This morning I finished the first round of point counts (61 counts)! I did pastures 3 and 4 this morning, which are the wettest pastures according to everyone. They were pretty wet, but Eric came with me to 4 so he sort of had an idea where to go, and 3 was not deep anywhere I went. Pasture 5, the very first pasture I did, was probably more soppy than 4, and maybe more so than 3. I think now that I have waders, some of the pastures I did without them will be (hopefully) a bit easier. I was really glad to get pastures 3 and 4 done finally, because I have been worrying over them for a week and a half now! It sure is a weight off my shoulders. As a bonus, we saw the partial lunar eclipse this morning at 5:15, probably most of the country didn't see it because they were still in bed!
I took Saturday and Sunday off, I was completely exhausted. I did wake up at 5am Saturday though, and it would have been a beautiful morning for the birds. But I couldn't drag myself out of my comfy sheets. I didn't do a whole lot on Saturday, I was supposed to work on some papers for publications, but I just rested for the most part. It takes a while to get back into field work. Saturday evening I called home, and it sure was nice to talk to my parents. I miss home like crazy right now, and each time I go home and then have to leave again it's worse. Dad put Addi on the phone, and she just started giggling when I said hello, I am not sure whether she gets the concept of the phone yet, she's 3. But hopefully soon I'll be able to talk to both Addi and Eli on the phone!
This afternoon I went out to Pigeon Point to help Eric put in a gate between Forest Service land and TNC land. I couldn't hit the staples on the head for my life to start, but eventually got the hang of it. It was hot, too, hit at least 85 while we were out there. But we had been out there last Friday and it started to rain pretty good, and we didn't have the right size posts, so we gave up. I think I'd rather work in the hot than in the wet. Guess I'll have to get used to both of them this summer!
Tomorrow I will start round 2 of points counts. I'm hoping that they go smoothly and that I can move through them relatively quickly. Last year's technician took through August 4 to get the five rounds done, I'm assuming the weather didn't cooperate very well. I hope to be done by August 4 if possible, so I'll have to work just about every good-weather day I can.
Also tomorrow Marissa is coming back to train me and two new girls on vegetation sampling. It will be nice to have a few more people around again. Eric is leaving for some training in DC tomorrow and then headed for a short vacation, so I'll have his dog Molly until Tuesday. That will be nice, too! I'm hoping for a great summer without too many headaches.
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