my 1st month!

it's hard to believe that i have been here for a month. this place has grown on me so much and the people have become so much like family to me....it is quite amazing. one of my best experiences so far was this past wednesdays. the whole corps was "sworn in" at the county courthouse in barnstable. we spent the morning getting to know the county commision and they could not contain their excitement for the 10th year of americorps. it was so humbling to hear these officals praise the program and past members. it made me really excited to FINALLY get to work instead of training. our first real project happened on friday. on thursday we were given a loose outline and told we were getting some alternative high school student volunteers. we essentially had to plan the project and make sure that we had all the tools we needed to do some invasive species removal. so friday morning we met the volunteers at taylor-bray farm in yarmouth. the land was first used as a farm over 300 years ago! there are only 23 acres left....but it is a really wonderful place that i plan on spending some more time at. the corps members were split into 3 groups and given some volunteers. our group was given the task of removing some PHRAGMITES....an invasive grass from australia that can grow up to 13 feet! so...we got out our lopers & clippers & got to work. for the most part the kids were excited to help and it was great to have some more hands-on work to do. after the volunteers left, don -- who runs the farm -- gave us all a tractor ride! fun stuff. that afternoon 7 of us (meg, brian, alex, jaclyn, jenny, amanda & myself) drove down to woods hole to catch the ferry to go to martha's vineyard for the night! our plan was to camp and to see a band entrain, that we had previously had seen. we thought the best way to travel was on bike....so it was quite "fun" trying to drive around on our bikes with huge packs on our backs containing sleeping bags and tents....in the dark! but nonetheless....we reached our campsite & set up camp. the band was very entertaining & we even got a shout out by the lead singer @ the last song. after a chilly night in our tents we headed into vineyard haven for a yummy b'fast/lunch & then set out on our bikes to explore. we decided to head to oaks bluff to check out a "gingerbread" neighborhood. it was a little neighborhood comprised of little cottages painted & decorated in all different colors. we then hit up the main drag and saw the oldest carousel in the country and lots of cute little shops. we all had a great time & will definately be going back when it is warm again. the best part of the whole trip was when we were coming back & had meredith and korinda pick us up at the ferry....it was sort of like a movie in that we all ran to each other to give everyone hugs. & then when we got back to our house, some people were just getting back from a conference in boston & everyone was running & hugging. we all realized that it was our 1st night apart and it was really cute how we all missed each other! i cannot say enough how much i enjoy the people i live with.
well....on tuesday i am finally starting my individual placement with the stranding network, so i am very much looking forward to that! hope you are all enjoying the fall....not too much color here yet, but i hope soon!
keep in touch!
much love,
ABBEY

sunset on the ferry to the vineyard....

boats in vineyard haven harbor....

our camping group on the ferry....

sunset in wellfleet harbor...check out the sliver moon!

americorps on the (taylor-bray) farm!