The weeks have been flying by. This past Wednesday marks my fifth week in Cedarville. Much has happened in these few weeks; I have become acquainted with many projects that are conducted by the BLM. My third week of work began by traveling to Chicago from San Francisco. The week spent in Chicago at the Chicago Botanic Garden was wonderful. The workshop in Chicago gave me the opportunity to meet two other interns at the Alturas office twenty miles away. On Wednesday myself and the other two SOS interns from Alturas went out with a crew from the Forest Service to conduct vernal pool surveys. The following morning we were able to help out at our neighboring National Wildlife Refuge by conducting duck brood surveys. It is rewarding to start work early in the high desert because then fewer hours are spent in the hot afternoon sun. I am beginning to get a handle on my project. I have scouted out many populations that will be ready for seed collection in the coming weeks and have already made a few collections of species that are currently ready for collection. I can navigate myself around this region much more successfully now that I have done some seed scouting. In addition I am becoming confident in my ability to recognize and identify many of the species that are present in this area.
The high desert is more and more intriguing every day. The vast landscape appears to be homogenous throughout but once a closer look is taken it can be seen that the geology changes drastically over short distance. The geology largely affects the type of vegetation that will flourish in this dry climate; the soil type is often reflected in the variety of sage that is abundant at a particular site. Another quality the desert embodies that I find soothing is the constant hum of insects in the air. In some areas, often times surrounding riparian areas, while conducting a seed collection I am accompanied by the most beautiful fluttering butterflies.  I had the opportunity to visit blue lake which is located just on the other side of the Warner Mountains. The area surrounding the lake burned in a wild fire a few years ago. I had never seen the beautiful destruction that a fire can cause. Awe struck is the appropriate way to describe how I felt. I am nearing half way, and aim for a new experience every day!