Quote of the Week, Perhaps a Bit Longer

"The biological community is a vast and complicated system for sharing and distributing the energy of the sun among a diversity of life forms." ~Martson Bates

7/7/10

A little ditty

So, with my new job, I haven't had a lot of time to write--although I've been seeing a lot of plants and have a ton of posts in mind. At work though, one of the bosses wanted me to write a brief narrative about my job, so I figured I would share it here with you all:

I really enjoy working as a wilderness monitor in the Mount Rose Wilderness area. While I knew I would be hiking all day, an unexpected bonus of being a wilderness monitor has been working with some really great people. All of the volunteers I have worked with have been wonderful, very helpful and motivated, especially since I make them pull weeds! I like getting to know the volunteers and learning what led them to Friends of Nevada Wilderness. It is also interesting to see and meet wilderness users. There are so many different ways to enjoy the wilderness; during the course of any day I might meet trail runners, bird watchers, day hikers, backpackers, and the list goes on.

During the course of almost every day “at work,” I get to explore parts of the wilderness I have never seen before! It is a gorgeous wilderness full of wildlife and great views. The other day, I wondered into the territory of an American Kestrel breeding pair. They were not happy with my presence: they hovered above me and then started dive-bombing me, coming within five feet. It was amazing—I got to see these beautiful little orange and white falcons up close and personal. I moved through their territory as quickly as possible to minimize any stress I may cause them, but it was exhilarating to see them in action.

In addition to the kestrels, I’ve seen quite a few animals such as: a golden eagle, western tanagers, flickers, a variety of woodpeckers, lizards, a few bull snakes (no rattlers yet!), deer and signs of bears. I’ve also seen a ton of wildflowers: desert peach, larkspur, wild rose, western peonies, dagger pods, hot-rock penstemon, mountain figwort, heart-leaf arnica, and snowy thistles—just to name a few.I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to wake up every morning, excited to explore a different part of the wilderness and see what surprises lay in store.

I took a couple of pictures of the kestrels, although they did not turn out all that great.

Kestrel tree

In flight


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Awesome. What a great experience you are having! Lucky lady :)

Margery said...

What a perfect fit! Love, Mom