Today was pretty simple. We got to do turtle surveys! There are three turtle species we were looking for, because they are endangered in Texas. The cooter, the slider, and the soft-shell. Turtles are endangered. mostly because of the pet-trade, people just pick them up and decide they are their pets, so turtles are loosing breeding opportunities and their numbers are decreasing in the wild. And also, of course, habitat loss, there's not as many safe places for them to be without getting run over by cars, so they are loosing numbers, like most species.
But today, our job was to count the ones we saw at Brazos Bend State Park. So we went on a 1.7 mile walk and counted the turtles, the alligators and the birds that we saw. On our way in, someone was like "Oh, cool, there's a gator in the street;" and everyone was asleep and woke up and freaked out, they were so excited. He was just crossing the street, moving to another swamp, and we got the privilege of seeing him! He was huge, and so cool. It was really exciting.
But nonetheless, we went on a hike, and saw about 7 turtles total, not really what we were expecting, but a lot of birds and nine, yes nine! alligators. It was awesome. And after we were significantly hot and sweaty and exhausted, we took a break for lunch. Quickly surrounded by squirrels begging for our lunch, we did our best to shoo them off, but they were quick, and there were so many of them! Eventually we gave up chasing them and ate our own lunch. It was a good example of the impact of people feeding animals affecting their behavior with other guests who might want to have nothing to do with them. Just like that old man training the nutria to eat out of his hand, it might want food from another person, or even baby who has none, and become aggressive because of the previous experience it has of being spoiled. This emphasized our project proposals importance and was an experience we might even use in our presentation.
Nevertheless, we were all exhausted and wanted to visit the Nature Center before we left. So after getting lost for a while around the park, we arrived at the Nature center and saw a bunch of cool, native animals in cases to educate the public about their importance. Of course there were snakes and spiders and the usual animals you see at places. But there were also baby alligators! And they were so tiny! And actually kind-of cute, even though that's kindof strange. They were about 6 inches long and taking up residence there until they were old enough to be released into the wild. Basically, they were there so they didn't get eaten or hurt by anything until they were ready to be raised by a mom alligator. It was pretty cool, and he felt like a normal reptile, but kindof smooth. I thought it was cool, others were a little wary, but they were used to it. There was about 8 there, all housed in a little aquarium.
So we wandered through the nature center, and saw some skeletons, and a huge alligator skeleton that was like 8-10 feet long. It was pretty interesting. And then we met a boy who was about 8-9, and was a volunteer at the Center. He was all ready to teach us anything we wanted to know and he was super talkative. He got out the black widow for us, acting all brave and smart, and freaked out a little when it started moving, gently dropping it back in it's case. And we were confused as to why he was worried, and he was like "I hate spiders! I just held it up for ya'll cause it seemed cool." He was super funny. So our supervisor asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and his response was priceless, "I want to go to school and get my Bachelor of Science and then get my Masters in Geology at Arkansas." And I was like dude! He has his life more figured out than I do. It was so funny. And there were these signs in the park that said "beware poisonous snakes," although the proper name is actually venemous, we were making fun of them and he was like "Who said that?! I keep telling my dad he needs to change them, and he just won't listen! They're not poisonous, they're venemous!" Haha. He was adorable. And such an inspiration. He really made my day, it made me happy.
So then we made it back to the Zoo around three and sat there listening to our supervisors talking for a while, telling us what to expect for tomorrow, going over details. And were let out about ten minutes before the 3 o'clock bus left. But it was usually late, so I figured I would make it. So I rushed out of the Zoo, ran along the path in waves. Got to the traffic-light and it lasted a little too long, and then was just crossing the street when I heard the woosh of a bus, looked up, and saw my bus, leaving me behind in the dust. At first I was upset, I was hot and tired and so ready to be home. But I went to the Medical Center (those are the buildings, I wasn't sick or anything). Took a deep breath, went to the bathroom, and searched for something with chocolate. What I really craved was ice cream. I was hot, sweaty, and red in the face from the half run I just did with a broken backpack (the strap-holder broke so I was basically one-shouldered). I ended up going to the Starbucks and getting a coffee-free frappacino, chocolate of course. Which was just what I needed to feel better about the whole day.
At the end of the day, I realized I kindof needed that break in the day. I haven't had much time to relax, and I learned that, if I just had a little sugar, I'd be in a better mood and be more perky and willing to talk when I get home. I feel bad, because I've been so exhausted, I just don't have the energy to tell them how much fun I've been having, and I know how much they want to hear, and how much they deserve to hear, but I hadn't been able to be excited about it in a while. But this lesson (which I had already learned in college), about just a simple snack, lightening up my whole day, was a blessing in disguise. Even though I could have made the bus, if I had just run a little harder, I needed that time alone, with no people in my space to rest and revive before I went on with my day.
Every day is a lesson, you just have to decide if you're going to listen and learn, or not.
(This blog was written as if it were Wednesday June 6, 2012)
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