Almost stepped on a fawn

Dan (if that is his real name) and i returned from the Niagara frontier Thursday afternoon. We stopped at one site near Batavia, and I decided to take the scenic route home to Ithaca from there. It was a bit shorter, mileage wise, and it took us striaght through Canandaigua, which was on my mind because The Dog and I were talking bout a great Italian deli in town just a week ago. Casa Italiana its called, and they have great subs there. Reminds me of Palermo's back in the Rock. I'm a huge fan of mortadella with lettuce, tomato, onion, provolone, swimming in olive oil and vinegar. I used to eat there all the time when I went to FLCC. It really hit the spot! (Is this turning into a food blog? haha)

We stayed at my apartment in Ithaca Thursday night, because we wanted to save some money (we get reimbursed for lodging but that can take a few weeks) and we could drive to the two sites we wanted to knock off on Friday. The first stop was in Jasper. You forget how beautiful and varied New York is until you get of the interstate and onto the backroads, and explore. I feel blessed to live in the middle of it all too! The first site we visited (took an 1 1/2 hours to get to) was a dairy farm where the landowner was involved in the conservation program, and practiced pasture rotation. This allowed the grasses to grow back the next year in certain areas while his cattle grazed elsewhere. Its nice, because the program supports the farmer and the birds. It's a nice symbiotic relationship. I hopped the fence, being sure not to touch the electrical part, and began walking through the field towards the coordinates where I was to do the survey. I was distracted by all the birds I was hearing and seeing. Luckily, I lookd down just as I was about to place my size 13 boot on top of a baby fawn that couldn't have been more than a week old. It just laid there curled up and didn't move. What a strange defense mechanism. They just sit there not moving with hopes that a predator doesn't find them. But it must work, because their poulation numbers are astronomical. I quickly kept walking because it looked so serene and I didn't want to scare it. Plus I had work to do and birds to count. I'm sure I'll see more.

Headed towards the next site, along Colonel Bills Creek valley, I was listening to that lonesome blue yodel of Jimmie Rodgers on the radio when I passed an old, abandoned tavern that advertised "Legal Beverages." I found it odd, and it got me a wonderin'. How old was the place? Prohibition? Are there any illegal beverages? Moonshine? Or was I in a dry town? Hmmm....the mind wanders early in the morning. Anyways, I cranked up Jimmie and kept on towards the next stop, which brought me closer to home and closer to the holiday weekend. Y'all have fun, and remember your friends and family memebers who have served in the military. They are all greater men (and women) than I.

First week done

Well, finished up my first week of bird surveys. The weather was scorching hot and dry, but I had a nice campsite in the shade right on the shore of Lake Ontario. As soon as I got out of the car at the first site (6:00am), there were hundreds of New Jersey's state bird everywhere...mosquitoes!! As I waded through the waist high grass, it raised their ire and they attached themselves to any exposed part of my body. I got stung on the palm of my hand a couple of times!!! What a way to start the day. Overall, it was a good day of observations. We saw a fair amount of the target birds we were looking for, and got done before the sun got too high and made life miserable. On the way back to camp, my partner and I (Dan), stopped at a little diner advertising home cooking. There were at least ten cars parked out front of this little place, so I thought this must be some good food to have all of these people here. From the outside it looked pretty busy for 9:30 am on a Wednesday. So we walked inside and there were ten people in there. Everyone must've drove themselves. The "host" brought us some much needed coffee, and warned us that the church group got here before us so it may take a minute or two longer to get our food. I assured her it was not a prob, "we're on the clock anyways." After slamming a cup of coffee and washing up a bit, the waiter/cook/cashier/owner came over and took our order. $3.99 for 2 eggs, homefries, toast and bacon. What a bargain!!! The church group, which was nothing more than a group of retired folks, got their food and ate. Our's was ready within ten minutes of ordering, and it was delicious. Really hit the spot, and was well worth the extra "minute or two." So if your ever in Barker, NY stop by Hanks Diner on Rte. 18 and check out the breakfast special. If you're in a hurry, pray that you beat the church group there.

Hittin' the road

After wrapping up a few things around the office, I will be hitting the road this afternoon. First stop: 4 Mile Creek State Campground right on the shores of the mighty Lake Ontario. Seems like a nice place, I have driven by it many times. It is on the route my family used to take to get to Michigan. I'm looking forward to spending the next two nights outside. The weather should be nice, and the moon full in two nights.

After those two nights I will be headed back to Ithaca, and my apartment will become home base for a couple of nights before Memorial Day weekend, which will be filled with more cookoouts and beach party beach party. Summers' here!! Get out and have some fun!

I finally graduated!!!!!

Yesterday was my gradiatin' ceremony. It was nice, a bit long though. Sen. Chuck Schumer showed up to give some advice. In his words, "Go for it!" It wasn't the most profound words of encouragement, but I really do respect the guy. He is one of the few members of government that really stands up for, and acts for his constituents. I honestly feel that he cares about the little guy (which I am eventhough I'm 6'4"), and his actions speak volumes. He was instrumental on saving me $2500 in tax return money through his sponsoring of the education tax credit bill, which he was sure to tell everyone about by the way. I was glad my family was there too! Mom, Dad, Megs, Lily and Alex all braved the crowd and stifling heat of the gymnasium to watch me walk across the stage. I'm so glad I didn't fall. I couldn't have done it without their love and support, and I am extremely grateful and blessed to have such a loving and supporting family. And I ended up graduating with greater than a 3.0 which was one of my personal goals. It wasn't looking good after I ran the educational gauntlet of Cell Bio, Genetics, Organic Chem, Calculus and Stats. God, I hate that shit. They all brought my GPA down considerably, but I made up for it and attained my goal.

The past few days of work were pretty darn good too. On Thursday I participated, with the two folks in the office, in an all-day birding fundraiser. We drove in and around Ithaca from 6am til 4pm looking for birds in various habitats. The weather was outstanding, we saw some really nice birds, the organization bought me lunch, and I got paid for it!!! Overall, we identified 115 species, which is pretty damn good! Highlights include: Blackburnian, Canada, Prairie and Wilson's warblers, Sandhill Cranes and a multitude of Bald Eagles. It was good fun, and my superiors say that I have a good ear and am a good birder. (I'm blushing lol)

On Friday I continued working on the route that we are going to take this summer. I went through every site and found it on the NY state atlas, and plotted it. I don't have addresses to work with, due to privacy concerns I guess, so I have to look at aerial photographs and determine on the map where the hell these places are. It was fun!! I have most of them planned out, and now need to arrange accommodations on Monday. Well, its been a great weekend and I'm going to cap it off with a cookout at my friends house out in the country. I'm mostly responsible for the menu, but those of you who know me know I love doin this stuff. I think I like cookin so much, because it gives me something to do while I drink beer and listen to music. Peace, Love and happiness.

I walked to work today....

...for the first time since I lived in Colorado. Over twelve years ago!!! That's pretty sad, especially for a green person like myself. And what's even better, I get to walk through the woods. In a bird sanctuary. Not a bad way to start the day.

Today was a pretty cool day at headquarters. My job today involved, after I installed 52updates(!) on the office computer, was to start figuring out where the hell I am going this summer. I was given the protocol and data sheets that I need to fill out for every site I visit. Its pretty intense, but I think I will handle it just fine. I have to record wind speed, dominant groundcover how many cars pass the site while I'm collecting data, and so on and so forth. The bird Id'ing will be done in ten minute intervals at a pre-determined point that I must find with GPS. Once there I will record every bird I see, and is behavior for the ten minutes I am observing. Not only will I have to ID them by sight, but I must be able to ID them by song as well. Well, luckily, I have a good musical memory so it shan't be too hard. "I'll name that bird in two notes!"

Also, I got a map and file of all the sites I must visit. There are 182 locations that I must visit twice within six weeks time!! They are in Buffalo/Niagara area(ballet anyone?), Thousands Isles area (look out Alex Bay), the Finger Lakes(close to home), Saratoga (bars close at 4am) and the Mohawk Valley(Herkimer diamond mine. haha). So I will be all over this great state of ours. The next few days will find me trying to arrange accomodations in campgrounds, or governmental housing. Should be fun considering the state announced they are closing down 41 state parks this summer. I blame George Bush (shoutout to my Republican family and friends), and those lazy ass, fat ass politicians in Albany that really don't give a crap about the everyday functioning of our state and its institutions. If I don't do my job in an efficient and timely manner, I get fired. Time for change, real change...Vote against all incumbents.

Okay, rant over. Time to study, eventhough my friend is tempting me with margaritas at Viva right now. I have my second to last final tomorrow. Its Ecology, so it shouldn't be too hard, but I wanna do good dammit. Curse you tequila, I will get you next time!

First day of the rest of my life...

A bit dramatic, I know, but I have put alot of time and effort into finishing my degree in Conservation Biology from SUNY Cortland and am excited about the next phase of my life. Hell, I should be a doctor considering how long I was in school, but when you have to work full-time in order to support yourself while chasing a dream, it's well worth it. I've made an investment in myself, not some stock exchange or security that loses money if someone farts too loud. I prefer to have control over my investment, and dammit it was worth it, because tommorow I start a job that pays me to do something I truly love and am passionate about. How many people can say that about their job?

Anyways, I am not going to gloat too much, but this gig is pretty freakin' cool. I am working for a world famous non-profit organization that focuses on bird conservation (disclaimer: I had to sign a waiver saying that I am not allowed to mention its name outside of a work related environment, or use it in a matter that may be a detriment to its image. Besides, I want to protect my employer from the damages of a public-relations nightmare that may be associated with some of the sordid adventures I hope to get involved in. Just kidding, y'all know I'm not that crazy or reckless, but I do like to have fun, and out of respect for my employer they shall remain nameless). Basically, I will be camping out and looking for grassland bird species to determine if the tax abatement program they support is working. So there ya have it...a job in the field of conservation involving birds. Life is good!