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.