Kids say the darndest things

I hope to have a lot of these as my time here keeps going but here are a few of my favorites so far.
My co-worker Anna was talking to some students about our Red Wolves and how fast they can run because they have long, muscular legs. And a little girl said "They can run fast because of their long legs. Not like pigs, they have short legs." Yes, yes they do. We found out she hadn't been to a farm recently or seen pigs in the recent past - that was just what she thought about - wolves have long legs they can run fast - pigs have short legs not as fast. Love that line of thought.
While doing a pond prowl where the kids have to dig in the mud and muck of the pond for interesting insects one kid was looking at a giant water bug and said "Now that's what I call amazing." I think it's amazing too. Those quotes are why I'm doing what I'm doing.
We had a camp of children in from Nashville and while we were hiking trails they would keep talking about how they were "going into the wilderness." I really enjoy giving these kids a chance to get outside and really feel how fun it is to hike or camp.
And I've had more than one kid tell me I have the best job ever. To which I reply - yeah, I pretty much do.

Kentucky Party

I got to go to a real Kentucky party hosted by people that actually live in Kentucky. And it was awesome. We were invited by some co-workers that live across the lake in a really fun neighborhood. It's mostly retirees and they know how to have some fun! We got to be picked up from the LBL side of the lake and brought over to the party by boat. I'm pretty sure this is the first party I've ever arrived to by boat. The first thing we noticed was the abundance of really fancy golf carts or mules as I've learned to call them. Check them out:

And they had food. Lots and lots of food. Made by lots and lots of grandmas who really like to have young people try their food. It was fantastic.

And there were a lot of people there. They even had a band.

And everyone was so very nice. Really genuinely nice. I even talked to one guy from Chicago for awhile about food we missed (good Italian, hot dogs, and sausages being at the top of our lists). But, he ended by saying how nice everyone here is and how he has great neighbors. It was one of my favorite parties. Especially because I got to ride on a boat.

Chicken Necks

We have quite a few birds of prey at the Nature Station. In the wild they'll eat small rodents, insects, other birds, and even skunks. It's hard to recreate that in captivity so we give them dead mice and chicken necks.

Yup, chicken necks. We get a big bag of frozen chicken necks and have to let them thaw out. Apparently our birds are picky and their digestive systems don't really like the fat and skin from the chicken necks (I guess they wouldn't be catching too many chickens out in the wild). So we get to "process them". And that really just means going through all the slimy, gooey chicken necks and pulling the skin and fat off of them. Sometimes you even get a chicken head. I wasn't that lucky. Thankfully, I had Anna to help me.

While we were working on this we were listening to NPR. It was a food show and they were talking about tube steaks. Yum.

Shopping

While shopping for groceries the other day I heard someone say "Oh, her daddy used to be a coon hunter, that's right"

Only in Kentucky...

Fish

We have a bald eagle at the Nature Station. She's 24 years old or maybe a bit more. Eagles eat a lot of fish in the wild so she gets fish to eat at Nature Station. Sometimes I get to feed her some pieces of recently thawed fish - I'm talking about 2" thick bisections of fish that smell, well, fishy. I often wonder where the fish comes from. Our rats/mice that we feed some of the animals come from some company that only raises rodents to feed animals like ours (who knew these things existed?). But, what about the fish?

The other day one of my co-workers asked me if I could help him and to grab a few trash bags. That's always a sign of fun to be had working here - "grab some trash bags". I went out front and there were these two guys standing next to a pick-up truck. A pick-up truck with the back full of giant, dead fish. And I don't think they were that fresh. My co-worker says he'll take whatever's under 2'. One of the men pulls out this huge metal hook and starts tossing fish around in the back of the truck, looking for the smaller ones and helping the smell rise into the air. I'm staring at the size of the fish amazed at how big they are and that they're from our lakes. Apparently we have carp fishing competitions and no one keeps the fish - so it's these guys jobs to get rid of them. Nice. All the while the guy in the pick-up truck is talking about stuff like the weather with his southern drawl and hoisting fish up into the air and into our garbage bags. Completely normal. Nothing to it. Maybe after I'm done putting the fish into the freezers full of dead animals I'll go boil some bird heads. You know, whatever.

Food

Eating healthy down here is pretty hard. At our camp we have cooks that make three meals a day for the kids staying overnight. We call them "the Ladies". It's like having 7 moms around. Their desserts are great - apple crisp has never been this good. But, I'm pretty sure everything else comes from giant cans or gordon food service boxes. I eat it because I don't have a picky palette, it's free and it's already made. Great stuff. One of my fellow employees that used to work on a sustainable farm has passed on a few of the meals - much to the ladies distress. She got used to great fresh foods while she worked on the farm and that's just not available at camp. One morning we were sitting around eating breakfast and one of the ladies asked her if she had already ate a breakfast.
"Yeah, I ate at home."
"Oh, did you have a healthy breakfast? Like fresh fruits or something?" - The last part was said with such curiosity and a touch of disgust it was funny. They just don't understand why she'd want to eat like that.
My other favorite food thing here is the meat and three restaurants. They also advertise themselves as having plate specials. You get to pick from about 4 meats (main dish) and 3 vegetables or sides. And you get bread. Usually for a low price of around 6 bucks. These places are everywhere. The one we visited recently was filled with mostly senior citizens, lots of fake plants, and had FOX news on in the background. Oh and they wrap the silverware in baggies so you know it's clean. But the food was awesome. The food down here is so processed and so fatty it's amazing and sometimes delicious. I gotta remember to stick with my vegetables. I'm sure when the garden comes up it'll be easy. Until then I'll just keep enjoying the apple crisp.

Nature Station

I had the opportunity to visit our nature station where I'm going to be working for the summer months. Two of the girls who work there told me to stop on by. I walk up to the building and it's locked. As I'm about to go investigate and see if there's anyone around the girls walk around the corner with a trash bag, a pair of loppers, and some other oddly wrapped items in their hands.
"Hey Joy, it's great to see you! We've just gotta get these bird heads to the back and Anna can show you around."
Yeah - they said bird heads. And yeah - that's what the loppers are for. One of the girls is making a cool display of different kinds of bird beaks that will be great to teach kids about how much you can tell about a bird from their beak. But first you have to get the beaks. I walk back with them and there's a pot of boiling water. The girls plop down on the ground and start working. One of them is absentmindedly pulling the feathers off a mallard head with tweezers as she tells me I should take a peak around the gardens. The other girl is talking to me while looking down at her small skull and attempting to get the eye out without crushing the bones. I didn't pay attention to what she said because I couldn't stop watching her at work on little bird heads. I already know it'll be an adventure working at the nature station.
I get a grand tour - I'll try to list most of the live animals they have and some fun back-stories:
- a few turtles
- an alligator snapping turtle
- flying squirrel - the most populous squirrel in Kentucky (who knew?)
- frogs
- toads
- salamander
- snakes - including a cottonmouth, timber rattlesnake, and a copperhead
- opossum - really friendly and grew up with humans
- coyote
- red wolves
- white tail deer
- fallow deer
- bald eagle
- bobcat - apparently she's a bitch
- groundhog - they got him after some lady had raised him for a year on sweet tea and cookies - when we got him he was way overweight and not so healthy - he's on a strict diet now
- barred owl
- barn owls - these guys are beautiful
- screech owl
- great horned owl - I've decided this one is my favorite because she doesn't tolerate anyone and hates to be handled. She just kinda looks at you and looks like she's thinking how much better she is than you. Very cool animal.
- red tailed hawk
- vultures
- turkeys

I'm very excited about working with these animals. It looks like I'll be able to handle the opossum, groundhog, snakes, owls, and the hawk. I hope I get to learn how to handle the eagle too. It's going to be so amazing to work with these animals on a daily basis.
I head back over to where they're working on the bird heads and you can hear all of the chorus frogs from the surrounding area. They can be so loud! I chat with the ladies a bit more about their nice sized wildflower garden and they seem excited that I used to be a landscape designer. Anna comes outside and says "Joy, if you want to watch it's time to exercise the opossum."
Of course it is and yes I would like to help. This place is going to be so much fun.

Good Advice

On my first day here - because I work for the government - I had to sign these things called JHAs. Job Hazard Analysis forms. Fun things. Essentially, they are supposed to make me aware of the possible risks associated with the jobs I will be preforming. I'll list some of my favorites -

- Prior to excursions, think about an evacuation plan if encountering swarms of insects
- Shake shoes, boots, or clothing that has not been worn in awhile to avoid brown recluses
- Avoid areas venomous snakes like to gather - rock and log piles, junk piles, under logs, crawl spaces, fallen logs **Author note - I will be leading hikes through WOODS**
- When along shoreline, be careful while stepping on debris or beaver dams, where cottonmouths may congregate
- Staff should avoid stepping off of trails, getting into tall grass, or weeds to avoid ticks
And my most favorite -
- Avoid sticking hands in places where you can not see

Really, words to live by. And these were just from the JHA for outdoor excursions. There are separate ones for office work, canoeing, using a pontoon boat and who knows what else. Awesome.
After signing these I'm convinced I have one of the most dangerous jobs that ever existed. Who knew that I'm going to meet so many perils on a daily basis. Forget police officers, firefighters, and those guys who catch Alaskan king crabs - Naturalists are at the top of the list. My roommate that gets to hold the bison with a nose pinching device while they get shots might beat me out - might.

I'm Here

As of Friday I live in Kentucky and this guy lives in my neighborhood. And he's not friendly. But, to his credit, most bison aren't. I've been able to see quite a bit of wildlife here - we have about 65 bison roaming around, 26 elk, and eagles. I haven't had the chance to spot a bobcat. Land Between the Lakes seems like it will be a great place to have an adventure for a year. It's huge. I mean seriously massive. I live in the middle - about 35 minutes away from the nearest town. I'm living in an average size ranch house straight from the 70s (pictures coming) with two 25 year old boys. They've been showing me the ropes and are very friendly and seem to have a touch of that southern hospitality. I live in a small "intern village" with about 5 houses total and each one has about 3 people. My roommates were nice enough to inform me that it can get very much like high school with the drama. They said they try to stay out of it and I let them know I'll try to stay out of it too. But, it may be fun to observe.
Tomorrow is my first day of work at Brandon Springs. For the first few months here I get to teach outdoor education programs to kids that come and visit for field trips. After that I get to work with the public visitors that come to the park. Seems like it will be a lot of different things. I'm excited and nervous. Lots of things to learn and gotta work on my "y'all".
So, this is my first time doing a blog thing and we'll see how it goes. And I don't have internet yet where I live (I travel into the nearest town) so I may not update as much as I'd like but we'll see. Hope you enjoy :)