Crazy Town

 Ok so this is me with the first bird I banded, a purple finch. And this is not at all how you would hold it. This is actually after we were done and I was opening my hand to let it fly away when my friend grabbed the camera and snapped this quick. And you can tell how disoriented the bird is. So normally you have their neck between your first two fingers and the body in your palm kind of...or you could squeeze it's upper legs between your first two fingers.

 So now I'll gush about people up here some more. The 16 of us that live here have family dinners and meetings every Sunday which is so healthy. We eat good food, have fun, and then have healthy discussions so nothing gets too crazy. We joke that we're still in our honeymoon stage, but I think we're all adjusting really well. So pics on the side of our fancy dinner.

So this week is crazy busy for me. I actually only taught once but so much other stuff is going on. I'm a liaison this week for the first time and it's stressful. Being a liaison means you are responsible for one of the groups here for their entire stay from welcoming to goodbye. And it's just a lot to take on and work with. Thankfully my group kicks butt and there haven't been any problems. I'm also getting trained in on a new class tomorrow, and worked with the wildlife today.

The other reason this week is crazy is because the grad school. It really sucks to be working full time and have school on top of it. Our classes are also super condensed - 5 meeting times for a class - so it's just really accelerated. So I have tons to do before class on Friday this week. Shout out to my Aunt Mary Jo for helping me with one of my assignments this week! Very much appreciated!

And the final thing going on this week is Wolf Ridge's 40th Reunion - which basically means a big party all weekend. Everyone who was every connected to WR is probably coming this weekend and bringing their family. Work wise we're helping get things ready, then will kind of be posted around for an open house type environment. It should be fun, and we should get to meet a lot of important people. So I get my A-game on for smoozing.

We started the week with breakfast with Jack Pichotta who is the founder of WR. It's an amazing story and I hope he writes a book. He was a pioneer who fought long and hard for WR and other environmental centers to be created and it all started back at the first Earth Day in 1970. WR is actually the first residential learning center to be accredited in the nation and just the story of how they got to that point is fascinating. So I'm sure I'll hear many more good stories at the reunion.

 So here's Thistle, I know most of you are in love from afar. He's actually crazy spoiled. I worked with one of the other  naturalists to drill holes in a log and hide peanuts in it, then we also stuck in some raspberry leaves to lure him over (on the right). Just an enrichment activity to keep him active.

And finally a picure of me from the first time I ever did the ropes course. I'm not sure what emotion I'm trying to convey on my face...but I do it all the time now. I go through with kids walking below me and talk the whole time without freaking out so progress has been made. Each class definitely fills me anxiety though because your bound to have at least one kid freak out or cry and have to talk them through it. All my evaluators so far though tell my I'm super chill, which is perfect for this kind of class to set the mood. I never realized this before, but it does kind of make sense. Or maybe I'm just trying to lead by example, hoping they'll calm down and be like me :)


Remember to send me your address if you want a postcard.