Sharing Adventures in Conservation Research and My Personal Adventures

Check out this link. It gives a good summary of the Table Rocks where I have been leading hikes for the past 3 months.... Adventures in Conservation Research: Threat Assessment for Limnanthes floccosa ssp. pum...: Lower Table Rock and the Rogue Valley The second week of the field season (late April) took us to Southern Oregon’s Table Rocks to monit...

The Table Rocks are an amazing geologic feature and provide great habitat for a myriad of plants and wildlife. The Dwarf Wooly Meadowfoam only grows on top of the Table Rocks and nowhere else in the world! That's always a shock factor for the kids (and me!). I feel so privileged to lead kids on hikes on these unique outdoor wonders here in southern Oregon. This part of the country has so many beautiful places to offer and I've been lucky enough to explore many of them in my short time here. In fact, I've been so busy exploring, I haven't had any time to blog!

There are a few new adventures that I will be embarking on this summer. After next week, my work with the Table Rocks Environmental Education Program will be done for the season and I will begin work with a trail crew maintaing trails throughout the BLM's Medford District. I will also be starting a masters program this summer in environmental education at Southern Oregon University. This will require me to move once again, but only a few towns away. I am looking forward to it and hopefully I will start doing a better job of sharing my experiences once I finally stop going a million miles a minute...whenever that times comes...

Oregon Trail

My journey up country has took yet another turn, this time due west...

I had much to be thankful for when my internship in Maryland came to an end a few days before Thanksgiving. I was thankful for being able to spend some time at one of the most ground breaking wildlife research facilities in the world; thankful for all of the remarkable people I was able to meet; and thankful for getting to see parts of the country I hadn't spent a great deal of time in, if any, including our nation's capital, the breathtaking Chesapeake Bay area, the Appalachian Mountains, and NYC, the city that never sleeps.

Back in Missouri, I had even more to be thankful for. I was returning to my home state to spend the holidays with my friends and family after being gone most of the summer and fall. I also had another assignment to report to upon my return. Temporarily, I worked for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as an interpretive resource specialist for Katy Trail State Park. Under this position, I was able to travel back in time to the days when the "iron horse" was running wild through our country.

A bit of background information for those that may be confused as to what I'm referencing -- The Katy Trail is a rail-to-trail. It was converted to a pedestrian trail after the decline of the once prominent and heavily relied upon Missouri, Kansas, Texas Railroad (MKT or "Katy"). A section of this railroad ran along the north side of the Missouri River. My assignment was to research, write and design interpretive panels/signs to be posted at the info depot trail heads. This signage celebrates the days of the railroad and provides onlookers with a glimpse of what life was like for early settlers of Missouri.

Not unlike many of the early settlers, I wasn't ready to hang my hat in the Midwest. I had an itching to get on the Oregon trail and see what the future had in store for me in unexplored territories. Luckily, the West answered my call and gave me an opportunity to continue my trek up country.

Thanks to a recommendation from my previous supervisor at the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, I got in touch with the Bureau of Land Management in Medford, OR. They had a position open in their Table Rocks Environmental Education Program for a hike leader, and I seemed to fit the bill.That's all it took, and I was off, full speed ahead to my new life in Oregon.

My parents joined me on the Oregon trail following Route 66 almost the entire way. This was unexplored territory for them as well and they were just as eager as I was to see this part of the world. The beauty of the West began to unfold at one of our first stops in New Mexico to catch up with my parents' old college buddy. From there, the scenery grew steadily more striking until climaxing at perhaps the most wondrous of all the wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon.

As we pulled into the park, snow was falling silently all around. The air was cold and brisk. A dense fog was rolling in and the sun was setting as the opening of the canyon came into view. This geologic wonder stretching out as far as the eye could see in vast arrays of colors, layers and depths was enough to make my heart skip a beat at the magnificent sight standing before me. Each view of the canyon that evening and the following day seemed to be more beautiful than the last. Unfortunately, our pit stop there had to come to an end and we piled back into the car heading west again through mountains, desert, and farmland until finally reaching the coast.

Waiting for us on large, dark rocks jutting out of the Pacific Ocean was a plethora of plump sea lions basking in the sun. What first appeared to be hundreds of small dark birds floating on the water, a closer look through my binoculars unveiled the heads of sea lions poking out of the waves. They were definitely a sight to sea ;-) But the grand finale of our journey to the coast was waiting for us a few miles north, the giant redwood forests.

Standing among these mighty, prehistoric giants made me feel so minuscule yet part of something larger than life at the same time. I practically fell over backwards peering up into the canopies of these enchanted trees that had out survived the dinosaurs. The entire experience was mind blowing and deeply moving, bringing me to tears at one point as I stood surrounded by a cathedral of trees and birds calling back in forth in a mesmerizing melody.

Winding back east through the forests and mountains, we snuck into Medford under the star filled, moonlit sky. That following morning, I woke up in my new home to see the sun rising out my window over the peak of the Roxy Anne mountain. I walked out my door to find that I was surrounded by mountains on all sides, with the Cascades to the east and the Siskiyou Mountains to the west. Perhaps the most spectacular of all in view from Medford is Mt. McLoughlin, a snow capped volcano in the Cascade Range.

My parents and I climbed the Upper Table Rock that day, the first of many hikes I will be leading on the Table Rocks. Upper Table Rock lies up river on the Rogue from Lower Table Rock. These two flat-topped formations are capped by impermeable andesite lava rock that once flowed through the Rogue valley after erupting from Mt. Olson, a shield volcano to the northeast that has since been almost entirely eroded away. The Table Rocks and their neighboring Castle Rock are some of the last traces of this eruption that occurred 7 million years ago, much later in history than the formation of the Cascade Range mountains also volcanic in origin. The Table Rocks are roughly 2,000 feet above the valley and represent the original elevation of the ancient Rogue River valley before erosion took its toll on the underlying sandstone of the Payne Cliff formation.

The impermeable andesite lava caps on top of the Table Rocks create a unique mounded prairie/vernal pool environment. This sensitive environment is home to the federally threatened Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp. This macroinvertebrate lays cysts in the pools that can survive extreme conditions until they are able to hatch when the vernal pools are filled with rainwater. The Table Rocks are also the only place in the world where the Dwarf-Woolly Meadowfawn grows. The seeds of this plant can also survive extreme conditions and produce an oil that has similar lubricating qualities as sperm whale oil which NASA uses on probes sent into outer space!!!

These are some of the many cool facts I will be explaining to children on hikes up the Table Rocks this spring along with the fun-filled BLM crew that I have joined. For now, I am continuing to explore all of the wonders that southern Oregon has to offer as I chase after rivers and waterfalls, and traverse high into mountain tops to feast my eyes upon such glorious sights as the crystal clear depths of Crater Lake.

Blazing Trails in Conservation

Roughly 75 years ago, in the aftermath of the Great Depression, U.S. citizens realized that changes to the current system needed to be made -- big changes. One major reawakening that people across the nation had at this time was that our resources are finite. In order for these resources to be around for generations to come, the stage had to be set on how to correctly manage and protect our environmental heritage.

Probably the greatest mover and shaker at this time was President Franklin D. Roosevelt who enacted his New Deal program and with it the Civilian Conservation Corps. to provide jobs and help rebuild our broken country. A lot of the work done by the CCP dealt with the restoration and beautification of America's public lands including State and National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, and National Forests. FDR knew that in order to establish fundamental standards of healthy habitat management and conservation in America, research must first be done to answer the question as to how to do so.

That brings us to present day here at the Patuxent Research Refuge, the first and only Refuge established for research out of the over 550 National Wildlife Refuges across the country. Last week, this trail blazing refuge celebrated its 75th anniversary as did many other ground breaking conservation organizations right around this time such as the National Wildlife Federation, Missouri's Conservation Federation, and Virginia's State Park system, among many others. As said in Missouri a quarter of a century ago, wildlife were on the decline and it was time to "Bring 'em Back." And so began the hard work of scientists and conservationists who have played such a crucial role in reestablishing our nation's wildlife and habitat.

During Patuxent's 75th anniversary celebration, I had the honor of hearing personal recollections told by some of these trail blazers in conservation. Chandler Robbins, was one of them. Chan's career with Patuxent has lasted 68 years and counting. He has taken part in everything since the development of bird banding, to the establishment of North American flyways (migration routes), and the composition of some of the first field guides that included bird calls, to studies on Albatross at Midway Atoll, to revealing findings on DDT, you name it!

Little do people know, but many of the habitat management techniques utilized across the globe, as well as ground breaking research on pesticides such as DDT - started here at Patuxent. Rachel Carson may have woke up the world to the impacts of DDT, but the research that proved the harmful effects of the pesticide was done here, by using some of the least expected guinea pigs - earthworms.

Patuxent scientists were able to prove the biomagnification effect of DDT by depositing the pesticide in plots of soil where colonies of earthworms were inserted and removed periodically. The result - amounts of DDT origially deposited in the soil were several times less than traces of DDT accumulated in the earthworms and this only magnifies more as it continues to go up the food chain. Some of the most well known impacts of DDT were observed by our national symbol - the Bald Eagle.

As DDT worked it's way up the food chain, it impacted eagles and other birds of prey by causing their eggshells to thin an ultimately not hatch. This sent the Bald Eagle on a steady decline, but with the help of Patuxent scientists and the publishing of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring", DDT was outlawed and action was set in motion to restore Bald Eagle populations in the U.S. As a result, Bald Eagles have been removed from the endangered species list demonstrating our nation's evolution in conservation.

This is just one example of the remarkable impacts Patuxent scientists have had on the field of conservation. Other success stories include reestablishment of wild populations of the endangered Whooping Cranes and the use of ultralight planes to guide the birds on migration routes. Establishing power line right of ways that reduce forest fragmentation and provide habitat and foraging opportunities for wildlife. Developing telemetry studies to track populations of grey wolves and their predator/prey relationship with white-tailed deer in northern Minnesota. Determing the impact of lead poisoning on waterfowl, California Condors and a variety of other species from toxic shot, lures, and other deposits in our waterways. The list goes on and on and more research continues to be carried out to reveal discoveries and find solutions to the perplexing enviromental issues of today.

I feel so lucky to be at a Refuge with such a rich history and hearing about all of these profound careers that started at Patuxent makes me feel even more confident about the direction I'm heading in. I am currently blazing my own trails, not so much through reasearch, but by molding the bright minds of youngsters who may one day grow up to be the researchers and conservationists of tomorrow.

As the Baba Dioum quote on a wall in the National Wildlife Visitor Center reads:

In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we've been taught.

Teaching kids to wander into the woods and develop their sense of place in the natural world through keeping a nature journal or by participating in the Junior Duck Stamp program may be the first steps on their path to discovering solutions to evironmental issues currently affecting our planet. Perhaps one of our young visitors at Patuxent will go on to find a way to control the effects of acid rain on brooke trout species living in Appalachian Mountain streams - a place where thousands have blazed trails instilling in themselves a love and respect for nature. While I may not be able to conquer such a feat, I continue to blaze my own trail each day discovering new biking and hiking paths, freeing my mind to the constraints of society, and determining which path to take next as I continue on my journey.

"Miss Mandy! Miss Mandy! Look what we found!"

This past month, joyful cries of children have been ringing in my ears. Here at Patuxent, children in nature is a top priority and that is what I devote the majority of my time and energy to. From Nature Tots to Eagle Scouts, we cater to them all.

My experiences here have ranged from puppet shows, to Girl Scout birding workshops and Boy Scout forestry workshops, to flipping over logs in search for bugs with 5-7 year-olds, to creating honey bee crafts for hundreds, just to name a few. Although it may sound like all play and no work, teaching children to get dirty can be tricky at times.

Unlike school teachers who are assigned a single grade, Patuxent is a "one room schoolhouse." Our students vary from toddlers to old timers, but no matter what their age, they all come here hoping to learn something new. As interpreters and naturalists, we must learn how to ensure that our visitors have the best experience possible and come back yearning for more.

To complicate this equation, wildlife do not always cooperate with the interpretive programs we have in mind for our visitors. For example, rarely does a day go by on the Refuge that you do not see a Canada Goose, but for my coworker's "Silly Goose" program, the resident geese decided that they would indeed be silly and not show up at all. So what do you do when the wildlife you plan on observing is nowhere to be found? You look for evidence, in this case, scat (the technical term for goose droppings).

How about when your local bright eyed and bushy tailed squirrel residents on the refuge decide not to appear for their debut when any other day they are constantly scampering about. You look under an oak tree and search for their food source, acorns. For younger children, scat and acorns are just as exciting as the animals they are associated with, but older generations are not as easily impressed.

So, how do you keep pre-teen and teenage Girl Scouts awake on a Sunday morning for birding lectures when they'd rather be sleeping in 'til noon? If all else fails, make a fool out of yourself. Run across the room with mounted birds pretending they are swooping through the air in search for a bite to eat and you are guaranteed to get their attention or at least crack a smile.  

As the Scout motto says, "be prepared." Cram your brain with as much random and interesting facts as possible, because you never know when that knowledge may come in handy. This is especially true as a tram tour interpreter. Unlike a zoo, wildilfe on the Refuge are not kept in cages. They are in their natural habitat and appear at random. Also, unlike your average guided tour, there are no specific stops along the way during a Patuxent Research Refuge tram tour. You have to make due with what comes along and sometimes that isn't much. That's when creativity is key.

These are skills that come with patience and practice which is exactly what I am working towards. I've rambled through the Wildlife Refuge System both on foot and on wheels. I've crawled through crevices in the Devil's Ice Box Cave at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park as a volunteer interpreter. I've grasped the attention of young and old and have been stumped by those half my age and those double my age more than a time or two. No matter how many times I travel the same path, I learn a new lesson with each hike I lead.

Nothing beats seeing the faces of children light up when they've cornered a frog, captured a flying insect in a net, gazed at bald eagle soaring above through binoculars for the first time, or opened their eyes to the mushrooms covering the forest floor. No matter how old you are the wonders of wildlife never cease to amaze us and I am fortunate enough to get the chance to help people discover the beauty of nature each and every day.

Sketching the Seasons

"Hands-on experience at the critical time, not systematic knowledge, is what counts in the making of a naturalist. Better to be an untutored savage for a while, not to know the names or anatomical detail. Better to spend stretches of time just searching and dreaming." - Edward O.Wilson, Naturalist

During one of my last days at Minnesota Valley, I was helping my supervisor, Judy, sort through some new shipments that came in of books and videos to add to the resource library. While doing so, I stumbled across this book called "Keeping a Nature Journal" by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth. I started flipping through the pages and found myself unable to put the book down. Lucky for me, a copy of the book was available in the Blufftop Bookshop.

Ever since I can remember, I've always kept a journal, but no one had really ever gave me any guidance as to how to use it. Like a typical child, I spilled out my feelings then ripped out the pages when I thought my mom had read them from time to time. I regret that I didn't keep all of them together so I could refer back to them later. I've gotten better as I've gotten older, but how I wish that someone would have told me when I was a little girl off exploring in the woods and climbing trees that there was a way for me to capture all of those precious moments in a book that I could keep with me always.

Unlike my recently passed grandmother who held dearly to all of her written memories from childhood to adulthood which are now compiled in her book "From Georgia Peach, To Missouri Mule," my memoirs are scattered about here and there or worse, forgotten all together. Luckily, there's still time for me to get my act together and keep it all in one central location, a nature journal.

The summer after my junior year in high school, I was accepted into a weeklong Conservation Honors Program at the University of Missouri in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation. This program first introduced me to nature journaling and was one of the biggest turning points in my life, ultimately leading me down the path of becoming the naturalist I was born to be.

My dad has fond memories of me as a child packing up my bookbag and heading out into the woods, not to return until hours later. We lived in a fairly rural area so I didn't have the luxury of neighborhood kids to play with and my sister, 3 and a half years older than I, had a lot of other things on her plate like sports, gymnastics, and dance. The woods and fields behind our house was my playground and the neighborhood dogs and cats and eventually my 4-H bunnies were my friends. I remember doing a lot of writing and drawing, but where all of those ammature sketches ended up is a mystery.

The Conservation Honors Program was the first time I was formally introduced to nature journaling. We were each given a small, unlined, spiral bound notebook called "Nature Notes" produced by MDC. We were responsible for recording all of our field observations in the notebook, just like real biologists, and were also given journal assignments each night reflecting our readings from Aldo Leopold's "Sand County Almanac." I still have the notebook today, but haven't done much with it since, because I didn't fully understand the concept of nature journaling until now.

Nature journals are not meant to be formal as ours were during Conservation Honors Program. They are also not meant to be kept like a personal diary. Nature journals are a tool for channeling your interpretation of the natural world around you and developing your sense of place in that environment. There is no structure that you must follow, no critiquing by others, no grades. They are for your own personal use, to help enhance the view of your everyday surroundings and intensify the beauty of the simplest to the most beautiful places and life on earth.

As I explore this new concept, I am also exploring a new place. A week ago, I set out on yet another journey to my next assignment as an environmental education/interpretation intern at the Patuxent Research Refuge National Wildlife Visitor Center in Laurel, MD. They call this area the golden triangle, because it sits smack dab in the middle of Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Annapolis. And boy, has it been a trip so far.

My dad is originally from Alexandria, VA, right outside of D.C. so he joined me on my relocation back to his roots. We were delayed at first by both an earthquake and hurricane Irene that hit the east coast, but we finally made it, safe and sound -- despite the current monsoon-like rain I'm currently experiencing. Unlike Minnesota, I have family close by that I never get to see and am finally able to spend some time with. So far I've gotten to see both my uncle David, who is my dad's identical twin, and my cousin Kristy, one of my uncle's daughters. I've experienced traffic, the metro, and the solitude of the Refuge in the heart of it all.

Patuxent is different from other refuges due to the fact that it has "research" in its title. It was established in 1936 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and is the only research refuge in the entire refuge system. Important findings on DDT were discovered here, dwindling populations of whooping cranes were brought back from extinction, and much, much more! The visitor center is also different from other refuges because it is a National Wildlife Visitor Center. So instead of just local environmental issues and happenings, exhibits in the NWVC feature both nation wide and world wide concerns and habitats. Also, like Minnesota Valley, Patuxent is one of the few urban refuges within the Refuge System which means tons of visitors, events, and school groups are constantly coming and going.

Interns are heavily relied on in the visitor services program and I was put right to work as soon as I arrived. By the end of my second day, I had already put on two puppet shows with another intern about a migrating Ruby Throated Hummingbird and the animals she meets on her journey south for the winter. Both my coworker and I are responsible for putting on two programs each month, opening and closing the VC, registering visitors for all programs, helping out at events like Honey Harvest Festival and our 5k coming up next weekend. We also host scout groups and fill in wherever else we are needed. Eventually, we'll even be responsible for giving tours on the all electric tram that rides through the Refuge.

Thanks to my new found hobby of nature journaling, I will be putting on a program in October called "Sketching the Seasons" for 8-10-year-old children. It's all been very exciting so far and I am looking forward to the upcoming events. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, I keep my nature notes by my side to remind me that no matter what, there is always time to sit down and sketch the seasons.

Ramble on!

Wet hike at Rapids Lake Unit.
Photo by Christine.

One of my duties as a Park Ranger cadet is to lead family-friendly wildlife observation hikes called “Refuge Rambles.” I create a different theme for these hikes each week and give people a little educational lesson before taking them out exploring every Sunday afternoon. I’ve had both good and bad experiences with the hikes so far, but have had mostly positive results.

The first hike I lead was about mammals. I called it “Neither Hide nor Tail.” I got the idea in my head to lead a hike about mammals from the taxidermied woodchuck that sits on our information desk in the visitor center. He’s not the correct stance to be in the display for our exhibits, but he's a great conversation starter for our visitors mainly because of the funny look on his face with his buck teeth sticking out. People almost always think he’s a beaver or a gopher, but he’s actually a woodchuck, which is also called a groundhog. I found this out the hard way after a Park Ranger told a visitor that he was a groundhog and I piped up and said “I thought he was a woodchuck?” only to be informed by the Park Ranger that a groundhog and a woodchuck are the same animal. Some Park Ranger cadet I am...

In addition to our woodchuck friend at the information desk, there are lots of other small – medium sized mammals on the Refuge that are commonly confused for being one another, but if you look closely, neither their hide nor their tails are the same. The woodchuck unlike the beaver, has a short bushy tail and is the largest member of the squirrel family. Also unlike the beaver, the woodchuck builds dens near buildings, usually around steps or other structures. They build an extensive tunnel system which is used by other critters such as rabbits and raccoons. Rather than chucking wood, woodchucks prefer to eat green vegetation, especially dandelions, and can be found climbing small trees to eat the green buds in the spring.

Another mammal that we see a lot of on the Refuge is the muskrat. Both the muskrat and the beaver are part of the rodent family and both build dens, but neither their hide nor their tails are the same. Muskrats are much smaller than beavers and while their tails are also flat and covered by scales like the beaver’s, muskrat tails are long and narrow rather than flat. I brought animal pelts along on the hike to show visitors the difference between the mammals. Muskrat fur is probably the softest of all the pelts I had. Muskrat pelts were historically very sought after during the time of the fur trade. Today, hunting and fishing regulations help protect the muskrat.

Bull snake constricting a 13-lined ground squirrel on our front doorstep! Photo by Christine.

Other pelts I brought along were river otter, mink, weasel, and finally a pocket gopher and a thirteen-lined ground squirrel. The last two pelts were to show that the University of Minnesota’s gopher mascot is actually a combination of a gopher and a ground squirrel. Even the U of M has trouble getting their hides and tails straight. Go Squirrel-Gophers!

Unfortunately, I don’t get a huge turnout for my hikes so I have gradually put less and less energy into developing them. My recent hikes have been a lot less formal than my previous hikes, but still fun and educational. While I love being around people and don’t have much trouble talking in front of crowds, these hikes have been intimidating, especially after my first experience froggin’ around.

Grey Tree Frog door greeter at bunkhouse. Photo by Christine.

My second hike was on frogs, which I am not very knowledgeable about. I borrowed the information for the hike from another intern who works at the Rapids Lake Education and Visitor Center by the bunkhouse that I live in. Apparently, he knew a lot about frogs while I had very little knowledge about them and attempted to teach myself and others in the few short days that I had time to prepare. Needless to say, things didn’t turn out so well. 

The plan was to bring nets and an aquarium on our hike so that we could collect frogs or whatever else we could find along the way, but the frogs didn’t cooperate and my fellow hikers were not pleased. One older woman criticized me to the point where I felt I needed to start thinking about a change in career while the mom and her two-year-old daughter who joined us were too worried about getting their shoes muddy to step off the trail and search for frogs. Heaven forbid they track mud through the Mall of America where they planned to go afterwards.  

    

Donnie hiking with us on the Long Meadow Lake Trail.
Photo by Christine.

My self-esteem was a little shot down after that, but luckily one of the volunteers at the Refuge has taken me under his wing for the summer. His name is Donnie and he joins me on each and every one of my hikes to help answer questions and keep people entertained. He is a wealth of knowledge and I’d be lost without him. The past couple of weeks, Donnie, the volunteer, brought his spotting scope along on our hikes which allowed us get an up close and personal view of wildlife we saw on the Refuge. 

Another hike I lead had a waterfowl theme. Prior to working at Minnesota Valley, I had an internship at Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Missouri. My boss, Tim Haller, was responsible for coordinating the Missouri Junior Duck Stamp program with my assistance. So, I am fairly knowledgeable about waterfowl. Plus, Minnesota Valley has a plethora of taxidermied waterfowl they like to call “ducks on a stick.” Just in case the waterfowl were as scarce as the frogs on my previous hike, I made sure to bring out the ducks on a stick so even if we didn’t see any waterfowl on the refuge, people would at least get a good view of the birds.

Snapping turtle at our bunkhouse. Photo by Christine.

To my surprise, the waterfowl living on the Refuge turned out to be right on cue. As soon as we got to the wetland on our hike, we saw movement in the water and luckily, Donnie was able to zoom right up on what we were seeing with his spotting scope. Very rare to see this time of year was a female hooded merganser and a trail of ducklings following behind her. No sooner did she swim away before a wood duck and its babies came swimming past. In addition to this waterfowl action, the egrets on Long Meadow Lake were thick and at one point in time a great blue heron came swooping in. Before we headed back we saw on a turtle on a log that appeared to be doing some calisthenics with one of his back legs. The up close view with the spotting scope showed us that rather than doing a yoga pose, the poor little guy was trying to shake a leach off his leg that just wouldn’t come unstuck. One of his turtle friends attempted to help his comrade but couldn’t figure out how to get up on the log.

My last hike was a success as well. This past Friday the other visitor services intern that we have been expecting to join us at the dorm finally arrived all the way from North Carolina. So this time, I had not only my regular helper Donnie join me on my hike but another friendly face as well. Best of all I had a frog expert leading my hike this time.

Christine holding Crayfish.

The Saturday before my herpetology (reptiles and amphibians) theme hike, I went out to catch a few frogs so I would definitely have some to share this time in case we didn’t run into any on the hike. As I was walking out the door I asked an inquisitive little boy and his mom that were in the visitor center if they wanted to join me. They ecstatically agreed to help out and help they did. Alex, the little boy, caught five baby American toads to use for show and tell during my hike and asked if it was O.K. if he could lead the hike the next day. Any reason to take me out of the hot seat is fine by me, so I told me that he sure could. 

It was nice not being the center of attention for a change and both Alex and the wildlife helped with that. On our herpin’ hike we caught even more baby American toads as well as two adult toads, a garter snake, and a crayfish. In the middle of all the excitement, two white-tailed deer came strolling almost right up to us. It was a sight so see. Everyone left with a smile and I was able to let out a sigh of relief.

Peregrine Falcon released on refuge after rehabilitation from injury.
Photo by Chirstine.

Despite some struggles that I had along the way, everything seems to be coming into full circle now. I’ve got to see a lot of Minnesota thanks to some friendly locals and friends and family that have came to visit. Over my 4^th of July weekend, my mom came to visit with a friend for a few days. We stayed in Rochester and biked and tubed along the Root River one day and the Zumbro River the next, biking about 50 miles total over the weekend. All in all, I’ve had a good experience here in Minnesota and I’m glad that things are finally looking up. 

Great Spangled Fritillary

Photos in Butterfly Garden by Christine. Bottom: Red Admiral posed on Purple Cone Flowers. 

I've also gone on hikes on my days off with both Donnie and Warren another volunteer. Warren is a retiree who is very active in the nonprofit organization Earth Watch. He travels around the world helping the environment in a variety of ways through Earth Watch Expeditions. This week Warren took the new intern and I to the the Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area on one of our days off where we hike around and identified wildflowers. With Warren's help, I plan on leading a wildflower walk for my last hike before I vacation back to Missouri for 10 days. 'Til next time I’ll keep rambling on!      

Warren and I at the Grey Cloud Dune SNA with the Mississippi River at our backs.

Deciphering MN

Happy 4th of July! For the first time since I can remember, I am not spending my independence day celebrating Tom Sawyer Days in Hannibal. I have to admit, I kind of miss it. You can't beat Hannibal's 4th of July celebration. To make up for my absence in Hannibal, my mom and her friend are paying me a visit. We will be spending the next few days biking along and tubing down the Root River in southern Minnesota. Having their company is like having a little piece of home here with me, but it's not enough to cure my homesickness.

I thought those would be the last words coming out of my mouth this summer, but this internship hasn't turned out to be everything I expected. It has been a struggle to adjust to my surroundings and at the same time I am having an internal battle trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. I also haven't made a lot of friends here, which has made deciphering MN that much more difficult.

While juggling all these things, I have to remain professional at all times. Living and working on a Refuge that sees such a high volume of visitors constantly puts me in the public eye. This will only continue to increase as people flock to the Refuge this summer as an alternative to the state parks which are currently closed due to the Minnesota government shutdown.

Ultimately, this internship is just one more thing I can chalk up as experience. Now I know better than to rush into things before considering my options and I want to make sure that I don't make that same mistake again. After my internship is over, I hope to spend a little time reflecting on life somewhere closer to the people that really matter to me. This time around, instead of focusing on MN the state, I will be deciphering MN the person -- Mandy Noel.