Catch up...

I had meant to get a post up before my most recent trip away from work, but life interfered. As usual. My boss had gone up to do some field work near Devil's Tower in north Wyoming, so I had to get my planning done without her, as well as to make sure my safety net was in place. And to let my safety net know what my plan was, and when I would be checking in. Anyway...

The last set of transects weren't killer. But I think it included two of the three hardest transects to do. I had fun anyway, and got lots of great views! Some cooler air was involved too, because for the first time I was having transects get above 9.200 feet (about 3.000 meters). The two transects were hard because of the slopes involved, and in one case because of the amount of deadfall in one area. One was in a V-shaped canyon, and one side of the canyon had about 50% or more dead and down wood (trees), on a slope that was 50 to 60 percent. Fun times! The other one was just on a steep slope. I realized how "in shape" I was upon completion of these two transects: 30 of the 32 points done. One point I ran out of time to do, and one point the birds had quieted down too much - at 9:30! (A bit early for them, but it WAS a warm sunny day).

The first transect (that of the steep slope variety) was fun because I had to do some exploring for it. Though the transects were done last year, the crew last year decided to hike from an established trail BELOW the transect. Which meant a 1 km walk up a 1.000 foot slope. I decided that wasn't going to be my cup of tea, especially since the top of the transect was at the crest of that huge hill. So I decided to do some plotting with my GPS software beforehand, and follow an old log access road to see if I could have an easier time getting to the transect. Lo and behold, it worked. So my reward?
A nice little siesta since I got there so early. And yes, that is a beard. It helps with dealing with mosquitoes. It'll be gone before I go to Peru.

The other thing I love about walks in the woods, especially when the hike isn't far (about 3.5 km) and I have PLENTY of time, is that I can admire some of the smaller wildlife around.
So, the next day was transect time, and boy, was I treated to some great views. Note the degree of slope I'm on in the second photo. I still can't believe they chose to hike UP that to the transect - for 1.000 feet, no less!
And from there, it was off to more transects. I did a little bit of exploring here and there, namely places on the way to the next transect. More of the same and usual scenery, though I was not in any way getting tired of it. I did have some minor adventures getting to the next transect, because of trees fallen across the road. And I didn't have a chain saw, or a bow saw (not something I foresaw needing). So, I had to go the LOOOOONG way around. It took about 3 hours to drive to the transect that was about 5 miles away from where I turned around. Thankfully I get paid for my time driving, and I have my iPod and radio adapter to keep the tunes flowing. And plenty of gorgeous scenery to enjoy.

So, I did two transects in the Snowy Range, then I headed back into the Sierra Madre to do two more over there. Lots of fun, and the last plot (of the V-canyon) got me some new birds for the season. I saw and heard my first Pine Grosbeaks of the season (and this was only the 3rd time I have ever seen them). I also had my first Golden-crowned Kinglets of the season.

While out in the Sierra Madre, I got to wondering what I might do with some time off. My boss emphasized (strongly) that I should take some time to myself, since I had accumulated serious overtime (and had been working hard) because my coworker left. Upon my return to Laramie, we realized we had eight transects left to do in 17 days. Since she and a colleague were going to take four of them total to take some of the work load off (and so they could enjoy field time too!), it meant I could take a break from bird surveys for a while. Just in time for the holiday weekend, too.

And eventually, I decided that even if no one was around to join me, I would head up to Yellowstone for some new scenery, and solitude, and fun. So I did.