Field Work

The weather is getting nicer which means that we've been able to spend more time outside and less time in front of the computer. Clint is on vacation and has left us a few invasive plant sites to take care of. The problem is that roads on the map aren't always depicted exactly as they are in reality. We spent a few hours one day looking for a road that we decided does not exist. At one point we thought we were driving Northeast and ended up looking at the ocean... This is, by my best guess, because Lisa was looking at the compass wrong. That same day we got up into the forest to find the road we needed was completely washed out due to a storm. There was a huge hole where is was supposed to be. The lesson that can be learned from this is never trust Forest Service roads and never let Lisa navigate. Sometimes when we think we're in the correct location we are unable to find the plants we're supposed to be pulling. This can mean that the person who recorded the sighting thought that they were somewhere they were not, or there was an inconsistancy with how they measured the distance down the road, or one of a million other possible situations. It is quite frustrating and involves a lot of driving around in circles.
On Friday we were pulling English ivy by a stream with a small beach and a fire ring and decided to burn all of the plants we'd collected. Ivy is sneaking and can resprount from a single leaf if it is left behind. So we ate lunch by the stream and burned all the ivy we could find. It was very satisfying.


Here is us, being Forest Service rangers. Lisa is supposed to have a goatee but it just looks like she is eating moss. Facial hair is very popular here. Apparently I play the part a little too well; someone saw this picture and thought that I was Ken, who works next door to us. He has a handlebar mustache.

A few weeks ago we went out with the people from wildlife to flag the boundaries of a few meadows. In order to maintain wildlife habitat they are hiring contractors to remove some of the trees and shrubs that are encroaching. Below is a picture of one of the meadows.