Monday/Thursday 15/18 August 2016, week 14: Buldir Island, 17:00 Since I was so wrapped up in relaxing on our day off that I forgot our day off means shower day, it seems fitting that I address how we deal with personal hygiene in field camps. Field life is certainly not for everyone; showers – if possible at all – come less than once a week, in my experience. For someone…
If you don’t want to hear about the overnight adventures of my other life, read no further. No, I don’t mean those kinds of adventures. Geez, people, do you really think I’d write about that in my blog? Just kidding!! I’m talking about my dreaming life that makes many mornings just a little bit confusing and yet also rather entertaining. Scientific studies show the connection between REM sleep and dreaming,…
While walking from the Chevak School to the community center, I formulated a blog post. Why do I come up with these things at the most inopportune times? As usual, it may be time to rewind for a moment. My stint of volunteering with the combined Utah State/Univ of Alaska Anchorage crew has come to an end, and my feelings are bittersweet, as usual. Tomorrow I’ll be in the metropolis…
The 31st season of studying black brant at the Tutakoke Field Camp is over, but the 1st season of studying black brant and vegetation {or making sure floods don’t take away gear} is only 3/4 over. Yes, I’m staying for the last month: the time of year when storms start to take shape and flooding may be a potential concern. The crew has been reading past articles, and it sounds…
Kelsey says, “Hi Mom!” So does Thomas, I suppose. 🙂 Right now our crew is spending a night in Chevak thanks to Obama. Apparently since we’ve been in the field there’s been some change made to Obamacare that applies to this bio tech position, and we have to decline the coverage that’s been offered to us for whatever nonsensical reason. We couldn’t do this over the phone; it required logging…
Surprise! Here’s a sneak peek at the start of the field season. Shhh, nobody tell Fish & Wildlife in Bethel that they have no password on the wifi this year! Last year they practically held the internet under lock and key. Yesterday I flew from Fairbanks to Anchorage, had my usual “ahhhh take care of everything humanly possible before leaving” hours in the airport, and then joined my new fellow…
Ready? Shortest post ever. Goodbye, internet and phone service. I’m headed back to the Tutakoke River to harass – err, help study – black brant for a little over 3 months. I think I’ll get 1 more real shower before my life of saunas-as-showers resumes. 🙂 If you look at the map, I’ll be living in camp on the horseshoe bend right near the mudflats (main border of brown/gray and…
The alpha hobbit. That’s practically the best nickname ever. Sorry this has to be a quick entry, but life has been busy since the end of my Conservation K-9 work in Alberta. Since I never wanted to say goodbye to the dogs (ever), I stuck around the kennel at Pack Forest for another 10 days to help out and work with the dogs. I also needed my sleepovers with Dozer…