![\"Stormy](\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_1458.jpg\")
<\/a>Stormy afternoon in Sage Creek. Beware of mud.<\/p><\/div>\n
Eastern Montana aside, things in Dillon have become more familiar now. I know what I\u2019m going to do any given day, the squeaking sink in the office no longer makes me think the fire alarm is going off, and parking the long box truck in the overcrowded lot does not gives me anxiety anymore. In a typical week I spend about half my time collecting seeds or scouting populations by myself and the other half conducting various riparian surveys and upland studies with the range techs. When my family and friends ask what I actually do, I tell them I mostly hike around and look at plants. It is a nice balance, and although I\u2019m still learning constantly, the deer-in-the-headlights-am-I-doing-this-right feelings have mostly subsided.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Knapweed hunting<\/p><\/div>\n
Occasionally, I mix up the routine and go out with the wildlife techs. I\u2019ve gone out on ferruginous hawk surveys several times, but have yet to see a ferruginous hawk. Another day I participated in the office spray day in the Bear Trap. Armed with our spray packs (Ghostbusters?), about 30 of us set out to exterminate that pesky knapweed. Unfortunately, I encountered my first rattlesnake (right by my foot!), forgot to stay calm, and ran away yelling profanities in front of the renewable resources manager. Pat understood, although she still teases me about it.<\/p>\n
Living in Montana has been awesome. Initially it took some adjustments: many restaurants\u00a0close at 8 pm, driving an hour is \u201cclose,\u201d and there is no recycling (the Portlander in me dies a little bit every time I throw away a piece of paper in the office, although I\u2019ve set up my own efforts at home). Besides this, the mountains are incredible and the people are friendly. I hiked the Sphinx outside of Ennis and could see 14 mountain ranges from the 10,800 ft peak. I had a dress altered and the seamstress invited me in for gumbo and we talked for hours about skiing. People say the pace is different than city life, but I\u2019ve found that really it\u2019s a whole new walk.<\/p>\n View of the Madison range from the top of the Sphinx<\/p><\/div>\n Top of the Sphinx, as seen from the saddle<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The following conversation has\u00a0little\u00a0to do with the CLM internship, I just think it is quite funny. I was visiting a friend out in\u00a0Miles City\u00a0when I ran to the grocery store to grab supplies for our barbecue. As I was … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>