Living a Public Life

Well folks. Its finally happened. I am on youtube. One of the downsides to doing presentations nearly everyday at work is that you are bound to get taped. And some of those videos end up on youtube. I found my first videos of me teaching during the last couple weeks. I watched some of them and can tell you, its weird watching yourself.

Anyways, here is one of me showing how much an eagle weighs. As part of this, I tell the kid just how smart crows and ravens are. He then tells me that he recently hit one with a snowball. Hopefully he thinks twice before throwing the snowball next time!

Life Update

Its been awhile since my last update. For those of you who may not know, I have started a new job at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota. I am the new avian trainer/educator. Basically, I get to spend my day caring for and training the eagles as well educating visitors about birds of prey. Its pretty fantastic.

Sunset at my apartment

Of course a new job means a new apartment. I found a place across river in a small town in Wisconsin. I have a small deck that overlooks the Mississippi River so in the evening I can sit out reading and enjoying the wildlife. After work, I have been exploring some of the parks and wildlife areas - so far I have spotted eagles, herons, egrets, vultures, hawks, kestrels and peregrines!!
 
Stay tuned for more updates as things start to settle down :)

insanity

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

That's kinda of how I feel at the moment. Like I am repeatedly running into the same wall but nothing is changing. So I have lots of crud going on in my head at the moment.

The good thing is I fly to Denver on Saturday which should provide a much needed break. I am hoping to see a few new sights and get some snow time in. Also, I am bringing my binoculars with. There is word on the street that 2 pair of prairie falcons frequents a place I want to check out. Would love to see one in the wild!

So long story short, I haven't abandoned the blog world. Just lots going on in my head and at work.

P.S. Don't worry, I will post another series of taxidermy pictures from taxidermy days soon.

Snow

Well, its that time of year. We finally got snow...and a lot of it. So far about 5 inches has fallen and it may not be done. Snow does make animal care a little extra challenging and shoveling is not my favorite but at least it looks pretty out!

Now off to dig out my winter clothes from storage :(

Randomness

Okay, heres a life (and by life, I mean work) update. As you saw with my previous entry, I have gotten up to Duluth a bit! YAY! Overall though, it seems like I have been a bit trapped in my bubble lately so much of my update will be work related. But the good news is that I have gotten quite a bit done.

For those of you who are wondering, we got back Nero's necropsy results back late last week. Turns out that he died from a degenerative heart condition. It looks like it was quick and nothing we could have done to prevent it. Its not quite so weird for me a couple weeks later but, every now and again, I still forget that he's not there and pause waiting to hear his little twitter.

Most of my time the past couple weeks has been spent making props for various Audubon classes. I have worked on at least 3 classes. While working on a tracking activity I discovered a really fun fact. Porcupine quills are regularly found in fisher scat - thats one fierce predator! I also put my dice making skills to good use and made a bunch for a new game we are going to try in our dirt class (see above).


In other fun news, our maple syruping season has just started with the first drops collected late last week. I will be sure to take some pictures once things get underway!

3 R's

Be forewarned! I am stepping up on my soapbox a bit for this rambling post.

I have been working on tweaking a lesson plan this week. Its called Recycled Art and as the name implies, we talk a bit about energy and recycling before making something "useful" out of trash. More often than not, trash is made from trash and not a whole lot is gained from the lesson.

One of the questions most commonly asked by the students (who are usually in 5th grade) is how an item gets recycled. You can tell them that the soda can they drink from today will be recycled and made into a new can and back on store shelves within 60 days but really how does the process work? The activity I am working on breaks the recycling process of common items (plastic bottle, aluminum can, paper etc) into 4 steps. The students then must put the steps in the correct order. Its a quick activity but hopefully it will give the students a visual of how things work.

Me at the National Zoo in DC grossed out by the number of plastic bags...

While research the recycling process and trying to find pictures, I came across some insane facts about the American lifestyle and all the trash that comes with it. Here are a few that just floor me.

1. The average American uses 1,200 plastic bags per year - when added together that amounts to more 380 Billion plastic bags a year!
2. The highest point in the state of Ohio is Mount Rumpke - a landfill which is literally a mountain of trash!
3. The average American uses 7 trees worth of paper products each year. In fact, just to print all of today's Sunday papers, 500,000 trees must be cut down.
4. An estimated 80,000,000 Hershey's Kisses are wrapped each day, using enough aluminum foil to cover over 50 acres of space -- that's almost 40 football fields. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it
5. The U.S. is the #1 trash-producing country in the world at 1,609 pounds per person per year. This means that 5% of the world's people generate 40% of the world's waste.

All of these really made me think - I realize that our current culture is use and throw away. I am guilty of it too. But if all of us changed our daily habitats just a little that could add up to a BIG reduction in our waste. Take the plastic shopping bag for example. These are a single use item that end up everywhere; including our oceans where sea turtle and shore birds mistake them for food such as jellyfish. I now carry my reusable bags with me and rarely use plastic these days which, as a bonus, saves me a couple cents. Other countries are taking a bigger stand. At the start of the year, Italy banned the plastic bags. How? They put a large tax on them making it more economical for people to bring their own in. Which unfortunately seems to be one of the few ways to get peoples attention these days.

I hope to have my lesson plan and activities up and running in the next month. We'll see how it goes over with the kiddo's. At least in the process I learned a bit more about what exactly happens to all my trash.

randomocity

I did go home this past weekend but didn't do much beside catch up on trashy reality T.V. I have been racking my brain for something new or interesting to share with you, but alas, I got nothing. So here's a quick update of randomness.

Checkers hanging out with me at home!

1. When I got into work this morning, I discovered that the rumors have been flying about me. Some folks thought that I was really ill and others heard that I had packed up and left - for good. In reality, I just had a 3 day weekend.
2. Over the past couple weeks I have become obsessed with Glee. The Madonna and Britney episodes were FANTASTIC!
3. I have been having a bunch of work related dreams. Usually they involve me not being able to get something done or something going crazy wrong. In my latest one, a snake is released in my bedroom for feeding. I wake up to find a dozen rats and a 7 foot snake in my bed with me. Not amused.
4. I am losing weight unintentionally. I now weigh about the same as I did in high school. I think I am one of the few females in the world that would like to gain a couple pounds.
5. While I was home, I looked through a bunch of old photos. This made me want to get a plane and go visit some friends.
6. I am done with winter. Spring can come any time now.

Well, that is all for now. My life has been pretty boring lately, hopefully that changes in the near future.

I'm Sick

I have been feeling run down for a little over a week now. At first I dismissed it because of being busy and having a cold. But after sleeping A TON and still feeling exhausted, I finally went to the doctor yesterday.

A consultation, blood tests, chest x-rays and 2 hours later I was told that I have pneumonia AND an ear infection in both my ears. Fan-frickin-tastic....

The doctor put me on antibiotics and told me that I should be better by Monday. The weird thing is that I just feel really fatigued and don't feel super sick. Neither my chest or ears hurt that bad. What bums me out the most is that I am sick when I have a 3-day weekend. What a waste! I have spent the better part of the past couple days sleeping. I hate being sick. Hopefully the drugs will clear this all up and I will regain my spunk.

mice

Mice. I hate them. 

Yes, as a naturalist I realize that they are an important part of the ecosystem. They are the prey for the animals I love. But do they really need to sit in my ice cream bowl and wake me up at 3:30 AM? I haven’t slept through the night for over a week now thanks to these little guys running around in my walls. 

The good news is operation mouse massacre has begun.

No Coffee?

It has been a whole week.

7 days.

168 hours.

Or approximately 10,080 minutes since I last had coffee.

As you might have guessed by the title of my blog, I am addicted to this stuff. People know not to talk to me about anything important until I have had a sip or two. I started going without my morning fix because of a headache and nausea combo that I couldn't kick. Then, I just kept going as a challenge to myself. See if I could get through the day without.

It takes me a little longer to shake the cobwebs from my mind in the morning but its possible. I also figured out that I am just as much addicted to the act of my morning routine and holding my mug of warm deliciousness as the actual caffeine. That said, I am starting to think that perhaps, its time to end the current experiment. And instead of drinking 6-8 cups a day, pairing it back to 2 or 3. We'll see :)

fish and birds

This week was a busy one for wildlife.

First we had to finish putting up the mosquito netting on the bird enclosures. This was a slow job because we didn't want to tear any of the netting and have to redo a panel.

Second task of the week was to give the birds west nile vaccinations. This meant putting all of the birds on the table....including Woody. For, me this meant grabbing my first bird. Our bald eagle. It was a little nerve racking but quite the adrenaline rush. Apparently it is go big or go home around here.

The other big project was gutting fish to feed the birds. This was another first for me (I had dissected many fish for school but never actually gutted one). The DNR was out at various lakes this week gill netting fish. The ones that didn't survive got put in a cooler and given to us. Through the week, we gutted nearly 120 pounds of fish!

All in all, a very productive week :)

like or dislike?

Lately, I have been saying that life needs like and dislike buttons. Think of how handy it would be in various situations. Somebody says something stupid and you could just press the dislike button. The weather is fantastic, press like. I think it would be great!

Seeing as that is not going to happen, one of my co-workers gave me the next best thing. She made me signs!

Now when I am sitting at my desk, I can just hold one of these guys up. Okay, I will be truthful...The dislike sign is probably going to get a lot more use but I guess we will see!

week in review

Another week down!

This week was crazy busy for me - there were 3 different schools on site. This was also my busiest teaching week in a VERY long time. I taught nearly every session and started teaching 1 new class. The groups were all really good and fun to work (and bit exhausting). The last class I taught this week is one of my favorites. Its a class about macroinvertebrates where we talk about some of the adaptations and then go and sample a stream and wetland. Its super fun for me - I love getting my hands dirty trying to find the teeny aquatic critters.

I had an interesting conversation with one of the chaperones. I had mentioned in class that the bugs don't really bother me much. So he was talking to one of the other interns about how bugs seem to love some people and leave some people alone. It was mentioned that alot people use flowery scented stuff when they shower and that may be part of the problem. Well, I was going through the lunch line and he asked me about my showering habits. Since bugs leave me alone, I must not shower.

UGH - I just started laughing and didn't even know how to respond to that one. On a different note, I handed in my last Hamline assignment yesterday. Its great to have that finished and off my plate. Anyways, just another week as the end of the school year draws near!

BLAH BLAH BLAH

Well, this weekend I went home for a much needed break from the center. For the most part, it was great. I got lots of great food, watched a bunch of tv, had Starbucks and got to do pretty much nothing!

On the downside I had to file my taxes. I know that pretty much everyone grumbles about tax season but this year was especially challenging. Not only did I have to file my federal taxes but I also had W-2's from 3 states. This is when things get interesting - which state am I a resident of? Did I make enough that I have to file? Which form or forms need filing? Ugh. Luckly between me and my dad (okay, mostly thanks to my father) it all got worked out. Now all I have to do wait for my return YAY!!

winter's here

I fear that the start of winter has arrived. Snow has started to fall (and stick), temperatures are declining and signs of Christmas are popping up everywhere I go.

The animals are getting ready for the season. Mice are trying to find shelter, unfortunately some are in my car. Today, I saw a shorttail weasel in its bright white winter coat chase a shrew across the field. Predator - Prey in action.

I wandered out to my transect this afternoon and saw that the woods is well prepared for the upcoming season. Deciduous trees have lost all their leaves and the wildflowers are no longer visible. Perhaps the most depressing change was the lack of wildlife - nothing had crossed my transect by foot recently.

I can see the snow still falling outside my window but am going to curl up in bed and be in denial of winter's arrival for just a little bit longer.

the little things in life

Lately I have felt the travel itch - I don't know where I want to go just that I want to go somewhere. Unfortunately I cant just pick up and hop on a plane (and trust me I wish I could) so I decided to at least get out of Sandstone for the day.

I drove to just outside of the cities. I started my morning at Panera where I had a great breakfast sandwich, a mocha and some high speed internet. Next it was on to Barnes and Noble. It has been far too long since I wandered around a bookstore. I didn't buy anything but I now have quite the list of books I want to read. Following the bookstore I went to a Starbucks. I was happy to discover that it tis the season of the red cup. I don't know why but I always love when the red cup makes an appearance - maybe because it reminds me of winter and holidays and family.

My last stop of the day was Target. This is probably what I miss the most about not living near a city. I had the best discovery at Target - Pepperidge Farm has come out with their holiday cookies. This means TIM TAMS!!! Earlier this year I discovered the hard way that the tim tam is a seasonal thing. Not this time - this time I bought 4 packs (I did get several strange looks from the cashier but it was worth it).

When I got back to Audubon, I shared the wonderfulness of the tim tam with a couple of my housemates. We choose to make hot chocolate, bite the corners off the tim tam and then use the tim tam as a straw. The cookie turns into this warm delicious mess and lets you feel like your in Europe. Since I cant jump on a plane, the quick run into a city will have to do.....for now :)

First Snow

My morning walk to the barn was absolutely beautiful today. Over night, the ground was dusted in the first snow fall of the year. I loved the way bright fall leaves looked against the fresh white. The Kestrels (Isis and Nero) did not seem to appreciate the snow quite as much as me. Both of them had their feathers fluffed and were in a grouchy mood.

After feeding my birds, I changed into my winter gear and went for a walk into the woods. I got the chance to break in some new wool socks and snow pants. While I was working on an assignment, I took the opportunity to take many photographs of the beautiful scenery. (Which I will try and post soon!)

Its amazing how fast things went from summer to fall this year. No transition just suddenly, one day its cold. While I am excited for the snow, I hope this doesn't mean a long winter!!

Well that's it for now - its the perfect day to sit in bed and enjoy some hot chocolate!