What Year Is It?
This morning was full of wonder as I looked around the yard and noticed the snow, the sun, the dark-eyed juncos foraging in the vegetable garden, and the harsh screams of the blue jays coming from somewhere in the spruce trees by the garden shed. It felt like I was experiencing things for the first time in several weeks and really, I was. I have just emerged from that cave known as “Finals Week”. On my two-and-a-half hour drive home from school yesterday, I realized I wasn’t even sure what day it was. And when I started thinking about which of my notes I needed to pull out and study, I realized there was no need – exams were over and I could go home and rest. How wonderful!
This was my third semester in the Ecosystem Management Technician program at Fleming College, and while the work load felt like it increased exponentially, it was also the most rewarding for the amount of information I learned. I completed a Wetland Plant Collection, a Benthic Macroinvertebrate Collection, a Conceptual Restoration Plan, a variety of vector maps and analysis, and countless papers, tests, and presentations. It was a challenging and rewarding semester, but it left little time for fishing and blogging, two things I have dearly missed.
With a few weeks off before the next semester, and some brutally cold nights of late, I’m hoping to get out on the ice and catch some fish. Darrell and I are eager to get to Fairy Lake and renew our ‘friendship’ with the crappie population. Guelph Lake is also on our list of destinations over the holidays, but what we would really like to do is try some new lakes. Hopefully we can find a new area not too far from home (I drive five hours a day during school, I have no desire to continue that over the break) and have some luck with new fish populations. No matter what, I look forward to getting out at least a few times.
Hopefully a few more fishing trips and a little more spare time will also help me blog more frequently. I miss writing. I do plenty of writing for school, but scientific writing and research is not nearly as personally fulfilling as telling a story through this blog. We have some gear reviews coming up, and possibly a post featuring a Kick & Sweep demonstration I completed for a school assignment, when my bare hands spent far too long in a freezing cold river.
For today, however, I will enjoy my emergence from the cave by sitting on the couch, snuggling with the kittens, and watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
argosgirl
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We’re getting ice, too, and a buddy of Matt’s has already invited us out with his. We graciously turned him down- we’re still in deer gear. But I’m hoping that we can try new lakes. Fishing on Madison lakes is rough. Congrats on completing another semester!
Thanks! This was the first semester that reminded me of the grind from my undergrad. I’m glad to be done 🙂 It’s always nice to find new lakes to fish – it gives you more options, especially when you learn what optimal conditions for each lake are. Good luck when you get out!