Are you sure Lakeview, Oregon’s motto isn’t “the windy city”? I have seen nothing but wind and rain since I returned from the training workshop….I’m thinking somebody made a mistake.

Other than the crazy Summer weather, things are great here in Lakeview. This week is “Safety Week” which means another full week of training and lectures. I know these things must be done to keep us safe and informed, so I am continuing to fuel myself with really strong coffee in order to power through. Trainings are not as plush here in Lakeview as they were at the Garden. I haven’t seen a single sandwich or candy bowl all week. 🙂 So far, I have learned the importance of employment equality and also First Aid basics. The rest of the week consists of a “Grass Class” which is two days of learning everything there is to learn about grasses of eastern Oregon and the Great Basin. I am super excited for this because I know it will help my plant I.D. skills tremendously. Sorry Joe, I will take notes for you. The “Driving Rodeo” will round up the end of Safety Week. The instructor says he is going to force us to reverse a manual truck for 10 miles down a dirt road….I hope he is joking.

I was able to take a break from Safety Week to go out into the field with the rare plant surveying crew. We were looking for a rare species of Buckwheat, Eriogonum prociduum, which only exists in a small part of Oregon and California. It grows on dry, pumice slopes with a lot of bare ground and within low-sage habitats. Unfortunately, the population seems to have declined since the last study in 2005, and no new recruits were being established. It was still nice to get some rare plant monitoring experience under my belt and also to see some new snow on the ground.

I hope everyone made it home safe from the workshop!

Prostrate buckwheat