Greetings fellow interns,<\/p>\n
I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday season filled with friends, family and all things pleasant.\u00a0 Being a California transplant, I joined my family in Iowa remotely via Skype, which was definitely a first for me, and was able to participate in their festivities.\u00a0 It was wonderful to be able to connect with them despite the distance.\u00a0 Technology is great when it works.\u00a0 I have been here in California for a few years now as a CLM intern in what was originally a 5 month internship.\u00a0 What a great experience it has been!\u00a0 Although I might like to stay here forever, the position I was hired to fill was only temporary, and I have always known that eventually it would be time for me to leave.\u00a0 Well, it seems the California vacation is finally coming to an end.\u00a0 I have recently accepted a full time position back in Iowa and will be leaving the Preserve on February 27, 2015 (please hold you coat, hat and glove donations- I will eventually re-acclimate).<\/p>\n
When I first came to the Cosumnes River Preserve in May of 2012, I was living at a facility on site known as the farm center.\u00a0 If you are not familiar with this facility, it is an old farm house nestled in the rice fields of the Preserve.\u00a0 It is not a fancy place by any means, but for me it was perfect.\u00a0 I was living and working on the Preserve, which might burn some people out, but I couldn\u2019t get enough.\u00a0 I would do land management tasks and various repairs all day, and then at night I would watch the wildlife and enjoy the evening tranquility.\u00a0 One morning I sat on the front steps and watched a bald eagle dive-bombing a flock of terrified coots for 30 minutes as I drank coffee before work.\u00a0 Where else can you do that?\u00a0\u00a0 I was quite surprised to find a nature preserve teaming with wildlife in such close proximity to the capital city of California.\u00a0 That has been one of my favorite aspects of the Preserve that I am going to miss when I am gone.\u00a0 Visitors can drive twenty minutes from the hustle and bustle of the city and find themselves lost in the serenity (amplified serenity when the geese are present in numbers) of nature.<\/p>\n
I have greatly enjoyed meeting and working with other CLM interns occasionally throughout my time here.\u00a0 It would have been nice to have another CLM intern here at my field station (Cosumnes River Preserve) full time.\u00a0 I hope to be able to visit the Preserve again as a non-employee after I leave.\u00a0 If you are ever near Sacramento, CA, I highly recommend you make it a point to swing by and check it out.\u00a0 Winter season (October-May) is the best time to visit; the Preserve is wintering habitat for 50,000+ birds.\u00a0 I know everything will keep on functioning just fine here without me, but I sure will miss this place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Greetings fellow interns, I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday season filled with friends, family and all things pleasant.\u00a0 Being a California transplant, I joined my family in Iowa remotely via Skype, which was definitely a first for me, and … Continue reading