Month 1.

so, blogging is proving difficult again the second time around. my apologies. i cannot believe how exhausted i am at the end of the day. a 3month hiatus from working is taking its toll! but it feels SO GOOD at the end of a long service day. we have been having some really great group projects and some really good weather! on thursday i had a "site visit" -- at the beach! and it was 60 degrees & sunny. rough life.

we have been clearing a lot of invasives.....phragmites and japanese knotweed....clearing some trails........planting beach grass......and it is the start of WET Fest season (water festivals for grade school kids). at my IPs, i am busy researching the water quality of brewster ponds.....not as exciting as i had hoped, but i am looking forward to putting everything together to make a website. with the chatham conservation foundation (CCF), i meet craig at his house, hang out with his family for a bit and then we get to work....going out to different land parcels and document abutter violations. the past week we took a trip to hyannis to go to HOME DEPOT! exciting. i felt like i fit right in wearing my carharts & work boots. we purchased chains and 4x4s to block off access to some private land that locals are using for their own pleasure. we got it done! it was a good day.

i have been also trying to get some hours with IFAW. i spent my veterans holiday day there helping with paperwork stuff and then i got to help with a common dolphin necropsy the sunday after thanksgiving! it was great to get my hands dirty again down in woods hole. i helped with sampling the animal, but hopefully will get some cutting time one of these days!

americorps kids also got to hang out at the beach in brewster on tuesday night looking for washed up & stunned ridley turtles. they are the rarest sea turtle in the world and get cold stunned when the temp begins to drop. we didnt find any, but i did see a dead one during the day at my IP in brewster. it was cool, but not as cool as a dead seal, i am afraid.

i stayed here for thanksgiving and had a huge meal with 14 other americorps alum/current members at my friend amanda's house. SO much food. i spent the rest of my time hanging out in hyannis. watched a lot of movies, played some cribbage, sampled some cape cod beer, took a small hike and attempted some shopping on friday in the pouring rain. it was a nice, relaxing 5 day break!

so now i am looking forward to heading back to wisco for christmas and new years. the weather isnt too bad here yet, so i am dreading snow and cold.

i am headed up to portland, maine tonight for a concert with 2 guys from the house. i am excited to leave the cape & explore portland some more. & of course, to continue to bond with everyone in the house. i am finally becoming part of the group and people have been saying that it feels like i have been here the whole time, so thats great!!!

enjoy your weekend!

(& these pictures....)

sunset at low tide at ryder beach

wellfleet alum at thanksgiving

dead ridley turtle at a brewster beach

(only 4,000 left in the world!)

w. dennis beach in w. dennis on a gorgeous 60 degree day in december!

most of the house clearing trash at the ptown community garden site!

BACK IN MASS!

it's true. i am a resident of massachusetts again! what started as an exodus to boston to try & find work turned into employment on the cape.....with AMERICORPS! again. it's a crazy story (kinda) but the short version is: i decided to take a chance & move to boston to try & find a job (2 months of doing nothing is sheboygan was getting to me). i moved on sept. 26th to beantown & set up shop on my cousin, meghan's, fancy, new fold down couch. i enjoyed being back on the east coast and being back in a big city! nothing was really happening in the job-searching area, until one friday in early october when my old americorps supervisor, mary, called me up with an "interesting proposition". they unfortunately (maybe fortunately for me) had to ask one of their current members to leave because she had already served 2 americorps terms (rules right now for americorps state & national (what our program is) are that you can only do 2) so....they needed to fill the spot -- & FAST, so the staff all thought of ME doing nothing up in boston & asked me if i would want to come back & fill the position. i thought about it for the weekend & called back the next tuesday & said YES! i then spent most of october getting ready for the big move which included packing up all my stuff & SHIPPING my RAV out to me on the east coast! (i had left it at home when i moved). everything mostly went according to plan & i now type this latest blog entry from my new bed in my new bedroom in WELLFLEET!

i have been here for a week now. i moved in on sunday, nov. 1st. it has been strangely wonderful to be back. wonderful in that i love this program & this place & this house....strange in that i do not recognize all these new faces! the first night i almost walked into my old room 3 times. for the first couple days i expected my old housemates to be cooking in the kitchen or sitting in the living room and it made me feel almost lonely to be in this great place with all these strangers. HOWEVER, i was not lonely because everyone has been so great & welcoming to me! we had a big potluck dinner on sunday night & had some "house bonding" by playing some charades. the group is definitely a lively bunch....& active! lots of runners........but also active in that they have different house "clubs".....like the "masterpiece theater society" where they rent series from pbs/bbc on netflix & watch them. i partook in one such viewing & fell asleep during it. at least i tried. they also have a few book clubs. i have decided to start a CRIBBAGE club & have some people interested in joining.

as for what i am doing this year. WELL....my week is set up like last year. group service on mondays & fridays. an individual placement (IP) 2 days a week. & a COD (community outreach & development) day at the office. i actually have 2 IPs this year. one day i am with the brewster DNR helping with their ponds and lakes stewardship (PALS) program. i will be gathering info on the different ponds in brewster (ie water quality, how it has been impacted by pollution) & making a website (!!!) so the info can be accessed by the public. i am hopefully going to be helping with sampling water in the spring with their volunteer sampling group. the other day i am with the chatham conservation foundation. i am working with craig, who is contracted through CCF just a few days a week, so i work with him @ his house in harwich....which is interesting, but fun. basically ccf has been acquiring green space in chatham through purchasing it or having it gifted since the 1970s. thats really all they have been doing.....acquiring land & then not doing much with it or keeping track on what is going on with the land. SO.....my project will be helping craig go out to the individual parcels of land & to document what exactly is going on. mostly they want to check on surrounding homes that might be encroaching on the land & letting them know that its not their property to dump on/clear trees & shrubs, etc. for cod day i am helping to plan americorps week again in may!

so far everything has really been great & i love being back in this atmosphere & dealing with the absurdities that arise in our daily lives. just tonight i helped remove an embedded tick on my housemate, margaret's leg. i also found some ticks on me on wednesday after frolicking in the woods with craig for 3 hours. i may have also gotten poison ivy that day on my thigh. its hard to tell....but its red & itchy. i am also all cut up on my legs from green briar (a nasty, thorny plant).

i am also attempting to be a little more domestic this time around. last night i made HOMEMADE BUTTER!! from cream. it was awesome. i also found a book shelf at the chatham swap shop....brought it home, cleaned it, sanded it down & painted it. it is now sitting proudly in my room! i hope to attempt to make my own cheese @ some point & have been really big into buying seasonally.......(more) organically......more locally.......& more socially aware of who i am giving my money to (kraft & all its affliates are the devil). i also read "omnivore's dilemma" & "in the defense of food" both by michael pollan during my 3 month hiatus. READ THEM. they make you think. "a better world shopping guide" is also wonderful!

so, i am attempting americorps cape cod, ROUND TWO! i am excited & eager for the year (9 months, technically) ahead. i know that it will be hard to top last year, but i am confident that this year will be just as rewarding with new experiences with my new housemates!

this is me sitting on top of a dune.....ocean side....in truro!

GORGEOUS!

i am living in the "girls quad" this year. yes.....i am sharing a room with 3 other people!

on the bright side....no more top bunk!

the 2nd photo is a close-up of my little corner of the room....it's pretty cozy!

the last month MONTAGE

sorting oysters & raking clams.......

seal survey in chatham......on the boat!

LOBSTERS!!!! yummy.....

last service project....at the end of the day with all the oyster cages!

"the last supper".....and newcomb hollow beach....oceanside!

singing @ karaoke.....our song....."bohemian rhapsody"


before heading out to THE POND on our last night.....


driving over the sagamore bridge.....good-bye cape cod....

alex standing in our puddle of a campsite next to our tent that turned into a water bed.....



enjoying sebago lake in maine!




alex & i hanging out in boston before taking him to the airport....

under my favorite tree in the boston gardens....the weeping beech

Final Thoughts.

It is August 20th, 2009.
Almost 2 months have gone by since my last post and I have now been living off the Cape for almost one month. I have put off writing this because my experience will seem too finalized if I put it all down in words. The emotions were also running wild in that last month, trying to experience all I could before I left....trying to take things in....slow time down....possibly find a pause button, or better yet, rewind button to do it all over again. As much as I tried, the end inevitably came and I now sit in my bedroom in Sheboygan, WI reminiscing about my year on the Cape.
IT WAS GREAT!
It was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. On September 8th, 2008, I nervously entered a parallel universe of sand dunes, loppers, waders and dead marine mammals. I have always considered myself an independent person, but moving so far away & knowing NO ONE really upped my anxiety. The drive from Boston to the Cape on the first day was a continual Q&A session with myself, the most common question being: "What the f*$% are you doing!?!?" It turned out that I was doing the BEST thing ever! My mom recently asked me what my favorite thing was and like a 5 year old, I answered, "Everything.", because it was the truth....mostly. My least favorite part was July 25th, 2009: The Day I left the Cape.....part 2 of the hardest thing I have ever done. Our last week consisted of exit paperwork, mass cleaning of the house and packing up. It was cold and overcast most of the week (we did not have a summer on the cape) with some drizzles....almost like the Cape was sad to see us go, too and then like some cruel joke it was GORGEOUS, sunny and hot that morning we all said our good-byes. I didn't want to leave....so I stuck around that morning as long as possible and was one of the last ones to go. Alex & I had planned to go camping in Maine for a few days, so I made him drive my car while I tried to keep it together for the long car ride off the cape. It was intense saying good bye to 13 people who you have shared basically everything with the last 11 months. We worked together, we hung out together, we lived together....ate together....slept together. We shared clothes, food, cars, advice, stories, laughs, tears. We occasionaly fought and got upset when someone got the service project we wanted or was sitting in "our spot" on the couch. It WAS a family. & still is. I talk to at least one person from my house in some form every day. I know that this will fade eventually, but right now it is a nice comfort as I am still adjusting to my surroundings....knowing that I am not the only one who feels a little out of place and alone. & I know that I will see them again. I stayed with Sam on my drive back to Wisco. Brian & Korinda stopped at my parents house for a night on their way out west on a roadtrip. Alex is coming to visit in a few days for a whole week...& because so many people are still out on the Cape (returning to AmeriCorps or working) I plan to get out there sometime this year. So I will be OK! I am currently in the market for a job.....& really want to get back out east. I really loved it out there and am missing it immensely. SO....if you know of any great enviro/research/fieldtech/really anything jobs out east & want to hook me up.....feel free! (This also applies to anywhere really because I just really need a job)

But moving on.....
highlights of my last month:
*LOTS of shellfishing! Going through oyster cages, raking up clams, wearing waders....always a good time!
*Our final project was removing old oyster cages that were buried in the sand and hauling them back to shore. It was HOT and the cages were HEAVY. It was definitely a testament to our work ethic.....we got it done!
*Lots of attempts at catching some waves on the ocean side. We broke some boogie boards and there may have been some bloodshed caused by washing up on rocks.
*Frolicking bay side.....swimming in the warmer water, watching fireworks (the town of Truro celebrated its 300th year!), & sunsets.
*4th of July was CRAZY.....tourists everywhere and no where for us to go. I actually got sick and missed the fireworks. oh well.
*LOBSTER! amanda, erin, alex & i bought some live lobsters @ the grocery store and brought them home & steamed them....delicious! & so much fun.
*SEALS! I did a seal survey with IFAW. We rode around in a little boat looking for seal haul outs. We found about 150 gray seals and then attempted to disentangle one that was wrapped up in fishing gear. Little guy was too fast and got away, but it was so amazing to be so close to them!
*THE POND! our favorite place. When the beaches were packed, we walked down the road to the pond. Almost always empty and always a good temperature. Also a great spot to enjoy some beer!
*"Graduation"....we had a ceremony and I gave a little speech about our time at Taylor-Bray Farm and AmeriCorps week. We even had to walk across the stage & accept a "diploma" (certificate verifying that we put in 1700 service hours)
*"The Last Supper"....our last house dinner and meeting took place on the beach! We had a bonfire, some booze and everyone brought a dish to pass! definitely an eclectic dinner.
*Our last weekend.....we spent hitting up our favorite spots......the bomb shelter on friday night and then Drag Queen Karaoke on Saturday night where we sang "Bohemian Rhapsody"....one of the first things we did together to "bond".
*Our last nite we all went and ate at Moby Dick's....the first place we all went out to dinner together (we are all very sentimental, if you couldn't tell)...and then went to the pond one last time.....for skinny dipping!
*Alex & I went to Sebago Lake State Park in Maine after we all said goodbye on the Cape and went camping for 2 nights. We got rained out the first night and had to switch campsites. We spent an afternoon in Portland and then headed to Boston for the night to stay with my cousin and hang out in the city before I took him to the airport.

I then spent 11 hours in a car...by myself...driving from Boston to Aurora, OH (where Sam lives!) and then 9 hours the next day to get back to Sheboygan. It was long and awful, but I made it!

I wanted to thank everyone for reading this "blog" and being interested in what I was up to out there! It was hard to keep up with at times because I was always doing something, but thanks for hanging in there. It was a wild ride & one hell of a year!

& Stay tuned....who knows where I will be next!

Much love,
ABBEY

BIRDS.

last monday our house got the chance to take part in Monomoy's National Wildlife Refuge annual Tern Census. Terns (& laughing gulls) are shore birds that come to rest, mate and lay eggs in the wildlife refuge in monomoy. our job was to work along side other volunteers and the refuge's biological science technicians to count & mark eggs in nests and any empty nests that we encountered. to do this was tricky. we had to wear REALLY flattering helmets with two long flags taped to either side. the birds will attack the highest point on anything that they feel is attacking them (we fit into that description, i guess) so this way they would attack the flags & not our eyeballs. we then broke up into 2 groups of twelve and positioned ourselves shoulder to shoulder while holding onto a rope and walked back and forth in a grid yelling out any eggs or nests we found along the way. the birds were definitely a little put off by us, i got pooped on the hand AND face. gross. but it was a VERY cool experience, & a bit scary at times. just another day to add to list the of things i never thought i would be doing.....

a bird about to attack me!

a video of us in the war zone of birds....

a PS....

((pictures & sickness))

i forgot to mention that i has a NASTY bout of poison ivy for about 2 weeks. i had gotten it while working on the farm on my left lower back and arms, but it spread to my legs and stomach as well. NO FUN. i was so itchy...and still am. where i had the PI, dry, itchy patches of skin have now appeared. such a curse!
& NOW....i have pink eye! so, i went to the eye doctor & got eyedrops & now have to wear my glasses for 2 weeks....sad face. i hate my glasses. but....good news....no one else in the house has gotten it! yay!

i have been slacking on the picture taking, but here a few shots of when my friends came!

tess & i walking at the white cedar swamp......

it took forever to get us all in the air at the same time.....hiking at great island with em & jackie....

goofing around in provincetown.....

the beginning of the end.

i have less than 2 months here on the cape. i remember when i wrote that i couldn't believe that i had been here for 2 months already......it is a cliche, but time really does fly when you're having fun.
so, what do i do with my last moments here? i am definitely trying to soak it all in. just tonite a few of us were congregated in the kitchen making our own individual snacks....just chatting....& then some more joined in and added some playful teasing & then more joined in & added some laughter....& then i was standing there in our war zone of a kitchen filled with dirty dishes, opened boxes of half-eaten snacks and a sandy floor realizing how much i am going to miss happenings like that once we are all gone from our little bubble of a world.
my friend lisa in the house posted a great quote in her blog (which you should check out under my list of "blogs i follow"....she went to school for english & is a far better writer than i!) from a book by wendell barry that reads:

"I have got to the age now where I can see how short a time we have to be here. And when I think about it, it can seem strange beyond telling that this particular bunch of us should be here on this little patch of ground in this little patch of time, and I can think of the other times and places I might have lived, the other kinds of man I might have been. But there is something else. There are moments when the heart is generous, and then it knows that for better or worse our lives are woven together here, one with one another and with the place and all the living things."

i think about this quote often & how it just matches perfectly with how i feel about this program and these people. tess came out to visit me a few weekends back, followed by emily & jackie over memorial day weekend. now.....tess, emily & i have all been friends since kindergarten (em & tess since birth, but really who's counting!?) and jackie & i have now been friends (& once roommates!) for about 4 years now. these girls know everything about me....they could probably tell you what i am thinking at any given time, but it took us years to be that close. my fellow housemates can do that now, only knowing me for 9 months. i can't imagine my life without any of them now, & i am perplexed at how i managed all this time without them. everyday, these people remind me why it is that i am here in this place at this point in my life. i could have stayed in madison. i could have gone to st. louis. i could still be in milwaukee! but i am here, with these people, in this wonderful place and life is great, but day by day i get closer to the end.

(*disclaimer: i also can't imagine my life without tess, emily & jackie....or any of my friends & family back home in wisco! their weekends here were brief & at times chaotic (tess had to endure alumni weekend...which included 60+ people walking around in identical sweatshirts) and at times not the best weather, but i thoroughly enjoyed their company and showing them my favorite spots on the cape!)

so....what is next? i am not sure. i was contacted by my old supervisor in madison who inquired if i was coming back or not....& i said NO. she was very supportive of my decision and even offered her services as a reference for me. they are such wonderful people, so i am glad that they harbor no bad feelings & only wish me the best. but now....i do not have a job. this is scary! but, i am not worried....yet. i am thinking i want to stay on the east coast. first choice is boston. i miss city life & want to get rid of my car! but.....can i realistically find a job that will make me enough money to afford rent? this i do not know. so, i am keeping my options open. i applied for a "forensic lab tech" position in OREGON with us fish & wildlife.....it would be helping with ANY animal necropsy, lab stuff....right up my alley! alas, i got an email saying that while i was qualified for the job (yay!)....i was not one of the most highly qualified, so i am not being considered for the position (booo!) you win some, you lose some. so....i am on the look out for jobs! i am pondering evironmental health & thinking of going back to school...someday.

so this is my life updated. friends = YAY!, future = scary, but not really, housemates = wonderfully amazing
because it is spring, we are getting to do more "fun" projects. i have spent some days shellfishing, digging up clumps of invasive grasses, clearing trails and on monday i get to help with the construction of an oyster reef...amazing! & then next weekend alex & i are going CAMPING at nickerson state park.....finally! i know i already said it in past posts, but.....LIFE IS GOOD!

xoox.

ABBEY

AmeriOrps Week!

my title is spelled wrong intentionally. there was a HUGE typo on one of our recruitment flyers....so now it is just an inside joke among our house. i guess you had to be there....
ANYWAY.....AmeriCorps Week has come & gone....& it was actually great fun & an ever greater success! Last Monday was the big kick off day at Taylor-Bray farm and we had the whole corps there working on some different projects, as well as some school groups. Our big task for the week was to construct an 180 ft. boardwalk out to the marsh. We had a bunch of members measuring and cutting wood to construct A-frames, and other community volunteers with carpentry experience putting together the dock pieces. It was a long process, but we eventually layed down the first few sections of the boardwalk on Monday afternoon. To enjoy views at the end of the boardwalk once it was complete, phragmites (an invasive species) needed to be cleared, so we had some corps members working on that as well. It is a tiring & repetitive task, but it had to be done! I helped with that in the afternoon (I was registration in the AM) and unfortunately ran into some shrubs over run with poison ivy. I now have arms covered with patches of red, itchy poison ivy, as well as on the left side of my lower back (random, but I think its from tucking in my shirt). We had school groups learn about composting and then helped mulch the blueberry patch on the farm. The last project was construction of a raised garden bed on one of the community garden plots. It was all such a big undertaking, but I am proud to say that everything got done during the week (almost). We are currently in the process of finishing the railings for the boardwalk, but we did install all of the docking by Friday and even dedicated it to our program director, Darlene.
On Friday afternoon was our 10 year celebration. We invited alum, service partners and even a MA senator (not Kennedy....but O'Leary) to come and celebrate our decade of service. It was not the most stellar of weather, but we had a great turn out of supporters. It was also great to hear alum talk and see how they are still really close with their fellow corps members still, even though they have been out of the program for awhile.
Saturday night was the "Alumni Dinner", which we were required to attend, even though we are still members. It was mingling and eating and then sort of a "where are they now?" presentation about alum & how the program has impacted their current life. We also got sweatshirts......(we love free clothes)....& a sweet picture of the NEED building where we have our retreats. I love goodies!
Here below is my facebook photo album of the whole AmeriCorps Week for your viewing enjoyment!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2296877&id=26700157&l=dac4132ef3

peace!

spring has sprung

what a whirlwind the last few weeks have been. somehow april came & went in the blink of an eye & now we are almost half way through may. i hate it. not because i am not enjoying myself....but because I AM enjoying myself & i don't want it to end.
the first weekend in may brought MY PARENTS out to the cape for a quick adventure to see me and my americorps life....with a quick trip to boston tacked onto the end. i took them all around wellfleet....my favorite beaches....the seashore....yummy food....seeing my house & meeting my housemates! i think they were a little overwhelemed by my living situation, but were glad to see that i fit right in with the mass chaos & am loving it!
here they are at marconi station in wellfleet at the seashore....

i also took them up to Ptown for a hike up pilgrim monument with some awesome views of the town as well as the cape.....some whale watching at the beach (we saw a bunch of tails & spouts!) and then a little hike through the seashore complete with feeding chickadees! here you can see them eating out my hand & my dads.....

it was great to have them here & experience my life first hand. it was short and sweet....but wish they could have been here a bit longer, with some nicer weather to experience ALL that cape cod has to offer.

this past weekend was a little low key. braved the wind on friday night & hit the beach for some beers. saturday was spent with samantha's IP in chatham helping with "RECYCLE FEST" that she put on that included E-recycling (bringing in old TVs, computers, vcrs....etc) & a bike collection for the organization "bikes not bombs". on sunday alex & i ventured to ptown to walk the dune hike.....my legs still hurt today! it was a tiring, but gorgeous trek through the sand dunes to the atlantic side of ptown. we then hit up commercial street & had a yummy lunch at a south african restaurant. it was such beautiful weather and it was great to see people out and about!

alex on our way back on the hike....

TODAY was the start of americorps week, which is being celebrated all around the country by americorps groups this week. it is to celebrate the service we do throughout the year with our community. our celebration this year is special, in that it marks the 10th year of americorps cape cod. we are also tacking on ALUMNI weekend at the end of it....so it is truly a whole week of celebration! i have spent the last couple months at my COD day helping to plan it, so i am excited for it to finally be here. i believe i have mentioned it earlier, but we are working all week at Taylor-Bray farm in yarmouth port. the big project of the week is constructing a 180 ft. boardwalk that leads out into the marsh on the property to offer visitors some nice views of the surrounding area. we are also constructing a raised garden bed on a community garden plot so that handicapped individuals can also garden. schools groups will also be coming out to help remove invasive species on the property in hopes of restoring the natural habitat there. i am happy to say that today went really well & one person even said that it ran more smoothly than the other 2 big americorps projects (mlk day & canal clean up)....& that was out goal, so i guess we reached it!

me with our big americorps week banner......

boardwalk construction........

i am also looking forward to the end of the week because my friend TESS is coming to visit! & then my friends EMILY & JACKIE will be coming memorial day weekend. it is always exciting to share my weird world with my friends.....so i can't wait for them to come & see!

off to bed.

much love/peace....

A.

Rescued again!

Thought I would update with another happy ending for some dolphins in Wellfleet. On Tuesday, we received a call at IFAW that there were 3 dolphins stranded behind the Wellfleet Audobon society. Of course the tide was going out and OF COURSE it had to be raining. Surprisingly, it wasn't too cold. We were short volunteers, so I called up some of my fellow AmeriCorps-ers and Amie, Greg, Alex, Brian and Crystal came to aid in the rescue efforts! We came upon the scene and found 3 atlantic white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus acutus, if we want to be scientific) that looked to a be a little family. There was a HUGE male (poppa) that was about 8 ft long and 600 lbs, a medium sized female (mama) and a "baby" that was about 5 ft. long. Check them out:

Being low tide in Wellfleet meant stinky, mucky mud was going to be working against us. More than once I fell over or lost my footing. It didnt help that the waders I was wearing were waaay too big for me. Needless to say, it took awhile to move the animals out of the mud flats and onto more stable ground. Here we are moving the BIG guy....

Once all animals were out of the muck, we had to transfer them to the IFAW rescue trailer, to transport them up to Herring Cove in Provinceown. This is also where we took the dolphins back in February. Luckily, IFAW has constructed a "dolphin cart" that makes moving the animals a lot better. It's basically a big wagon to put the animals on and cart wherever we need to. This is especially helpful when you have a 600 lb animal and not a lot of hands.

After all the animals were in the trailer, they took blood samples and did some ultrasound to check for traumas to the digestive tract (thats the body system that they are laying on when they are stranded....so a lot of the times dolphins get gassy!) We then met the trailer up in Ptown where we were greeted with some nasty weather and HUGE waves. We had gathered some more people to help from the Ptown Center for Coastal Studies, but were short on dry suits, so we decided to release the female and baby first and then follow with the large male. I, in my waders, was positioned in the back of the stretcher carrying the baby dolphin. Our group walked into the water simultaneously with the group carrying the female. CT (my IP guy) was watching waves and told us when to walk in. It seemed calm for a moment, so off we went, he counted to 3 and the front people dropped the stretcher, while it was my job to hang on to it & pull it out from under the animal. Just as this all happened, a huge wave crashed in and knocked us all over, which essentially wasn't a big deal because it helped me pull the stretcher out, but it also caused me to fall in the water -- and I wasn't wearing a dry suit! The ocean is not warm at this time of year, I would not recommend swimming at this time.

Anyway.....the mom & baby found each other and started to swim off as we prepared to get the big guy in the water. More waves crashed down on the rescuers, but he was successfully released and hopefully found the other two!

I also have a link to the video/article posted online at the Cape Cod Times. I would just like to point out that we were at the audobon at 2 pm -- not 4! Some people wrote some nasty comments about that, but the Times got it wrong. IFAW is dedicated to responding quickly to stranded marine mammals, and I get frusterated that the public sometimes is very eager to point out every flaw....especially since all that stuff with the manatee happened. UGH.

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090422/NEWS/904220336/-1/NEWS01

Well...enjoy. I just posted IFAW pictures, so I will hope to put some of mine up here soon as well!

Take care!

ABBEY

SPRING!

so....i have been slacking. i apologize.
spring break was AMAZING! like i said, i ventured to our neighbor to the north -- MONTREAL with alex for 5 nights. we stayed in the latin quarter, right near down town, right off of the popular street "Rue Saint Denis" in a hostel (my first time!). it was great. we had our own room overlooking the street, a big bed (a big deal now that i sleep in a bunk bed) and a TV! it was pretty much a little hotel room (it was a REALLY small room) for about the price of a hotel room for 1 night for the whole week! we really lucked out.
we also lucked out with the weather. it was sunny & low 40s most of the time, but it was really chilly the first full day we were there, so we took the subway to McGill University downtown to check out a free (!!!) museum that had some mummies and walk around campus. it had some great views of the city:

because of the chilly weather, we also hung around the underground city that is part of the subway system in montreal. it's pretty much a big underground mall, so alex wasn't that excited about it, but i thought it was pretty cool. that night we went out to a hookah bar around the corner from our hostel to smoke some shisha & shared a pitcher of canadian beer, eh. it was the ONLY night we went out. party animals.

our next adventure was to the BIODOME and botanical gardens that is housed in the old olympic park. the biodome was really cool and recreated 4 different eco systems. the best was OBVIOUSLY the rainforest. lots of little tropical critters running around. it ended with an arctic ecosystem and there were peguins! pretty cute. we then headed to the botanical gardens, which was pretty much a bust, because there was nothing in bloom (there was still some snow on the ground) but they had a greenhouse that had a butterfly exhibit with butterflies EVERYWHERE flying around. it was amazing:

we walked around old montreal, which included a visit to the notre dame! now....most of you know, i avoid stepping into churches.....but it was quite exquisite. i was actually more enthralled with this carving in a small nave behind the main sanctuary. it was just very organic and seemed very nature oriented. it was gorgeous:



a personal favorite of both of ours were stopping in random cafes and shops for yummy treats! my favorite was ham & cheese crossiants. we stopped and had a little picnic in old montreal while walking around. this is alex enjoying some sort of salami sandwich:

& this is me when we were walking around old port:

our greatest feat was walking to the top of mont royal, the highest point in the city. it is a law that any buildings built in the city can not be higher than mont royal. we walked through the slush zig-zagging up the mountain and came to a great look-out with this panoramic view of the city. definitely worth the trek up!:

even though we did a lot of sightseeing, we also did a lot of relaxing, which was just what i needed! but it has proved difficult to get back into my old routine. we have been doing a lot of outdoor projects, now that it is getting nice out. we spent some time clearing a herring run in harwich and planting beach grass in brewster. for COD day we are busy planning for AmeriCorps Week which happens in the middle of may. we are helping clear invasives at taylor bray farm, which is a place that i love dearly, not just for the property and people that run it, but also for the animals! the sheep just had some little lambs and the goats are always eager to greet people!

& also because of the nice weather, i have had the opportunity to watch some amazing sunsets over the bay. it is my goal to watch a sunrise before i leave!

so, you have been caught up! it is definitely spring here. it has been raining a LOT! and it rains all day. this is not fun when you are working outside and trying to "get things done". today was the start of "BLITZ WEEK" which is an annual americorps project here that engages school groups at a conservation property in harwich. we spent the morning with some high school students clearning invasives, which was cut short due to the rain. i will be back to the property on wednesday to do some environmental enducation and then again on friday doing more invasive removal. busybusyBUSY!

thanks for reading :)

peace,

A

i see dead....marine mammals

long time, no blog.

i have been busybusybusy. LOTS of marine mammal happenings. i will highlight some:

it all started with a seal that got called in 2 tuesdays ago in yarmouth. the DNR told us that it had been attacked by a coyote....& was STILL ALIVE. so, we got in the truck to check it out. we came upon the animal in a dune on the beach. it looked like someone had been murdered, there was blood everywhere...but sure enough, it was still alive. we ultimately decided to put it down. rehab facilities do not accept animals that have been bitten by other animals because of the potential for spreading rabies. the coyote had bitten the seals neck & most of the back of its head off, leaving the skull exposed. to put the animal down though, it had to be restrained first. they picked ME to throw a towel over its head & jump on it to essentially pin it down on the ground. i started to get ready to do it, but just couldn't. i am not a huge dog person, & this thing was growling at me and trying to attack me as i got close, like a crazy dog, so i froze & instead jane jumped on it and THEN i took her place. so i am straddling over the back of this seal squeezing the sides in with my knees and trying to keep its head still by restraining its neck....kind of hard when the animal is missing most of its neck! PLUS...as a bonus, i got to stare at its exposed skull and see the muscles moving as it was growling & wigglying around & trying to get free. i truly was not enjoying myself. it finally whipped it's head around & tried to bite me. i jumped off & was done. misty took over & we put the animal down. i was actually pretty sad about this little guy that tried to bite me. i had never seen an animal be put down before, but i know that it was the right decision.

last tuesday we went on a dead animal scavenger hunt the whole day around the cape. nothing too grusome or gross, but we were going to look for a seal that had been reported as decapitated, and we pulled up and could see the back side from the road. jane & i put on our boots and were walking out to the animal, gabbing away when all of a sudden IT WHIPPED ITS HEAD AROUND AND LOOKED AT US. definitely a big surprise to find it alive -- with a head! we both were a little spooked, but got our heart rates under control and determined that it was fine. we got back to the warehouse at 5....only to get a call about a stranded dolphin in monomoy. monomoy is a group of sandbars off of chatham (the "elbow" of the cape) that you can only get to by boat! the harbormaster graciously drove us out there in his little boat as the sun was setting....not the best conditions to be saving a dolphin in. when we finally reached the animal (after zig-zagging through all the sandbars) its body was already shutting down (evident by foaming at the mouth), so again we had to put it down. this time it was a little more dramatic because the dolphin thrashed around a little bit before it finally died. THEN....we carried the 600 pound animal to the boat...in the dark....& started to navigate our way back to the main land....in the dark....without lights. we miraciously only got stuck once on a sandbar. you usually have to pay a lot of money to take boat tours through monomoy....but i got mine for FREE....in the dark. awesome.

& i am now wanting to have some interactions with LIVE animals.

this weekend we had saturday service in chatham cleaning up lighthouse beach and putting up fencing to rope off nesting areas for piping plovers, a protected animal on the cape. we then had an early st. patricks day party with some alum at the NEED house. good times.

today was had our LAST wet fest....woot woot.

& in a week alex & i will be in MONTREAL for spring break!

me, crys & sam finding dead treasures at lighthouse beach....

me, mere & amanda @ the NEED house st. pattys day party....

(brief) february recap.

march 1 is definitely coming in like a lion today. but, on that note....this is the mildest winter i have ever experienced.....i love new england winters on the coast!

so...i didn't write much in february besides all the marine mammal happenings that have been....happening. i also made some time to leave the cape & explore!

first adventure was to....narragansett, RI. we went the first weekend of february as a belated birthday celebration for me. we stayed at meredith's aunt beach house -- 17 of us on friday nite! with only one bathroom. we pretty much just took advantage of being able to be social (i.e. drinking) in a HOUSE. very exciting. on saturday, we headed to newport to hike some of the cliff walk on the coast as seen here:

& this is meredith & i posing on the trail:


saturday night was a lot more low key. we went out to dinner and just hung around the house, played scattegories & watched SNL. man, we are such party animals.

the next weekend was our big excursion to NYC for a long, valentines day weekend. 7 of us inviltrated the city & the townhouse of lisa's friend, alex. friday night was definitely an adventure in itself. we were getting ready to jump on the subway to take us...i actually don't know where we were going, but alex got on the subway first & then the doors shut right away, leaving the 7 of looking at each other, wondering what to do next. luckily (?) the train schedule was all mixed up & alex hopped off @ the next stop & ran back to where we were. THEN on the way back....we accidentally hopped on an express subway....& ended up in harlem @ 4 am! no fun. but we found some cabs & made it back safely to alex's apartment. alex lives 1/2 block from central park on the west side, around the corner from where john lennon was shot...so we walked through strawberry fields & then worked our way to the MET.

here is our group in the park:

& then we made our way to times square:

sunday, meg, tim, (our) alex & i headed to brooklyn for the night because time & alex both have sisters that live there. we took the brooklyn brewery tour, ate some tacos that were made in a truck & then went out to some of the bars in the area. I LOVE BROOKLYN! very much more my scene than the city.

this past week we had our mid-year retreat with the whole corps in eastham. it was 3 days of 28 people stuck in a beach house. ACTUALLY...it was surprisingly more fun that i had anticipated. we did a talent show on monday nite....where korinda & i taught everyone camp songs! the theme of the retreat was "civic engagement"...so we spent some time on tuesday talking about the different kinds of civic engaged citizens & where we fall during our time of service out here. tuesday nite we did AMERI-TRIVIA! good times. it was a lot different from the first retreat because we now are VERY comfortable around each other & it was fun during trivia that we mostly knew everyone's little stories. wednesday morning of the retreat, monica found a little dead seal treasure on the beach that seemed to have been attacked by a coyote, so i called IFAW & got to take some level A data....i.e. taking out the lower left jaw bone & a skin sample.

LOOK AT ME!:

it was my first time getting to do level A out in the field, so i was excited to find that i knew what i was doing! very cool.

so....that should update everyone on the big happenings in feb. i am currently planning my spring break trip to montreal....super excited!

stay tuned.....

-A