Fairwell Everglades National Park

Today was my last day in the office, so I'll share some things I will miss about my job.


I will miss my co-workers in Key Largo who always had humor and perspective on the occasionally (ok, usually) frustrating ways of the Park Service.

I will miss birding in the Park (half of these from my office doorstep!) - Red-Shoudlered Hawks, Osprey, Bald Eagles, Spoonbills, Kestrels, Swallow-tailed Kites, Peregrine Falcons, Magnificent Frigatebirds, Herons, White and Brown Pelicans, Cardinals, Turkeys, Long-Billed Curlews, White-Crowned Pigeon, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Eastern Bluebirds, the ever-present Mocking Birds, Palm Warblers, and the occasional sparrow that flew into my office and had to be subduded with my uniform jacket.

I will miss the days I spent filming WaterwaysTV (the educational TV series about South Florida National Parks that I helped produce) - I was able to do some great things: ride in an open helicopter to film wildfire, hold a baby bald eagle, catch my first bonefish, see a 10 ft Bull Shark eat a baby Lemon Shark like it was bait, re-introduce (by hand) a big male wild turkey into Everglades National Park, dive on shipwrecks in Biscayne National Park, outrun more than one frightningly intense thunderstorm while filming on the water, and work with some friends to tell the story of their research (Wade, Mike, Brenda, Richard, and Lisa).


I will miss the cool natural moments I've seen in the Park: baby spoonbills covered in light pink fuzz, a manatee grazing at the dock behind our office, dolphins coralling fish so the fish leap out of the water and into the open mouths of other waiting dolphins, baby alligators peeping nervously for their mom, tarpon rolling around our canoe as if they didn't notice we were there, huge frightened crocodiles throwing themselves into the water "Africa-style" when our boat was approaching, and seeing the beauty of the Park by airplane while doing aerial surveys.

There are two things that eluded me while I was here that I wanted desperately to see in person, but instead only have pictures... panthers and flamingos (yes, both of the following shots were taking in the Park, but not by me).







The Everglades can be a really incredible place if you take the time to explore. It's a park of subtle beauty and you can only find the good stuff if you take the time to stop, look, and listen. Which, by the way, you can only really do in the winter and spring because in the fall and summer the bugs are so bad they will make you mental - or make you do the tourist dance... visit once in the summer and you'll know what I mean.

Now, for the long awaited moment, here is evidence of me in my uniform. It's not exactly designed to be flattering. Get the good laugh in while you can... (that "motel" behind me was my office)

Welcome Kaitlyn Claire!

While we were partying it up on Sunday, Robin and Chad's little girl, Kaitlyn Claire, made her entrance into the world just before 3pm and weighed 8lbs 5oz.

Wade and I went to see her today at the hospital - both Mom and baby are doing well and look great! Kaitlyn has the sweetest little face and hair that matches her mom's. Congratulations!!

My Last Hurrah at Pool x2

Jason and Rachel were kind enough to have a few peeps over for one last hurrah before I pack up and leave this coming Saturday (the countdown has started - D(eparture) Day is 5 days away!!). We grilled, lounged, swam, played pool, mocked Lord of the Rings, had entirely too much to eat and drink, and discovered Scattegories can be entirely entertaining when some players can barely see (or think) straight. There were some excellent dolphin imitations in the pool, Marilyn destroyed Jason at pool(billiards), and Don Johnson made a cameo late in the evening. (check out the pictures on our Picasa site!)

Alison and Mike were brave enough to hang out and bring Rylan by for his first social outting and he did great! Thanks for coming guys - it was so good to see you!

Thanks for a great time guys - I am going to miss everyone so much!! Busch Gardens in October, anyone?!?!

Lunch with Jill

As part of my last week of work I get to have lunch with a different person everyday that wasn't able to make my going-away potluck. Lucky me! :)


Today was Jill's day. A friend from grad school, she just happens to work about a mile from my office in Key Largo at Dolphins Plus as their Education Director. One of the perks of stopping by Jill's office is getting to see the dolphins, all of which have their own unique personality. (Funny enough, I actually swam here about 14 years ago on a family vacation to the Keys!) Today I got to meet Bob (one of Jill's favorites) and his sweetheart who's due with their baby anyday now! Check out how round she is below!

After a meet and greet we got some lunch and came back to sit and relax. It was great to catch up. I also got some pictures of the adorable 1.5 week old baby dolphin while he cruised around with his mom. He looks striped because where he was folded up in the womb his skin is dark. So cute!

I forgot to add that they don't actually know if it's a boy or a girl, but I couldn't stop saying it was a he, so I stuck with it.

Thanks for a great lunch and playing photographer Jill! :)

My Birthday Presents

Thanks to all of you who sent me some cash for my birthday to finally get a flash for my camera! We swung by the camera store yesterday and I picked it up, and got to take my first picture with the flash of my lovely lady Cara who is giving me a look below of "you got to be kidding me, you aren't going to take another picture are you??" (besides Cara, there's nothing special about this picture, but it was at night in the house so the flash was definitely needed).

I also got a nice photo journal by a Floridian photographer (John Moran; maybe you Gator fans recognize him since he's a Gainesville photographer) and a new Patagonia t-shirt to add to my overstuffed drawers that the cats like to sleep in. A very good birthday overall!

Good Bye Potluck, Everglades Style

Yesterday my boss, Bob, organized a potluck lunch to say goodbye. We had some great food and good friends from the community to enjoy it with at our office in Key Largo. I still have another week left in the office, but yesterday seemed to be the best day to do it. Bob gave me some parting gifts - a lovely photographic journal of the parks called "America's Best Idea", and something to remind me of how much I love wearing the Park uniform...

Yes, that is a Park Ranger doll. Funny enough, we actually sent this doll to our niece, Sydney, last year for Christmas!

Beware the Indian "achaar"

As my first post (Wade here writing), I thought i'd tell you all a bit about my 31st birthday, which I thought was my 32nd birthday until around noon when Chris, my old roomate, reminded me otherwise. It was a regular old day at work, but for dinner we went to a quaint Indian bistro called Imlee. Cara and I were quite happy that it was a nice restaurant, not some slummy place on the side of US1. We started with some excellent appetizers (samosas and some lentil cakes called a non-remembered authentic name), then moved onto the main dish. Happily they had lamb biryani, which turned into one of my favorite meals going back to my Colorado days when I used to get that as comfort food at the "Raj" in Boulder. The first few bites were excellent, so it was shaping up for an excellent meal. But then the achaar came.... I never had Indian pickles, called achaar's, but I thought, what the hell, I love all types of pickles...dill, butter, gherkins, sweet midgets....you get the idea. The achaar came as three condiments, definitely not pickles in shape. Afterwards, when I looked up achaar's, I realized they pickle all types of fruits in vegetables, usually as cut up bits, but they often use oil instead of vinegar, and add lots of hot spices.

So back to the story of the meal, I was a little curious about the achaar, so I opted to taste a small spoonful of each individually before adding it to my plate. The first was shocking -- I started chewing the piece, and it ended up being a spicy bit of something with a hard shell attached that I had to pull out of my mouth. So much for that one, so I moved onto the next. It was a combintation of very sweet and spicy, almost overpowering, but interesting nonetheless. Finally, the last, the real zinger, I took a bite.... I'm still not sure what taste buds that bit of substance stimulated, for my conciousness seemed slightly dazed for a little while (probably in combination with the first beer I pounded). All I can say it that it completely overwhelmed me for a few minutes. No amount of rice, lamb biryani, or Cara's tasty meal (still not sure what the liquidy stuff was either) could eliminate the overwhelming sensation. After I had recovered, I politely set the achaar's aside and returned to the edible stuff.

So all in all, it was an excellent dinner and a learning experience. And for those of you out there that haven't tasted achaar's before, beware, they are definitely not dill pickles in disguise!!

Recipe of the Week

I got a little behind with my recipe of the week, so I finally posted a new one (on the right). I'm hoping to put a new one up every weekend. If you want me to e-mail you a copy or have questions, don't hesitate to ask!

This week's recipe is my veggie stock that's dark and rich and even better than beef broth. I use it for everything and it's fantastic - just freeze the left overs (see instructions). I also included the alternate way of making the lighter chicken-like stock. If you can't find leeks in your grocery story, just add more onions (just not the red/purple ones)

I am posting this recipe because some of the recipes to follow will call for stock. You can buy stock if you don't want to make it (there are lots of good boxed beef/chicken ones)- but it may take you a while to find a veggie one you like (I have yet to find one, so I make my own). Also, steer clear of those cubes - they are super salty and don't have the good stuff in them that the canned or boxed stock does. The boxed stuff is great since it's resealable and can be kept in the fridge for a week or two after it's opened.

Enjoy!

11th International Coral Reef Symposium

So, you might have noticed that I've been seriously slacking on the blog this past week. Last Thursday (3rd) I was up in Ft. Lauderdale stuffing bags for the upcoming ICRS, then Alette's BBQ was on Saturday, then we checked into a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday (6th) to kick off the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (kind of like the Olympics for coral reef scientists - it only happens every four years).

Wade spent the past few weeks preparing his talk and poster for the ICRS, and I have spent the last few months recruiting volunteers for the symposium. As part of my job I attended and worked the symposium all week to organize the volunteers and attend talks. Since it was over and hour from our house and I had to be there really early every morning to work, we decided to stay in a hotel to make it easy on ourselves (thank goodness we did!).


Sunday we worked all day giving people directions and helping people register. That night we were invited to the opening dinner for the organizing committee and sponsors which was on the top floor of a near by hotel. We had a rotating view of the Atlantic Ocean and Ft. Lauderdale (nice!).


Monday I had to be there really early to work with the volunteers while Wade stayed in the hotel room to practice his talk. Wade co-chaired one of the sessions all week, so he was mostly there the whole time. His session was in the largest room that could seat over 3000 people, so they had three sets of huge screens to display presentations and the speaker. The lights, camera, and huge screens made everyone nervous (even big-time professors).

The day went well and we stayed for the opening reception that evening, but soon discovered that vegetarian fare was going to be difficult to find for the week unless we wanted to eat salad for every meal. So we cut out early with Alette and went to have margaritas and Mexican food.


Tuesday was similar to Monday, except we stayed after for a "science in the media" workshop that we found to be a less than useful. It ran late, and we were starving, so Shay, Wade and I went to get sushi afterwards. Johnathan also gave his talk that day and enlightened us with modelling "wizardry". :)


By Wednesday we'd gotten the hang of the schedule, but the light lunches, late dinners/nights, and early mornings were taking a toll and we were getting pretty tired. Wednesday evening we attended the poster reception with Jason and Rachel. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel for some (expensive) but decent dinner with them, Marilyn, Tyler, and Dana.

(Wade showing Jason his poster, ok, I had them pose for me)

(Jason, Rachel, Wade, and I enjoying the poster reception)

Thursday was the busy day. We forgot to set the alarm clock, but were happy to get the extra sleep. But, when three volunteers called, two out sick and one running late, the morning got a little hectic. This was the day Wade was giving his talk (thankfully not in the huge room he was in all week), and there were a lot of other talks I wanted to see too. After some shuffling we figured things out so I could still see most of the talks I want to, including Wade's (see below - he was great!).

Marilyn and Alette also gave their talks that day too. Thursday night brought the closing banquet which quickly devolved into chaos as people waited for food, the open bar, and seats. I was able to briefly meet two of my new co-workers at Environmental Defense, but after 2 hours of no dinner and too many people, I was getting a wee bit frustrated, so Wade and I headed back to the hotel to get some food, pack our bags, and finally get some sleep.


Friday morning we checked out and headed to the symposium to catch two more talks by friends. We also finally got to meet Shay and Ryan's little boy, Elliott. We've been watching him grow up on their Picasa site for the last two years, so it was wonderful to finally see how cute he is in person!


A lot of the attendees looked quite hung over which was a little funny. Coral reef scientists and an open bar are a recipe for trouble. I overhead the convention center staff talking about how astonished they were about how much people had to drink... apparently they've never been to a coral reef meeting before!


After lunch we went to see Alison and the baby with Shay, then went home and were really happy to see our furry kids and just sit on the couch. The convention center was so huge I swear I must have walked a few miles everyday walking to all the different sessions. There were 12 sessions of talks running simultaneously, plus poster presentations - all on different topics - spread all over the gigantic convention center. (Wade below in the 3-story atrium of the convention center)


It was great to see so many familiar faces that we haven't seen in a while. The coral reef research "world" is small and highly interconnected, despite there being thousands of people in the field (there ended up being over 3400 people at the symposium alone which is a fraction of the people in the field). Wade and I both saw roommates from undergrad that we hadn't seen in years! It's also a great time to see friends from all over the world that you rarely get to see.


Saturday was a day of catch up for us and now that I only have two weeks of work left at the Park things will be quite busy. My, how time flies!!

Alette's welcome back BBQ

Last weekend (Sat. July 5th) we went to a BBQ at Marilyn's house in honor of Alette's return to the U.S. for the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS). She has been in the Phillippines since last December when her student visa was up, so it was great to see her again! It was also a great excuse for everyone to relax while prepping their talks for the ICRS.

Here's me, Professor Yniguez (guest of honor), and Dr. Brandt (hostess with the mostess). :)

Check out our Picasa site for more pictures of the festivities...

Welcome Rylan James!

I dropped by the hospital today to see Alison and meet the new addition to her and Mike's family - Rylan James! He weighed in at just shy of 11lbs (!) and has a full head of black hair. He also has the most adorable cheeks! Both Mom and baby are doing well, but still a little tired. Rylan came into the world via c-section yesterday due to the doctor's prediction of him weighing over 11 lbs!

Congratulations Mike & Alison! : )