Final Day

Today was the final day of project. While I am sad to leave the wildlife center, I'm ready to move on to the next step, graduation! I learned a lot about animals and about the care of animals during my time at Penitentiary Glen. I have always found animals fascinating and it is something that I am passionate about. I'm really glad that I was able to do this as my project. Even though I am passionate about animals, I can't see myself making a career out of it. It is always something I will love doing and these past three weeks have made me appreciate this passion even more.

Farmpark Day 17--Whoa, it's over already!?

Today started off a bit bittersweet.  I cleaned up the pens and watered the animals, knowing that I won't be doing this again for a while (until I find time to volunteer over the summer).  I even became BFFs with the demon jacob sheep and she even greeted me this morning, wagging her tail and bahhing.

After the morning routine, another volunteer named Samantha and I set to work on getting stuff together for Working Dog Weekend.  This meant we got to steal the equine gator (think golf cart crossed with a tractor crossed with a dump truck) and go to the storage barn.  This was the really tough part of the day.  We had to get all the heavy jumps, obstacles, and whatnot from the hayloft, down some steps, and into the gator. We also had to try not to flip the gator over or hit other objects while blindly backing up.  Luckily, no property damage, injuries, or terrible deaths occurred.

Once we got all of the objects back to the tents, we got to set up the agility course.  This took up the rest of the day with the exception of occasional breaks to play with Tot and Maddie.

The whole idea of the stations like the agility course is "Kid vs. K-9" so that the kids can try doing them too.  This gives the kids the opportunity to learn what the dog sporting events are all about.

  The Course

1) Begin at the tunnel going toward the jump

2) Go over the jump toward the dog walk

3) Go over the dog walk, making sure to touch the yellow "contact zones"

4) Go through the weave poles with the first pole on your left side, loop to the A-frame (step)

5) Go over the A-frame (steps), touching both the yellow "contact zones"

6) Go through the tunnel and over the finishing jump

7) Celebrate

Bonus Tot Photo yay!

Well, senior project 2014 is over :(

Wednesday:

It was weird to wake up today and think that this is the last time i will be at the track working. I have woken up nearly everyday for the past three weeks, and driven to the velodrome, and now it's all over. Looking back, i could not ask for a better senior project. I have enjoyed the track, and the experience of working for a non-profit that is not only focused on improving cycling in the greater Cleveland area, but also is focused on improving the Slavic Village neighborhood in which it is located. I can only hope that i can have the chance to go back to the Velodrome and continue to wok with Fast Track Cycling over the summer. Locking up for the last time was very weird, and pretty sad. I was saying goodbye to the velodrome.

There is also a race on Friday night is anyone who is interested wants to come out. You can watch for free, or pay $5 for infield seats (which comes with food and drinks!). it should be a fun experience, and for anyone who has not seen a track race, it really is a whole different ball game!

Finishing up with a bang!

Tuesday:

Today Dave and I set our sights on finally finishing the grand stands! Every time we thought we were close to finishing, we would always find three or four more things we wanted to change (generally none of the changes were to big, just shortening one 2x4 here, adding another set of supports, and other small tasks, but these small tasks end up taking a lot of time when there are 3 or more of them to do). So, Dave and I arrived early, and set out on finishing the stands. Luckily we had all of our materials that were needed, had a reasonable list of things that needed to be finished, and we were ready to go! Everything went according to plan and we finished the stands without complications...except for the nail gun! Dave had forgotten his nice nail gun which had a backing piece that lowered the volume of the nail gun, so we had to use his "less nice" nail gun, which does not have the silencer attached, and is louder than anything i had ever heard before! After about the 50th nail in the span of 20 minutes neither Dave, nor I could hear anything, and even now as I'm sitting here typing this my ears are still ringing. Hopefully this will eventually go away...

A Change of Scenery (Monday)

For the first time in over two weeks I wouldn't be headed down to my usual downtown office, but instead driving out to Independence, Ohio.

The Republican Party has a campaign office, or a Victory Center, in the city of Independence. The location is familiar to me because, during the 2012 campaign, when I volunteered I worked primarily out of the Independence office. The old office was a sort of old, one room building that looked sort of like the back of a warehouse. The new office, however, directly across the street, is a beautiful collection of walled off private spaces perfect for holding meetings or making campaign calls.

It was genuinely exciting to take a break from the more technical side of the campaign to see what things are like at ground zero. People filling the phone banks, meeting with local candidates, arranging door to doors. The number of people constantly calling into the office to sign up for times to work the phone bank was incredible. After years of working phone banks I know it can get tiring, especially when 90% of the people you call have absolutely zero interest in speaking with you. The fact that there were so many people, young and old, excited to come in and volunteer to advance the party's chances in the upcoming election was inspiring.

I've lifted before.

Today was finishing the trimming and carrying the 250lb pillars from the truck to the garage. We had seven of them and two people to carry each one along with a bunch of decals for the columns. It was hot, soooo hot today. It took us literally two hours to get these things in the garage then we proceeded to take a break. After that the roofers showed up and we got to leave early. Tomorrow is my last day but more hard work and more lifting...

One more day!

At the wildlife center today, I had a lot of work to do. I was in charge of an entire room of animals! Needless to say, it took me awhile to get everyone taken care of. There was an incident with the chipmunks, however. The cage was marked as only having one chipmunk. However, when i emptied the towel from the cage out in the trashcan, two more chipmunks fell out!!!! I was very surprised and they were hard to catch! It was an unpleasant surprise.

Farmpark Day 16

Today was just another average day at the beginning.  I cleaned Liz's piglets'pen in the morning and filled up the water buckets.  After that, I helped escort the two ex-rainbow sheep back to the barnyard.  Of course all they wanted to do was run away and eat bushes.  When we tried to get them back into the pen another sheep escaped and decided to say hello to the neighboring sheep pen and refuse to return to her own.  After some cornering and coaxing we returned her to her own home safely.  After the escapades with the sheep, I helped fix a few things in one of the pig pens.  While I was over there, Liz came out of her 'house' and greeted me as well.

After lunch, I sorted dyed wool into .1 oz bags for the gift shop and cut up goat milk soap for the rest of the afternoon.  Many of the kids and adults alike were excited to learn about the goat milk soap and the benefits of it.  Interestingly, many people either loved or hated the smell of the soap.  Personally, I loved it.

Just Keep Swimming

Today, our last day out on the water, and the first whale watch we've been on, we saw a whale.  It was about 4 and a half hours into a trip that was supposed to last 4 hours, after we had crossed into Canadian waters and we were about 20 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia.  We sailed and stopped at an offshore island, petit manan island, that housed a bunch of atlantic puffins, which are absolutely adorable.  We then made our way northeast to grounds that they've had previous success at.  First stop, nothing, there wasn't even any activity sensed on the ship's sonar detection, not even from schools of fish meaning there wasn't any whale food.  Next stop, nothing.  But as we made our way to the final stop, we began seeing more and more marine life.  There more sea birds within a 20 minute span than the entire trip combined (excluding the bird island), which is a really good sign of fish and plankton beneath the surface.  It was a little discouraging because the naturalist, Zack, would stand up and be like "LOOK!" and then proceed to name off some random seabird, when I would only expect one to be  that enthusiastic only for a whale sighting.  But soon enough someone spotted a fin, and then two fins.  And we got to see 2 Minke whales swim side by side.  I also got to witness their terminal dive, meaning they come up out of the water a lot more to gain momentum to dive deep for food, where they will stay for a few minutes.  Obviously it was too quick to snap a picture, but the image looked very similar to this.... 

....and then the rest of their body skimmed the surface of the water and then it disappeared underwater.  We continued to follow them for about 20 minutes after that, catching sight of their dorsal fins and the water spouting from their blowholes.   Sure it wasn't a breeching humpback whale, but it was all I could have hoped for and more.  It was amazing.  

I do believe this is one of the furthest trips the company has made.  It was a 6 hour round trip when they are usually 4 and a half or 5 hours MAX, so safe to say the crew is very dedicated to giving the customers what they came for (hence the title just keep swimming/just gotta keep looking).  I'd like to call Bre and I the good luck charms because the whale watching boat has gone out most days this past week and have seen nothing.  They essentially said the ocean surface was dead.  So this sighting has kick started the season.  Also, Bre and I got to sit top deck with head naturalist Zack, in the employees only section, with the best view in the house.  We again got embarrassed on the P.A system in front of upwards of 150 passengers as opposed to the nature cruise where there were 20 people tops, but it was still cool.   Perfect end to a perfect trip.

Our mentor, Tanya, keeps trying to sucker us into staying longer, and I really wish we could, but all good things must come to an end/ we kind of need to graduate.   

~Lindsay 

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WE SAW A WHALE. A MINKE WHALE!!!! Perfect timing too because it was our last day and everyone was really doubtful because they haven’t seen any since today. Obviously the whales were waiting for us. It took six hours and we ventured into Canadian waters where I puked three times due to seasickness and my blood was starting to freeze but it was totally worth it. We also saw some puffins, which are super cute. They’re my new favorite bird. Apparently the juvenile puffins will leave in the middle of an August night and waddle into the water and live in the water for five years until stepping on land again until they’re fully mature. That’s the most intense coming of age story I’ve learned about so far. They also nest underground which is pretty cool.

Since we saw a minke whale, it’s probably a good idea to give you some background info. Minke whales are one of the smallest whales out there and they’re considered to be baleen whales, meaning they filter the water in order to feed. It’s harder to identify and track them through photo identification than it is humpbacks because when they dive they don’t show off their flukes (tails). Instead we have to pay more attention to their dorsal fin and possible scars and the coloration on their sides. They are extremely playful whales and love to do barrel rolls underneath the water, showing off their bellies. They have dark gray backs and a lighter underside and have around seventy ventral grooves underneath their mouth allowing room for expansion when they filter the water. The more you know~

~Bre

Farmpark Day 15- Another Fun Monday

As usual, the Farmpark was closed today.  But, that didn't stop any of the action!  My sponsor, Ann, was very busy in her front office getting stuff ready for the month of June.  This left me to take care of the Well Bred Shed by myself for the morning.  The first thing that greeted me as I walked into the room was one of the chickens, LaFonda, who must have been forgotten yesterday.  Her coop-mate was just outside in the garden, pecking around for grubs.  I easily scooped up LaFonda and put her back into her cage.  However, the other chicken whose name escapes me decided to be difficult.  But, I eventually got her back into her home safely.  After that, I took care of Liz's pen and I believe today was the day that we weaned the piglets.  Liz can now get a well-deserved break from her litter, which was constantly pestering her.  After cleaning out the pig pen, I handled Brenda and Maple's (sheep) pen while Ann milked Sugar the goat.

After the morning routine, Ann left to take lambs to a sale while Mallory, an employee I work with on Mondays, and I handled things in the Dairy.  The Dairy is going to be repainted soon, so we taped all the areas that needed to be protected.  This was when the thunderstorm rolled in.  Trapped inside, Mallory did some office work while I cleaned up the dairy and bottle fed the calf, Yasmine.  She has grown twice her size since I last had an opportunity to feed her.

Once the storm passed, Mallory and I took Tot and Maddie for a nice, long walk.  The border collies always enjoy it and, of course, managed to find dead or gross stuff to roll in and eat.  Oh well, dogs will be dogs?  After the walk, Mallory and I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up one of the temporary sheep pens in the arena.  This was very tough work because the pen was roughly twice the size of a normal one. But, the work went by quickly thanks to the music we were playing and the good conversation.

LaFonda

And the last week begins!

I cannot believe that it is the last week of project/the last week of high school! I am very glad that I got the opportunity to work at the Wildlife Center. It has been a great experience. I learned so much about animals and about the care of animals. Although I am sad to leave, I am ready to go.


Today was a very average day. Nothing new really happened today. It was another day of cleaning, feeding, and caring!

Final week begins

Senior projects are starting to wrap up, and now everyone is faced with the task of reflecting on the past three weeks of work. Have they completed their goals? Were the goals they set back in early February the same goals they focused on during their project? Looking back i can easily say that this has been one of the most enjoyable hawken experiences i have ever had. Not only was i able to work on something that is deeply connected with a community that i love (the cycling community in Cleveland), but also i was able to help the local community out. While i didn't cure cancer, or fix the neighborhood's crime problem, i have noticed a universal acceptance of the Velodrome. Everyone in the neighborhood is excited to have a stable attraction that will bring only positive aspects. The sheer number of people i have met in the past three weeks who have mentioned how excited they are by the Velodrome, and how they cannot wait for the races to start again is just unbelievable. Who would have thought that a group of  guys in spandex could make any difference at all.

I also had a chance to meet the woman who called the police during the break-in and fire. She told me that the Velodrome is one of the greatest things that has happened for the neighborhood in a long time, and that she is also watching to make sure nothing happens to it. it's moments like these that add a "real" aspect to the job.we're not just helping the cycling community, we're helping the local community as well.

Mark

Closing Time

Today was our last day on the nature cruise. It was kind of bittersweet. Bitter because it means our trip is coming to an end but sweet because it was becoming kind of repetitive. Everyone on the cruise is really nice and I’m going to miss being embarrassed over the speaker and having all the passengers stare at us. Speaking of the passengers, I’m also going to miss seeing all of the different people Bar Harbor attracts. I’m also going to miss our mentor, Tanya, who has been a big help to us and is really nice. I’ve realized her life is jam packed with all kind of different endeavors so I really do appreciate that she stepped up and agreed to mentor us. She is currently working to get her doctorate, she teaches at Unity college, works at Allied Whale, is a naturalist on the nature cruises and also goes out on the whale watches. She is also currently living on her sailboat, which is approximately an hour and a half away. These past two days she’s been trying to move it closer to Allied Whale so her commute wouldn’t be so bad. Anyway, with that being said I’d just like to give her a shout out for being great!

~Bre

**********

Since we have limited time here in Maine, we have worked through the weekends, so the past few days have again been quite routine.  We've been seeing less and less seals out at Egg Rock, mainly because the tide times change and the nature cruise has been overlapping with high tide.  Before when we were going out it was low tide, and much more of the rock was exposed, leaving much more flat surfaces for the seals to haul out.  (they need flat surfaces because they travel well on uneven land for obvious reasons)  Also, the past couple days, the peregrine falcon that has been sighted daily in around the same area has not been visible.  Angie, the naturalist, is speculating that its disappearance is due to the fact that it's nesting, so yay because they are considered an endangered species.

~Lindsay   

Here are two seals that look absolutely fed up with people taking pictures of them.

 

Curriculum Design

Friday

I started my morning at Esperanza working on what I had been doing for the last few days, my list of businesses, organizations, and churches in the area. I had finished adding new places to the list the day before, and now I just had to decide which places I would go to with Melissa and which places another group would go to. Even between the two groups, we probably will not get to all the places on my list because there are more than 100. It was very helpful for me to pick about 20 off the list of all our places to try to go to on Monday. Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to visit them all and leave marketing materials for Esperanza.

In the afternoon, I switched my focus to curriculum again. I took some time to go through a book they had and do a little research on the ASPIRA program which the curriculum for the High School Youth Leadership Program is based off of.   ASPIRA means aspire in Spanish, which is the heart of the program. The program was developed in Puerto Rico to help combat high dropout rates and poor educational performance by much of Puerto Rico's youth, through the teaching of leadership skills.

With that mind, I began looking through the curriculum for the year for the High School Youth Leadership Program and the lessons and materials that are used. I only got through a few lessons because there are a lot of them, but I tried to keep not only the ASPIRA program in mind, but also my own list of traits and activities that make a good leader, while I was taking notes on the lessons. There were some places where I suggested making changes that I thought might make things more interesting for the students or better accomplish the goal for the lesson. I hope that Melissa can incorporate some of my ideas in her curriculum for the next year.

Day of Planning

Wednesday

Today I returned to working with Esperanza, where I will be spending the rest of my project. I started out the morning by having a brief meeting with Melissa to go over a plan for the rest of out time together now that the High School Youth Leadership Program has ended for the year. One item on our list of things to do is go back to TJ one day soon to clean out the Esperanza closet for the summer and take an inventory of the items that we do have, and make a list of where our needs for next year stand.

In regards to next year, we'll be preparing for the new sessions of the High School Leadership Program and Saturday Academy, which helps students get ready for college, in two ways. One way is going through the curriculum lessons we have, and adding to them to make them more interesting and better fit student needs. The other way we'll be gearing up for these programs, is by working on marketing, and distributing the flyers throughout the neighborhood.

In order to accomplish those two activities of curriculum design and marketing, I worked on a few lists for the afternoon. One list I made, for Saturday Academy, is a lot of things that really helped me during the college process that I hope we can integrate into the curriculum. Another list I made, is a list of traits and activities that I think cultivate good leadership skills so that we can try to incorporate these activities in the High School Youth Leadership Program.

The final list I made, which I still would need to work on the next day to finish, took up the bulk of my time. I researched and compiled a list of local businesses, churches, and organizations, particularly those that are run by Hispanics, or cater to a large population of Hispanics. We will use this list next week to distribute marketing materials throughout the local area. Today taught me a lot about all the small things necessary to create connections with students and recruit students and parents to take part in all the activities Esperanza offers.

Saying Goodbye is Hard to Do :(

Tuesday

Today was a very sad day for me because although my kindergarteners technically have two more days of school, Wednesday and Thursday, the year is basically over and this was the last time I would see them. Wednesday I would be back with Esperanza and Thursday Ms. Caraballo would be out for professional development, so there really wasn't an opportunity for me to come back. Today was a special day because it was kindergarten graduation, but already a lot of the class wasn't there and probably would not return for the last few days of school. It was hard for me to realize that I wouldn't get to see my students again as I worked with them during the day.

Even though it was a difficult day, it was also a really fun day for me. In the morning, the kindergarteners celebrated their graduation by singing "The World is a Rainbow" to the parents and visitors. They all got medals for graduating, and a couple other students got additional awards. I was happy that I got to see this final celebration with them. After they got their awards, we all watched the eighth grade graduation and listened to congratulations for the few high school seniors that would be graduating with the Lincoln West class at Severance Hall that night. The ceremonies ended with cake, juice, and ice cream for all the graduates.

Many of the parents had come to see their students graduate and then took the students home with them early; therefore, my already small kindergarten class was reduced even more for the afternoon, when we only had nine students instead of the 23 we should have had. Because the class was so small, it was a very low key afternoon. Before music, I helped Ms. Caraballo take apart her room by taking down all the student artwork that was still up. Half of the class worked with Imagine Learning,
which is an ESL computer program, during this time, and the other half played at the home center, which is where the students can play with baby dolls, a pretend kitchen, and plastic food.

It was then time for music, during which the kids watched the beginning of Finding Nemo, a movie they really enjoyed. The end of the day had me working with the nine students left one last time in a game of alphabet bingo, while Ms. Caraballo continued to take things down and put things away in the room for summer. I was so sad to let my kindergarteners go today, but I had one last amazing day working with them. I will always treasure the memories I have of working with them, and it is to their credit that I know for sure that I want to be a teacher.

Fawn in the Morning

This morning there was a suprise in the drop box outside of the Wildlife Center. A woman had brought in a tiny little fawn that she found in the woods behind her house. However, we are not allowed to treat deer. Also, the woman had removed the fawn when she should not have. Deer leave their young throughout the day and then return at dusk in order to feed it. The woman believed that the baby had been abandoned and was concerned.


While she had good intentions, once we called her and asked her to come get the deer, she made life a lot more difficult. She would not do so and was so mad that she actually hung up on one of the staff. We had to make a trip out to where she lived and finally found the spot the baby had come from. I hope that the mom is able to find her baby!

Farmpark Day 14

Today, I mucked out one of the sheep pens and helped get the Well Bred Shed ready for the day.  After that, I sorted and weighed more wool that will be sold. In addition, I taped more poles that are going to be used as weave poles or for jumps during Working Dog Weekend.  Many of the other volunteers and workers are super excited for Working Dog Weekend, myself included.  Kenny Crumpton from Fox 8 is even coming for a sneak peak next Thursday, June 5. Unfortunately, my project will be over before then and the Senior Breakfast is that same morning.  I do hope to stop by the Saturday of Working Dog Weekend to check things out, though.  

I also helped with the sheep shearing demo in the afternoon by assisting in the capture of the sheep while preventing the other sheep from escaping the pen.  I also officially became BFFs with one of the older Shetland sheep, Sophie.  She absolutely loves to be petted and scratched.  She even wags her tail when I pet her and always greets me now.  I spent quite a bit of time introducing her to kids today because she is so friendly.
 
Bonus: Farmpark Newborn Board on Pinterest because who doesn't like baby animals?

Another Day Another Dollar...Minus the Dollar

Wednesday Lindsay and I attempted to watch another seal necropsy. Unlike the last one, this seal died as a result of its mother abandoning it. The pup was malnourished and it was attacked and killed by a bald eagle before being picked up. Even though it’s really sad that not all pups survive and that they do in fact get abandoned and killed, that’s the circle of life. With the nearest rehabilitation center closing, the people at Allied Whale have realized that they need to prioritize their rescues. Fortunately for the harbor seals, they are not an endangered species so the main course of action has been to let nature take its course. That is however unless a seal has been spotted on public property or where the seal has been impacted by human interference. Then Allied Whale will go out and help the animal in its most capable manner. They feel responsible, as humans, for this animal’s welfare and if it is left in the location it can be very distressing for the public. Unfortunately NOAA has a rule about transporting rescued marine animals out of state, however they soon may have to break this rule due to the lack of rehabilitation centers in Maine. The animals that Allied Whale does pick up, they try their best to find a way to shuttle it to another rehabilitation center that is hours away. Fortunately volunteers do stand by to make the drive easier.

-Bre

********** 

On Wednesday and Thursday, we also went out on the nature cruise in the afternoon again.  The sighting patterns have been quite consistent, and the seals and raptors have been seen in around the same spots on a daily basis.  While it’s nice that we’re getting the hang of it, and we can often spot and identify the animals before the naturalist on board does which is really gratifying, it sort of takes away from the spontaneity of wildlife watching and really decreases the time that we’re actively looking for animals.  With the exception of a few harbor porpoise, it’d be nice for a few surprises to keep us on our toes.  However, the beauty of the area as a whole will never get old to me.

Also, everyone’s been pretty curious regarding the whale situation (I get “so have you seen a whale yet?” at least once a day).  But the truth of the matter is that it is very early in the season.  Whales start trickling in early May, but the prime time of the season is July and August.  Commercial whale watching just began this Memorial Day weekend, and so far they haven’t seen anything yet.  In recent news though, the last couple days their bait radar, the machine that senses the presence of plankton and other various fish that whales feed on, has been relatively dead.  Yesterday; however, they noticed an astronomical spike in the bait population, and as common sense would tell you, wherever the food is the whales are.   So hopefully hopefully we will see something before we leave.  ~so please pray 4 us ~ 

-Lindsay 

Combination time (Wednesday and Thursday)

Project time is coming to an end very soon, so the main goal for Dave and I is to finish this grand stand. While it would seem that this should be an easy task, it is extreamly time consuming and tedious at times. Right now I'm tightening all of the 2x4s together with carriage bolts (right now we're at about 100 or so). We also had to take the excess panels of the track out of storage to use for the seating area of the stands.

On Wednesday, I had a surprise (well i knew about it but forgot) vist from Ms. Agar and her intensive class  they were in Slavic village, and wanted a quick tour and demonstration of the track, so I took a couple of laps and answered some questions afterwards. It's cool to see people interested in the track, especially with all the locals who come and start asking questions about the track. The real goal of this track, other than to let riders ride a track, is to bring some revenue and stability into the neighborhood.

Mark

Gosling Release

Today was an exciting day at the Wildlife Center! We have had 4 goslings in our miscellaneous room for a while now and one of the senior wildlife care specialists decided to give a new technique a try. We took the goslings to a pond in the reservation where two pairs of geese hang out. One pair does not have babies while the other has five kids.

We sent two babies off at first and the couple without babies was afraid. However, the mama goose and her babies came swimming over and soon accepted the goslings in to her family. We watched them for a while to make sure that everyone was getting along and we snuck off as soon as we were comfortable. It was heartwarming to see!

Farmpark Days 10, 11, &12

Tuesday was a very slow day.  I did the usual morning clean-up, sorted wool (this is a very long task because it has to be moved from one end of the barn to the other, weighed, etc.), and helped with demos by holding chickens and watching kids.  It was also a fairly sad day.  One of the pregnant cows aborted its fetus a month before it was due and we had to discard of the half-formed calf while avoiding little kids.

Wednesday moved quite a bit faster than Tuesday.  A lot of school groups passed through the barn.  I also helped prepare for Working Dog Weekend which is coming up in two weeks.  I removed the writing off of the plastic poles used to make weave poles using lacquer remover.  The whole barn smelled like acetone for a good part of the day. I also stayed an hour later to feed the animals at four.  This also meant I got to play with Maddie and Tot for while.

Thursday I had the opportunity to finish the weave poles by adding colored tape to make them look like candy canes.  After this was finished, I helped my sponsor, Ann, wrangle some goat kids from the barnyard that were being sent to a new home.  The first goat kid was easy because he came right up to us and didn't have the opportunity to run away.  But, goats are like water and slip away easily.  It took a lot of effort to get him from the barnyard to the Well Bred Shed while he flailed about with his hooves and horns. The second kid needed a little bit of encouragement, so we lured him into a corner with grain in order to catch him.  After catching the two goat kids from their pasture, we also had to catch and weigh two piglets. They were much easier to corner yet much heavier to lift and move.  They also squealed and screamed bloody murder while being held and transported.  But, in the end, everything went relatively smoothly.

Time Flies

It is absolutely crazy to think that yesterday marked the beginning of the final week of Project, with next Wednesday being the last day of our internships. For me it's been a whirlwind of excitement and activity, easily the leading cause for why I am so shocked that the Project is nearly over.

Both yesterday and today involved more data analysis, and gave me the opportunity to learn a little more about how campaigns actually work.

By reviewing data from the 2012 election cycle, the Joyce campaign is able to analyze how many people are projected to vote at any one voting precinct. With a little more information about the voters themselves, where they live and who they are, the campaign can produce targeted messages that to constantly remind likely Joyce voters within certain precincts to get out and vote. Adding another layer to the strategy is the fact that precincts release updates of who has voted twice during the day of the election, giving all campaigns the ability to cross check those who they need to vote, with those who have already voted, so that they are able to continue to call those individuals who are yet to vote and encourage them to do so.

Yesterday and this morning, my job was to actually total up those numbers and determine how many of the likely Joyce voters came out to vote in the primary, and how many ended up not voting at all. Allowing me to crunch the numbers also gave me the opportunity to draw some of my own conclusions. Some precincts had large numbers potential voters who didn't come out to vote, likely because it was a primary which often times has lower turn out even when it's contested. Other precincts did hit the expected level of people coming out to vote, sometimes meaning the campaign did an impressive job of getting everyone to the polls, but also sometimes meaning there was a small number of likely Joyce voters in the area in the first place.

The next few projects I'm working on are centered around galvanizing support for the upcoming general election, and understanding what worked and didn't work with the primary campaign. I'm very excited, and am looking forward to having a chance to view some of the other campaign offices around the district.

I See Dead People...

Well not actually dead people, more like dead rats and mice but still. So today, there were a lot of extra volunteers at the Wildlife Center, so a few of us were tasked with some jobs that needed to be gotten around to. Let's just say that there is a reason they never got done quick enough...

Let me explain. My job was to go through freezers and trash bags full of frozen mice and rats of all shapes, colors, and sizes. Sounds glamorous right? Well think again. We sorted hundreds of rodents. In one bag, we found pinkies, or newborn baby mice. The mom had gone in to labor as she was being killed. It made me so sad. What a life a feeder mouse must have...

"This is a business trip"

Happy late Memorial Day! So on Monday we were free until one, that’s when we went on our daily nature cruise. It’s mostly geared for tourists who are seeking adventure and are looking to view the Porcupine Islands up close. You can’t actually step foot on the three of the four Porcupine Islands as a result of ocean bird nesting. Anyway, the cruise hugs the coast of Mt. Desert Island for a while then we go off to Egg Rock, then to Irounbound Island, then we swing through the Porcupine Islands. Egg Rock is popular because that’s where hundreds of seals haul out on the daily. Our job is to count and record how many seals we see, which species they are and how many pups are out there. Lately we’ve also been seeing two juvenile bald eagles out there. Ironbound is home of the peregrine falcon. They nest on the cliffs and they don’t actually build a nest. Their eggs are designed to roll around in a circle so they won’ fall off the side of the cliff. Peregrines are one of the fastest birds in the world and they can dive up to two hundred miles per hour. After Ironbound we go to Sheep Porcupine Island, which hosts a nest of two adult bald eagles. Their nests can be up to eight feet deep and thirteen feet wide.

Later in the evening we attended a Whale SENSE meeting. Whale SENSE is an organization geared towards educating people about what to do in case of a whale sighting. They have a specific procedure to follow that will reduce the risks of injuring a whale via boat or propeller. They also talked about how they’re going to start using the cruises this summer to collect more field data. There are also lobster cruises in addition to the nature cruise. Essentially Lindsay and I are the guinea pigs of their new program.

-Bre

**********

            I’m just going to elaborate a little more on Bre’s second paragraph.  During this seminar, I sort of realized the degree of importance that our work can potentially have in the Bar Harbor bay area.  Bre said that we’re the “guinea pigs” of this new program that they’re initiating, which is spinning off of this other program called Citizen Science, an organization that gathers ordinary citizens not necessarily educated in any field of science to volunteer their time and resources to partner with professional scientists and contribute to their projects.  That was a definitely a run-on sentence but whatever.  Basically our mentor wants to gather high school students and other citizens of the Acadia National Park area to come on these nature cruises and gather field data, which mainly consists of taking seal counts (adults and pups), sea birds, raptors, other wildlife, and documenting their location and behavior.   We also note the tide times, ocean state, visibility, wind speed and direction, etc. to note any correlations.  While the data is likely to stay constant for weeks or even months at a time, the data collected could provide a ton of insight on the state of marine life in the area.  Bre and I have gotten to know the nature cruise photographer pretty well, and he mentioned that ten years ago, it would be quite lucky to see even eight seals on their trip.  Now we have been counting over 200 on a single island about the size of Mt. Desert Rock.    No one knows why, but if there ever happens to be a drastic change in population in the future, the collected data may be able to give some vital clues.

Also, I just wanted to note that during the SENSE meeting, which I found exceptionally interesting, how passionate these people were about the well-being of the whales, which I really appreciated.  One woman shared a story about how she knew another whale watching crew who went out off the coast of Mexico once, and while trying to maneuver away from the highly endangered Right Whale, the whale changed course and they accidentally hit and killed it.  I heard a few gasps and I looked around to see nearly everyone bowing or shaking their head.  It really made me realize the importance of safety and protection of the whales when coming in contact with these species, and many whale watching companies often neglect safety procedures for the sake of time and money, which is extremely disappointing. 

-Lindsay 

This post was pretty boring so here's a picture of two seal pups that one of program members, Rosie (the stranding coordinator),  got a call to look at.   Unfortunately, we couldn't make it that time, but the pictures were still really fun to look at!

We're getting close!

After a nice long weekend spent relaxing, racing, and eating everything in sight in Little Germany (Frankenmuth, Michigan), it was back to the day job. The only unfortunate thing about starting on a tuesday is that it is my longest day of the week. Work starts at 8, and i work at the velodrome until 5-6 before riding over to westlake to race, riding back to my car, and driving home. Today i was lucky because my dad was at the race and drove me back to my car (due to the rain that had steadily fallen during the race).

Anyway, onto the important part! Today Dave and I focused on trying to put the finishing touches on the stands. While we are very close to finishing, we still have a lot of work to do, and the heat and humidly are not helping! Trying to bolt together multiple pieces of framework fro the stands in 85 degree weather can be very challenging, and between Dave and I we easily went though 10-15 bottles of water while working (and we even took a short fan break where we stood in front of the fan inside our trailer...used to try to dry out wet carpet due to the multiple missing windows in the trailer after the firefighters tried to break in during the fire. We're making progress, and we should hopefully be finished by the end of the week!

Breaking Necks and Cashing Checks

First off who knew that lumber mills are actually a bunch of scammers? I probably could write a lengthy paper about how much Bill thinks about mills and how they play the game. Anyways today was unusual, considering I talked to a fellow Hawken student about how their project is mystery everyday and mine is something I come to expect. But today wasn't that day, I started off the day waiting for Bill to return from a mill with new wood to continue the porch. So Zach and I smashed concrete and cleaned up the garage with all the tools inside. When Bill finally returned he came empty handed saying a mill are cheapskates. So Bill, John, Zach and I left for Rocky River right back in my neighborhood. The job there was pretty simple we were to remove a wall and the cabinets in the kitchen. I had a ton of fun today smashing a wall something I always wanted to do. I even go to kick a wall out! WOOT!! Here are a few photos of the day!

Call me Mr.Overtime (monday)

While most people were enjoying a nice BBQ, and time with the family, I was at the velodrome...."working". I received an email on sunday from Brett asking if i could help out at the velodrome on Memorial Day by being a session leader. Naturally, I agreed, and so i arrived at the velodrome at 9:30 to set everything up (open the gates, doors, bring down the first aid kit, bring the bikes down to the infield, bring the pumps to the infield, etc). Right around 10 people started to roll in, even a couple of the local neighborhood kids showed up for some riding.

My job as a session leader was basically just to make sure everything went smoothly, and that everyone felt comfortable. Luckily, the majority of the riders who showed up were experienced enough that i did not have to make any major decisions/actions, and i had a co-leader the entire time so we were never really in any danger (Because who in their right mind would trust me to oversee a group of cyclist all by myself?)


Overall, it was a great day, and we ended up with about 5-6 hours of solid track riding time with various groups of people joining, and leaving at different times! The beauty of this track is that people can just jump on and off anytime they want, unlike a group ride on the road where you are more confined to routes, and time logistics.


Added bonus photo of me pacing one of the first groups to show up

Farmpark Days 8&9: Shearing Weekend, Doggies, and a Baby Cow

Since the Farmpark was very busy this past weekend, I took it upon myself to help out for a few hours on Sunday.  I did a bit of weaving on a very old loom using yarn spun from wool made by the Farmpark's very own sheep.  After about half an hour I managed to thoroughly screw up the pattern and prove, once again, how very untalented I am at art that requires a lot of patience and planning.  Thankfully, arts and crafts with little kids was much easier.  I helped them felt wool by taking chunks of it, criss-crossing them, putting them in a plastic bag, squirting warm soapy water into the bag, and telling the kids to rub the bag in their hands.  It was a super simple and fun craft to do for all ages.

The Farmpark is closed on Mondays, giving the workers the opportunity to clean things up a bit.  After mucking out the pens in the Well Bred Shed, I scrubbed the walls of the Dairy and fed the cows.  I also had the opportunity to bottle feed the calf, Yasmine, who is less than a month old.  She is about the size of a large dog and very stubborn when you try to get her to move.

After cleaning the dairy, there wasn't anything left to do until the PM feeding.  So, we took the two boarder collies, Tot and Maddie, for a walk.  They were super energetic and loved the walk immensely.

Tot (top), Maddie (bottom)

Castaway Movie Remake ft. Bre and Lindsay

           Yesterday Lindsay and I shadowed one of COA’s oceanography’s classes. Sean Todd, the director of Allied Whale, teaches it and he decided to take his class and us out to Mount Desert Rock for the day. Mount Desert Rock is twenty-five miles off the coast of Mount Desert Island and is literally a bunch of rocks. An old house as well as a lighthouse are the only two buildings that occupy the island. It takes approximately one and a half hours to reach the island and upon reaching it seagulls literally cover the place squawking and protecting their nests. On the other side seals are hauled out sun bathing. Apparently it is extremely common for some of the students to spend an entire summer or winter on the island in order to perform research. It is far enough from Mount Desert Island that whales feel safe to pass through, unfortunately we didn’t see any today. Just because we didn’t see any whales though doesn’t mean they’re not out there. We saw a harbor porpoise, which looks like a dolphin, a few puffins, grey seals, harbor seals and a whole bunch of different sea birds. The conditions for whale watching weren’t exactly as favorable either for the sky was overcast. That being said, it’s harder to detect the whale’s blowholes against grey skies making it nearly impossible to see them.

-Bre

The house/lighthouse, the rest of the island is just rock.

        **********

           As Bre said, we ventured out to Mt. Desert Rock yesterday from around 8:30 to 5:30.  It may as well be called Mt. Deserted Rock, as you can see from the picture, the island has a lighthouse and one dilapidated looking house and shed.  We mainly spent the day preparing the island for the next set of researchers to come in and spend the summer gathering all sorts of information relevant to their projects.    (Ex: we carried the solar panels from inside the house and put them in place to provide energy for the house, and cleaned the inside, took inventory, etc.)  Although the island is small and devoid of humans, it is far from lifeless.  We spoke with one senior at the college who spent a summer there researching mercury levels in the ocean by observing the seagulls and their eating patterns and then gathering blood samples from the seagull chicks.  We also saw a massive colony of seals who occupied the other half of the island but we weren't allowed to go too close because it might've disturbed the mother pup bond if we happened to scare them.  The area is also prime for whale watching.  A tourist whale watching catamaran passed the island as we were leaving, I believe it was the first trip of the season.  Since it is the very beginning of whale watching season, the odds of seeing one were very slim and unfortunately we didn't but we still have plenty more opportunities to go out on the ocean so we're still hopeful!  

-Lindsay 

International Day at TJ

Friday, May 23rd

Today was a really fun day at Thomas Jefferson because it was International Day for the students. International Day is basically a version of field day for the students, but one that really focuses on celebrating the various cultures from which all of the students come. The majority of students at the school come from Puerto Rico; however, there are students from all over Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

To start the day, we had a music and dance program in the gym. The younger grades sung a few songs with their classes, the middle school choir performed, and there were Spanish, African, and Nepali dances. The kindergarteners we're getting very restless by the end of the program because it was long, but they handled it really well and the program itself was great. After the program, we had art time. I made pins for the kids with colored beads that represented the flags of their countries, and when everyone had gotten a pin, I helped at the face painting table and painted hearts and Minions and smiles on kids' faces.

After lunch, we went to the Arabic room first, where the students got to see different Arabic decorations, learn about the Arabic countries, and try Arabic dance. After that, we went to the Nepali room where students watched videos about Nepali culture, food, and dance. Both rooms were very imformative, but I noticed the students were more engaged in the Arabic room because they got to participate more. That really emphasized how important hands on activities are to me. The day ended with a movie and all in all it was a great day.

End of the Year HYLP at Esperanza

Wednesday, May 21st

Today was a special day for Esperanza in that it was the end of the year celebration for Esperanza's High School Youth Leadership Program. The celebration was from five to nine in Esperanza's basement, and featured yummy food, cake, ice cream, punch, games, a photo booth, and lots of fun. A lot of time this morning was spent helping Esperanza decorate the basement to get ready for the event. I worked with Melissa and one other woman from Esperanza to help set up the photo booth, which turned into a pretty big challenge when the green screen paper we were going to use didn't work. We ended up using a tablecloth, coatrack, chairs, and binder clips to put together a backdrop for the pictures that didn't look completely horrendous.

When I wasn't helping them set up for the party this morning, I was working on contacting some various community service organizations in the community in order to follow up with them as to whether or not they could provide volunteer work for students this summer in Esperanza's Summer Youth Employment Program. In the afternoon, I sorted through papers that Melissa had accrued through the year, and helped sort them into piles based on the programs that they are applicable for and the subjects that they cover, so that Melissa can be organized for the start of next year's High School Youth Leadership Program and Saturday Academy. I also started sorting the papers that students had done through the year into piles based on student so that they can get them back at the end of the year.

When it was time for the party to start, I went with Melissa to pick up two students who lived nearby and needed rides to come, and then helped do last minute things for the party. I think that all of the students had a lot of fun at the end of the year celebration and I really enjoyed being a part of helping Esperanza get ready for the party. Working with Esperanza so far has helped me to realize all the little things that are so important in being able to successfully connect with students.

Winding Down the Year at TJ

Tuesday, May 20th

Today I was with Ms. Caraballo's kindergarten class again, and even as the year is winding down, we are still following our daily routine. In the morning, the class sat on the carpet like normal and did some dome of the daily warm ups to get their brains going. This is a great time because it allows the students to repeat a bunch of different topics in order to help them learn. For instance, the students go over what the wether is like for the day, what day of the week it is, the date, patterns, numbers, letters, and counting, while doing fun activities like counting how many students are in class that day and singing songs.

From there, the students worked on making a book of the letter R at the back table with me, worked independently on the computer and on worksheets, and read with Ms. Caraballo.  I also had the chance to review letters with two students, both very new to the class and with limited English skills, in a small group. One of the students is very new, and I hadn't had the chance to work with her before; however, I worked with the other student in March and was amazed already at how much his knowledge and skills have grown in just a few months. It was an incredibly rewarding realization.

This realization was something that was really emphasized when students wrote in and shared their writing journals in the morning. The students all had to draw a picture of something that started with R, write as many sentences as they could about it, and share with the class via a microphone. All of the students are in very different places with their writing and English skills, but it was incredibly gratifying to see all the effort they put into expressing themselves and how much their abilities have improved since I first worked with them in December.

In the afternoon, for math time, we decided to have students make clocks out of paper plates and do a quick lesson with that so that they could learn a little bit about time. We didn't have time to get through a full lesson, but it was a fun activity for the students and they were able to see how the hands of a clock moved.

Today taught me a lot about being flexible who working with students and really tailoring curriculum to meet their individual needs. It also emphasized again how important consistency and repetition are, and the amazing results that the two can produce for students over periods of time.

R.I.P Seal Pup

Yesterday around four o’clock we got a call from Salsbury Cove about a dead seal pup. Rosie, the main emergency mammal responder, was relieved to hear that it was dead due to Maine’s animal rehabilitation center’s recent closing. Sean Todd, the director of Allied Whale said that now if they get calls about seals and other marine wildlife there is virtually nothing they can do to benefit them besides euthanizing them. They simply don’t have the money to send the animals to the closest rehabilitation center, which is in Connecticut I believe. Personally the fact that they are so willing just to euthanize the animals makes me a little uncomfortable but I guess it is the easiest solution to the problem. Although I don’t understand why they couldn’t just release the animals back into the wild and let nature take its course.

 So today we watched Rosie and Laura and a few students perform a seal necropsy. It’s actually really important for the team to do necropsies when they have the chance because it not only shows us how that animal died but it also shows if outside matters are effecting the population of a certain species which could trickle down and effect us as well. An example of this would be like chemicals poisoning fish, which then poison the seals first but will eventually poison us as well so it’s important to take action.

~Bre

**********

Today was an eventful day, to say the least.  We started off in the morning, as Bre said, observing the seal pup necropsy.  Although it was sad, it was an incredible experience.  I'm not quite sure how to begin describing the scene, and I'm not too keen on posting a picture because I'm figuring nobody's too enthusiastic about seeing it,  but basically it was fairly comparable to the second phase of a Law and Order SVU opening scene.  Phase 1, random person encounters dead body: Phase 2, the police force shows up taking pictures and documenting things they see on the body.  They did the whole, write things on paper and hold it up to the body and photograph it, for their own research purposes and so they can send their information to NOAA fisheries (the organization that funds their research).

For a while, I got to hold the clipboard and write down whatever Laura, the one performing the procedure, called out so needless to say I felt very important.  The cause of death of the female pup was essentially unknown, however, they did locate three small abrasions and puncture wounds around the head and neck area, as well as an abscess around the size of a ping pong ball in the lateral neck.  They speculated that since the pup was so young (approx. 2 weeks) the immune system, which should have been working overtime to develop, was fighting to rid of the likely pre-natal abscess, leaving it even more vulnerable to other bacterial infections.  :(   

On a lighter note though, this afternoon Bre and I got to go out and do some field research on this nature cruise, which is generally a commercial boat trip meant for tourists, but our mentor wants to get us out on a few of those trips to record seal and bird of prey populations in the Bar Harbor area for a friend of hers and fellow researcher.  So yes, we saw our first live seals.  And by seals I mean we counted around 120 seals on this tiny island equivalent to the length of two football fields.  It was incredible.  Also as we passed a different island we caught sight of two Bald Eagles, which as also amazing, and I furthermore got the song "Im Proud to Be an American" stuck in my head for the rest of the day.  

And to top off an eventful day, Bre and I had a very ~romantic~ and picturesque evening watching the sunset on Acadia National Park's acclaimed Cadillac Mountain, and did yoga poses for this random photographer so keep your eyes open while checking out at Giant Eagle for us on the next cover of National Geographic!!!!!  

~Lindsay 

 

Farmpark Days 6&7

The past two days at the Farmpark have followed my typical routine.  I've mucked plenty of pens and helped educate a ton of young children.  However, Thursday posed a unique opportunity for me when Kyle let me hold Vern the jersey wooly rabbit for one of the demonstrations.   I was thrilled, especially because I got to share my in depth knowledge of rabbits with the students and their chaperons.  Thursday was also a slightly shorter day due to the District Track Meet I had to attend.

Friday was a bit more fast paced in comparison to Thursday due to the preparations for the Shearing Weekend.  More pens had to be set up for the sheep that were brought in from the Barnyard and other pastures for the event.  Moving sheep is usually easy because they stick together in a herd and follow the person who has the grain.  Yet, sometimes things go wrong and the sheep scatter.  Sheep can be surprisingly strong and quick when they want to be.  But, it is easy to catch them with some grain and maneuvering.  After moving the sheep, I spent the end of my day observing a few more demonstrations in the Well Bred Shed and sorting fleeces.  I have to say, kids come up with the strangest ideas and/pre questions during the demonstrations.  My favorite question so far is: "where do you keep the penguins?"  I guess these seemingly silly questions just prove how important it is to educate today's youth about what farm animals are and where exactly food comes from.    

My First Press Conference

Today was by far one of the most exciting days at the office, as we hosted a press conference for local media about a few different issues concerning Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed Fitzgerald and his campaign.

Both the chairman of Ohio's Republican Party, and the chairman of Cuyahoga's Republican Party came down to the office this morning to speak with reporters about concerns they had over the Fitzgerald campaign. I've actually met the chairman of the county's party before, Rob Frost, so it was really exciting to have the chance to hear him speak again. In light of the massive poll lead Governor Kasich currently has (with some data suggesting that his favorability rating is around 58%, which is incredible) it was interesting, and in my opinion very clever, to see the Republicans go on the offensive about Mr. Fitzgerald's campaign to continue to put much needed pressure on the Democrats.

The focus of the press conference surrounded two things: the release of data that would show how often Fitzgerald is on property owned by the county, essentially how often he's at work doing his job, and also an issue with the county's Inspector General. All Cuyahoga County public employees have scan cards that are used to enter property owned by the county, and their records are generally made available to the public. This enables citizens to see how often their elected officials, or public employees being paid with their tax dollars, are showing up to work and doing the job we pay them to do. Even the notoriously corrupt county politician Jimmy Demora regularly provided this information to the public. Unfortunately Fitzgerald has not, and when asked to do so, has refused. Chairman Frost used the press conference as an opportunity to make Fitzgerald's repeated refusals known, to make it clear that the Republicans have tried to push for this information to be made public, and to highlight the hypocrisy of a campaign that puts so much emphasis on transparency and good government, yet has been anything but transparent.

The second issue was equally as interesting, and had to do with the county's Inspector General seemingly working for the Fitzgerald campaign. The purpose of our Inspector General is so that we have someone who is conducting audits and inspections to ensure public employees are meeting the ethical standards set by the county. In light of years of massive corruption within Cleveland and across Cuyahoga county, the position is of relatively high importance. Yet unfortunately, it appears that the IG has been working outside of her purview and specifically for the Fitzgerald campaign, performing audits for them rather than for city employees as is her actual job. When Republicans asked the IG to provide the amount of time she's spent working for the Fitzgerald campaign rather than for the county, she said it would be impossible to do so. Yet days later it was realized that a week before the Republicans had requested this data, the IG had already met with county officials to provide an exact estimation of the amount of time she had been working for the campaign.

These issues aren't simply political ones brought to the forefront by the Republican Party to grab additional support. These are issues that everyone should care about, that relate to how seriously our government is taking their job of providing the service they promise to the people, and it's about holding our leaders to account. It's incredibly interesting, and I feel very lucky to have been able to watch some of these events unfold.

These supports sure are heavy...

Thursday May 22,

Dave and I have made steady progress on the stands, as well as the tiles for the floor of the trailer. The tiles are time consuming yet simple. You have to place the glue down and wait for it to dry (often a 24 hour experience), and then you can lay down the tiles. However, we can't just do this is one go, we have to be careful so that riders do not step in our glue while we're waiting for it to dry during their open riding sessions on the track. Heck, we had a rider step in the glue job just minutes after we laid down the glue. Buckets, and chairs are not enough for some riders...

The bleaches/stands, unlike the tiles, are hard work! Not only is the wood heavy, but it's thick and we often have to do multiple positionings of each piece. Standing with a 80 lbs 2x4 waiting for Dave to nail it in can be very exhausting, especially when you do it 8+ hours a day! Luckily we have finished the hardest parts, and we're getting close to the final result.

The whole goal of these stands are to act as both a chance to make some form revenue for Fast Track Cycling, to make the track more viewer friendly (to bring in the big time track racers from around the country, and set up high level races),  and to allow local parents to watch their kids ride during our open ride hours. The first, and the last goal should be pretty easy to set into motion. The second goal is a bit more challenging. To attract strong competition we have to somehow spread the word about the track to the rest of the country. Luckily the fact that our track is one of the steepest in the country allows for the word to spread quickly!

Mark

SOME PEOPLE CALL ME THE SPACE COWBOY!!

Today hurt! Man am I tired! When I arrived at the construction site Bill and John were already hard at work on top of the porch. First thing Bill had me do was grab a huge plywood sheet and lift it up to them. Damn was this thing heavy! Next thing we did was start to pitch the roof so that rain would run drain off the porch and not puddle up on the roof. The roof has slight angles going from the house down and towards each edge. Its hard to describe but there are slight angles from all the directions going to the side of the porch. I used the nail gun and staple gun to tack down plywood and some "spikes" which are 3 inch nails to drive the plywood securely into the rafters above. Before I left for the day I clamped together a jack that had begun to pull apart. I wasn't able to nail it completely back to normal but a pretty darn close to where it was originally! Tomorrow we start trimming!!

BA HA BA

May 21, 2014

Finally we made it to Maine after a leisurely fifteen hour drive, but it went by pretty fast.  We settled into our cottage on Tuesday and explored BA HA BA (Bar Harbor in a heavy Boston accent, yeah) , which is basically a glorified and lobster themed Chagrin Falls with an incredible view.  We're excited for all the festivities the town has to offer during this coming Memorial day weekend.  

Anyways, we began our first real day on the job today and essentially learned the ropes of the lab portion of our project.  We learned how to operate the photo-identification software (iMatch) which we will be working on for the next couple weeks when there's nothing more exciting to do.  Rosie, the marine mammal stranding coordinator, said at the beginning of the day, "If the phone ever rings, you might be on a stranding call", so basically every time the phone rings I have a heart attack.  They did get a call today of a harbor seal pup stranding, but it was from a southern region of Maine, so there's a different organization responsible for that area (so pretty much it was a wrong number).  But I listened in on the phone-call anyways, and it was interesting to hear the different questions Rosie asked the caller, ex:  does the pup look emaciated? (can you see a defined neck and hip area? ..which means it's too skinny) is it in a densely populated area?/ is it disrupting or near traffic?, etc.. whatever the caller said, Rosie felt that by the information, the pup was alright and there was no need to move it from its position.  She explained that seals often leave their pups for long periods of time to find food, and people often mistake it for abandonment.  And there aren't enough resources for people to misinterpret a healthy seal for a sick and abandoned one, so Allied Whale is really working to increase awareness in that aspect.

Lastly, I feel the need to talk a little bit about the College of the Atlantic, the college that Allied Whale is affiliated with.  Basically the college has 350 students, less than Hawken, and it's dedicated to letting students have complete freedom of their education.  So there's one available major, human ecology, and you can take whatever classes you want that you think will help you to become whatever you want to be.  The lunch food is mostly vegan/gluten free, there's flannel everywhere, nobody seems to be wearing shoes, and there's a giant rope swing in the middle of campus that seems to be the biggest attraction.  We've talked with a few students so far and they're all extremely nice though.  This is going to be a fun two weeks :)

-Lindsay

Bar Harbor

**********

           We made it to Maine! So today was our first day interning at Allied Whale. We met Tom and Rosie, members of the emergency marine mammal stranding teams; tomorrow we will meet Tanya our mentor. They showed us how to catalog whales and how to differentiate between the flukes (tails) of humpback whales. Humpbacks seem to be the most common whale that come into the New England area and it’s been discovered that the same ones travel back and forth to the same locations, which is pretty interesting. We know this due to photo identification. Allied Whale collects and encourages fishermen and whalers and anyone really who has pictures to send them into them. They are then able to catalog the pictures by looking at different characteristics of the flukes. Scars are also a good indicator to distinguish whether or not the whales have been already identified, if it has been then we know more about their migration patterns and how far and possibly often they return. We don’t know much about the routes humpbacks take while migrating, however we know that their calves follow them so then it’s repeated for generations to come. However as photo tagging catches on, ideally we’ll have a better idea of that. Unfortunately early tagging wasn’t as humane as photo tagging. Researchers would shoot metal rods into the whales and would later collect them once the whale has died. Obviously photo tagging is a better option especially with the help of other people all across the world.

-Bre

All the different variations of whale fluke patterns

Farmpark Days 4 & 5: Rainbow Sheep and Crafts

Both mornings started off as per usual; I mucked out Liz's pen, cleaned Vern the rabbit's cage, and cleaned a few sheep pens.  Liz's piglets are just growing by the minute!

On Tuesday, I had the fantastic opportunity to 'rainbow' a sheep using Kool-aide mixed with vinegar. Winston and Wyatt, two Wensleydale, were the lucky sheep to be dyed.  The end result was two awesomely colored sheep that smelled like fruit punch.  Many of the kids got a kick out of seeing them on Wednesday as well as Mr. Daly, who stopped by that afternoon.

A "How-to" sign in the Well Bred Shed

Step 1: Wash your sheep

Step Two: Mix vinegar, Kool-aide, and water

Step 3: Spray it on your sheep until the desired color is reached

Wyatt and Winston will be sheared this weekend as part of the educational demonstrations for Shearing Weekend.

Also, in preparation for shearing weekend, Kyle (an employee), Samantha (another volunteer), and I did a little bit of arts and crafts.  First, we felted soap with carded & dyed wool.  This created a cool washcloth-like texture on the soap.  We also felted some cups to create wool-cozies.  To felt the cozies, you simply add some warm water and soap to the dyed wool, rub until it stiffens a bit, and then let it dry.

  

Be Free!

Mr. Daly came to visit on this rainy Wednesday morning. I showed him around the facility, as people bustled around and completed their morning chores. Once he left, I completed my morning tasks, which include all the things that I have been doing previously. I have been enjoying myself immensely, even with simple tasks such as cleaning out cages. It is rewarding and fulfilling to do something to help these animals.

At the end of the day, Traci told me and a few other interns that the biggest baby bunnies were ready to be released. We excitedly walked through the Metroparks to find a suitable habitat for them. Once we found a clearing with access to food, water, and shelter, we put the bunnies down. They were all in shock, and only one began to eat while the other two hid. The fourth warily moved around. After watching them for awhile, we left them to fend for themselves. I felt a sense of sad hopefulness. It was sad to see the bunnies we had been caring for go but at the same time I knew how happy they would be in the wild. I hope they survive.

Donor Data and Why "It" Matters (Tues)

Yesterday most of my focus was on data collection in relation to donor information. Essentially I was looking at donor trends, analyzing spreadsheets of donors for both the 2014 election, and the 2012 election. The purpose of this was to get a better idea of who donates, when they donated, and if they've donated so far to the 2014 campaign and if so how recently. On top of analyzing the data, and provided my own conclusions that I could draw from what I was reading, I was doing a lot of data compression. This basically meant that I was looking for sets of matching names in the data I received, so someone who donated on multiple occasions either to the 2012 campaign, to the 2014 campaign, or both. I would remove the remaining names so that I could isolate only the people who have donated on multiple occasions, therefore collecting a group of donors who have the highest likeliness to continue to donate.

Now the practice of deleting names on a spreadsheet doesn't seem that difficult, and I'll admit that the individual action of doing so isn't that hard. But like anything, it's important to put things into context. There were over three thousand names on that list, so going through and sorting them was no easy task. But more importantly, the end result of compressing this list matters. It's not some random in-class assignment I'm completing in my last block on a Tuesday afternoon, where a few little mistakes aren't really going to amount to anything. This is something that will actually be used, data that is important to the campaign, numbers that will be referenced in the future.

So I guess for me it doesn't really matter the size or weight of the task assigned to me, everything matters, and so I work diligently to ensure my end result is a representation of that realization.

Heavy lifting, and breaking my back (Tuesday)

After finishing the supports' holes, we had to spend Tuesday putting the 200 lbs supports in, nailing them togeyher with 2x4s, and putting the cement mix in. Now while today was hard work, it doesn't even compare to yesterday's efforts.

I arrived at the velodrome dreading today's work. I was sore, and stiff from the repeated jack hammer beatings, and constant shoveling. Luckily we had finished the "hard portion" of the building process the day before, and all we had to do today was place the supports in the holes and secure them. For the most part everything went according to plan, at least until I had to pull out of of the supports so we could clean out the hole, and pulled it out causing it to fall on me and push me straight into a horizontal 2x4 at full force. Let me tell you, having a 200 lbs wooden beam slam you into another solid piece of wood hurts, and my back is still killing me.

After laughing (crying) it off we were back to work. By the end of the day we had completed the support structure, and it was off to the races for me, and then driving back home at around 11 last night. Long day in the saddle!

More photos I be added

Played nine holes today (Monday)

Well, today was the start of our construction of the stands. In order to make the stands we had to cream 3 foot deep holes in the ground ( a mix of asphalt, concrete and fill). My scrawny cyclist body is not designed to handle a jackhammer, and it was obvious once we started. The jack hammer would throw me around like a rag doll as I tried (without much success) to drill through the first layer of asphalt. Lucky I had my sponsor, and a contractor to help out with the jackhammer and auger ( a huge piece of machinery that drills through the ground).

Unbelievably, after a day of hard labor, and non stop pain we finished all nine holes needed for the support for the stands. Today has taught me that I'm not cut out for hard labor, and I better do well in college. I'm still sore from Monday's efforts.


I have a couple photos I need to add once I'm off my phone, and back at home. Sorry about the lateness of this blog and any others, I have not been home very much this week and haven't really spent more than an hour at home without running off to do something.

LOOK DAD! I'M FLYING!!!

Today we did a bunch of rafter work, I put bridging between each rafter and nailed all them in  by hand. Next we put in the gutter board and its not an easy task. We first had to build scaffolding around the porch then hoist up some 2x4's and nail them into the rafters. After we did so we started to but roofing on. First off the roofing consisted of 3/4 plywood with posts going around the exterior of the porch. We reinforced the rafters with bridges so that the posts had something to "bite" into. Next we nailed all the ply wood into rafters. Easily the most fun I've had on project and a good way to learn the ways of a hammer! Tomorrow we work on pitching the roof so that water will not just form on the roof and will actually run off it. Heres a picture of the roofing.