So much to do!

Download photos, convert photos, post photos, apply to UH, apply to [other schools], apply for an internship at Hawk Mountain, print HMS application, contact potential graduate advisors, mail letter, get car checked out, bake cookies, get xmas gifts, go shelling, eradicate no-see-ums.

I biked to work this morning and then back (of course). It took me about 35 minutes, at least I think. I'm not sure exactly what time I left. I'm exhausted. As I biked, even though I was moving and creating a breeze, the no-see-ums found me. I was bitten 5 times before I made it. But imagine if I had been walking! Augh!

I really like this job. I've been doing a lot of creating or editing publications and outreach materials. I also like the interpretation part, though I haven't gotten much into that yet. Programs start Jan 1, and I'll be giving a 30 min program called "Basic Birding Skills" and also giving a tour at the Bailey Tract, a freshwater canal area.

I guess I also feel very busy because I'm dealing with applying to schools and grants and internships, and when I get home after a long day, I still have some stuff to do on the computer. But, I've been doing a little bit each day this week, and it's getting done.

Sanibel

After arriving in Fort Meyers, Toni (my new supervisor) picked me up and drove me back to Sanibel. On the ride I saw some Wood Storks (WOSTs?). Ty's house is great, it reminds me of the old Waimanalo house I grew up in, with some dust in the window sills, and ants running around fairly unobtrusively, lizards skittering around in the sand outside. Of course the Spoonbills, White Ibises and Anhingas in the yard make me look twice.

I have found the library here on Sanibel, and I think I will be spending lots of time here in the next few weeks while I sort out graduate options and email with potential advisors. I recently was contacted by a UH professor, which has switched around my preferences and left me confused as to what I want to do.

Yesterday on my bike ride home from the library, I saw a young Bald Eagle overhead, then nearly collided with a cattle egret, then saw a Cooper's Hawk circling over Ty's neighborhood, and glanced into the mangroves to notice two Spoonbills dabbling about in the mangrove muck. On my run down to the bay, there was a Great Blue Heron and a Little Blue Heron patrolling the tide line with some fishermen. The Brown Pelicans and some kind of tern surfed the air currents and dove into the ocean for fish.

Ty and Jan come today, it will be fun to explore around with them.