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.