So I'm going to start out on a dog-note. Now, I have owned or lived with dogs my whole life. And for those that technically belonged to my roomies, well, I felt like their surrogate mother. I have always thought that dogs should get tons of love, attention, and exercise. So, "my" dogs have always gotten that. The last puppy that I owned (I've had a lot of adult dogs) was Daisy, my yellow lab. Although my mother wanted to kill her for the first 1.5 years of her life b/c she chewed everything from hoses to siding on the house, she was a sweet family-friendly pet. My best friend's dog had puppies when I was 13 and thus, I acquired Daisy. Now, dogs in TX are different than dogs in UT. In TX, the weather is warm year-round, so they can stay outside while you are at work/school. In UT, I feel bad leaving a dogs outside for more than an hour when it's cold (and we're usually hiking during that hour or 2). Thus, I have spent my days working on my thesis and training Baja. He gets so much attention it's insane! I feel bad leaving him in his kennel for more than 2-3 hours a day. Although most of my friends from grad school seem to leave their dogs in kennels for 8-12 hours a day....I just can't do that.
As you can imagine, Baja gets a ton of training time, exercise, playtime, etc. Now what I find to be interesting is the opinions of friends, family, and strangers. I take Baja on the trails in our neighborhood every day and we usually encounter other folks/dogs. They notice that he's a puppy and are itching to give unsolicited advice. For instance, we are working on reducing Baja's nipping tendencies since he is part heeler. However, folks on the trail willingly (and unfortunately) give him their hands and say "it's okay he is just a puppy." PEOPLE, do you know how hard I am trying to get him to stop biting/nipping! Or they'll tell me how to use a leash with him. PEOPLE, I have 2 different leashes, and styles, and have spent hours upon hours researching every possible technique. Then come the friends. I know they have good intentions, but dang! Leighton has had a few friends over to see Baja a few times. Sometimes they try to discipline him and think they know what's best and that really bothers me! I have to try and explain how we do things....for instance, Baja doesn't know "drop" b/c we use "leave it." And you have to do it and say it in a certain way for him to understand. But instead of asking how we do things, if Baja jumps instead of "leaving" his toy, they yell at him and try to punish him. This is so bothersome! It's almost like if I was a parent and other parents came up and tried to tell me how to discipline my child...or actually tried to discipline him/her for me. And the worst is that they'll try to tell you how to take care of this breed when they don't even own dogs! Again, hello people! I've owned and trained dogs my whole life....and spent hours researching everything imaginable about heelers (even though he's a mutt). I wonder if other dog owners feel this way.
Well, I was going to mention how terrible being a wildlife biologist is going....but I think that'll just make me upset again. So, I'll leave that for another day....maybe one when I have a job...wildlife or not. Oh, and I know this is somewhat of a negative post, and it's all about advice for those that like to dish out advice, but I think the most annoying thing for someone to hear when they can't find a job is "Stick with it, you'll find something. Don't give up on your profession."...b/c this always comes from folks who have stable careers. I want to shout back, "Yeah, you tell me how it's going when you are unemployed and just spent 3.5 years making basically no money to get a graduate degree that won't do you any good when you are stuck in one geographic location." Some of us don't have mommy or daddy money....we actually have to work to survive. Dang, this sounds negative, but things have just been rough lately. I promise, the next post will be much more uplifting.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Utter Exhaustion
As the title implicates, I am exhausted. I'm not just talking about being a bit tired or stressed, I'm referring to the fact that I'm losing my mind. I haven't slept for more than 4 hours straight in 2 weeks. Why, you ask. Well, between getting a new puppy, Baja, having massive amounts of stress about the new house and thesis, and becoming super ill, I haven't found time for sleep. So, if this post makes absolutely no sense, then I apologize.
So, lets see. Big change #1: Baja. about 3 weeks ago we fostered this cute little heeler/brittany pup from the local shelter. He was only 8 weeks old at the time. Of course, I should have known that Leighton would fall in love. Well, we took him back without too much griping from the gent on a Thursday night. Then, we heard that they needed fosters again on Saturday, so we watched Baja again. However, this time I noticed that from the second I picked him up he was sneezing and had some yellow mucus excretion. The next morning I noticed a ton of worms in his poop. Turns out he had kennel cough and worms. Poor little guy. At least the shelter got him to a vet right away and his health quickly improved. When we dropped him off the second time, we were told that 2 families were interested in adopting him. Puppies always go fast. However, Leighton had fallen so in love that he called the shelter within an hour of leaving him to tell them that he wanted to keep the little guy. Since we had fostered him, they were happy to let us adopt him. Now, let me mention something. I have had pets my whole life...from dogs to horses to hamsters and rabbits. However, the last time that I had a puppy (of my own) was when I was 13. My best friend, Genny's, yellow lab had puppies and my mom allowed me to keep one. Of course I recall my mother yelling at me to make sure Daisy didn't eat everything in the house or outside. However, I don't recall having to get up in the middle of the night to let her pee. Oh yes, that's because I lived in Texas! And dogs can be outdoors year-round (well, we still let them in sometimes when the weather is bad). So, you don't have to worry about taking them out at 3am. Now, Baja is a super intelligent puppy, but his bladder is not so much. I think his bladder has ADD. What's the best way to deal with ADD? "appropriate target goals to guide therapy"---yes, this comes from NIH. Well, that's our goal with Baja....target goal tonight will be 4:30am. I'm hoping he can last that long.....b/c mom is going to go crazy if he can't slowly learn how to hold it all night within the next week.
Okay, I don't want to talk about my dog's potty habits. I will say that within the first 2 weeks of having him, he's already learned to sit, stay, come, shake, "touchdown", turn around, and Leighton is trying to get him to do some weird agility training with chairs. Heelers are interesting dogs. I am working on minimizing the amount that he nips, although I am aware that all puppies nip. Heelers have a larger tendency to do this, hence the name "heeler." I should really refer to them as Australian Cattle dogs. They also have a tendency to run after trucks (at least that has been my experience as well as the experience of others). Thankfully Baja doesn't understand what vehicles are quite yet.
Okay, enough about the dog. I hope you dog lovers are enjoying this. We bought a new house! Yep, we will be permanent Park City residents. We've been taking loads of stuff over to the new place for the last few days and I am really falling in love with it. It isn't huge, but it's a 3 bedroom place in the mountains. I don't think I'll ever feel fully at home in Utah the way that I did in Colorado, but there are worse places to be. I just wish that there was more nightlife and a better culture. But what can ya do? At least some other amazing states are within a day's drive. And the scenery here is still quite pretty. Did I mention that Toll Canyon (the canyon right next to our house) was recently bought by Utah Open Lands? This canyon is a gorgeous area to hike/back-country ski and was privately owned. The owners told the residents that if they collected enough money to purchase the land, then they'd sell it to them for a reduced price (I think about $2 million less) than if they were to sell it to a private person that wanted to develop it. Amazingly residents from the neighborhoods in the area came together and raised several million dollars in order to purchase it! I'm always excited when land is protected, especially land that's basically in my backyard.
Well, I better get back to writing my thesis while the boys are gone. And maybe I'll actually get some rest tonight.....we shall see.
So, lets see. Big change #1: Baja. about 3 weeks ago we fostered this cute little heeler/brittany pup from the local shelter. He was only 8 weeks old at the time. Of course, I should have known that Leighton would fall in love. Well, we took him back without too much griping from the gent on a Thursday night. Then, we heard that they needed fosters again on Saturday, so we watched Baja again. However, this time I noticed that from the second I picked him up he was sneezing and had some yellow mucus excretion. The next morning I noticed a ton of worms in his poop. Turns out he had kennel cough and worms. Poor little guy. At least the shelter got him to a vet right away and his health quickly improved. When we dropped him off the second time, we were told that 2 families were interested in adopting him. Puppies always go fast. However, Leighton had fallen so in love that he called the shelter within an hour of leaving him to tell them that he wanted to keep the little guy. Since we had fostered him, they were happy to let us adopt him. Now, let me mention something. I have had pets my whole life...from dogs to horses to hamsters and rabbits. However, the last time that I had a puppy (of my own) was when I was 13. My best friend, Genny's, yellow lab had puppies and my mom allowed me to keep one. Of course I recall my mother yelling at me to make sure Daisy didn't eat everything in the house or outside. However, I don't recall having to get up in the middle of the night to let her pee. Oh yes, that's because I lived in Texas! And dogs can be outdoors year-round (well, we still let them in sometimes when the weather is bad). So, you don't have to worry about taking them out at 3am. Now, Baja is a super intelligent puppy, but his bladder is not so much. I think his bladder has ADD. What's the best way to deal with ADD? "appropriate target goals to guide therapy"---yes, this comes from NIH. Well, that's our goal with Baja....target goal tonight will be 4:30am. I'm hoping he can last that long.....b/c mom is going to go crazy if he can't slowly learn how to hold it all night within the next week.
Okay, I don't want to talk about my dog's potty habits. I will say that within the first 2 weeks of having him, he's already learned to sit, stay, come, shake, "touchdown", turn around, and Leighton is trying to get him to do some weird agility training with chairs. Heelers are interesting dogs. I am working on minimizing the amount that he nips, although I am aware that all puppies nip. Heelers have a larger tendency to do this, hence the name "heeler." I should really refer to them as Australian Cattle dogs. They also have a tendency to run after trucks (at least that has been my experience as well as the experience of others). Thankfully Baja doesn't understand what vehicles are quite yet.
Okay, enough about the dog. I hope you dog lovers are enjoying this. We bought a new house! Yep, we will be permanent Park City residents. We've been taking loads of stuff over to the new place for the last few days and I am really falling in love with it. It isn't huge, but it's a 3 bedroom place in the mountains. I don't think I'll ever feel fully at home in Utah the way that I did in Colorado, but there are worse places to be. I just wish that there was more nightlife and a better culture. But what can ya do? At least some other amazing states are within a day's drive. And the scenery here is still quite pretty. Did I mention that Toll Canyon (the canyon right next to our house) was recently bought by Utah Open Lands? This canyon is a gorgeous area to hike/back-country ski and was privately owned. The owners told the residents that if they collected enough money to purchase the land, then they'd sell it to them for a reduced price (I think about $2 million less) than if they were to sell it to a private person that wanted to develop it. Amazingly residents from the neighborhoods in the area came together and raised several million dollars in order to purchase it! I'm always excited when land is protected, especially land that's basically in my backyard.
Well, I better get back to writing my thesis while the boys are gone. And maybe I'll actually get some rest tonight.....we shall see.
Monday, July 2, 2012
A fiery summer
Guess what. It's been about 6 months since I last posted....what a shocker, I know. I finally found a few minutes and thought I'd update this thing. Well, our dry winter turned into a dry spring and a very dry summer. I think we've had about 5 days of precipitation since April. Fires are flaring up all over the place. Colorado and Utah are definitely getting their fair share, but so are Montana and New Mexico. I really do hope that if we have a fire out at my field site, that someone has will come inform me. 2 years ago when the cabin across the street burned down, Leighton and I did not wake up until the neighbors from a couple miles away repeatedly banged at the door. People are aware of fire danger this year, but you know there will always be morons on July 4th.
This is my last field season! I cannot begin to tell you how happy that makes me!!! I have one of the largest/longest Master's research projects known to man, and I am so ready for it to be over. I still have a long way to go: 1 more month of field work, then commences the analysis and writing. But, hopefully it will all be complete by early spring 2013. My stipend will be cut off next spring, so it better be done by then. Oh, and yes, I secured funding until then with several grants that I have written. You can read all about my thesis work once it is completed, and hopefully published.
This year's field work has proven to be a bit ahead of schedule due to the warm weather. My broods will still carry me into August, but their semi-migration occurred about a month earlier than scheduled. So, I'll also have my technician mark powerlines so I can complete a viewshed analysis. In fact, we just had a grouse conference in Steamboat Springs a couple weeks ago. The topic of sage-grouse has become so political! I have to be careful what I say to the locals or, well, basically anyone. States in the intermountain west are already preparing for it to be listed in 2015. I don't know if it will be listed, but if it is, it will definitely change things out west.
Ok ok, off the work topic. Have you all ever read Bill Bryson's books? I'm on my forth one..."The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid." It's very entertaining so far. I loved "A Walk in the Woods" and "In a Sunburnt Country." There was only one of his books that I disliked, and now I'm going to blank on the name of it (does that tell you how much I was not impressed?). I'm not the type to read mainstream books, since oftentimes I acquire books from friends and family. They do not normally follow mainstream sequels...yes, I've read The DaVinci Code and a few others, but typically my friends/family give me everything from history to science to religion and entertaining fiction. In fact, every year since I was about 3, my father has always given us (the 5 siblings) books each Christmas. One year, when I was about 18 he also gave me an Alison Krauss cd--woohoo! But typically it was always books, history books. You'd think with having a father who is a history buff and an older sister who has a PhD in history that I'd grow to like it. NOPE. I understand that history is importnat and I should be able to recall more facts about the Revolution or WWI, but my brain just doesn't work that way. Finally, at about age 25, he bought me a science book. He was finally getting the message. And this past year....a kindle! Oh my goodness, dad mixed electronics and a new view! It was a miracle. But a good one. Needless to say, when you decide to get someone a gift, please get them something they will use. B/c if they only use 10% of it (that's typically what happened with those history books), it's not the right gift. The kindle has been a life-saver. I can use it on planes, in the gym, at my fieldsite. It's awesome. Oh, and if you are interested in travel writing or general laugh-out-loud entertainment, you should check out Bill Bryson.
Well, if you've made it this far in reading, kudos. I have many more "life" updates, but I will add them when they are complete--aka after the Sept 2 wedding. Time to cool off in the shower---oh, but at least Leighton and I got the swamp cooler to work this weekend! Life-saver #2!
This is my last field season! I cannot begin to tell you how happy that makes me!!! I have one of the largest/longest Master's research projects known to man, and I am so ready for it to be over. I still have a long way to go: 1 more month of field work, then commences the analysis and writing. But, hopefully it will all be complete by early spring 2013. My stipend will be cut off next spring, so it better be done by then. Oh, and yes, I secured funding until then with several grants that I have written. You can read all about my thesis work once it is completed, and hopefully published.
This year's field work has proven to be a bit ahead of schedule due to the warm weather. My broods will still carry me into August, but their semi-migration occurred about a month earlier than scheduled. So, I'll also have my technician mark powerlines so I can complete a viewshed analysis. In fact, we just had a grouse conference in Steamboat Springs a couple weeks ago. The topic of sage-grouse has become so political! I have to be careful what I say to the locals or, well, basically anyone. States in the intermountain west are already preparing for it to be listed in 2015. I don't know if it will be listed, but if it is, it will definitely change things out west.
Ok ok, off the work topic. Have you all ever read Bill Bryson's books? I'm on my forth one..."The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid." It's very entertaining so far. I loved "A Walk in the Woods" and "In a Sunburnt Country." There was only one of his books that I disliked, and now I'm going to blank on the name of it (does that tell you how much I was not impressed?). I'm not the type to read mainstream books, since oftentimes I acquire books from friends and family. They do not normally follow mainstream sequels...yes, I've read The DaVinci Code and a few others, but typically my friends/family give me everything from history to science to religion and entertaining fiction. In fact, every year since I was about 3, my father has always given us (the 5 siblings) books each Christmas. One year, when I was about 18 he also gave me an Alison Krauss cd--woohoo! But typically it was always books, history books. You'd think with having a father who is a history buff and an older sister who has a PhD in history that I'd grow to like it. NOPE. I understand that history is importnat and I should be able to recall more facts about the Revolution or WWI, but my brain just doesn't work that way. Finally, at about age 25, he bought me a science book. He was finally getting the message. And this past year....a kindle! Oh my goodness, dad mixed electronics and a new view! It was a miracle. But a good one. Needless to say, when you decide to get someone a gift, please get them something they will use. B/c if they only use 10% of it (that's typically what happened with those history books), it's not the right gift. The kindle has been a life-saver. I can use it on planes, in the gym, at my fieldsite. It's awesome. Oh, and if you are interested in travel writing or general laugh-out-loud entertainment, you should check out Bill Bryson.
Well, if you've made it this far in reading, kudos. I have many more "life" updates, but I will add them when they are complete--aka after the Sept 2 wedding. Time to cool off in the shower---oh, but at least Leighton and I got the swamp cooler to work this weekend! Life-saver #2!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Non-winter wonderland
Again, I know it has been a long time. But life is SO busy! Between classes, work, and trying to see Leighton, I have zero free time to write. I don't even have time now, seeing as though I need to review some natural resource plans for tomorrow slew of meetings and finish making my website for my new GIS class. Which, by the way, I think will be a very useful class. If you are curious about what maps I'm making, check out https://sites.google.com/site/stephaniesgissite/
So since I last wrote, Leighton and I got engaged. We are currently planning a wedding for September 2, 2012. But we still need to confirm dates for the reception site and officiator. We also went to Texas for XMas and saw the Graham/Squyres clan. I went to Hawaii for The Wildlife Society conference, and Leighton went to China (as well as Canada and other states in the US) for work. This is going to be a year full of events. Besides the wedding, we are going to Turks and Caicos for Spring Break. I have two conferences at which I will present my research, one in Utah and another in Colorado (and maybe at the national TWS one in Portland). Leighton began graduate school, doing a professional MBA at the University of Utah. Does that mean that we are now at rivaling state schools? Guess so. Oh well, the only sport worth watching at this school is hockey. And cough cough, USU tends to beat UofU. With this MBA program comes the commitment to stay in Utah for another two years. Leighton's work almost transferred him to Austin. He thought I would be thrilled about this. But Texas=private property and little opportunity for natural resource work unless you want to check water quality or be a game warden. So, I hopefully have a higher possibility of gaining a wildlife job in Utah once I complete my Master's.
Funds have definitely depreciated over my stint as a grad student. My project should be funded until next spring, but something tells me that my advisor is going to cut off my stipend in December. This will be very frustrating, but I am preparing myself. If he cuts me off early, I'll be looking for jobs. Which means less time writing, but that's his choice. If he wants me to finish (which I do as well), he should continue to pay me. If Republicans go into office, I am afraid that even more funds will be cut (based on recent legislation action). But that's a whole other story. Crazy times for politics and I'm not in the mood to discuss that now....but you all know that I have strong opinions on those matters and I hope you are all staying educated and informed.
Ah yes, and the non-winter wonderland is because Utah aka "the best snow on earth" has only received about an inch of snow in the past month. The ski resorts are almost all closed and it looks like June out there--except it's cold. We're supposed to get hit again this week, so we'll see. This was more of an update blog, but I'll try to write an opinionated, interesting one soon. Happy New Year!
So since I last wrote, Leighton and I got engaged. We are currently planning a wedding for September 2, 2012. But we still need to confirm dates for the reception site and officiator. We also went to Texas for XMas and saw the Graham/Squyres clan. I went to Hawaii for The Wildlife Society conference, and Leighton went to China (as well as Canada and other states in the US) for work. This is going to be a year full of events. Besides the wedding, we are going to Turks and Caicos for Spring Break. I have two conferences at which I will present my research, one in Utah and another in Colorado (and maybe at the national TWS one in Portland). Leighton began graduate school, doing a professional MBA at the University of Utah. Does that mean that we are now at rivaling state schools? Guess so. Oh well, the only sport worth watching at this school is hockey. And cough cough, USU tends to beat UofU. With this MBA program comes the commitment to stay in Utah for another two years. Leighton's work almost transferred him to Austin. He thought I would be thrilled about this. But Texas=private property and little opportunity for natural resource work unless you want to check water quality or be a game warden. So, I hopefully have a higher possibility of gaining a wildlife job in Utah once I complete my Master's.
Funds have definitely depreciated over my stint as a grad student. My project should be funded until next spring, but something tells me that my advisor is going to cut off my stipend in December. This will be very frustrating, but I am preparing myself. If he cuts me off early, I'll be looking for jobs. Which means less time writing, but that's his choice. If he wants me to finish (which I do as well), he should continue to pay me. If Republicans go into office, I am afraid that even more funds will be cut (based on recent legislation action). But that's a whole other story. Crazy times for politics and I'm not in the mood to discuss that now....but you all know that I have strong opinions on those matters and I hope you are all staying educated and informed.
Ah yes, and the non-winter wonderland is because Utah aka "the best snow on earth" has only received about an inch of snow in the past month. The ski resorts are almost all closed and it looks like June out there--except it's cold. We're supposed to get hit again this week, so we'll see. This was more of an update blog, but I'll try to write an opinionated, interesting one soon. Happy New Year!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Work, weddings, and weirdos
I apologize for waiting over a month to post. Life has been busy, but is finally starting to settle down. Wow, lets see. Well first off I switched to Avery as my field technician. He did a splendid job and now has a graduate position with our lab. I think he will make a fine student. I ended up with 3 broods and a number of predated nests. Poor birdies. And I'm not even sure that my "late nester" actually has chicks. To inform you a little bit about sage-grouse, they typically lay about 6-9 eggs. And in my area they normally hatch by mid-June. This hen laid only 3 eggs (making me think that she had a previous nest predated) and hatched July 7th. Also, they do not typically move more than a few hundred meters for the first couple of weeks. She moved a kilometer from Friday until today (3 days). I will probably need to spotlight her in order to determine if she truly has chicks or not.
Okay, now on to non-work activities. Karen and Jay tied the knot over July 4th weekend. The weekend was filled with activities ranging from brewery tours to 8am jogs around the lake to the wedding, of course. I always thought that Karen and I had similar qualities in the fact that we are both "planners," or have at least been told that in the past. Once you meet her family, which consists of people who decide to meet at the lake at 8am with bibs on the day of the wedding, you understand where she comes from! It's a good thing KP! I promise! It was also nice to see my old Estes gang, and I hope to see more of them next weekend as I return for Lindsay and Griff's wedding. It's a summer of weddings! (not to forget Matt and Katie's wedding in August in Wisco).
Leighton and I have also managed to hit up City of Rocks, a popular climbing spot about 40 minutes north of my field site. Some may say my field site is "remote" and I agree, but it's fun to watch all the other grad students migrate out here for some rock climbing fun during the winter. We also made it up to Sun Valley this weekend. It's SO gorgeous up there! I LOVE the sawtooth mountains! If I ever had the cash flow to purchase property, it would be in Idaho. That state, from Sun Valley north is BEAUTIFUL. Oh, and have I mentioned that I got 2 kittens? We've been having severe rodent problems out here. Seriously, I leave the hoods up overnight and have critters in the vehicles by the next morning. Unfortunately I am too nice to the kitties and provide them with cat food. I need to lay off and have them live solely off of rodents. They love playing and I looked up how to teach them to "mouse," but I guess they just have to learn on their own.
On our way to Sun Valley we stopped by some Lava Caves. Now I was a bit skeptical about this side trip. I'd seen the signs before, but you never know what you'll run into in the middle of nowhere Idaho. Well, we made the quick detour and stumbled upon a few buildings built with pure wagon wheel lumber and nails for the siding. As we entered, we were greeted by a gentleman seated behind a table full of lanterns. We said "$8 each, there's a museum and caves." He paid him with all the cash we had, $15.90, and headed in. As we entered the "museum" we noticed 3 concentric circles which were lined with all sorts of stuffed (taxidermy-wise) animals, from giraffes to cranes. I had inquired about where these specimens had been acquired before entering the museum. The museum-guard mentioned that he had killed most of these animals and said that he followed protocol for getting them into the US from foreign (and domestic) locations. The degree of taxidermy skill definitely varied from specimen to specimen. But I was highly impressed with the variety of animals and artifacts this gentleman had collected. Then, we slowly made our way into the lava caves. We lit our propane lanterns and followed the path. It was definitely a decent size cave and I wish we could have gone farther (the tunnel definitely went further, but a sign prohibited our exploration beyond a certain point). When we returned to the front desk, I asked the gentleman about how far the cave went. He said "well, I stuck some dynamite down a hole where I thought we could go, but it just made it unstable." Haha. Yes, dynamite can do that! But I know plenty of cavers who I'm sure wouldn't mind exploring the area further. Maybe some day. Now I better go teach these kittens to fetch their dinner!
Okay, now on to non-work activities. Karen and Jay tied the knot over July 4th weekend. The weekend was filled with activities ranging from brewery tours to 8am jogs around the lake to the wedding, of course. I always thought that Karen and I had similar qualities in the fact that we are both "planners," or have at least been told that in the past. Once you meet her family, which consists of people who decide to meet at the lake at 8am with bibs on the day of the wedding, you understand where she comes from! It's a good thing KP! I promise! It was also nice to see my old Estes gang, and I hope to see more of them next weekend as I return for Lindsay and Griff's wedding. It's a summer of weddings! (not to forget Matt and Katie's wedding in August in Wisco).
Leighton and I have also managed to hit up City of Rocks, a popular climbing spot about 40 minutes north of my field site. Some may say my field site is "remote" and I agree, but it's fun to watch all the other grad students migrate out here for some rock climbing fun during the winter. We also made it up to Sun Valley this weekend. It's SO gorgeous up there! I LOVE the sawtooth mountains! If I ever had the cash flow to purchase property, it would be in Idaho. That state, from Sun Valley north is BEAUTIFUL. Oh, and have I mentioned that I got 2 kittens? We've been having severe rodent problems out here. Seriously, I leave the hoods up overnight and have critters in the vehicles by the next morning. Unfortunately I am too nice to the kitties and provide them with cat food. I need to lay off and have them live solely off of rodents. They love playing and I looked up how to teach them to "mouse," but I guess they just have to learn on their own.
On our way to Sun Valley we stopped by some Lava Caves. Now I was a bit skeptical about this side trip. I'd seen the signs before, but you never know what you'll run into in the middle of nowhere Idaho. Well, we made the quick detour and stumbled upon a few buildings built with pure wagon wheel lumber and nails for the siding. As we entered, we were greeted by a gentleman seated behind a table full of lanterns. We said "$8 each, there's a museum and caves." He paid him with all the cash we had, $15.90, and headed in. As we entered the "museum" we noticed 3 concentric circles which were lined with all sorts of stuffed (taxidermy-wise) animals, from giraffes to cranes. I had inquired about where these specimens had been acquired before entering the museum. The museum-guard mentioned that he had killed most of these animals and said that he followed protocol for getting them into the US from foreign (and domestic) locations. The degree of taxidermy skill definitely varied from specimen to specimen. But I was highly impressed with the variety of animals and artifacts this gentleman had collected. Then, we slowly made our way into the lava caves. We lit our propane lanterns and followed the path. It was definitely a decent size cave and I wish we could have gone farther (the tunnel definitely went further, but a sign prohibited our exploration beyond a certain point). When we returned to the front desk, I asked the gentleman about how far the cave went. He said "well, I stuck some dynamite down a hole where I thought we could go, but it just made it unstable." Haha. Yes, dynamite can do that! But I know plenty of cavers who I'm sure wouldn't mind exploring the area further. Maybe some day. Now I better go teach these kittens to fetch their dinner!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Mishaps in the Wilderness
Wow. Where do I start? What about with what happened about 15 minutes ago? So I am feeling a bit burnt out and making it a lazy morning--don't worry I still have at least 10 hours of sunlight to finish my field work. So I'm sitting on the couch, cruising the internet and all of a sudden I hear a "shuffle shuffle, flap flap, clunk clunk clunk" in the chimney of the wood burning stove. Now I know that some of you may not have or know much about a wood burning oven, but it's what keeps houses warm out here. The chimney is about a foot wide that leads to the roof and the oven is about 2 feet wide by 2.5 feet tall. It is currently closed. So it was just my luck that a heard an animal fall down the chimney into the oven portion. Not knowing if I would find a bird, rat, bat, or other critter I went over and opened it. This large blackbird flew right out at me--I ducked and then it just flew all over the house! Running into every window. It was a chaotic mess to get it out of the house. Holy cow! I think I just had a heart attack!
Disclaimer: this may produce a disturbing image. Other critters...it's tick season out here. Every day I take a shower after returning from the field and tell my technician to do the same so we don't drag in any unwanted guests. Even after taking all precautions I woke up yesterday with a tick stuck in my belly button. That's right. I wasn't aware that it was a tick. So I started picking at it, thinking it was a scab. Then I thought, why would I have a scab in there? EW! I thought. It's a damn tick....let's just say that the tweezers were needed to get the sucker out.
Now I just went outside to water my garlic. And why am I planting only garlic this season? Because it seems to be the only plant that the birds, grounds squirrels, rats, and mice will not eat. Last year I tried to plant tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, etc. Well between the animals and a frost on June 26th, nothing fared too well. So this year, it's garlic only. Now let me explain. There are animals out here commonly referred to as "pot guts." Technically they are ground squirrels, but they are basically big rats with bushy tails and look a bit different than your typical squirrel. Out near my garden there are 3 pipes that go a couple feet down into the ground and are for my water valves. Last year, I was angry at the ground squirrels for eating my plants, so when they would fall into these pipes, I wouldn't help them get out, but I didn't want to see them die so I'd throw in pine cones and vegetation to keep them alive--(cruel and unusual, you can determine for yourself....but I somehow felt like this was less cruel than letting them die, and lord knows I wasn't about to stick my arm down in there to get bitten by the critters). So Leighton came out one weekend and I showed them to him...he has a bigger heart than myself, because he found a large branch and put it down in there so they could escape when I wasn't looking. The next day they were back to eating my plants!
Well, just now I went outside to water the garlic and 2 of them are down in the pipe. Dead. I checked it just yesterday. They must have died overnight. At least last year I kept them alive until the end of gardening season...this year I didn't even have a chance...now I have to watch their bodies get eaten by whatever else goes down in there---maybe the dumb blackbird will find its way in...
And lets not even get started on the fact that the snakes are coming back out...
Disclaimer: this may produce a disturbing image. Other critters...it's tick season out here. Every day I take a shower after returning from the field and tell my technician to do the same so we don't drag in any unwanted guests. Even after taking all precautions I woke up yesterday with a tick stuck in my belly button. That's right. I wasn't aware that it was a tick. So I started picking at it, thinking it was a scab. Then I thought, why would I have a scab in there? EW! I thought. It's a damn tick....let's just say that the tweezers were needed to get the sucker out.
Now I just went outside to water my garlic. And why am I planting only garlic this season? Because it seems to be the only plant that the birds, grounds squirrels, rats, and mice will not eat. Last year I tried to plant tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, etc. Well between the animals and a frost on June 26th, nothing fared too well. So this year, it's garlic only. Now let me explain. There are animals out here commonly referred to as "pot guts." Technically they are ground squirrels, but they are basically big rats with bushy tails and look a bit different than your typical squirrel. Out near my garden there are 3 pipes that go a couple feet down into the ground and are for my water valves. Last year, I was angry at the ground squirrels for eating my plants, so when they would fall into these pipes, I wouldn't help them get out, but I didn't want to see them die so I'd throw in pine cones and vegetation to keep them alive--(cruel and unusual, you can determine for yourself....but I somehow felt like this was less cruel than letting them die, and lord knows I wasn't about to stick my arm down in there to get bitten by the critters). So Leighton came out one weekend and I showed them to him...he has a bigger heart than myself, because he found a large branch and put it down in there so they could escape when I wasn't looking. The next day they were back to eating my plants!
Well, just now I went outside to water the garlic and 2 of them are down in the pipe. Dead. I checked it just yesterday. They must have died overnight. At least last year I kept them alive until the end of gardening season...this year I didn't even have a chance...now I have to watch their bodies get eaten by whatever else goes down in there---maybe the dumb blackbird will find its way in...
And lets not even get started on the fact that the snakes are coming back out...
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Oh, Grouse Creek and Friday the 13th
Look! A blog that disregards politics!
So this was my first week to permanently reside in Grouse Creek yet again, for another summer. Yes, I've been back and forth since the end of November, but I am thankfully out here full-time now. Due to the fact that my previous technician ended earlier than I had anticipated and Mike (my friend the post-doc in our lab) was using the other technician until the end of May, I decided to hire my friend/roommate Kerry for a few weeks. I was really able to use her help! And thankfully she is a motivated person who avoids complaining, even when I know she is on the cusp of saying "screw this, let me just walk" when we drive the ATV. Oh, we walk plenty, but I have quite a few hens this year, scattered all about the place, and the use of an ATV makes things more efficient. Why don't I use a horse, since well, it is Grouse Creek, you wonder? Well I tried to convince my advisor of that last year and it didn't fly. As well as then I'd have to get a trailor to haul it somewhere 20 miles away, otherwise it would be inefficient.
Well, Kerry and I had quite a week. We found 2 hens nesting. Unfortunately one has abandoned her nest. I'm not sure if it was the cattle that caused this behavior, or some other disturbance, but it is VERY frustrating. A lot of my hens had their nests predated last year by coyotes and badgers, but they never abandoned their nest with eggs still in tact. It was odd. She took a few pieces of grass to cover them up, and just left. Very bothersome to say the least. Sage-grouse (in GC) have low nest-success rates, so we try our hardest to avoid disturbing the nest at all cost. Then again, this is an open-range ranching society. And the cattle have been all around her nest within the past week. But they didn't crush her eggs. Needless to say, frustrating, but I can't really do anything about it.
I also have several hens that have scattered about the northwest and northeast sides of the mountain ranges just north of Grouse Creek. Last year things were so easy. Most of the hens nested near each other--not too far from roads. Maybe they think that I've learned my way around this year, and need a bit of a challenge. And what a challenge it is. I've taken a number of new 2-tracks that I didn't even know existed last year. I've gone up and down ravines. And did I mention that yesterday (Friday the 13th), I took Kerry up north with half-hearted hopes that some hens may be up that direction? So we drive the ATV down into Cotton Thomas Basin--one of the most beautiful areas around GC according to my opinion. There is a larger dirt road that goes down in this canyon which we followed it for about a mile or two. Then I looked left and saw a large, very muscular mountain lion trotting away from us. It couldn't have been more than about 30 or 40 yards away. "Kerry look look." She was still. Then, once it looked like it was about to turn the corner, she reached for her camera. Too late. I thought about following it--I was awe struck with its beauty. I had always imagined that I'd be scared out of my mind if I saw that creature so close. But it was obviously more afraid of us and so beautiful! It does make me a little leery to continue wandering the wild alone though. This is the first time I've had a technician join me. I typically hike alone. No ATV, no technician. I think I might think again about this matter. And why did I ask Leighton to get rid of that handgun? I wouldn't kill an animal running away from me, but if it stared me straight in the face and charged, that might be a different story. Even only a few of the locals have ever seen mountain lions in the area. And never on more than one occasion. It must be due to the fact that it was Friday the 13th---hopefully that also explained the flat tire and issues with releasing the secondary latch, sputtering ATV when we saw the lion (well this has been an issue for months and I've tried to fix it, but my co-worker who is "supposed to be in charge of all the vehicles" sucks as his job), and returning Kerry back to Logan a few hours late.
But yes, the lion was a creature of such beauty and poise. When you have always instinctively thought you would fear such a beast, and then are overcome with a sense of tranquility and awe, you realize that the world does the ability to change your heart.
So this was my first week to permanently reside in Grouse Creek yet again, for another summer. Yes, I've been back and forth since the end of November, but I am thankfully out here full-time now. Due to the fact that my previous technician ended earlier than I had anticipated and Mike (my friend the post-doc in our lab) was using the other technician until the end of May, I decided to hire my friend/roommate Kerry for a few weeks. I was really able to use her help! And thankfully she is a motivated person who avoids complaining, even when I know she is on the cusp of saying "screw this, let me just walk" when we drive the ATV. Oh, we walk plenty, but I have quite a few hens this year, scattered all about the place, and the use of an ATV makes things more efficient. Why don't I use a horse, since well, it is Grouse Creek, you wonder? Well I tried to convince my advisor of that last year and it didn't fly. As well as then I'd have to get a trailor to haul it somewhere 20 miles away, otherwise it would be inefficient.
Well, Kerry and I had quite a week. We found 2 hens nesting. Unfortunately one has abandoned her nest. I'm not sure if it was the cattle that caused this behavior, or some other disturbance, but it is VERY frustrating. A lot of my hens had their nests predated last year by coyotes and badgers, but they never abandoned their nest with eggs still in tact. It was odd. She took a few pieces of grass to cover them up, and just left. Very bothersome to say the least. Sage-grouse (in GC) have low nest-success rates, so we try our hardest to avoid disturbing the nest at all cost. Then again, this is an open-range ranching society. And the cattle have been all around her nest within the past week. But they didn't crush her eggs. Needless to say, frustrating, but I can't really do anything about it.
I also have several hens that have scattered about the northwest and northeast sides of the mountain ranges just north of Grouse Creek. Last year things were so easy. Most of the hens nested near each other--not too far from roads. Maybe they think that I've learned my way around this year, and need a bit of a challenge. And what a challenge it is. I've taken a number of new 2-tracks that I didn't even know existed last year. I've gone up and down ravines. And did I mention that yesterday (Friday the 13th), I took Kerry up north with half-hearted hopes that some hens may be up that direction? So we drive the ATV down into Cotton Thomas Basin--one of the most beautiful areas around GC according to my opinion. There is a larger dirt road that goes down in this canyon which we followed it for about a mile or two. Then I looked left and saw a large, very muscular mountain lion trotting away from us. It couldn't have been more than about 30 or 40 yards away. "Kerry look look." She was still. Then, once it looked like it was about to turn the corner, she reached for her camera. Too late. I thought about following it--I was awe struck with its beauty. I had always imagined that I'd be scared out of my mind if I saw that creature so close. But it was obviously more afraid of us and so beautiful! It does make me a little leery to continue wandering the wild alone though. This is the first time I've had a technician join me. I typically hike alone. No ATV, no technician. I think I might think again about this matter. And why did I ask Leighton to get rid of that handgun? I wouldn't kill an animal running away from me, but if it stared me straight in the face and charged, that might be a different story. Even only a few of the locals have ever seen mountain lions in the area. And never on more than one occasion. It must be due to the fact that it was Friday the 13th---hopefully that also explained the flat tire and issues with releasing the secondary latch, sputtering ATV when we saw the lion (well this has been an issue for months and I've tried to fix it, but my co-worker who is "supposed to be in charge of all the vehicles" sucks as his job), and returning Kerry back to Logan a few hours late.
But yes, the lion was a creature of such beauty and poise. When you have always instinctively thought you would fear such a beast, and then are overcome with a sense of tranquility and awe, you realize that the world does the ability to change your heart.
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