Week 1

Well, as of Friday at approximately 4:30 pm, I had completed my very first week as a Trail Maintenance Intern.

11 weeks to go.

I had some definite initial fears during this past week and especially on the first day. Most of my fears lay with the fact that I am the only female among many men. This is something I must come to terms with in a field such as this. I want to do, ultimately, the dirtiest work. I know a lot of women who don't like their hands dirty and don't want to run the risk of bugs crawling on them or letting bees buzz by their ears.

For me, this past week has been a sort of epiphany. I have never felt myself more in love with the earth as I am now. I am having a hard time wanting to be indoors, therefore causing me to hardly leave the Cuyahoga Valley, even on my day off. The past two days I have gone back to hike because it seemed like I should check up on things.

I am working with a wide variety of guys of all sorts of ages. They are all very nice to me, and respect me completely. I can tell some aren't used to having a woman around on the job, so they are a little afraid to give me too much work. I want to take on as much as my arms will carry, lift, pull, etc.. I am here to work.

I worked, on average, a 9 hour shift every day and will be working only 3 days this week due to Memorial Day. I have every other Friday off on this schedule. Wednesday I will be receiving my First Aid/CPR training which should definitely come in handy.

I did a variety of things this past week from digging drains, mending bridges, weed-whacking the towpath, and laying down new mix for a bridle trail. I love waking up each morning and not knowing what the day is going to bring. It's both nerve-wrecking and exciting at the same time.

The number one greatest part is that I'm realizing that I am most assuredly where I belong. My passion is increasing with every passing day and I am learning so much--almost more than my brain can absorb.

There is literally no better feeling in the world for me, right now, than knowing that I am headed in the right direction.

Happy Earth Day!

It's a little under a month until my internship starts up. I've been gathering my gear and mentally preparing myself for a great summer. One of my activities lately has been just taking myself out into the parks or woods and trying to identify more fungal species or plants. I am expecting to build on this a lot over the summer.

I've got an incredible semester lined up for the fall.
Environmental Geology
Fundamentals of Meteorology
Geography of Soils
Elements of Genetics
Animal Behavior

One of my friends took Geography of Soils previously and spoke of soils software. It will be good to learn that software because I'm sure I will be using similar programs in the future. It's refreshing to know that I'm reaching a point in my education where I am taking all classes which pertain to my specific interests. I will never even think of skipping these courses. I'm afraid I'll be far too excited everyday for school. :)

I'm working on an argumentative research paper on climate change, currently. It's been good to be forced to defend the topic so heavily for the past few weeks. Not to mention, it has pushed me to do extra research that I don't think I would have come across right away. I am trying a lot of different angles from human health to tourism to the obvious direct effects on flora/fauna. I am feeling a lot better about talking it over with skeptics now. I'm a nerd, anyhow. I thoroughly enjoy writing papers over taking exams. I never seem to run out of things to say. I feel that exams limit me in showing what I've learned. Writing papers gives professors such a better insight of what the student is actually like. Unfortunately, I don't get to choose whether or not I am given multiple choice or essays when it comes to my classes.

Only a few more weeks until this semester comes to a close. It has been one of my easier ones, but it will be nice to start a new chapter soon.

I am starting this blog, initially, to document my internship in the Cuyahoga Valley this summer. I also plan on using this to keep track of any other local projects conducted and any endeavors for years to come in my life. If you have any questions or are interested in starting projects within Summit or Portage County, please contact me at absentvagabond@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.