I have no idea where to begin! My last massive e-mail was a while back...but there just hasn't been much new to report since then. That all changed last week...
Missouri has been fun, somewhat unexpectedly. I was all prepared for a summer of really hot and really humid when that heat wave hit in mid-June. It never felt that hot on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica...but then, down there, I hardly ever worked between 9:30 and 3. We got through it ok, and since that heat wave, it has been pleasantly comfortable every field day!
We are down to our final week here. We both found a lot of nests, but in a short span of time, our number of active nests collapsed; we are both now down to 3 each, and it will be a race to see if they finish first, or we leave first.
In spite of all the frequent weekend days we would sometimes have to work (to check nests), I have found time here and there to get off Peck Ranch and see some nearby areas. I took a much needed day hike on the Ozark trail one day. This past weekend I joined a friend of mine and we took off to see Elephant Rocks State Park, and Johnson Shut-In State Park. Beautiful areas...in spite that the rest of this part of Missouri had the same idea. I miss the lonely parks out west...
But, there was lots of good news to be found for me early this week. I was concerned that I was going to be unable to have work up to when I leave for Australia and New Zealand in October. That worry ended on Monday...I will be heading to Maine immediately after I am done in Missouri to work a fall coastal migration station.
Words cannot describe how stoked I am! It means I will be getting paid right up to when I leave for Australia, I get to work in a completely different region, and I will get to see new birds! AWESOME! And with luck, one of the new birds will be my first Puffin!
So, this means I have a little more spending money for Australia and New Zealand (my boss and I had the same first thought: BEER!). I won't have those itchy travel feet I always get when I am not working...Maine should do a good job of taking care of that!
I hope this answers many of those questions I have been getting lately on what I am up to.
Missouri has been fun, somewhat unexpectedly. I was all prepared for a summer of really hot and really humid when that heat wave hit in mid-June. It never felt that hot on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica...but then, down there, I hardly ever worked between 9:30 and 3. We got through it ok, and since that heat wave, it has been pleasantly comfortable every field day!
We are down to our final week here. We both found a lot of nests, but in a short span of time, our number of active nests collapsed; we are both now down to 3 each, and it will be a race to see if they finish first, or we leave first.
In spite of all the frequent weekend days we would sometimes have to work (to check nests), I have found time here and there to get off Peck Ranch and see some nearby areas. I took a much needed day hike on the Ozark trail one day. This past weekend I joined a friend of mine and we took off to see Elephant Rocks State Park, and Johnson Shut-In State Park. Beautiful areas...in spite that the rest of this part of Missouri had the same idea. I miss the lonely parks out west...
But, there was lots of good news to be found for me early this week. I was concerned that I was going to be unable to have work up to when I leave for Australia and New Zealand in October. That worry ended on Monday...I will be heading to Maine immediately after I am done in Missouri to work a fall coastal migration station.
Words cannot describe how stoked I am! It means I will be getting paid right up to when I leave for Australia, I get to work in a completely different region, and I will get to see new birds! AWESOME! And with luck, one of the new birds will be my first Puffin!
So, this means I have a little more spending money for Australia and New Zealand (my boss and I had the same first thought: BEER!). I won't have those itchy travel feet I always get when I am not working...Maine should do a good job of taking care of that!
I hope this answers many of those questions I have been getting lately on what I am up to.
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