Sunday, October 4, 2009

My last post from Acadia

Wow I can’t believe that this part of the journey is just about over. Time here has flown faster the a Peregrine Falcon chasing a Wilson’s Warbler for dinner. So I have thought about what I want to write for my last post from Acadia. I have not come up with anything, so what i am going to do is write about my last few weeks here like I normally would. I am going to ask for comments at the end, I want to hear from those who read my blog and see what it is that they remember from my time here. I can then maybe elaborate on some things that I may have glossed over or things i didn’t explain well enough.  Hope this works out.

My life has become Beavers and Applications. Every day for the past few weeks My partner, Bik, and I have been out bush whacking through some ‘backcountry’ on the island. We are conducting a complete census of Mount Desert Island. We are following a census that was performed in 1997 and looking at how the population dynamics might have changed of the last dozen years. The worst part about this project is that it leaves you exhausted at the end of the day and feeling nasty. You have to wear chest waders while walking in these out of the way places. Chest waders have this unfortunate side effect of not breathing, so five minuets after you start walking you are pretty much soaked from chest to toes in your own sweat. by the end of a 6 hour day of doing this you feel pretty damn nasty. The up side to this is I have gotten to see some of the most beautiful areas of the park that no visitors will ever get to see. These beaver created ponds and lakes are incredibly beautiful. There was one recently that I approached that had a beaver swimming along quietly with a dozen wood ducks floating near by and a few mergansers further back. The sun was shining and there was no wind so the pond was as smooth as glass. I ended up sitting there for about half an hour just soaking it up. Unfortunately I do not have photos of any of these areas, they are difficult to reach and as such I don’t take anything that can’t get wet, let me explain why. There are some areas that we check and we don’t need the waders, however we don’t know that until you actually arrive. More often the not you are traipsing around marsh area that looks pretty solid tall grass low shrub/scrub. what you don’t see are the four to five foot deep channels that are hidden in these location. It makes walking a sport to be sure. Also hidden are sink holes that are created by the Beaver tunneling through the soft mud under the floating hummocks. It is pretty funny really, you will be walking around and focused on where you are headed and then suddenly you are buried up to you chest in water in the middle of a hidden channel. Your lucky when you don’t top your waders, it gets close a lot.

The other half of my life is applying to any job that I have even a little bit of qualification. I come home shower talk to Regina while i apply and then eat and then pass out from exhaustion. I am getting just a bit nervous now. I had hoped that I would have a few possibilities by now but so far the only call back I have had was from McFaddin NWR in Texas. I have heard nothing since that interview. I have seen little movement on the jobs through USAJobs.gov only two have been passed on to a real person. As far as the non-government jobs go, I have had one get back with me telling me that the job was filled but thank you for applying. Two other jobs told me that they had received my application and that I could expect to hear from them in November. Any jobs that I apply to now will not start until November or later. I have applied to three different ground observing companies in Alaska but the training doesn’t start until December and the contracts will start in January. I must say that if any of you have a job, even if you don’t like it, KEEP IT! It is a tough market out there right now. I base this on the fact that there are people applying for the traditional ‘Intern’ jobs that college kids apply for just out of school which makes it really tight.

Enough about that…it depresses me every time I think about it.

So other things that have happened since last time…

My friends Mo and Bernie came back to Bar Harbor for a wedding and stayed with us in our extra rooms. It was a great weekend. They brought there sister Mary, who, just like the rest of the family is pretty awesome. We caught back up and chatted and just had a great time visiting.

Yesterday I climbed the Precipice with my roommates, Adam and Jen, and Had a great climb. I was really proud of Jen because she is terrified of heights and she didn’t freak out once. She made the summit! Grats to you Jen.

The next time I write to you all I will be home, I can’t wait to get back and see my family. While I am home I plan on visiting Oxford a few time to get my final project done and hopefully graduate next year. It would be nice to finally say that I have graduated from school.

And so we go…

 

I would love to hear from everyone that has read, glanced at, or just visited once my blog. Let me hear what you thought was my biggest adventure, the funniest thing that occurred or ask some questions I will fill in any blanks that i might have left.

My next adventure will be driving home and my visit with the Fam.

Take care all!

1 comment:

  1. I just want you to know how much I enjoyed all of the pictures. I have two favorite write-ups.I liked seeing Petit Island and the pictures of the sunrise and the light house. I also was amazed by the pictures of hurricaine Bill and those huge waves.

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