I need to get better at this...

There is so much I would like to write about, but I either A) completely forget or B) just haven't had the time to sit down and unload the words on the page.

I know I keep saying this month was crazy and I have all this stuff I need to get done, but Y'ALL, seriously. It's crazy. I actually argued with a girl in my Regression class that next week couldn't POSSIBLY be dead week. But it is! Seriously?! Where did this year go? It seems like just yesterday I was preparing for our trip back home. It's just been a whirl wind of one thing after another.

Let's see, I gave my first oral presentation on the first, finished my first draft of my proposal the following week, finished my poster presentation that I did not get to present due to impending field work, started field work that weekend, layed out my first set of pitfall traps Tuesday, presented my poster at the Bright Ideas Conference Wednesday, and tomorrow I go back out to Louisiana again for the weekend. Whew!

Poor Luna is already tired of me coming and going. She has decided she needs to sleep between the wall and my side of the bed so I can't sneak past her. Like I could if I wanted to anyway. Her "bed" is at the foot of the bed. Out of the way of my infant bladder that must pee every half hour until I fall asleep. But with her laying in her "new" spot, I trip over her every time I have to get up. No bueno. As if I needed help being even more clumsy. Even Serenity is back to snuggling with me at night. I know Buddy is also lonely.

So far field work is going slow, but it is to be expected since I haven't started putting out pitfalls or doing any insect stuff until this week. I wanted to keep around the same schedule as I had last year, but I'm having to work around not only my classes, but my tech's classes as well. Not to mention East Texas has gotten over 12 inches of rain this month and Merryville has gotten well over 9. All of my stands thus far have been flooded and some I haven't even been able to get to due to the shape of the roads.

Two more months of this and I'll be done with field work possibly forever....I really don't know yet. That's the million dollar question right now. What is next. I have no freaking clue. I don't know if I want to start job hunting or keep going with my education. I still have a little time to think about it.

So, I'm going to make my best effort to chronicle this field season while we are out there full time. No promises (like I have readers anyway), but I'm going to do my best to.

Happy Beltane and blessed be!

Copperhead I almost stepped on while trail running with Luna.

Eastern Hognose found at Tucker woods

Worm-eating Warbler mist netted at Tucker woods with Comer's Intro class lab

Tent caterpillar. The favorite food of one of my favorite birds, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Thunderstorms = 80 lb pansy dog trying to get as far in my lap as possible

Poor picture, but Blue Grosbeak on a snag in a eucalyptus stand. 

This stand was just a little bit flooded....

Oh, rubus (aka blackberry)

The blackberry is about shoulder high on me in some parts of this eucalyptus stand

Crazy hail storm in Nacogdoches after my first weekend of field work. 

Sweet Serenity

The eucs have put on about 2-3 feet of growth since I saw them last. That pink flagging is just about head height for my 5'5" self.

Not getting down this road.

Got down the road from above picture the following day only to find this. It was so deep those ripples were more like waves.

These little guys were only about mid-calf to knee high last year and now they are person sized!

A nice row between eucalyptus trees

I'll come back to this stand when I have a machete.

Mandatory March post

It's been crazy here in Nac and it's only about to get worse! Last week we were on our way back from 5 days in Alabama. It was so nice to see all of our loved ones! It's strange how I haven't seen some of them in over a year but it seems like just yesterday we left Bama on ths crazy adventure. It's also strange how some friendships seem strained and awkward, others pick up right where you left off, and some stay the same daily. 

Of course, my body does not do well with long distance traveling so as soon as we wake up on our first day back in Nac, I have a cold. I'm glad it waited till we got back to rebel. But today is the first day I have my full voice back! 

Today Bud and I went to the opening day for a new Ren and Piratical Faire. It was so much fun. There was a falconry show that I tried not to volunteer for when the crowd asked for volunteers, yet still got picked. Me and five other people lined up  three on each side, while an Australian auger flied between us then held our arms up as it flew between our arms. I can not lie, I was extatic! There was funnel cake, wild boar, axe throwing, absinthe making, leather working, and JOUSTING! Now it's certain. We have to go to mideival times for our birthdays. 

We haven't had a full date day in a long time. So after getting home we ate a super nice (expensive) dinner at Union cafe. It was so worth it. Now I have to keep my sun burned ass (not literally) awake till 8 to go meet some former and current SFA grad students for reunion drinks. Whew! 

This next month (which is only a few days away) I have a seminar presentation on the first, a poster at the Big Thicket conference SFA is hosting, field season work will start on weekends in the middle of the month, another poster (or the same from TCTWS) at the bright ideas conference that is school wide, registration for 2 more conferences (one at the end of July and the other in November) and a proposal to finish so I can start sending it out for edits. Whew! Not to mention any homework for my stats class and maybe trying to do more stats for the data I've already collected. 

I am exhausted from the sun and today's fun activities along with everything else I've been cramming away at. But, to tell you the truth, our trip back solidified how much I love being away. That sounds horrible. I love that I am getting out there, seeing more of the world than just sweet home Alabama. I would say we, but Buddy was a long distance truck driver for the longest so he's seen all of this. I love that I'm learning more about this field that I'm in, I'm learning more about and meeting other people, and learning more about our marriage. And in turn I'm learning more about myself. Yes, it can be scary as hell thinking about not having a safety net of friends and loved ones if something (gods forbid) happens. But it's a good kind of scary. A self reliance, self sufficient kind of thing. It only took 32 years but better late than never, right?

Here are some pictures from the last almost 2 months! Enjoy and as always, blessed be!

Tufted titmouse right before it started snowing!

Female orange-crowned warbler. First time I've seen one!

SPRING!

Grandma's goats

Swayback trails in Wetumpka 

On the way to mobile

New Orleans

South American black hawk-eagle

African auger

Jousting

Tip break!

Where did all my time go?

Things are crazy hetic here in east Texas. Last weekend was the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society conference. It was the first conference I've ever been to and I must say I was pretty overwhelmed! I was super excited to see two fellow Auburn grads there and I started to feel a little more at ease at least knowing someone there. 

However, I was a stupid head and wore shoes that I didn't wear in yet the first night when I was standing for almost 4 hours. Both my heels and the side of my right foot ended up with horrible blisters. They were so bad I couldn't walk to the oyster bar to hang out with the other grad students. They were so bad I showed my Alabama heritage and walked outside the hotel barefoot to smoke. 

There were so many people there and so many presentations I didn't make it to. I probably should have networked much more than I did, but I just couldn't deal with the literal sea of people that was there. 

Although I didn't put myself out there like I would have liked, trip to Aransas NWR made up for it to me. We saw whooping cranes! An endangered species IN THE WILD! 

Now that the TCTWS conference is over I need to hammer down my proposal (I would like it done by the time I go full time into field season), write an abstract for my seminar on April fools day, write an abstract for a poster for the Big Thickett Conference that SFA is hosting, plus any other homework that may come up all in the next month!  Not to mention we are going home for spring break in 2 1/2 weeks! I can not wait! I desperately need a break. I feel like the I'm about to hit my don't give a fuck wall any minute now. But the car has been booked as of today! Yippie!

Although we have had warmer weather, that damned groundhog was right. We got snow today! However it didn't stick, now all that melty-ness is going to freeze tonight, and guess who has an 8am class tomorrow. This girl. Fun times I tell you. 

As I said last month, with all the crazy busy stuff I've got to do I may not blog as much as I would like, but I will do my best to do so eventually. Until next time, blessed be. 

Yellow-rumped warbler

Sunrise in Corpus Christi

Crested Caracara! I was too excited about seeing this bird. 

Tufted Titmouse right before the snow today. 

So much for blogging more...

I know I said I would be more attentive to my blog, but I just haven't had ANY  motivation to write anything. At. All...

Other than the last few days, this month as been cold and wet. So wet that as of yesterday both the river to the south and the bayou to the east have been under flood warnings. However, the last few days have been warm and beautiful, which doesn't motivate me to do anything but go out and play. That's not helpful when I'm trying to keep ahead of schedule for my classes/fieldwork prep.

We have decided to go home for spring break (WOOHOO!!) I haven't seen my loved ones in almost a year, which is the longest it has ever been for me to go with out seeing them and by spring break, I'm going to seriously need a break before field season starts up again. That and the universe keeps throwing "Alabama" and "home" related songs and tv shows in my path. Hell, I need a break now, but I'm determined to get as much done as possible before I break. lol.

This semester is going to be a busy one. At the beginning of this month I had a meeting with my projects major supporters and I presented what I had done this past field season and what information I had regarding that data so far. Next month, I present a poster at the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society meeting. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. Poster exhibits are during the first day and then on the way home we are stopping by Port Aransas Wildlife Refuge!!! I'm so excited about the stop because I will most likely get to see whooping cranes! The only WILD population of whooping cranes!! I can barely contain myself while typing those words!

After TCTWS and Port Aransas is the trip home in March. We are renting a car and traveling with our furbabies, so it's going to be an adventure to say the least. 6 days, 3 different beds, and trying to fill as much time as possible catching up with as many people as possible!  Then April...oh April. In April I have to give a 40 min seminar about my project. I'm the first one in the "class" to do this, which I'm kinda glad for since they are usually not as tough on the first person to present. Then by mid-April I need to start field work. This means before April I need to have at least 2 part time techs hired and able to work out in the field both during some days during the week and weekends while going to school at the same time. Craziness. That craziness will end mid-May when I can have a tech go full-time with me on the project, but a new craziness will ensue while we try to catch up on all the surveys and arthropod collections that we weren't able to do during the semester and end field season in June relatively close to last years completion. Whew!!

It may not sound like much, but when I start to think about what all there is to do and when it needs to be done by, I start to panic a little. So, don't be alarmed if I only get to blog once a month at most these next few months. But I do promise I will take lots of pictures and post them here eventually.

Here are some from the past few weeks! Enjoy and blessed be.

Beautiful sunrise right before a dismal cold and rainy day

This weekend's robin egg blue skies

bored and didn't want to work anymore...

Sunset is getting later and later (spring is on the way!!)

3 minutes after the above picture was taken. I love how the sun sets the clouds afire!