Every day after work, I stuff PD poop into vials and freeze them in a large ziplock bag labeled “Fresh Turds.”
Like a lot of rodents, PDs are major poopers. For this stress study, I have to homogenize each sample by mixing and squeezing the entire deposit together, which I then carry around my plot in little ziplocks. I collect up to eight bags of poop a day and keep a cooler in the truck to store them.
Once back in the trailer, the gloves come on, and I busy myself with compressing hefty loads into small petite plastic containers, which are then labeled and squirreled away in the freezer, next to the serving size portions of rendang, beef stew and lentil soup.
And then the fun begins. The soiled gloves are carefully placed in the filthy ziplocks and re-sealed. As long as the mess stays inside the bag, it’s fair game. Because here in Trailer #2, it’s the PD crew (of 2) vs. the ferret crew (of 1).
The game is simple: how many bags of poop can you hide within a very small living space? We each have about 30 square feet of semi-personal space, so the hiding places become more and more creative as the days go by. Pillows, boots, sleeping bag, field pack … almost anything goes. There are just two basic rules: nothing gets hidden with food items and laundry bags are strictly off limits (bummer!)
Being the poop collector though means having an endless cache that is restocked daily. So for now, I do have a slight edge and regular gleeful guffaws.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Cast of Characters
South Dakota in June can be a little frustrating. Rain, rain and more rain, followed by periods of moderate heat (75- 85 degrees) and strong wind. Then the occasional flash flood and tornado warnings, and lightning storms. In short, we haven’t gotten to our upper plots since last Monday.
The crew’s been valiantly keeping themselves busy. Lots of reading; trips to Wall, Rapid City, even Kadoka; surfing the net; walks, runs and hikes; crossword and Sudoku puzzles; cooking and freezing meals in anticipation (and earnest hope!) of long work days ahead; and movies, lots and lots of movies.
The motley crew beckons from all over:
- Two from Massachusetts, with one hoping to move to Kansas this fall (in her defense, it’s for grad school)
- One originally from Ohio, but moved from Portland to Interior
- One from Indiana, who’s moving to Fort Collins in August
- Two from Missouri and one from DC, who know not where the road will lead come October
We have two psychology majors, one of whom is also a physics major, and a former pastry chef; two worked as deckhands on tall ships, and another as a farmhand; two vegetarians – one just gave up cheese and the other smokes; one jogs an effortless eight miles a day; one has bad knees, two have bum ankles, and another can’t arch her back. And we have a pastor’s daughter, who is an atheist.
Not a bad bunch of people so far … far from boring at least.
The crew’s been valiantly keeping themselves busy. Lots of reading; trips to Wall, Rapid City, even Kadoka; surfing the net; walks, runs and hikes; crossword and Sudoku puzzles; cooking and freezing meals in anticipation (and earnest hope!) of long work days ahead; and movies, lots and lots of movies.
The motley crew beckons from all over:
- Two from Massachusetts, with one hoping to move to Kansas this fall (in her defense, it’s for grad school)
- One originally from Ohio, but moved from Portland to Interior
- One from Indiana, who’s moving to Fort Collins in August
- Two from Missouri and one from DC, who know not where the road will lead come October
We have two psychology majors, one of whom is also a physics major, and a former pastry chef; two worked as deckhands on tall ships, and another as a farmhand; two vegetarians – one just gave up cheese and the other smokes; one jogs an effortless eight miles a day; one has bad knees, two have bum ankles, and another can’t arch her back. And we have a pastor’s daughter, who is an atheist.
Not a bad bunch of people so far … far from boring at least.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Black Death
“I avoid it like the plague”
I can’t use this phrase any longer. At least not honestly since this is my second summer working with plague-ridden black-tailed prairie dogs in Conata Basin, SD. It’s great to be back.
Even though it dipped to 41 degrees yesterday. And the waste water backed into the tub (a.k.a. my closet) in our trailer. And we got our truck mildly stuck this morning. And we had to hike to our plots because the road was too bad to drive. And after all that, we caught one whooping lactating female.
Not that I’m complaining or anything, because the primrose and spiderwort are blooming. Just in the last five days, I saw two rattlesnakes, a badger, a harrier, a burrowing owl, and several pronghorn. I made friends with the burrowing owl crew and secured a spot to spotlight and trap with them. I’ll be learning telemetry and working on a couple of independent studies. I’ve also learned 30+ new words in sign language, and made my first meat sauce.
We’ll be working almost exclusively on the upper plots this year with the Badlands at our doorstep. And with four new plots, we’ll have plenty to keep us busy. That is, if the weather cooperates. For now, I’ll obsessively check the hourly forecasts and do the rain dance. I have it on good authority that if you have no sense of rhythm, a rain dance will have the direct opposite effect, so I’ll be tap, tap, tapping away in my man boots till the sun shines.
I can’t use this phrase any longer. At least not honestly since this is my second summer working with plague-ridden black-tailed prairie dogs in Conata Basin, SD. It’s great to be back.
Even though it dipped to 41 degrees yesterday. And the waste water backed into the tub (a.k.a. my closet) in our trailer. And we got our truck mildly stuck this morning. And we had to hike to our plots because the road was too bad to drive. And after all that, we caught one whooping lactating female.
Not that I’m complaining or anything, because the primrose and spiderwort are blooming. Just in the last five days, I saw two rattlesnakes, a badger, a harrier, a burrowing owl, and several pronghorn. I made friends with the burrowing owl crew and secured a spot to spotlight and trap with them. I’ll be learning telemetry and working on a couple of independent studies. I’ve also learned 30+ new words in sign language, and made my first meat sauce.
We’ll be working almost exclusively on the upper plots this year with the Badlands at our doorstep. And with four new plots, we’ll have plenty to keep us busy. That is, if the weather cooperates. For now, I’ll obsessively check the hourly forecasts and do the rain dance. I have it on good authority that if you have no sense of rhythm, a rain dance will have the direct opposite effect, so I’ll be tap, tap, tapping away in my man boots till the sun shines.
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