You may wonder why, as the title suggests, that I would go on a packaging ski trip when I am a zoology major. well... why not? My friend Sara, who I met on my trip to Utah with the snowboard club invited me and some other non-packaging majors to their ski trip weekend at Shanty Creek!
There was about 25 of us that stayed in a very nice condo near the resort. We didn't know anybody except Sara before the trip but everyone was super friendly and outgoing as we came into the condo. I had packed some granola bars and trail mix for the weekend expecting to be very hungry all weekend. But there were boxes and boxes of crackers, cookies, pop tarts, and various treats for the weekend. I guess being a packaging major does have its benefits. So the whole weekend I didn't have a single vegetable, or normal meal, just cheez its, cookies and zesty salsa crackers.
We went night skiing that night after some of us had a few pre-snowboarding drinks. I think this is a bad idea, especially for me and my clumsy self so I did not partake, but it was very entertaining to watch everyone attempt to get down the hill. The conditions weren't bad a little icy and definitely not enough light for night ski but still very fun! we skied until around 9 o clock then I went to take a very brief dip in the hot tub/pool before it closed. Later that night, the party began! We got our packaging ski weekend tee shirts, which are awesome by the way and everyone wore them and drank and danced around the living room. Also for some reason 5 or 6 of us took up residence in the closet and spend 2 HOURS in there playing hand clap games like crocadila and concentration. It was seriously the most fun part of the night. The next night was similar though add a bonfire and a jacuzzi made into a hot tub into the equation.
Riding the shuttles around the resort was one of our favorite activities of the weekend. we had really awesome drivers and some karaoke on the rides. overall a very successful weekend.
Thursday was the first day I was at the infirmary all alone. Max was at a conference and all the other volunteers had gone home. It wasn't by any means a busy day but it still felt cool to be in charge of anything. I was in charge of feeding the owls and doing the pm meds for the crow, screech owl, and blue jay. I had to get the dosages together for them then administer them. I felt really official and awesome.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
aaaand its winter again
After our brief bout of spring weather Michigan has yet again dumped another blizzard on us. It was a little shocking because I hadn't expected it at all, but at the same time I'm not upset because this weekend I am going snowboarding at Shanty Creek. As the snow was pouring down, me and my roommate decided it was a good idea to tramp through the snow to go ice skating! I'm a little rusty on skates and even fell once when i was trying to do a cool spiny-stop move, but it was still tons of fun.
This weekend was filled with outdoor adventures. Friday was the overnight rock climbing event at planet rock in ann arbor. We got there at around 10 pm and climbed until around 2:30 or 3 in the morning. Today, my arms and legs are killing me. but it was so worth it. There was a slackline set up across the gym as well so people started trying that out when they were too wiped out to climb anymore. Also, an impromptu dodgeball tournament started around 3:30 in the morning, at this point I was too exhausted to move, and after two games I just sat and watched everyone get pelted with dodgeballs.
Sleeping there was quite the production. I tried to find a place to set up my hammock but there really wasnt a good place to do it. so we dragged a couple of bouldering mats in a corner and set up camp there. I can understand how these mats would be good to have if falling from a high distance, but sleeping on them really was just awful. They were quite lumpy and smelled kind of weird. I did only end up getting 2 hours of sleep anyway, because the people who were still awake decided it was a good idea to sing various disney songs as loud as they could.
The next morning I had to work at eleven and I nearly fell asleep on the way there. We had a little squirrel today that had a bad infection in his foot. So we had to make a small incision and squeeze the pus out. And it seemed like this squirrel was synthesizing pus as we were draining it because it went on FOREVER. I don't even know where it all fit in his little arm. One of the owls that came in the other day had to be euthenized because it was completely blind in both of his eyes. So Max came in with the body of this small owl and showed us how to find the different bones in the body and how to tell if there are fractures. I felt kind of horrible using this little dead owl for my own benefit and sometimes when you moved or picked it up its head would move so it looked like it was alive. It was slightly unnerving. He was such a pretty bird. And it let me look at him up close without having to worry about the talons. His feathers were downy soft and he looked like he still could have been alive. His body will be sent to the UofM biology lab for research.
This weekend was filled with outdoor adventures. Friday was the overnight rock climbing event at planet rock in ann arbor. We got there at around 10 pm and climbed until around 2:30 or 3 in the morning. Today, my arms and legs are killing me. but it was so worth it. There was a slackline set up across the gym as well so people started trying that out when they were too wiped out to climb anymore. Also, an impromptu dodgeball tournament started around 3:30 in the morning, at this point I was too exhausted to move, and after two games I just sat and watched everyone get pelted with dodgeballs.
Sleeping there was quite the production. I tried to find a place to set up my hammock but there really wasnt a good place to do it. so we dragged a couple of bouldering mats in a corner and set up camp there. I can understand how these mats would be good to have if falling from a high distance, but sleeping on them really was just awful. They were quite lumpy and smelled kind of weird. I did only end up getting 2 hours of sleep anyway, because the people who were still awake decided it was a good idea to sing various disney songs as loud as they could.
The next morning I had to work at eleven and I nearly fell asleep on the way there. We had a little squirrel today that had a bad infection in his foot. So we had to make a small incision and squeeze the pus out. And it seemed like this squirrel was synthesizing pus as we were draining it because it went on FOREVER. I don't even know where it all fit in his little arm. One of the owls that came in the other day had to be euthenized because it was completely blind in both of his eyes. So Max came in with the body of this small owl and showed us how to find the different bones in the body and how to tell if there are fractures. I felt kind of horrible using this little dead owl for my own benefit and sometimes when you moved or picked it up its head would move so it looked like it was alive. It was slightly unnerving. He was such a pretty bird. And it let me look at him up close without having to worry about the talons. His feathers were downy soft and he looked like he still could have been alive. His body will be sent to the UofM biology lab for research.
Friday, February 18, 2011
40 degrees and sunny
As the title suggests the past few days have been 40 degrees and sunny! I love walking to class without my winter coat and without freezing my face off. Although, on my way to genetics I managed to find the only patch of ice left on campus and fall on it. As I was picking myself and my dignity back up again, I slipped and fell once more. I sure am talented.
So the majority of work yesterday was scraping half thawed rat guts off the stump in a hawks cage and picking up hawk pellets. I also forgot rubber gloves and was too lazy to tramp through the mud back to the infirmiry to get them. So i used the inside of the garbage bag to pick up all these delightful rat chunks. yum.
The day did get more inetersting though when we got a small red screetch owl in that got hit by a car. I picked it up out of the box and he was so tiny he felt like he weighed nothing. His right eye had been gouged out and his other eye looked up at me sadly, I don't know if he could even see me. He didn't struggle at all as Max set his broken wing and gave him a shot of fluids. It was very upsetting as he layed there in my hands, his small talons gripped my glove with what little bit of strength he had in him. It makes me so sad that people are the reason that most of these animals come into the center. There are a few scattered cat and dog attacks but the majority of animals coming in through the door are hit by cars or harassed by people. Its very upsetting. It was five thirty and I had taken off my scrubs and was heading out the door when a women with another screetch owl came in. So i was lured back into the infirmiry for another car accident victim. The odd thing was that he had almost identical injuries to other screetch- a badly injured eye and a broken wing. This one was also left in a box in a parking lot with a note written on it- "Hey to whoever finds this, we found this little guy in the parking lot and didn't want to leave him on the ground." I don't understand why they can't take 5 minutes to call someone for help. Anyway this little owl was a lot more feisty and was trying to fly away from me despite the broken wing. We now have 4 hurt screetch owls at the nature center.
Max, the vet I work with, is awesome. She is so positive about everything, very helpful and explains everything she is doing so I am learning so much from her. Also every single animal that comes she refers to as "little muffin". Whether shes tube feeding a ferocious hawk with large talons or a tiny cottontail. Its so cute.
Working at the nature center is also a really great way to learn about people. There are so many different types of people that work there and it really changes your perspective on your own life. On Tuesdays I work with the young crowd of volunteers. Stephanie is 23 years old and wants to make documentaries about wildlife rehabilitation. Shes super nice to everyone and fun to hang out with. Jessi is 27 and is a single mother with two kids. I hear horror stories about her ex husband who still harasses her and manipulates her kids. I have learned a lot about their personal lives and relationships and they are so different than mine. Most of the people I hang out with are on pretty much the same path as me: school, friends, families. But it just makes you wonder how other peoples lives and experiences can be so different from your own. On Thursdays I work with a lively bunch of older women who are really fun and talkative. Ive learned about their lives and kids and hobbies, and it just makes me wonder where I will end up at that age, and I hope I'll be half as fun as these ladies.
So the majority of work yesterday was scraping half thawed rat guts off the stump in a hawks cage and picking up hawk pellets. I also forgot rubber gloves and was too lazy to tramp through the mud back to the infirmiry to get them. So i used the inside of the garbage bag to pick up all these delightful rat chunks. yum.
The day did get more inetersting though when we got a small red screetch owl in that got hit by a car. I picked it up out of the box and he was so tiny he felt like he weighed nothing. His right eye had been gouged out and his other eye looked up at me sadly, I don't know if he could even see me. He didn't struggle at all as Max set his broken wing and gave him a shot of fluids. It was very upsetting as he layed there in my hands, his small talons gripped my glove with what little bit of strength he had in him. It makes me so sad that people are the reason that most of these animals come into the center. There are a few scattered cat and dog attacks but the majority of animals coming in through the door are hit by cars or harassed by people. Its very upsetting. It was five thirty and I had taken off my scrubs and was heading out the door when a women with another screetch owl came in. So i was lured back into the infirmiry for another car accident victim. The odd thing was that he had almost identical injuries to other screetch- a badly injured eye and a broken wing. This one was also left in a box in a parking lot with a note written on it- "Hey to whoever finds this, we found this little guy in the parking lot and didn't want to leave him on the ground." I don't understand why they can't take 5 minutes to call someone for help. Anyway this little owl was a lot more feisty and was trying to fly away from me despite the broken wing. We now have 4 hurt screetch owls at the nature center.
Max, the vet I work with, is awesome. She is so positive about everything, very helpful and explains everything she is doing so I am learning so much from her. Also every single animal that comes she refers to as "little muffin". Whether shes tube feeding a ferocious hawk with large talons or a tiny cottontail. Its so cute.
Working at the nature center is also a really great way to learn about people. There are so many different types of people that work there and it really changes your perspective on your own life. On Tuesdays I work with the young crowd of volunteers. Stephanie is 23 years old and wants to make documentaries about wildlife rehabilitation. Shes super nice to everyone and fun to hang out with. Jessi is 27 and is a single mother with two kids. I hear horror stories about her ex husband who still harasses her and manipulates her kids. I have learned a lot about their personal lives and relationships and they are so different than mine. Most of the people I hang out with are on pretty much the same path as me: school, friends, families. But it just makes you wonder how other peoples lives and experiences can be so different from your own. On Thursdays I work with a lively bunch of older women who are really fun and talkative. Ive learned about their lives and kids and hobbies, and it just makes me wonder where I will end up at that age, and I hope I'll be half as fun as these ladies.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Week 3 of internship
Today we prepared for the rush of baby mammals that will be flowing in near springtime. Doing some cleaning and organizing and also learning how to feed/hydrate baby bunnies, squirrels, woodchucks etc. Cannot wait until then.
I also gave medication to a crow and blue jay. both of which did not seem do enjoy it that much, and I learned how to bandage a broken wing.
I also released my first animal. It was a little Junco and he had been in the dungeon cages for a couple of months. He had had a broken wing and he was all healed and ready to be released today. It was very exciting I opened his cage and he immediatly flew out without hesitation. But he did land on the nearest tree and turn back to look at me as if to say thanks. Totally awesome moment. I hope I get to have more of them.
Gogo is my favorite bird we have at the center. Hes about the size of a small dog and spends his whole day making a nest in the side of his cage. Unfortunately everyday it has to be taken down so his cage can be cleaned, but everyday he rebuilds it without complaining. At first introduction me and Gogo didn't get along too well, he attacked my shoes as I was cleaning his cage and then bit my legs. So I tried again later to get in there and give him some sticks to help make his nest. He immediately forgave me and promptly crawled up my body onto my head. At this point I was torn. On one hand I had a set of very sharp talons digging into my head, on the other hand, I had finally made friends with the very picky Gogo! luckily I didn't have to suffer long because he hopped down and proceeded to make his nest. I made my quick getaway.
On my drive back from the nature center I saw three cars on the same stretch of highway pulled over with flat tires. I assume that this is an omen, especially because when I was driving fairly close behind the car in front of me, sparks flew out of the back end of their car and shot at me like a fireball. I felt like I was in a strange life sized version of mario kart.
In other news, I had to take Clyde, my little turtle to the vet. Aparently he has a respiratory infection and I will have to be giving him shots for the next ten days. Let me tell you its seriously hard to give someone a shot that can completely retract inside a shell, but I managed to do it after 5 minutes of struggle. hope he doesn't hate me now.
Well thats all for now! TaTa
I also gave medication to a crow and blue jay. both of which did not seem do enjoy it that much, and I learned how to bandage a broken wing.
I also released my first animal. It was a little Junco and he had been in the dungeon cages for a couple of months. He had had a broken wing and he was all healed and ready to be released today. It was very exciting I opened his cage and he immediatly flew out without hesitation. But he did land on the nearest tree and turn back to look at me as if to say thanks. Totally awesome moment. I hope I get to have more of them.
Gogo is my favorite bird we have at the center. Hes about the size of a small dog and spends his whole day making a nest in the side of his cage. Unfortunately everyday it has to be taken down so his cage can be cleaned, but everyday he rebuilds it without complaining. At first introduction me and Gogo didn't get along too well, he attacked my shoes as I was cleaning his cage and then bit my legs. So I tried again later to get in there and give him some sticks to help make his nest. He immediately forgave me and promptly crawled up my body onto my head. At this point I was torn. On one hand I had a set of very sharp talons digging into my head, on the other hand, I had finally made friends with the very picky Gogo! luckily I didn't have to suffer long because he hopped down and proceeded to make his nest. I made my quick getaway.
On my drive back from the nature center I saw three cars on the same stretch of highway pulled over with flat tires. I assume that this is an omen, especially because when I was driving fairly close behind the car in front of me, sparks flew out of the back end of their car and shot at me like a fireball. I felt like I was in a strange life sized version of mario kart.
In other news, I had to take Clyde, my little turtle to the vet. Aparently he has a respiratory infection and I will have to be giving him shots for the next ten days. Let me tell you its seriously hard to give someone a shot that can completely retract inside a shell, but I managed to do it after 5 minutes of struggle. hope he doesn't hate me now.
Well thats all for now! TaTa
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Internship, igloos, and ice cream.
So the title of this post is slightly misleading, I didn't make an igloo. But there WAS a snow day last week! The first one at MSU in 36 years or so. very exciting. Most people grabbed sleds and snowpants and spent the day outside, playing, making giant penis sculptures or riding on their upturned kitchen table being pulled by a car down the snowy streets. I however stayed in all day and studied genetics. A very disappointing way to spend a snow day, but very necessary with my knowledge of genetics.
As for the Ice cream, tasty twist is good at any time of the year. Always.
But moving on to the actual purpose of this post, my internship, which the closest thing to an outdoor adventure I've had recently. A few weeks ago I started a wildlife rehabilitation internship at Howell Nature center. Its absolutely great except for the 50 minute drive there and back.
Ive been there for a few weeks and I think I'm getting the hang of it now. Everyday you come in and feed all the animals in the infirmary (including several songbirds, possum, flying squirrels.. etc) and clean their cages. There are animals that live outside also that you have to take food to also. Next there is usually a meeting with Max, the vet, about the other things that need to get done for the day. Also everyday the waterfowl must be brought outside then back in again before you leave for the night. Waterfowl= 3 geese, 3 ducks, and 2 swans. Now Have you ever tried to pick up a pissed off goose? Well, I hadn't either before this. And they are very wiggly and often try to bite you in the face while you are carrying them. But it was also extremely exciting my first day because all I could think of was 'oh my god! I'm carrying a goose right now! A real live goose!' Now its pretty much second nature to go outside, scoop up them up with a towel and bring them back into the infirmary.
Recently someone brought in a Grebe to the nature center. If you don't know what a Grebe is they are sort of like ducks but they have small pointy beaks and their feet are all the way at the back of their body so they are meant for an almost totally aquatic existence and they can't really walk at all. which makes them adorable and somewhat pathetic. So several times a day we we have to pick up the grebe (aww) and bring him to a large tub of water that he likes to play in (all the way there he is kicking is little feet trying to get away). He swims and plays happily in the tub for hours and it is just adorable. He catches fish like a pro also.
The other day, I met Woppie, the nature center's own friendly beaver. You can go right into the cage with him and feed him with your bare hands. Hes very sweet and very large and when you offer him a carrot he looks up and you then slowly ambles over and takes it gently from your hands and eats it. He lets you pet it and cuddle and is just the greatest beaver I have ever met.
Yesterday at work, it was donation day from U of M! The Howell Nature Center gets donations of rats and mice from the lab that we feed to our various carnivores that we have here at the center. So mine and the volunteers job yesterday was to sort through big bags of frozen dead rats and mice. The first bag I opened was full of headless bloodly rats that were all frozen together in a big block. after trying to chip away at the deformed bloody bodies for a few minutes so I could sort and bag them, I found all of the decapitated heads at the bottom of the bag. This may have been unpleasent for some, but luckily these things don't bother me very much. But it did get a little tiresome after the 3rd bag of large headless rats my rubber gloved hands looked like I had just performed a complex heart surgery of some sort. So when we opened up the next bag we were delighted to see the bag full of small, cute, mice with heads! We had a great time sorting through the mice picking out the cutest ones and taking pictures with our cell phones. I know, we are very strange. After the sorting of at least 15 bags of dead rodents I got to help Max feed our Coopers hawk! for a bit of background information, this hawk is very dehydrated and very thin and is refusing food. So we have been having to tube feed the poor little guy. I get to hold to Coopers while Max feeds it. It may not seem that cool to others but it might be my favorite part of the day (especially yesterday). Hawks are so cool and before this internship I never got to see one up close, let alone hold one. So despite the dead rat sorting the day at work was great.
Alright thats all for now. See ya!
As for the Ice cream, tasty twist is good at any time of the year. Always.
But moving on to the actual purpose of this post, my internship, which the closest thing to an outdoor adventure I've had recently. A few weeks ago I started a wildlife rehabilitation internship at Howell Nature center. Its absolutely great except for the 50 minute drive there and back.
Ive been there for a few weeks and I think I'm getting the hang of it now. Everyday you come in and feed all the animals in the infirmary (including several songbirds, possum, flying squirrels.. etc) and clean their cages. There are animals that live outside also that you have to take food to also. Next there is usually a meeting with Max, the vet, about the other things that need to get done for the day. Also everyday the waterfowl must be brought outside then back in again before you leave for the night. Waterfowl= 3 geese, 3 ducks, and 2 swans. Now Have you ever tried to pick up a pissed off goose? Well, I hadn't either before this. And they are very wiggly and often try to bite you in the face while you are carrying them. But it was also extremely exciting my first day because all I could think of was 'oh my god! I'm carrying a goose right now! A real live goose!' Now its pretty much second nature to go outside, scoop up them up with a towel and bring them back into the infirmary.
Recently someone brought in a Grebe to the nature center. If you don't know what a Grebe is they are sort of like ducks but they have small pointy beaks and their feet are all the way at the back of their body so they are meant for an almost totally aquatic existence and they can't really walk at all. which makes them adorable and somewhat pathetic. So several times a day we we have to pick up the grebe (aww) and bring him to a large tub of water that he likes to play in (all the way there he is kicking is little feet trying to get away). He swims and plays happily in the tub for hours and it is just adorable. He catches fish like a pro also.
The other day, I met Woppie, the nature center's own friendly beaver. You can go right into the cage with him and feed him with your bare hands. Hes very sweet and very large and when you offer him a carrot he looks up and you then slowly ambles over and takes it gently from your hands and eats it. He lets you pet it and cuddle and is just the greatest beaver I have ever met.
Yesterday at work, it was donation day from U of M! The Howell Nature Center gets donations of rats and mice from the lab that we feed to our various carnivores that we have here at the center. So mine and the volunteers job yesterday was to sort through big bags of frozen dead rats and mice. The first bag I opened was full of headless bloodly rats that were all frozen together in a big block. after trying to chip away at the deformed bloody bodies for a few minutes so I could sort and bag them, I found all of the decapitated heads at the bottom of the bag. This may have been unpleasent for some, but luckily these things don't bother me very much. But it did get a little tiresome after the 3rd bag of large headless rats my rubber gloved hands looked like I had just performed a complex heart surgery of some sort. So when we opened up the next bag we were delighted to see the bag full of small, cute, mice with heads! We had a great time sorting through the mice picking out the cutest ones and taking pictures with our cell phones. I know, we are very strange. After the sorting of at least 15 bags of dead rodents I got to help Max feed our Coopers hawk! for a bit of background information, this hawk is very dehydrated and very thin and is refusing food. So we have been having to tube feed the poor little guy. I get to hold to Coopers while Max feeds it. It may not seem that cool to others but it might be my favorite part of the day (especially yesterday). Hawks are so cool and before this internship I never got to see one up close, let alone hold one. So despite the dead rat sorting the day at work was great.
Alright thats all for now. See ya!
Monday, February 7, 2011
How to start a blog?
I created this blog several weeks ago intending to record all my outdoor adventures, trips, and anything else of that nature. I haven't started it, not because I haven't had any adventures (I've had plenty) but honestly I just didn't know how to start the blog. Do I introduce myself or something? eh. So I guess I'll just dive in. Hey whats up? My names Melissa and I like to play outside.
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