Celebrated Halloween this day by dancing in the car to Thriller and Ghostbusters, eating a $3 breakfast special at a restaurant decorated with porcelain angels, taking photos of owls on gravestones, and doing an educational owl program in a cemetery, as well as a Great-Horned Owl release. Now I'm cozy inside watching Halloween movies while it's foggy and spooky outside :)
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Thursday, October 24, 2013
a banding tradition
It seems to becoming a tradition to band owls during the month of October, as we decided for the second year in a row to leave the warm glow of our flatscreen TV to head out into the forest and find some owls. Last year we went to Duluth during Halloweek to attend "Owl Night", where they had an educational program and we finally caught two little Norther Saw-Whets at the end of the night. Then we got to hold them like little ice-cream cones :')
We first headed to Noodles and Company in Steven's Point for the company benefit, 10% of all proceeds went directly to our organization! For some reason, I really enjoy going out and playing around after dark in the city. Steven's Point is an adorable college town, which I also LOVE because there are still people out, people my age, hanging out, riding bikes, walking around in jackets and scarves and boots with their breath fogging their vision. I love fall nights, especially when they're illuminated by lamplight. We cozied up inside of Noodles and ate macaroni and told our infamous drinking stories. I have...more than I realized...
After Noodles, we headed out to Linwood Springs Research Station, which was deep in the woods (my homeland), and took a seat in the classroom. We were treated to an educational program on owls and then released two Northern Saw-Whets that we'd rehabilitated back to health.
Since we were in the darkness since, you know, owls are nocturnal (or crepuscular), there wasn't the best lighting in the world. Also it's hard to catch the exact moment the owl actually flies off, so I didn't get any cool pictures of the owls being released into the great wild woods. Instead I got pictures of people looking amazed or thoughtful as the owl fluttered away. Aka a little bit stupid.
Little guys back in their natural habitat! May you never have to be in contact with humans ever again!
After we'd released them, we headed out to visit the mist nets, where we'd already caught a little Northern Saw-whet! We brought him back inside and took some measurements, like tarsus length and wing chord, as well as judging the age by the wear of the feathers.
The lighting wasn't too great again since it was low and fluorescent, but still. LOOK AT THAT FACE!!
We caught three Saw-Whets and at the end we got to release them. Well okay, Marge's grand-daughter and Kelsey, the other education intern, got to release them. I sort of co-released one with another rehab intern. But it was still cool!
having a complicated camera means that a lot of your pics you get back are going to be blurry, especially in the darkness when there's nothing to focus on
taking some cool pics since the owl was super shocked and didn't realize he was free to go...
OWL!
The person taking our picture didn't even get an after picture of us looking up at the sky, so unfortunately I couldn't add that one to my collection
But I did get this one!
Kelsey waiting for her owl to take off.
All in all, it was another great night filled with owls! I hope this continues to be an annual October tradition!
HALLOWEEK STARTS TOMORROW
SO. EXCITED.
We first headed to Noodles and Company in Steven's Point for the company benefit, 10% of all proceeds went directly to our organization! For some reason, I really enjoy going out and playing around after dark in the city. Steven's Point is an adorable college town, which I also LOVE because there are still people out, people my age, hanging out, riding bikes, walking around in jackets and scarves and boots with their breath fogging their vision. I love fall nights, especially when they're illuminated by lamplight. We cozied up inside of Noodles and ate macaroni and told our infamous drinking stories. I have...more than I realized...
After Noodles, we headed out to Linwood Springs Research Station, which was deep in the woods (my homeland), and took a seat in the classroom. We were treated to an educational program on owls and then released two Northern Saw-Whets that we'd rehabilitated back to health.
Since we were in the darkness since, you know, owls are nocturnal (or crepuscular), there wasn't the best lighting in the world. Also it's hard to catch the exact moment the owl actually flies off, so I didn't get any cool pictures of the owls being released into the great wild woods. Instead I got pictures of people looking amazed or thoughtful as the owl fluttered away. Aka a little bit stupid.
Little guys back in their natural habitat! May you never have to be in contact with humans ever again!
After we'd released them, we headed out to visit the mist nets, where we'd already caught a little Northern Saw-whet! We brought him back inside and took some measurements, like tarsus length and wing chord, as well as judging the age by the wear of the feathers.
The lighting wasn't too great again since it was low and fluorescent, but still. LOOK AT THAT FACE!!
We caught three Saw-Whets and at the end we got to release them. Well okay, Marge's grand-daughter and Kelsey, the other education intern, got to release them. I sort of co-released one with another rehab intern. But it was still cool!
having a complicated camera means that a lot of your pics you get back are going to be blurry, especially in the darkness when there's nothing to focus on
taking some cool pics since the owl was super shocked and didn't realize he was free to go...
OWL!
The person taking our picture didn't even get an after picture of us looking up at the sky, so unfortunately I couldn't add that one to my collection
But I did get this one!
Kelsey waiting for her owl to take off.
All in all, it was another great night filled with owls! I hope this continues to be an annual October tradition!
HALLOWEEK STARTS TOMORROW
SO. EXCITED.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
I started out this fall season (and an early Halloween season) by staffing a booth at an adorable fall festival at a farm. Halloween/fall was in full swing, and there was even A CAMEL. It was pretty magical.
I like to take pictures of signs with my name on them
My season
I want to compare this to Lenny's photo (our crow) and ask people which one they think is the real crow, because you know this one is pretty realistic...
Thank you!
Lenny is too smart for her own good
Scarecrow man playing catch with Lenny. Clearly she is terrified
Last week one of the other interns and I decided to go explore our new surroundings. We ended up at the Dells of the Eau Claire, which is filled with beautiful rock formations, tiny waterfalls, and amazing fall scenery.
Sometimes I just scream, "WAIT" because I absolutely HAVE to take a picture. This was one of those moments.
There was a tree spanning the water and I was like, "I have to climb this" while Kelsey (other intern friend) stared at me sardonically. I gave her my camera and phone to hold (considering there was a 95% chance I was going to fall into the water) and hoisted myself onto the branch. I was too comfortable with the idea of staying dry that I didn't go all the way over the water, but Kelsey decided to document it anyway.
These past few days have seen some AMAZING weather, rainstorms and mist enveloping the fall foliage. I had to snap a few pictures yesterday morning.
I am so psyched for this month's activities, SO MANY AWESOME THINGS PLANNED!!
I like to take pictures of signs with my name on them
My season
I want to compare this to Lenny's photo (our crow) and ask people which one they think is the real crow, because you know this one is pretty realistic...
Thank you!
Lenny is too smart for her own good
Scarecrow man playing catch with Lenny. Clearly she is terrified
Last week one of the other interns and I decided to go explore our new surroundings. We ended up at the Dells of the Eau Claire, which is filled with beautiful rock formations, tiny waterfalls, and amazing fall scenery.
Sometimes I just scream, "WAIT" because I absolutely HAVE to take a picture. This was one of those moments.
There was a tree spanning the water and I was like, "I have to climb this" while Kelsey (other intern friend) stared at me sardonically. I gave her my camera and phone to hold (considering there was a 95% chance I was going to fall into the water) and hoisted myself onto the branch. I was too comfortable with the idea of staying dry that I didn't go all the way over the water, but Kelsey decided to document it anyway.
These past few days have seen some AMAZING weather, rainstorms and mist enveloping the fall foliage. I had to snap a few pictures yesterday morning.
I am so psyched for this month's activities, SO MANY AWESOME THINGS PLANNED!!
Saturday, October 5, 2013
THIS. IS. OCTOBERRRR.
Here it is. My absolute FAVORITE month of the year! The weather is absolute perfection: chilly but still sunny on most days, with those grey and misty rainstorms to remind you that Halloweennis just around the corner, beautiful fall scenery (gradients of red!!), Halloween treats, costume planning and creation, Halloweeni playlists, horror movies, and of course PUMPKINSSSS!!!
Basically, as I have demonstrated in the past, I ADORE OCTOBER AND HALLOWEEN! And it helps me celebrate my favorite month and holiday when I can blog about it! Unfortunately, I have absolutely no Internet in my new abode (writing this on my phone), so blogging will be limited. BUT I am determined!! Here are some things I have planned for this lovely month:
-throwing leaves around and possibly rolling in them (plus taking pictures of it with the aide of my new tripod)
-making glowy pictures at night! I have never done it before and 90% of the population has so...once again, TRIPOD TIME!!
-let's take some star trail pics while we're at it with my tripod
-creating my awesome Batgirl costume!! (I'm also obsessed with bats)
-writing reviews of my favorite horror movies (and most of them are probably horribly bad)
-epic Halloween stories from trick or treating terror and magic to begging my parents to allow my to go to Rocky Horror live at the Tower Theater (with badly drawn comics!)
-pumpkin carving parties
-apple cider drinking
-raptor banding in Duluth! As well as possibly saw whet owl banding (maybe it will become a tradition)
-Great Horned Owl releases in local cemeteries :3
-the traditional Halloweek that will be filled with Halloweeniness and hopefully be topped off with a huge Halloween party (I've got my eye on Freakfest in Madison, but it's pretty far away)
Getting myself pumped. Tomorrow I have the day off so I'm going to switch my Halloween playlist over to my iPod, order a traditional Halloween movie from Netflix (it's on disc now), and possibly purchase a mini pumpkin to paint.
Basically, as I have demonstrated in the past, I ADORE OCTOBER AND HALLOWEEN! And it helps me celebrate my favorite month and holiday when I can blog about it! Unfortunately, I have absolutely no Internet in my new abode (writing this on my phone), so blogging will be limited. BUT I am determined!! Here are some things I have planned for this lovely month:
-throwing leaves around and possibly rolling in them (plus taking pictures of it with the aide of my new tripod)
-making glowy pictures at night! I have never done it before and 90% of the population has so...once again, TRIPOD TIME!!
-let's take some star trail pics while we're at it with my tripod
-creating my awesome Batgirl costume!! (I'm also obsessed with bats)
-writing reviews of my favorite horror movies (and most of them are probably horribly bad)
-epic Halloween stories from trick or treating terror and magic to begging my parents to allow my to go to Rocky Horror live at the Tower Theater (with badly drawn comics!)
-pumpkin carving parties
-apple cider drinking
-raptor banding in Duluth! As well as possibly saw whet owl banding (maybe it will become a tradition)
-Great Horned Owl releases in local cemeteries :3
-the traditional Halloweek that will be filled with Halloweeniness and hopefully be topped off with a huge Halloween party (I've got my eye on Freakfest in Madison, but it's pretty far away)
Getting myself pumped. Tomorrow I have the day off so I'm going to switch my Halloween playlist over to my iPod, order a traditional Halloween movie from Netflix (it's on disc now), and possibly purchase a mini pumpkin to paint.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
23 b4 24
Once upon a time, I made a 101 in 1001 list. For those of you not in the know, it means 101 things to accomplish before 1001 days are up, a little less than three years. Three years seems like plenty of time to accomplish 101 goals, but since a couple of the goals were things I put on there because it seemed like the right college-aged thing to do (i.e. go white-water rafting. WHAT? When have I ever done anything similar in my LIFE?) Another item on the task list was to take 21 shots for my 21st birthday, which my friend Natalya told me NO, DON'T DO so that kind of got crossed off too.
Anyway, the point is that I have recently heard about making a task list as long as your age, so for me it would be 23 items, to accomplish before your next birthday. This sounded a lot more doable, and since it is a year it's less time for me to completely forget about the list and it might make me more accountable. Also it sounded like fun to do, so I made it while watching Bones last night.
Without further ado, here is my list! Along with reasons why I decided on each task.
23 b4 24
1) Go beach camping (I have ALWAYS wanted to go beach camping! It is everything I love combined.)
2) Take self defense (I want to be more confident about my safety, especially since I want to travel out of country which kind of scares me, so I think self defense would help me out)
3) Redesign Etsy shop and re-list items. Make it real again
4) Read 10 books (already crossed one off the list, 9/10 left)
5) Write and illustrate a children's book
6) Lose 25 lbs (seems like a reasonable goal, the alternative is be active for 30 minutes everyday)
7) Go to a big Halloween party
8) Handle an eagle
9) Travel to another country
10) Get a job
11) Make a rainbow cake
12) Create a video about a trip (big or small)
13) Learn or choreograph a dance routine
14) Get a tattoo
15) Visit San Francisco
16) Go on a date (this seems dumb, but it's NOT. I don't "date", I "hang out" instead. I want to go on a REAL DATE, terrible or not)
17) Get a cartilage piercing
18) Make a comic montage about my experiences with birds
19) Watch the sunrise on New Year's Day OR pull an all nighter to watch the sunrise
20) Ride a horse
21) Start a blog series and be consistent with it
22) Train Maeby to play dead
23) Send a postcard to Postsecret
The rules for this list are that I have to have proof of each task (photograph or video, though probably photographs since I'm obsessed) and I should probably do them all. Unless I chicken out (like #14...yikes). But I WON'T. I won't do it! I'll persevere! Plus I didn't put white-water rafting on this time, which was a good call.
Anyway, the point is that I have recently heard about making a task list as long as your age, so for me it would be 23 items, to accomplish before your next birthday. This sounded a lot more doable, and since it is a year it's less time for me to completely forget about the list and it might make me more accountable. Also it sounded like fun to do, so I made it while watching Bones last night.
Without further ado, here is my list! Along with reasons why I decided on each task.
23 b4 24
1) Go beach camping (I have ALWAYS wanted to go beach camping! It is everything I love combined.)
2) Take self defense (I want to be more confident about my safety, especially since I want to travel out of country which kind of scares me, so I think self defense would help me out)
3) Redesign Etsy shop and re-list items. Make it real again
4) Read 10 books (already crossed one off the list, 9/10 left)
5) Write and illustrate a children's book
6) Lose 25 lbs (seems like a reasonable goal, the alternative is be active for 30 minutes everyday)
7) Go to a big Halloween party
8) Handle an eagle
9) Travel to another country
10) Get a job
11) Make a rainbow cake
12) Create a video about a trip (big or small)
13) Learn or choreograph a dance routine
14) Get a tattoo
15) Visit San Francisco
16) Go on a date (this seems dumb, but it's NOT. I don't "date", I "hang out" instead. I want to go on a REAL DATE, terrible or not)
17) Get a cartilage piercing
18) Make a comic montage about my experiences with birds
19) Watch the sunrise on New Year's Day OR pull an all nighter to watch the sunrise
20) Ride a horse
21) Start a blog series and be consistent with it
22) Train Maeby to play dead
23) Send a postcard to Postsecret
The rules for this list are that I have to have proof of each task (photograph or video, though probably photographs since I'm obsessed) and I should probably do them all. Unless I chicken out (like #14...yikes). But I WON'T. I won't do it! I'll persevere! Plus I didn't put white-water rafting on this time, which was a good call.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
“Sometimes she has imagined what it would be like to fly, to live in the river, to run like a horse. She has dreamed of that freedom, that power, and fears the wildness in herself that wants to live as beasts live, moved purely by need and desire. She has felt torn between the heat of her limbs and the thoughts in her mind telling her to be careful and good and always calm. Don’t scream or cry, don’t run to him and throw yourself at his feet, pleading for him to take you in his arms, don’t strip off your clothes and run naked to the water, wild with wanting.” ― Francesca Lia Block
Sunday, September 8, 2013
i'm here
I'm alive!
I'm alive and doing a w e s o m e (except for that COUGHspeedingticketCOUGH)
I just started working at a raptor education and rehabilitation center that's only a couple of hours away from where I was living and working last year, so I took this weekend to come up and visit BFFL Megan and to see the creatures and feel the woods. I am still so in love with these woods.
I have so many things to share, but unfortunately my new place doesn't have enough internet for blogging, really (boo), so I'll just share some of the coolest things:
-I am now friends with a Sandhill Crane named Decimator, named such because he has a casual hobby of murdering House Sparrows
-I helped tube-feed a Red-Tailed Hawk
-I've handled so many different species of raptors in the past week: turkey vulture, eastern screech, great horned, red-tailed hawk, american kestrel, european barn owl, peregrine falcon, merlin, and a broad-winged hawk. It's amazing and I love it
-I will start training a female snowy owl soon and I weep with joy in my heart at the thought of it
-A polite parrot keeps asking me, "Cracker, please?" so I'll feed her BBQ chips
-I did a three day, 24 hour road trip by myself and I made it. I also talked to myself a lot along the way
-Fall is in the air, and it makes me giddy with electrified excitement
Being at this new job and talking to my supervisor about what I want to learn and what I know how to do has helped me grow even more professionally. This will be a great experience and I believe I will get a lot out of it. Watching groups laugh or grow excited about different raptor facts make me realize that this is what I want to do. This is my passion.
I'm alive and doing a w e s o m e (except for that COUGHspeedingticketCOUGH)
I just started working at a raptor education and rehabilitation center that's only a couple of hours away from where I was living and working last year, so I took this weekend to come up and visit BFFL Megan and to see the creatures and feel the woods. I am still so in love with these woods.
I have so many things to share, but unfortunately my new place doesn't have enough internet for blogging, really (boo), so I'll just share some of the coolest things:
-I am now friends with a Sandhill Crane named Decimator, named such because he has a casual hobby of murdering House Sparrows
-I helped tube-feed a Red-Tailed Hawk
-I've handled so many different species of raptors in the past week: turkey vulture, eastern screech, great horned, red-tailed hawk, american kestrel, european barn owl, peregrine falcon, merlin, and a broad-winged hawk. It's amazing and I love it
-I will start training a female snowy owl soon and I weep with joy in my heart at the thought of it
-A polite parrot keeps asking me, "Cracker, please?" so I'll feed her BBQ chips
-I did a three day, 24 hour road trip by myself and I made it. I also talked to myself a lot along the way
-Fall is in the air, and it makes me giddy with electrified excitement
Being at this new job and talking to my supervisor about what I want to learn and what I know how to do has helped me grow even more professionally. This will be a great experience and I believe I will get a lot out of it. Watching groups laugh or grow excited about different raptor facts make me realize that this is what I want to do. This is my passion.
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