365: week 8

50/365
We went to the Carolina Raptor Center, clusters of raptor mews within a barren forest. I loved it.



51/365
We were able to watch a Barred Owl release. Wildlife rehabilitation releases are always magical.



52/365
My old boss and good friend (who reminds me of Ron Swanson) won a conservation grant to help taxidermy some owls for a class. He was so excited.



53/365
My notes from the conference. There is A LOT of material: 42 pages from my training workshop and 12 pages of notes from the paper presentations and enrichment workshop, but I am so happy to have these references to look back on.



54/365
I hooked up my Gamecube and played Harvest Moon all night on my Friday; the conference had me partied out.


55/365
My to-do list for the day was to obtain donuts and a succulent. Check and check.



56/365
I woke up to find a perfect, white egg at the bottom of Maeby's cage. She's never laid one before, so I was slightly shocked. I gave her a calcium block and some fortified juices to replete her energy stores.


I am incredibly happy that I was able to attend the IAATE conference. I learned so much, like sooo much. I am completing a presentation for my department over my weekend summarizing the info I learned (which is going to be rough; it's only supposed to be a ten minute presentation…) and have been assembling my swag, preening it into the layout of my room. I took tequila shots with some of the best bird trainers in the world, saw board members playing "butt darts", played card games until 2 in the morning, saw my friend ("Ron Swanson") drink kestrel-themed wine for the first time in my life (his wife didn't even know he drank), visited with old friends and met tons of new friends, and basically had a fantastic time. It was definitely overwhelming (I had no idea that people partied so hard at conferences. I WAS WRONG.), but it pushed me outside of my comfort zone and that is good. I can't wait to go again! And again, and again, and again...