This month, I did a few outreach weekends with work. The first one was the Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival in Sierra Vista, where I stayed the night (my first big girl business trip) and spent the weekend manning our booth. Traffic was slow, but our booth was near a bunch of live animals which kept things interesting. The second outreach the following weekend was in Tucson: the Tucson Birding Festival. Again, traffic was slow, but it was fun to get out of the office.
For my last two weeks at work, I helped with fish surveys again: we set traps at Parker Canyon Lake meant for catfish and returned a few days later to count, weigh and measure what we found. The purpose of this survey was to see how responsive the catfish were to the breeding habitats we created. This is similar to what we did last month at Arivaca Lake, but these catches were a lot more successful (which isn’t saying much after the complete failure last month). Both times when we returned to check the traps, between four sites, we got about 50 catfish! Although I’m not sure how indicative this is of reproduction, it’s sure better than no catfish at all. Catching days were especially long because we had to weigh, measure and sex every catfish, and one fussy individual can take up to five minutes to identify. Nonetheless, it was eventful and fun. You can’t really lose when you’re on the water in cool southern Arizona all day.
To end my tenure at the Arizona Game and Fish Department, I finished with some final administrative duties and one more shift at the International Wildlife Museum. It was all a wonderful experience and I’m so lucky my boss took me on. I can’t wait to use what I’ve learned.
Since I’m leaving in a bit over a week for Brighton, I started to bid my family and friends adieu. At the beginning of the month, I got to take a weekday off work to go to Phoenix to visit my aunt Charlene and good friend Jessica before she moves to Seattle. I also saw my friend Connor; we got drinks and went hiking the next morning. I’ve never hiked to Romero Pools in the Catalina Mountains before so I’m glad he came with me to keep me company (and encourage me to cliff jump).
Later in the month, I got matching tattoos with my best friend of nearly ten years, Sydney (as well as touching up some of my own). We both got a small “x” the size of a dime on the outside of our left wrist, they’re so cute! Sydney also joined my family for a dinner before I went on holiday. I’m really dreading leaving her.
Other than all that jazz, I’ve just been preparing for my move. I can’t wait!
I left on Tuesday for New York and Washington, D.C., so stay tuned for those updates.
What I’m watching: The Women Who Kill Lions, Jane the Virgin (season 3), Chasing Coral, Rick and Morty (season 3), Impractical Jokers (season 6), RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars (seasons 1-2)
What I’m listening to: Automatic by Don Broco, Science Fiction by Brand New
What I’m reading: The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
Keep ’em coming. It’s fun to read about your “adventures”. Love,AC