The Newest...

I had enough foresight to get a couple of paw prints from Zoe before she died. I had them tattooed on my shoulder along with a little grey swirl behind - it's a bit hard to see in these pictures, but I'm happy with it overall. Zoe and I went through a lot together and she supported me during some tough times...now I'll always have her little paws on my shoulder no matter what.

They Finally Let Me Outside for Good Behavior (or Something...)

In the past two weeks, I've actually gotten to go outside three times for work. Wow! Imagine that - a biologist actually being allowed to go outside...since I have no window in my office, I'd practically forgotten what sunlight is like. Which may explain the pale, pasty complexion and vitamin D efficiency that I've fallen prey to lately...

Anyway, I spent two days looking at project sites on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, which is my new turf. On the first day I got to see my first endangered arroyo toad, along with some of the beautiful beaches and heavy amphibious vehicles the Marines use in their water-to-land assault operations (guess which I was more excited about).

On the second day, I assisted one of our office ornithologists in his weekly endangered least Bell's vireo nest surveys. Which was really cool - we found several nests with eggs and chicks, and lots of other cool critters as well. I'll put a link to some of the more interesting photos to the right so you can view them all!

The following week I participated in searching for endangered light-footed clapper rail nest surveys at the Tijuana Estuary just south of San Diego. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work! We were walking around in boot-hungry mud and cord grass trying to find nests with eggs, but not step on them. We only found three nests with eggs, and they all appeared to be viable (I checked the fetal heartbeat with the Egg Buddy) so we didn't collect any of them for contaminants analysis. We did take one egg back to the refuge to be incubated, as it appeared to have been abandoned by the parents. We saw several clapper rails, but they're very speedy so I didn't get any pictures of them. But I did get lots of other photos, so take a look at the slide show link to the right. I was completely filthy and muddy and sweaty and sore, but I also had a really great time - I think I might have even got a little sun on my neck. But just a little...I was wearing a big hat and plenty of sunscreen. I'm still working on keeping up that pale complexion and vitamin D deficiency...

Hope you're all doing well and enjoying the spring!

Can You Believe Teddy Will Be 16 Tomorrow?

Who would have thought - sixteen years old! When I took this dog in, I thought he'd maybe have a couple of years left in him, but he keeps on ticking. He's doing pretty well - still whiny, loves to eat. I put him on a diet and he lost about five pounds, which I estimate will add at least another year to his life. On second thought, maybe I'd better fatten him back up...oh, I'm sorry, was that mean? Teddy knows I love him, even though sometimes he's a pain in the ass. Such a geriatric pup...but cute (this picture was taken last year, but it's the most recent I have, and he looks pretty much the same, except for the full-body mohawk I've given him).

Also, a couple weekends ago, Mom, Nik and I went to the Escondido Renaissance Faire. Nik and I dressed up - go ahead and take a look at the pictures (there's a slide show link at right). Yes, I know I'm a dork.

Better Late Than Never, Right?

I know it has been a terribly long time since I've posted anything, and I know that most of my posts start off with this slightly guilt-ridden statement. Honestly, I don't know why you people bother to keep checking my blog, since everything I post is pretty boring anyhow. But today, I have a couple of items to share: first, I'm now blogging on a very nice new computer, an HP 17" laptop that I'm loving (so far). I had a few issues last weekend, but those problems seem to have resolved themselves...so my new computer appears to be self-healing as well, bonus.

Second, I went on a vacation that I have yet to tell you about. Actually, the pictures from my road trip to Portland (which happened about a month ago, ahem) have been posted to the right for a few weeks now, so I don't feel too bad about not posting until now. But I'll give you a brief rundown of my trip:

Saturday - I dropped Teddy Bear at Beth's house, then started driving north. I had a great drive just being by myself, breaking in my new Garmin nuvi GPS, and catching up on listening to all my podcasts. I arrived at Gramma Koski's house in Paradise at about 5 in the afternoon. We enjoyed a quiet evening chatting and eating.

Sunday - I spent the day with Gramma, who barely let me go an hour without insisting I eat something. We went to Red Lobster for a late lunch, where I finally got cell phone coverage and a report from Beth indicating that Teddy had been barking until 3 a.m. Sigh.

Monday - I start on the next leg of my trip north, which was quickly and briefly delayed by another call from Beth saying that Teddy Bear peed on her couch the previous night. I called my mom to pick him up and put him in a kennel - dang! But the rest of my drive was good - Mount Shasta was beautiful, and there was snow in the mountains just south of Ashland. I got to Corvallis to stay with my friends Jeremy and Dana and their daughter Autumn just in time to take them out to dinner at a tasty Indian place downtown. Yummy!

Tuesday - Jeremy and Dana took me to breakfast before I drove about an hour and a half north to Portland. By the time I got to my brother's house, I was certain that I needed to take my car in because of a grinding noise that, I was hoping, would simply require a half-turn of a Phillips head screwdriver and cost me about $5.50 to repair. Anne got a referral for me to Vu's Car Care, where they diagnosed the sound as coming from my dying transmission, which would take two days to replace and cost $925. This vacation is turning out to be a bit more expensive than I was anticipating! But the yummy pad thai Anne and Paul made for dinner, as well as Adelaide's shenanigans, almost made up for it.

Wednesday - I woke up from a night of snuggling with a surrogate cat (Bosco) and kicked around the house with Anne and Adelaide. We went to lunch at the Laughing Planet, and surprise surprise, my car repairs were fixed by 6 pm. Yay!

Thursday - Paul, Anne, and I drove up to Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge and hiked up to the top. Adelaide contributed to the serenity of the falls by crying when Paul stopped walking. But the falls were incredible, and we had a nice snack at the restaurant below. That afternoon I stopped by the Portland FWS field office to introduce myself and prove how awkward I am at networking. But I took Anne and Paul out for a Moroccan dinner down town, which was lots of fun (although the belly dancer was rather blonde and caucasian...).

Friday - Me and my newly quiet car began our reluctant journey south towards home. I stopped in Medford to meet up with Jack Williams, who treated me to a burrito for lunch. After that, it was back on the road until I got to Gramma's. More eating.

Saturday - The end of my vacation was in sight. I spent one last day driving, enjoying the thoughts I had to myself, and my music and podcasts. I was stuck in LA traffic for about an hour, but managed to get home in one piece. Mom picked up Teddy from the kennel for me, so when I got home he was there waiting. Yup, my vacation was definitely over.

Just so you know

I had to put Zoe down yesterday. I miss her so much already, and (for such a tiny cat) her absence is profoundly noticeable.

Nope, Nothing New Here...

Just wanted to write a quick post to let you know I'm alive. Bored, but alive. You see, nothing of interest has happened over the past month, so I haven't wanted to subject you to any tedious details (of which there are none). It is raining now - it seems like rain has been frequent during the past few weekends - which I like.

Zoe is not doing well. I think we're nearing the end of the line for her - a few more weeks maybe. Surprisingly, it is not her cancer that is the problem, but our inability to regulate her diabetes. She has lost so much weight, but for now, still seems happy. I'm trying to be aware of the day when she gives me that look...and will try not to ignore it out of my own sadness and need to keep her around longer. My poor kitty.

Teddy continues to be a pain in the ass. We had been doing really well with not peeing in the house, but starting on Friday, he has gotten it in his head that it is ok to both pee and shit inside. At least a couple of times each day. I'm thinking his days are numbered too...but for different reasons...and he *is* almost 16.

Jesse, of course, is fat and happy. Oblivious, aloof. Ah, the typical cat.

I hope you are all well, staying warm in February, whever you are. I'm enjoying today's holiday, staying in bed and catching up on my blogging. I just wish I had more interesting things to share...oh, and if you haven't joined facebook yet, maybe you should. I'm a bit more active there than here lately!

Isn't a Simple Blog Good Enough for You People?

Okay, okay - you've finally worn me down. I went against my better judgement and am now on Facebook so that all you groupies can write on my wall or poke me or whatever it is that you do on Facebook. Happy? I'll admit, looking up people from my past has been kinda fun, but if this turns into another MySpace fiasco I'm pulling the plug. So the minute I start receiving obscene IMs proposing objectionable and indecent things, or random emails from guys wanting to "get together and party", it will be Lights Out for Facebook.

Dang it - now I have yet another way to waste time messing around on the web. Thanks, people.

Last Post of 2008! For Real This Time!!!

Lest you think that 2008 was totally in the toilet (see previous post), I thought I'd share a few more photos with you. I got a really great surprise today when I received a CD in the mail from Cecily (thanks, Cecily!!!), who compiled all the photos she took on our trip to the Chiricahuas over Thanksgiving. I'll probably try to upload them to a Picasa web album sometime, but here are just a few of the photos that I thought were particularly funny or had incredible scenery. So happy new year, for real this time!

Thanksgiving dinner at a truck stop - bad pizza and rootbeer floats!

So this is what I look like first thing in the morning? I'd just crawled out of the tent after our first night backpacking in the wilderness area; yes, that's ice in my hair.

One of the many spectacular views of the Chiricahua wilderness; this was just before we somehow managed to get ourselves off-trail. I wish I knew how to use the self-timer on *my* camera!

You can't see it in the photo (how clever...), but Cecily's ankle is totally jacked up! At this point, we were enjoying the views at the Chiricahua National Monument, which were accessible a short distance from the car.