Hoot Hoot!

Sorry all. I know it's been a while since I've written on here, but life has been a bit rushed every time I've made it to town; just like this one. I don't have much time before the library closes, so I'll try and catch you all up on what's been going on. We had our last release in what was left over from hurricane Dolly. That was interesting. I don't think I've ever been so exhausted in my life. The only good part of the bad weather was that Christine and I got to hang out in the truck because Brian Mutch gave us a stand for a scope that attached to the car window. I was so tired from the release that when I was driving I thought a cow pie in the road was one of our dead falcons. Pretty ridiculous. One thing that did make my spirits raise was holding a horn toad in my hand. It was pretty chilly out so he was digging the warmth of my body. Brian said that if they don't like you then blood will come out of their eyes; I couldn't tell with this one though because he was fast asleep. A day or so later we met up with some of the other girls at a restaurant called Miss Tony's. Wow, I've never had a real tortilla and may I say that if you haven't, you must. All the girls were sweet and talkative. It was nice to get to hang out with other people for once. Lately, Christine and I have taken to practicing our gymnastics during sunsets. After 20 years of life, I can finally do a decent kart wheel and even a round-off. I guess that is nothing to brag about, but I'm pretty excited. Our little shack is becoming homey over time. On Christine's side, there are tapestries and postcards... on my side there is a nice collection of bugs pressed against the wall. I've named some of them (Matt, Josh, Halley...) in memory of the Sterling crew. At the site, Christine and I have been bothered by this one particular bug. It drives us absolutely insane! Christine has been killing it with sunscreen, but I've now opted to freeze it. I'm starting a rather large collection - tarantula, beetles, black widows, etc. Something else that's exciting is that we've been getting falcons that were released at other sites. I think we have had four now, which makes our job a little more exciting because when we ID the birds they might not always be ours. I guess I've been staying away from the propane stove for a reason. I've learned that you have to light it up right away otherwise the gas will disperse and kaboom! My hair on my right arm is slowly making its recovery. Right outside our house, in the big cottonwood, our falcons have been hanging about. It is really great to have them so close to home, but not so much fun in the afternoon when we are trying to sleep and they think it's time to chat. On this past Friday, we went to the Miller Ranch site for a pot luck. They made the craziest platter of food. Lauren and Alyssa caught cottontails and cow birds and fried them on up with soy sauce and pineapple. Very interesting... They also had a kitten and a little chick just trampsing around the house. Alyssa showed us some pictures of her red-tailed hawk that she has back at home. She's apprenticing to become a falconer. After we all gorged ourselves, we all hopped into one truck (Christine, Brie, Andrea, and I in the bed) and drove on out to what they call the "forte" on the Miller's land. The forte was built in 1880 for the Mexican-American War when the Pueblo Indians killed the Apaches. Pretty dam cool. No one really knows about it either since it's on private land, so we felt very privileged. Right near the forte we walked down into a ravine and saw fresh surface water for our first time here in Texas. Alyssa said that it was the only freshwater for about 100 miles! Crazy to think. Alyssa and Christine tried a bit of fishing, but didn't catch anything. Then Andrea and I tried a little free climbing but we weren't so successful either. Later that night Christine hear Great-horned owls. We called Paul immediately because we heard that the Miller site had just been ransacked in only two days by owls. All they have left are the remains. Paul said that the owls just go on a free-for-all and bite the heads off all the falcons they can find and don't even bother feeding on the rest. Angel and Paul came the next night to exterminate the owls. We asked how exactly it happened but Paul just kept on saying "Don't worry, we have permits." I guess it's pretty gruesome. Well, they never found the owls so Christine and I are just hoping that they've moved on. The following day we went out with the other hack site girls again. This time we met at a Pizza Hut in Van Horn. I found out the story of Yosara. She is now at the Baeza site. She was driving down with Bill Heinrich from Boise, Idaho headed to Deming, New Mexico. (She was supposed to be my partner) Well, she started seeing signs for Texas and asked what was going on. Bill seemed to forget to tell her the little detail of her being switched to West Texas instead of New Mexico. Oh Bill; so silly. Tonight Christine and I are taking the night off. Wooo hooo! We are so relieved to get a little breathing time. After the library closes, we're headed off to Sierra Blanca to spend the night with some friends. They even have a kitchen so we're going to make some eggplant parmesean and pineapple upside-down cake. We're both excited. Only a about three and a half more weeks until I'm out of here! I will definitely miss it all, but I think by that time I will be ready to head out. Miss you all and sorry if this blog was a little sloppy. Love, Ang