end of summer

August is flying by incredibly fast! Or maybe it just feels that way because it's getting closer and closer to when I have to actually start my research! It's a bit nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time...I'm looking forward to starting, but I'm also nowhere near ready enough to do that! I don't know if I'll ever feel prepared for it. Especially after I met with Tom (my supervisor) and Stephen (Parks Canada Species at Risk scientist) on the 7th and they came up with a bunch of suggestions on what I need to measure and how. I'm supposed to be doing lit review on methods and narrowing down a protocol before I start!

Of course, it also helped that I went back to Halifax for a week to pack, run errands and take some time off. Josianne, Jose and Tara drove me to Halifax on the 12th and stayed overnight so we can all go shopping and clubbing...that was fun! Then for the rest of the week, I cleaned the house, did some library research stuff, talked to a stats guy about my study design, watched tv, watched more tv, packed and cleaned again. Sounds fun, right? =P Anyway, Josianne, Jose, Robby and Stan came by the following weekend to pick me up...we went to see a movie (Bon Cop, Bad Cop...good movie, but probably would've been better if I understood French like most of the people I was with), then went to Devin's place for some vodka and sake and (hehe) lightsaber fights? Basically, Devin's got these two lightsabers, one blue and one red of course, and everyone, except for Laura and I, tried them out. Later went to Rogue's Roost for a couple of more drinks and then on to pizza corner for the 3am munchies. The next day we went and watched the Canadian Ultimate Championships in Halifax before driving back to MTRI.

The last week of field work was a bit less productive than I was hoping for. Well, actually, it was just one day...the very last day. We were hoping to do at least 4, maybe 5 sites just to finish up a couple of areas that we were supposed to do. But, the very first one we went to, in Keji, took us about 4-5hours to get to! It basically involved a lot of dragging the canoe through bogs and swamps. And the actual site took us only 30min to characterize! I have no clue why they didn't do it the year before, when they characterized the bog that was around the pond. Anyway, it was basically an all-day job, we got back to the car around 6pm, tired, thirsty (guess who didn't bring enough water?), and with soo many cuts on our hands from all the sedge and grass. It was disappointing, to say the least. The following day, we took all our water samples to Acadia to do all the tests, then we went to Oaklawn Farm Zoo so I can check out the incubated hatchlings that just hatched recently and put my velcro on them! Mike (who's doing the headstarting project) is supposed to let me know when and if they fall out. I'm hoping my transmitters will come soon, so I can test the velcro with the transmitters as well.

Thursday night, we finally did the century club, which we've been talking about doing since nesting season. For those who don't know, you drink a shot of beer every minute for 100min...hence, the name century. Well, since we all know I don't like beer, I substituted some coolers with equivalent alcohol content and, well, let's just say I'm off coolers for a while. I got to 51 shots, which is 4 Bacardi's in under 1hour. Yes, I was drunk, but no, I wasn't sick and was actually sober enough to drive home 4 hours later. And, no hangover, thank goodness, since we had to finish all our data entry the following day -- our last day! That was a long and boring day, but we eventually managed to get it done. The evening was pretty quiet, though, since both Josianne and I were trying to wrap up everything to do with wetland characterization, and I think Jose was doing the same thing with his stuff. So, Josianne's and Jose's last evening at MTRI wasn't much of a send off...but they did party the night before, so I suppose it's ok. They left early this morning around 8am...so I got up early to say goodbye and then started packing up my stuff and cleaning up the shack a bit. Oh, and I made about $16 from everyone's empty beer bottles (and other refundables) they left at the shack! =D I got to MTRI around 11am and spent the rest of the day rearranging furniture, unpacking, and cleaning. It was a full day, but a bit boring, since I was the only one around...everyone else is either done for the summer, in the field, in Halifax, or driving back to Quebec. I guess it's a sign of things to come in the fall...I'll probably go stir crazy! But, I'll have my project to focus on, and hopefully some friends will visit in the fall!

Up Next: moving adventures (Aug 30-31) and hatchling emergence!