteers her time with Missouri Department of Conservation, Cape Girardeau Nature Center

Cutline-Body Copy:Judy Lang, center, a volunteer with the Missouri Department of Conservation, helps out a class while they make birdbaths Saturday, July 22, at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center.

Andrew J. Whitaker

Judy Lang doesn't meet many strangers.

Gregarious and straight-forward, she's quick with a smile, interjects laughter in her speech and never seems at a loss for words. She used those attributes in the business world, operating Judith Anne's gift shop, helping co-found Old Town Cape, working as a bridal consultant for Famous Barr and assisting her husband in the running of Lang Jewelers.

She's a people person, admitting to the gift of gab. Four years into retirement, it's not entirely surprising to see her volunteering and working with the public. It's just that this native Chicagoan probably never envisioned herself trying to sell the public on learning more about nature as a volunteer at the Missouri Department of Conservation Nature Center in Cape Girardeau.

For such a cordial person, it's been a long, slow introduction between Lang and Mother Nature, and at age 68 she's finding it an interesting relationship.

She remembers venturing out on family fishing trips to northern Wisconsin as a child, but most of her life revolved around city life.

Cutline-Body Copy:Judy Lang, right, a volunteer with the Missouri Department of Conservation, helps Laura Schmidt make a birdbath Saturday, July 22, at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center.

Andrew J. Whitaker

"I guess I slowly developed my love for nature," Lang says. "When I moved here from Chicago, it was like, 'Oh, where have I landed?'"

She landed in Cape Girardeau, a river town of about 40,000, in 1977. There she had a daughter, became involved in Girl Scouts, learned golf and married a man who liked to fish, all part of an active outdoor life that exposed her to nature. Other parts were inhibitive to the process, including long hours that came with business ownership. And then there was the bout with breast cancer.

"I wish I'd known what I know now, as far as getting into knowing more flowers, knowing more birds," Lang says. "But I didn't have the time then ... I was busy. I had a kid to raise, I had a store to run...."

It was the common bustle of life that gets in the way of appreciating all the splendor of nature.

There was the small goldfish pond her husband Roger built in their backyard 10 years ago, which has been a wildlife refuge of sorts in downtown Cape. In 19 years on the property, Lang has seen a pack of coyotes, wild turkeys, red-tailed hawks and snakes. A red fox was spotted on their street this summer.

Judy Lang, left, a volunteer with the Missouri Department of Conservation, helps out Julie Francis make a birdbath Saturday, July 22, 2017 at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center.

Andrew J. Whitaker

Retirement allowed Lang to slow things down and spend time fishing, but she found herself missing the daily interaction with the public. That's part of the reason she found it intriguing when she attended TBY's Active Living Expo at Isle Casino last September and encountered women she knew working a booth for the MDC.

"We started talking and I said, 'Boy, I really miss the interaction we had with the public,'" Lang says. "And they said, 'Well, come volunteer for us,' so I did."

A short training period versed her in the history of the MDC and the Nature Center, preparing her for questions she would receive working the front desk and adjacent gift shop. It's a comfortable fit for Lang, who enjoys the banter and curious minds around her. She also helps with presentations and creative hands-on projects with the public.

She is partial to events, like the upcoming TBY Expo on Sept. 20. She recently volunteered to work a health fair at the Osage Centre, manning the booth by herself in her zestful style.

"It was a blast. I mean I had such a good time talking to all these people," Lang says. "I must have seen 300 people, and I remember in particular this one man saying, 'Why is the Nature Center at a health fair?' And I said, 'Do you go outside? Do you hike? Do you fish? Or do you just sit on your couch and flip the remote?' And he just looked at me and went, 'Oh, OK.'"

She sent him off with pamphlets about hiking, the conservation area and other material.

The best salesperson is one who truly believes in the product, and she's a believer in the usefulness of the Nature Center. It's piqued her own interest and awareness of the world around her. As part of her growing curiosity, she has taken pictures of plants around her home to have them identified, one of the services provided.

"People don't realize what a resource the Nature Center is," Lang says. "I mean it's not just about the building and the neat stuff inside, but answers questions about anything that might come up. The pond -- kids can fish in. We give them crickets or worms or hotdogs. We've got fishing poles. We've got backpacks ... if they want to go hiking on a trail to go look for bugs."

She says volunteering boosts her spirits and energy. She's finding she's enjoying the interactions with children, something which she wasn't sure about at the start despite admitting being crazy about her 4-year-old granddaughter. She talks fondly of taking a toad and crickets to a school this spring for a presentation.

"I'm finding myself enjoying that and developing that enjoyment of broadening my horizons and learning things," Lang says.

She still golfs in a woman's league, fishes and gardens, but now is learning about wildflowers she can bring into the mix.

She's one of 21 senior volunteers. There are 53 volunteers total, many of which are college students.

"You can kind of pick and choose what you want to do," says Lang, who says she works 10 to 12 hours a month. "Some of the ladies come just one day a week and help out, some of them are there every single day.

"It's what you can give, and I think you get back so much more than you give. It's not only making some more friendships and meeting people and greeting people, but seeing how other people approach nature ... it's fascinating. It really is. I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying the heck out of it."