Finding the Right Wand

I'm sitting on my couch with a glass of wine watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Twenty years ago, the first book hit the shelves in the U.K.  Sixteen years ago, I saw the first movie with a group of freshman at the high school I would eventually attend (shout out to teacher parents and godparents for pulling me out of school to join). One year ago, I reread the seven books in a two week period after handing in my notice to leave my first real job.

I grew up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The books came out during the summer, usually while I was at summer camp or beach week. So the first night I was home would be a late one reading the newest book. The last movie came out during college; I won't lie, tears and reminiscing filled that night. There are plenty of better written pieces out there on the multitude of lessons Harry and the magical world have brought us muggles. So this won't be that but it will be an update on my life as I continue to try and find the right wand (i.e. life path).

Spring has been different here in Michigan. One, it lasted longer than two weeks. Two, it brought the field work and travel I was looking forward to all winter. April saw a lot of rain and adventures around the state; I've fallen in love with the town of Petoskey. I finally got a kayak of my own! Just in time for the lakes to unfreeze.  May brought a trip to Atlanta and first visit to the new Braves stadium; an event I'd been planning since January; and a dear friend's wedding. In between, normal life of being in the office and with students, plenty of trivia, and an amazing two days of AmeriCorps camp. A wonderfully busy month that was my favorite of the year so far.

And now it's June, almost July. Apparently it's summertime in northern Michigan but it's rainy and 56 here tonight so I still don't believe it. I got my braces off (funny seeing as how I had them on the first time when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone hit theaters). Grilling out is the preferred social scene at this point. And the novelist of ideas for me, I like what I do from 8-5 and work with really great people. A year ago I knew I wasn't in the right workplace or, for that matter, field and I'm happy to report I'm headed down the road to finding the right wand soon. For those wondering, I'm still not certain what life holds come November but for now thanks for hanging around for the adventure and supporting me from near and far.

Don't Lose Heart

I can't remember now where I was but sometime in the last few weeks under my blog ideas note I wrote the phrase "don't lose heart". I'm sure I was sitting in a meeting with other natural resource professionals discussing how we want to approach a community service project or with teachers working on student-led stewardship projects. It's easy in the current political climate to get into a glass half empty mind set and I'm as guilty as the next person of being gloomy about what the next four years bring for the environment, our public education, and the country as a whole. However, and this is a big however, serving as an AmeriCorps member makes it very easy to snap out of this and view our current situation through the glass half full lens. Every day I'm surrounded by really smart people working very hard to get things done. So don't lose heart because there are really hard working people all over the country (not just in northern Michigan) doing their damnedest to make sure students have equal access to a quality education, that we have clean air to breath and water to drink, and that all people are protected under the law. And don't lose heart because I've got some good Southern transplant stories from the past few weeks.

Working with other AmeriCorps members in my office on compiling invasive species inventories, love getting to use my GIS skills but that it's not such a large part of my day to day anymore!

I made it to my second Great Lake- Lake Michigan! Another AmeriCorps member and I took a day trip over to Petoskey and I'm in love with the city. Great shopping downtown, phenomenal views of the lake, and my first sand in Michigan. It's about a 45 minute drive from Gaylord through pretty ag fields and tiny towns. I'm a fan of wandering through small shops and seeing local art which Petoskey had an abundance of; we also found some great board games and kids toys in several stores. Lunch at Roast and Toast on the recommendation of my roommate was fantastic if you're ever in Petoskey. We found our way to Petoskey State Park and I've never been so happy to have a sandy butt and sand in my shoes. Only slightly disorienting to be around sand dunes but not salty air!

Frozen lake with piles of snow on it and a beach with lots of rocks!

Might become a rock nerd up here.

Snow on sand. What.

 

Our monthly AmeriCorps training was down state (Michigander for the lower half of the Lower Peninsula) and it was great to catch up with everyone. It's always interesting to hear the different projects people are involved with; some of which I would love to be working on and others that totally don't get me stoked but man am I glad they get someone else stoked because it's still important work. We all grabbed a beer at Which Craft Taproom and a small group went for sushi at Maru! Side note: we have a place that serves sushi in Gaylord but holy cow do I miss the abundance of choice in Atlanta in terms of ethnic food.

AmeriCorps training on communications for natural resource professionals.

The snow is almost all gone and it feels a little like spring purgatory weather wise. Some days are beautiful and sunny and above freezing so walks and being outside are easy. Other days we drop back below freezing and have a random inch of snow but not enough for skiing. I did wear Chacos the other day and my toes were so happy to breathe! Speaking of Chacos, I had a fairly entertaining conversation about the difference between flip flops and sandals and then really confused the issue when I called flip flops Rainbows. The takeaway for the rest of the table was that Emily is a crazy Southerner. All in all, still doing great up here and enjoying my service and the people I'm meeting but itching for warmer weather!

Hiking in the Pigeon River Country State Forest, gorgeous public land!

 

 

Michigan and Again

It's always fascinated me how quickly I fall into routine. Routine at service, routine at home, and routine with friends. It mostly means I'm genuinely comfortable somewhere so I take it as a good sign but still look for ways to shake up the routine! This past month has flown by (which I'm starting to think is going to be my theme for the year) and was filled with a lot of adventures and a few misadventures.

Lake Huron - one Great Lake checked off!

February at Huron Pines saw a ton of classroom presentations, meeting with teachers and other community partners, and a few great questions from students. I helped the Forest Service in presenting their Kirtland's Warbler Young Artists contest to elementary aged students. Best question was from a second grader "why can't a boy Kirtland's Warbler and a girl robin make a baby?"; she wasn't satisfied with my simple answer of "they're different species" and wanted to know more. I'm working with teachers at a very small K-12 school to make better use of their school forest and have been constantly reminded what a challenge nailing teachers down to something can be when they are being pulled in a million directions. An email response within the day is very exciting for me at this point! We're making progress though and I'm excited to see what the spring and fall bring at the school. Everyone at the office is starting to get antsy for field season and definitely has office fever; come on spring!

 

DNR Chainsaw training- posed picture after a day of cutting!

Treetops Beer Fest

 We had a heat wave (in the 40s consistently) for about two weeks; super bummer because most of the snowbase melted. It did mean though I got to get out and hike finally! The park down the road from me has a few nice trails and there's a nature preserve just outside of town that is absolutely breathtaking. Before the heat wave hit, I went on a full moon snowshoe hike with a group new friends and it was crazy how bright the moon and snow make the night. The AmeriCorps members in my area are getting together to place games once a week; it's so nice to have a ready made group of people to hang out with when you move so far away. We learned Euchre which is a great card game mostly played in the Midwest. Being in a new part of the country is a daily reminder of how varied our beautifully flawed country is!

Check out the Accidentals, hands down the most amazingly talented people I've ever heard.

A few funny Southern girl problems have come up in the past month: when you're car door is frozen shut, don't yank so hard you hit yourself in the head with the door corner; it's officially March and was -5 degrees when I woke up this morning (cue the WTF); and I said "you guys" to some friends and they all were taken a back by how quickly I picked it up (still get funny looks when I say y'all but am also rubbing off on a few friends!).

Pacski, a Polish Fat Tuesday doughnut

First time making a King Cake! Can't buy them in stores here, everyone loved it.

You're Moving Where?

Sometimes, well all the time, life is funny. Funny in the way that a southern, heat loving girl ends up moving to northern Michigan and maybe is falling in love with it. I already use my hand way too much to talk to people about where places are.

Snowshoeing through old growth white pine at Hartwick Pines State Park
(trees almost as big and tall as the redwoods in California!).

It's cold and I own an ice scraper/snow brush but the snow is beautiful and I've figured out the perfect layering for when I cross country ski. I even was super annoyed two weeks ago when we had a warm front (i.e. temperatures in the 30s) because the snow was slushy and gross; never in a million years would I have thought I'd be wishing for temperatures in the teens and the pretty snow to be back.

Fitz (far left) is thriving in the cold!
He keeps me from slipping and sliding on the reg.

I'm up here for at least ten months (well nine now that I've made it through January) serving with AmeriCorps at a non-profit called Huron Pines. Huron Pines' mission is to protect the Great Lakes through conserving the forests, lakes and streams of Northeast Michigan. I'm working with school and community outreach programs to establish more place-based education programming in the region. The staff are all wonderful and the other two AmeriCorps members in my office are great. I'm really excited for what the year holds!

Sled dogs at a nearby ski resort!

My roommate is another AmeriCorps member serving with the county conservation district. She likes beer, NPR and adventuring as much as I do so we'll be just fine for the year. We've got a great (and cheap) place right in town and are mostly settled (thank goodness for free furniture!). There's a cross country ski trail right down the road from us and the drive to service is less than ten minutes for both of us. I can go 5 miles in 5 minutes not an hour!

We stood on a frozen lake (Otsego Lake) so are real Michiganders now!

 The town I live in is relatively small town but we have a Walmart, Meijer (grocery, similar to Kroger), and a myriad of other chain businesses. It's the biggest village (aka city/town, Michigan lingo) in the area so people come from the smaller (and I mean small small) villages to shop and the such. Our downtown has a brewery that does a great IPA and good choice of local restaurants that have live music all the time. So basically, I'm adjusting just fine and not too homesick (I do miss my ATL lovies though!).

Hiking through snow isn't easy so cross country skiing is my new weekend (and after work) activity!

I'm going to try and get back in the swing of keeping this blog updated on my adventures (and misadventures) in the Snowbelt so sign up for the email updates!