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!!