Achin' shoulders

The last couple days have been really rough. I've been purposefully holding off on dragging some of our lowland plots, hoping they'd have a chance to dry up a bit. Lowlands are areas that are lower in elevation than other surrounding areas, and have streams running through them. Around here, they are characterized by having a LOT of sagebrush. Basically, sagebrush (and greasewood) is the mortal enemy of nest draggers. Dragging a heavy rope with cans through the prairie is physically challenging enough, but dragging said rope through sometimes waist-high bushes can be complete hell. The rope constantly gets caught, and you spend every moment yanking on it or trying to "skip" it over upcoming shrubs. You can see below what such an area typically looks like. Well, the last two days we've dragged through some of the most difficult, shrubbiest areas. Needless to say, I'm completely exhausted and my shoulders are just a bundle of knots. To top it off, yesterday I actually found a blister on TOP of another blister on my ankle. Field work sure ain't for sissies.

Yesterday, while out checking nests in one of our ungrazed pastures, I looked up to see a female Northern Harrier, and I found myself watching an aeriel pursuit in progress as she chased down a Brown-headed Cowbird. She swooped and turned, finally grabbing the smaller bird out of mid-air with what looked like no effort at all. After a moment, the cowbird got free and began tearing straight towards me. It flew straight over my head, with the harrier still pursuing farther overhead. She chased the cowbird straight to the ground, then back up again, finally snatching it again. With what must have been a more secure grip, the harrier flew away toward the east, clutching the bird in her talons. I imagine she must have a nest somewhere, and is bringing the hard-earned meal back to her chicks.

On the way back, I stopped on a beautiful hillside and sat for awhile, just soaking up the view. For just a minute, the wind dropped, the birds ceased singing, and I found myself in complete quiet and peace.

The hillside was covered in flowering Death Camus which, as its name suggests, is poisonous if eaten. I also spotted a blister beetle, so called because of the blister-producing liquid it secretes if disturbed. Nature has certainly produced many defenses to protect its creations.

Just as I was leaving the hill, I looked behind me to see a huge storm cloud coming up right behind me. It's definitely intimidating to realize the wind is blowing it straight towards you.

I made a mad dash (as best as can be done with a heavy pack on) towards my ATV, which was still about a kilometer away. I made it to the vehicle just as the first drops began to fall. It was only about a 15 minute ride back to the house, but the rain began to pick up quickly. I was soon caught between wanting to get home as quickly as possible, and the fact that the faster I went, the more painful the rain struck me. Even going only 40 km/hr or so, each raindrop felt like a miniature bullet against my exposed skin. I was soon steering with only one hand, with the other trying in vain to shield as much of my face as possible.

To make matters even worse, I began to see lightning strike. Normally it isn't something that would concern me too much, but two ranchers were struck last summer while standing too close to a barbed-wire fence. One of them died, and the other was seriously injured. All this was going through my mind on my race home, realizing that I had to go through two barbed-wire fences. Perhaps I should have just sat the storm out, but at this point I was soaked, exhausted, and wanted only to get home. Luckily I made it back to the house just fine. It was an impressive storm, but I was very glad to be out of it.

Most of the crew was gone all week doing point counts in the West Block, so the nest crew had the house to ourselves. It was quiet and very nice. I like everyone here very much, but the cramped conditions are definitely difficult for everyone. They returned today, and in addition, we're hosting two additional researchers for the next week. We now have 12 people here, which is even more of a stretch than normal.

After our last couple days of hard work, I decided to give the nest crew today and tomorrow off. We've been invited to a calf branding later today, which I'm looking forward to. I've never been to one, and it should be exciting.

And in other fun news, the robin chicks under the porch have hatched!

(I'll post a picture later, as the internet isn't cooperating right now)