July 14

Deb scheduled me to work Husbandry for the first time today. It’s nice to actually get paid for doing this work vs volunteering on my days off. I get pretty tired when I’m constantly working without a day off in between. One highlight of the day was putting away Sunset a very dominate, head strong, female bald eagle. This requires walking up her with a blanket to try to persuade her to go into her mew for the night. Roger one of our keepers had been taloned in the neck by Sunny a year or so earlier, so this procedure had to be done very carefully. One thing I have learned from working with the bald eagle is that you never back away from a bird who is trying to push you around, standing your ground is very important to show your dominance. It took a few minuets but I managed to get her into the mew without much of a problem.

Returning home to S.J., another piece of riffraff was being handcuffed and taken away in a police vehicle. Good grief people! That night every one gathered together around the big brown leather couch to play the vintage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles board game we found in the commons area. Zach and I teamed up to battle against the forces of evil. It didn’t take long before the little boy who lives in another wing decided to join in on the action. Poor kid, growing up here. We didn’t mind him necessarily but when he started to knock on our doors late at night, we found him to be quite irritating.


-Me with the S.J. kid, Zach, Reece, Skyler, Miranda, Steve and Morgan.

July 12th

The partial albino bald eagle made yet another appearance today at the Raptor Center. Just the other day I saw it soaring over both the center and S. J. This bird is hard to mistake with it’s white wing tips and talons.

July 11th

I felt a bit spunky today and was able to do two stage presentations. It’s was defiantly a slow day at work, giving me allot of time to plan my night. After the work day was through, I biked downtown to pic up a pocket size sketchbook. I am very pleased at the large variety of supplies the art store in town has. I found the perfect one, just small enough to conceal in my pants pocket at work. I’m starting to get the itch to sketching out the centers residence.

Now it was time to go berry picking! Everyday I have been feasting on the Salmon Berries. Where ever you go in town there is a bush nearby. They are like the towns ditch weed, they are everywhere and are finally ripe! Salmon Berries are the prettiest orange and red colors you have ever seen. They aren't super sweat, I would best compare them to a Black Berry. They can get so big they resemble small golf balls hanging on the branches. I had a large collection by the time I decided to called it a day. I ate just as many as I saved which was at least a good two pounds of berries. What can I say, fresh fruit is very expensive here. You got to indulge while you can.


-Salmon Berry bush.




-My collection.

July 10th

I just haven’t been feeling the best lately. I gave one stage presentation today and that’s just about all I could handle before my voice would give out on me. To make things worse a group of inconsiderate folks came into the center. I was giving the group a walking tour (a round robin) when a caugh attack hit me. I swear these people didn’t even notice. They continued to tell me eagle stories and ask questions about the birds while I was turning red in the face from lack of oxygen. I had to interrupt them to excuse myself, sneak away and grab a drink of water. I just didn’t feel like talking to anymore people after that. The rest of the day I found myself half answering other guests questions and slipping away from the large crowds to take photo breaks.


-Kily and Pele enjoying the sunshine.


-Ronda doing her best Vanna impression.


-Reece's signature cocked eyebrow.


-Zack showcasing Mary's bus.

July 9th

Finally I went sea kayaking! Just Richard and I venturing out on the open Pacific Ocean. I was a bit intimidated when I started to think about how big the underwater creatures must be lurking below the ocean's surface. Kayaking on the sea is much different than being on a river or lake, which is what I’m used to. The kayak does move allot smother through the saltwater but the waves are much fiercer than the rivers I have been on. I felt so small in comparison to the large body of water we were on.


-View from my kayak.



We ventured from Richard's house, passed whale park and arrived at the island destination. At the island we snacked and explored this untouched world. I found six abalone shells here scattered around the forest floor. Richard thinks perhaps a raven feasted upon them and there the shells remained. I’ve never found one before and was very excited to take them with me. I purchased a pair of earrings from the Raptor Center a few weeks earlier that were made out of this shell. It’s interesting to see where these materials come from. We also saw allot of bear scat in that area. I often wonder just how many bears have seen me without me seeing them. As we were leaving the island the cruse ship in town was also heading out. I secretly cursed whatever ship gave me this reached head cold.


-Richard with the cruse ship in the distance.

July 7th

Time to say goodbye to old feathered friends. Today the centers frozen bald eagles were being packaged and sent to the National Eagle Repository in Denver Colorado. Every eagle that passes away or doesn't make it at the Raptor Center has to be bagged and froze. The bodies are then sent to the repository and distributed to Native Americans that have applied for permits from the government. I bet we packaged 35 or so eagles from that previous year who have just been chilling in our large ice chests. As we were putting them in their fish box coffins Jen and Ange were recalling stories about the departed birds.


-Eagle coffins.


-A job well done.

July 6th

Steve, Skyler and I stole Jen's dog and truck after work today to go lay on the beach at Mosquito Cove. I unfortunately had caught a cold the night before and felt very stuffed up and congested during our adventure. We sun bathed and explored the beach as Skyler filled me in on the names and functions of the plant and animal life surrounding us. I touched my first jellyfish here, I’m not sure what type it was but Skyler reassured me that it’s stingers wouldn’t do any harm. It felt really neat like a circular piece of silicone covered in a protective mucus. Skyler then threw the creature at Steve's back. It made such a weird spaloosh sound when it hit him. We even had the privilege of seeing a second jelly, a Lion’s Mane.


-On O'Connell Bridge in the back of Jen's truck.


-Ice Age 4: Extinction.




-The Lion's Mane.