Another end, another beginning...

End of field jobs are always a bit, well, sad. I know I have a choice in the matter in how I go about making a living, and I really enjoy all these jobs I have had.

And you can probably tell that Maine was awesome. It is hard to put into words. My coworker and I got along famously. And it was great that it was just the two of us on the island most of the time. It allowed lots of time for meditation, relaxation, and just chillin'. And cooking, too.

It was hard to leave. I hadn't been that relaxed on a field job in a long time.

It was hard to say goodbye to Metinic. I am a 'mountain lover'...yet, that island has a strong draw. It wasn't just the lack of insects, lack of ticks. It was all the little things, that taken individually, aren't much, but together, were so much more.

It was the lack of TV and internet. It was having only the noise of lobster boats during the morning, and after that just the gulls and surf. It was incredibly nice neighbors. It was the odd song sparrow song. The occasional chickadee calling. It was the infinite stars at night. It was the sunsets and sunrises.

In sum, a northeast paradise.

Farewell, Metinic. I hope I have an opportunity to come again.

And so now, here I am. It's 2 am...and I am restless again. I fly out in about 6 hours for another grand adventure.

I hadn't planned on doing any more volunteer jobs. Ecuador and Costa Rica were awesome ways to contribute my own money to conservation causes (well, the airfare, anyway). Ecuador gave me more refinement in field identification...and totally got me hooked on listing. Costa Rica gave me a great idea of how many birds can be found in just a small area.

After guiding this past winter (my god, was that really 6 months ago I was there?!?!), I definitely feel guiding will be my future. To that end, I was planning to devote this winter to guiding applications, and trying to make it work. And then my friend sent an e-mail...

...and life threw one of those unexpected curveballs...

...without going into too much detail, I was on my last night in Costa Rica, and my friend asked me to come down to Australia to help with her Master's project. I had tried to go last year as well...but funds were falling way short. I told her I would consider it after I looked at airfares...

...I took the cheap airfares, good pay in MO, and my 11 years of longing to go back as the sign to go. So I'm going. With a trip to New Zealand tacked on the end for fun.

It will be hard to again be away from family and friends for the holidays...and this year I will be missing all of them. But camping out in New Zealand on New Years Eve sounds like a fantastic idea...and perhaps it is a sign that 2010 will be another good year.

And thank you, again, AC. You know who you are and why. You put things into words that I feel, but can't seem to express. It makes me feel better about these choices I am making.

And thank you to everyone else...this amount of travel is tough at times. Living out of a suitcase isn't all that fun at times. But because many of you take the time to send me an e-mail here and there to say that you are enjoying reading about my adventures, it helps so much. I don't feel so far from home when you do that.



I bid you g'day.