The end of the 2010 seed year is finally within reach here at the Bend Seed Extractory, and it’s bringing a mixture of excitement and relief.  2010 was the biggest seed year on record at the BSE, more than doubling the previous record in 2009.  It’s been a daunting task and seeing the remaining seed lots dwindle down to a manageable number is a welcome sight indeed.  Everyone here keeps looking at the latest figures and trying to figure when we’ll be done for good.  This is especially true because the deliveries for the 2011 seed year are starting to pour in at a pretty good clip and we’d all like to get 2010 out of the way and start focusing on the new arrivals.

I can’t believe that I’ve been here over a year and my time as a CLM intern is almost up.  The internship has squeaked open some doors for me that could prove very rewarding if everything works out.  Not the least of these is possible future employment with the Forest Service here in Bend, which would be awesome!

This brings up an important point:  Bend is hands down the most fun place I’ve been yet.  From the beautiful surroundings, to the people, to the lifestyle, climbing, biking, hiking, lakes, rivers, mountains, desert, forests and on and on and on…   I’m in the best shape of my life and it’s all because there’s so much fun stuff to do around here.  This is THE LIFE, and I hope I can figure out a way to stick around here for a while!

Me on my Clipper cleaning some Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus seed

Back from CLM intern training at the Chicago Botanic Garden and I’m having to re-adjust to my regular life.  The gauntlet of botany, monitoring, protocol and safety information we got was intense for sure.  Most of it was great for refreshing all that information that I’ve lost in the three years since finishing school.  Meeting the new crop of interns was awesome and tromping around the city and the burbs was a great way to relax after long days of filling my head with information.  The setting for the training wasn’t too shabby either.

One of the Japanese gardens at the CBG

So, now I’m back in Bend picking up where I left off, cleaning and packaging endless mountains of seed from the 2010 field season.  (Nita keeps telling us that we’re actually making great progress and 2010 will be done before we know it.)

I can’t believe it – This week marks my one year anniversary at the Bend Seed Extractory!

So what have I learned and how have I grown?  I could say that I’ve learned about hundreds of native plant species that are commonly used in ecological restoration all over the western US, which is true…  I could say that I am better equipped to understand the need for native seed availability and what it takes to provide viable native plant material to a quickly growing market, which is also true…    But…

Without a doubt the biggest way that I have grown this last year is through observing and interacting with the people that I’ve worked with.  In this last year I’ve seen one manager retire, a supervisor move into that managers role, learned to co-exist with the most difficult co-worker I’ve ever come across, and had to train a hand full of new employees with a huge range of ages, experience levels and personalities.  I’ve spent lots of time observing people interact.   Tense social and professional situations happen frequently here as I’m sure they do in most professional settings.  I’ve been asking myself how I might handle them if it was my responsibility and what the possible outcomes could be.  This year I’ve gained a confidence in myself that I know is going to push me to places I might never have considered before coming to work at the Bend Seed Extractory.   Thanks CLM!