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 

**********

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.