Well, things are heating up out here, just in time for seed collecting. Plant work with the Seeds of Success program has consumed most of my days as practically all of the species on my target list began seeding at the same time. Somehow this always happens. It also means that office work tends to end up on the back burner as the trusty intern frantically scours the field office monitoring seed ripeness and gathering seed. Unfortunately, it behooves one to remember that the office aspects of field life are equally important, and when neglected can come back to bite one in the bum.

Case in point: I had been planning to collect one particular little plant for some time, and was waiting for a mature seed with which to key it out to the exact species. But as the days went by, in the field and far away from the computerized USDA plants database, even once I decided on what the plant was, I never quite got around to verifying its geographic origin. I remembered this little detail about one collection too late, so my helper and I spent a few hours happily collecting…a non-native weed. Check before you collect! Lessons learned.

Apart from this minor dumb error, my summer in Cody has proceeded rather nicely. The golden eagle chick I’ve been watching is probably only a week or 2 from fledging, though it’s been hard to squeeze in some good monitoring time. I’ve been able to participate in an educational tour with bentonite mining companies discussing reclamation and sage grouse, as well as a tour of the Bridger Plant Materials Center and discussion of seeding trials being implemented in reclaimed bentonite mines using previous Seeds of Success collections. It’s always nice to intersperse a long, busy work season with chances to learn from the work of others and to be reminded of the important applications of the fruits of our labor.