Christmas Break - 12/29

Hello all!  Just wanted to wish all of you a belated Merry Christmas and an early Happy New Year!  There is no service to report at this time on my end, but if you are in the St. Louis area and are looking to share some holiday spirit with those less fortunate, our Warming Shelter will most likely be open for a couple of the days between now and the 6th of January and I can hook you up!  Currently I am over in Lansing, Michigan, which has just had a little disaster of its own.  A major ice storm made its way through the area and everything is coated with ice.  Much of the city was without power for a couple of days; my family was without it for a week, but as of yesterday electricity has been restored to most of the area.  While it made for a harsh Christmas it also made for some incredible scenery.  I will post a couple of shots my brother took at the end of this entry.

You’ve reached the end of this entry!  Really I just wanted you all to know that I am doing well and will be returning to the field on the 6th of January.  Hope you are all enjoying time with your families like I am.  Also, if any of you know of a good and affordable masseuse… the right side of my neck has been both annoyingly painful and stiff.  Talk to you all soon!  Happy Holidays!

All photography credit goes to my brother Stephen Stauffer.

ACSTL HQ - 12/19

We had the first part of the Show Me Conference today.  It was pretty cool.  We met up with other AmeriCorps organizations in the area like Red Cross, International, and College Bound and shared tips and tricks about scenarios we all have to deal with.  The most bothersome bit of the day for me was when we talked about poverty.  I realized I have not and will not be getting above the poverty line any time soon… which was a little depressing.  On the bright side I have been more than frugal enough to live comfortably so far—but if I were to factor in a family, well, I have some time to figure stuff out.

Other than the poverty talk it was a great day.  Lots of good food too!  I had my first taste of McGurks’ food and I have decided it is passed time that I make a trip to the famous St. Louis bar.  I mean it is only a couple of blocks away and there is a group of ERT folk that head there regularly on Sunday so I have no excuse not to make the trip.  I think I will make that a priority when I return.  For now though, I am going to go be social with my fellow AmeriCorps members.  Later!

Forest Park 12/18

We finished the trail!  Kinda!  We completed a route and after the fact we found out our contact intended for us to split the trail.  Still, I’m very happy that we have something to show for just a couple days’ work!  Now I have something to point out to folks when they or I visit St. Louis in the future.

Fascinating fact: Forest Park is spread over 1300 acres.  For those of you who have been following me since my beta blog days that were sent via emails, that is over 6 times as large as the park I used to live by—Tower Grove Park.  Josh gave us a nice tour after our work on the trail through the nature reserve areas and pointed out some of the popular spots along the way.  The Grand Basin made my favorite fountain spot over in Tower Grove look like a water sprinkler.  I hear it is also a great sledding spot so we may have to hit that up after our winter break.

Going to call it… sleepy.  Talk to you all soon!

Forest Park - 12/17

~Look down, look down, don’t look ‘em in the eye.  Look down, look down, you’re here until you die~ Haha, the conditions we served in today weren’t nearly as bad as the Les Miserables lyrics may suggest.  The whole swinging motion resulting from the proper use of the pick over the shoulder just brought the song to mind.  It worked as a nice little metronome.  Anywho, we continued our quest to rid a particular portion of Forest Park of woody invasive species and Maples up until lunch.  I didn’t have my saw today *sad sound*, but I did get to play with a brushcutter.  It is more or less a weed whacker on steroids that can cut down anything up to an inch to 2 inches in diameter.  I also got to wear a harness which distributed the weight of the device evenly and made that part of the day much easier than it would have been otherwise.

After lunch we started on the trail.  Yesterday we got all of the larger stuff out of the way with chainsaws and brushcutters so today it was all about working on crafting the path.  Using pick axes, McLeods, and fancy shovels we scraped the roots away and created a nice 5 to 6 foot wide clearing.  We’re a little over half way done I believe, but we also need to angle the trail slightly downhill to help prevent future rain from pooling.  I have been having immense difficulty with the angling because every time I take away a little more dirt, more roots come to the surface.  My back is throbbing.  I have to say I have never felt older.  Half a decade ago I could go through these simple tasks and hardly break a sweat but now I am left with lingering aches.  Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself.  After all, by the end of the 10 day I was able to keep pace with the leaders of our hikes.  Hopefully the muscles being built from our service work will make their presence known soon!

I’m heading off for some relaxation.  We’re getting up bright and early tomorrow to try and finish up the trail.  We got a conference on Friday and I hear we may be helping to set it up the day before, which leaves us a jam-packed day tomorrow if we want to get everything done.  Later all!

Forest Park - 12/16

Well ain’t this something?  I’m posting on my blog the day of an entry!  This is weird.  Huh.  Well as the title may suggest, the crew I’m in is staying in St. Louis this week and working in Forest Park.  I have driven through this park before, but only after today have I even begun to grasp how large the place is.  I do not have the stamina to attempt describing the park today—let’s just say that it was aptly named and come back to it another time.  As for what we are doing in the area, we are removing invasive species and putting in a trail.  In addition to the Honeysuckle we cut out, we were also told to take out Maple saplings as there is no shortage of them in the park.  There is one thing I’m curious about, however.  While Josh, our contact, told us to leave the Black Locusts alone because without the proper herbicide it will just grow back—he still had us cut Honeysuckle and some Winter Creeper, which also come back in a Hydra like fashion.  I feel like it would be rude to question his tactics, but I think I will ask Chelsea about it tomorrow.

Making trails is a lot harder than I thought.  Instinctually I want to cut into the soil to sever the roots, but if you go too deep then you have to fill the hole and the whole process takes even longer.  The proper form requires skimming the surface of the ground with a bladed instrument.  I’m still working on it.

In other news, I really like things that fit.  Today I was carrying around a handsaw in a leather sheath and I had a little too much fun unsheathing and re-sheathing the serrated blade.  It just felt cool… and kind of natural.  Another favorite of mine is sliding batteries into a 360 controller, but really anything that fits nicely will undoubtedly garner my attention.  With that, I’m going to go watch some Monday night football as such opportunities will be a rarity this year.  Later!

Roaring Rivers - 12/11

Last night I had the weirdest dream.  Power around the world had been lost like in the TV show Revolution—no electrical trinkets worked what-so-ever.  I was the hero who managed to turn it back on.  Oprah, thrilled to have the opportunity again, started a new talk show and invited me as her first guest.  I don’t remember any of the questions or what my answers were, but after a couple of minutes I decided to just start flying.  Not only was I flying, I was dancing—something those of you who have been around me awhile know I don’t normally do.  There was just something about doing it in the air like I couldn’t fall so nothing would appear clumsy or down right odd.  Anyways, Oprah wasn’t too keen on me hogging the spotlight so she motioned for a commercial break and I flew back stage.  Everyone wanted my autograph.

I awoke with a headache; I guess my mind’s eye took one too many flashes from the paparazzi’s cameras.  Since today was our last day on project I just tossed back a couple of pain killers and got to work.  We hiked in to Blazing Star again and repeated yesterday’s festivities.  There were a couple of alterations.  The first is that Slagathor worked for me… for one tree.  I ended up needing to do some precision-like surgery on that Red Cedar to take it down so I’m glad we were able to temporarily set aside our differences.  After I had put in a face cut that was a bit deeper than I anticipated and a solid back cut (a result of 2 quarter cuts) the tree would not budge.  I hammered my only wedge into the back cut.  Still nothing.  I remembered Jim, the sawyer instructor from Montana, saying that in situations like this you can bore through the middle of the holding wood so long as the holding wood on either side remains intact.  I gave it a shot and it worked!  I found out after the fact that I had another miniscule wedge hiding in my chaps’s pocket… oops.  I’d like to think I did everything right under the circumstances as I went with the main lean and the branch lean.  It was certainly good practice.

The second difference was that I wore my Nomex today so after lunch I was the fire keeper.  I was put in charge of monitoring and condensing our burn piles.  I did a pretty good job as 2 of the 3 fires were a log away from being out by the time we had to roll out, which was less than usual.

Other than that, we got to watch 2 eagles flying about while chowing down on our lunches.  It has been a tough week with the cold, but a great week in every other category.  Until next time!

Our sawing mentor from Montana, Jim.  Photo credit goes to Sean Kerr.

Roaring Rivers - 12/10

My head and that space between my shoulders hurt!  Maybe I’m suffering from Mako poisoning.  Maybe I am about to sprout a wing and have an identity crisis—the outcome of which may determine the fate of the world.  Most likely it is just the effects of day 9 of our 10 day seeping in… although now I can’t stop thinking about the Lifestream.  Well, we will just have to see what the final day has in store in terms of my well-being.

I do think I am going a little crazy though.  Yesterday I thought I heard Chelsea tell us to wear regular work clothes today for our service project.  It wasn’t until Kelly Kaufmann asked me why I wasn’t wearing my Nomex 2 minutes before we were supposed to leave that I realized everyone else was dressed in theirs.  Chelsea’s solution to my befuddlement was to have me chainsaw all day.  So I did.

I ended up cutting down 9 adult Red Cedars and some 20 to 30 adolescents.  Sadly only the adult Cedars get a tally mark so my day doesn’t look that great on paper.  I would have done even more but Buford ended up dying on me after lunch while I was preparing a tree and Slagathor was just being a nuisance.  He would just start up and shut down when he pleased.  So we’re not on speaking terms right now.  Hopefully the cold shoulder will knock some sense into him.  Anyways, my trophy for the day was another Red Cedar 18 inches in diameter (tied for the largest I’ve done).  It had limbs that would have needed face cuts had they been planted in the ground.  Limbing up that sucker took over an hour no thanks to a certain chainsaw *glares at Slagathor,* but we got it done.

After watching Richard and Chelsea play Cribbage throughout our 10 day I decided I had a firm enough understanding of the rules to give it a shot.  It was a little different as I always watched 2 people play it and we had 3 players, but I caught on quickly.  I gave her a run for her money, but Chelsea came out on top.  She usually wins Cribbage, but hey, coming in 2nd place on my first try isn’t bad either!  Time to drift off though.  Here’s hoping a bit of sleep will cure my ails.  Night friends!

Roaring Rivers - 12/9

The hills are alive with the sound of burning Cedar.  At least they were over in the Blazing Star Glade while we were there.  From starting time to finish I manned the burn piles and made sure the flames didn’t get out of hand.  It was fun work and surprisingly tough.  The fires burned so fiercely that there were times I couldn’t reach the flames without quickly recoiling.  My face was the hardest hit.  Just looking at the contained infernos made it feel like my eyebrows were going to combust at any minute.  Fortunately they, like me, survived the experience.

I feel like we have made a lot of progress at Blazing Star, but the Red Cedars there were bred for one purpose: to destroy the world of men.  That might be a little extreme.  Let me rephrase.  They were bred for one purpose: to take up an unbelievable amount of time on behalf of the Emergency Response Team.  At least it’s fun work; fun, but tiring.  I’m going to turn in early tonight to try and recover my strength.  Good night all!

Roaring Rivers - 12/8

Way to go Spartans!  I knew you could do it.  In addition to getting to go to the Rose Bowl on its 100th anniversary you can claim that you were the first team to beat the Urban Meyer led Buckeyes.  Sorry I wasn’t able to witness the victory first or even secondhand, but you can count on me tuning in to the game on January1st.  Go Green!

Ahem, I suppose we can now return to the field.  There are trees, lots of them—though not as many as there were at the start of the day.  The temperature got up to a balmy 23 degrees while we were serving over at Blazing Star Glade.  I personally cut down 4 large trees and at least half a hundred smaller ones.  Only one of my Cedar’s gave me problems.  I failed to calculate the hill when I put in my back cut which resulted in the back cut on one side being lower than the face cut.  It would have been lower, rather, as I noticed it before I put in my 2nd quarter cut.  So, I just used the latter step method—cutting a level above the other quarter cut as to not interfere with the wedge.  The Red Cedar fell right where I wanted it to.  I am starting to feel like I am either very lucky when it comes to felling or very intuitive as I know my technique needs work.  Here’s hoping it’s the latter!

Good news is I’m not feeling weak or sick anymore; bad news is the very center of my back hurts something fierce.  It feels like someone is hammering a wedge in between my shoulder blades whenever I try to lift anything with some weight to it.  Maybe it’s karma for all those trees that have fallen to these hands.  Regardless, these next two days are going to last an eternity if my back doesn’t fix itself.  Maybe sleep will do the trick.  Night friends.

Photo credit: Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications

Roaring Rivers - 12/7

Crystalline trees and brush blanketed in soft white velvet.  The sights around here are eye openers, make no mistake, but the beauty is partially masked by the menacing cold.  Winter Storm Cleon has come and gone but the temperature has yet to take a turn for the better.  I believe it was about 5 degrees when we set out for the Blazing Star Glade this morning.  My hands felt like they were on fire and it took an incredible amount of will power to get them to function.  If that isn’t a good enough indicator for the weather—the bar oil was on the verge of freezing!  Thankfully my parents sent me some hand warmers… but they chose to remain idle for the first half hour of service.  While my fingers had seen better days, once we got a fire going and jumped into the swing of things the chill was tolerable.  Everybody has had great attitudes about the whole situation and that makes our daily journeys infinitely better.

I admit I was not at my best today.  I’ve felt weak since getting up this morning and nauseous on the hike in.  I’ve been drinking water, eating, and wearing the appropriate amount of layers so I’m not really sure what to make of it.  One of our teammates has been feeling ill these past two days so it is possible that I’m getting whatever she has, but she has been out-of-commission sick… Anyways, hopefully by tomorrow I will be better.  Today I took it easy and just made burn piles.  I’m hoping to be a greater contribution tomorrow.

So it’s off to bed for me… after a shout out to my Spartans that are fighting for their lives in the Big Ten Championship game.  Release the Spartan Dawgs and create some opportunities.  You want a statement win?  What better way than by beating the number 2 team in the nation!  I know you can do it.  Dig in, dig deep.  This is for all those 11 win seasons in recent memory where we’ve gotten nothing but the cold shoulder from the BCS crew.  Good night and good luck!

Roaring Rivers - 12/6

If you guessed 5-6 inches go out and treat yo’ self as you were right *pats himself on the back*.  It didn’t stop snowing until about 1:00pm, which made for some very picturesque scenery but also added to the cold factor.  Something about being wet results in a loss of heat… but I forgot the scientific explanation.  You should have seen me when I got back.  There was frost in my beard and the lower portion of my pant legs were frozen solid.  I’m very grateful for Chelsea Catalano checking up on me a good 15 minutes into our hike out there as I would have become a human popsicle.  Wore one too many layers and was sweating way too much.  That little bump aside, today was gorgeous.  Our eagle friend stopped by to say hello again as we crossed one of the bridges.  It was just as majestic as the day before.  My life would be a little more complete if he (or she) perches on a branch level to us.  I feel like it has some amazing stories to tell.

We’ll have a tale or two to tell ourselves by the time this year is through; like today.  We probably could have taken a snow day, but we trudged through what ended up being 8 inches of accumulated snow in some parts.  To keep from freezing around lunch time Chelsea Catalano and I started a campfire.  Red Cedar burns very well and very fast.  I was constantly rummaging through the snow to find more fuel for the fire’s insatiable appetite.  It worked well though and the bountiful snow provided an easy means of extinguishing the flames when it was time to go.  Onward to the land of dreams!

Picture taken by Kelly Kauffmann.  Our vehicle was inoperable so we just hiked our way to Blazing Star.

Roaring Rivers - 12/5

A special shout out to our team that was dispatched about three weeks ago to Washington, Illinois.  They were sent to assist in the recovery process after an E4 tornado tore through the area and, as a result, missed our Thanksgiving break.  The thing is they were all given the opportunity to switch out with another ERT member so they could go home to see their loved ones and they unanimously decided to stay.  I can only hope that if I am ever placed in a similar position that I would be able to do the same.  Amazing job all of you, those initially dispatched and those who volunteered to lend a helping hand over Thanksgiving break.  Your dedication and hard work has done the “A” proud and I am honored to be in the same organization as you.

So, remember that winter storm from the other day?  It has been given a name: Cleon.  At first I thought it was Klingon, which I took to mean major trouble due to the nature of the race.  But no, it’s just Cleon.  Still whenever a storm gets a name you know it’s a big deal.  There has been freezing rain, sleet, or snow falling since 10:00am.  It is now 9:00pm.  I’d say we have a solid 4 inches of snow out there with a sheet of ice beneath it.  Despite these frigid conditions though, we are planning on hiking to a new glade tomorrow, Blazing Star.  Hardcore, eh?

Before things got too bad we drove over to our future service project site and scouted it out.  It had the makings of a winter wonderland only instead of a partridge in a pear tree we had a bald eagle.  The bird was just flying along our truck on the way back from our recon mission.  It left me in a very tranquil mood.  I know Bruce says it is a good omen whenever a hawk is present on a journey so I can only hope this larger bird of prey is a sign of something incredible.

Anyone want to guess how much snow there is going to be when I open the door tomorrow?  I’m feelin’ 6 inches.  Night all.

Most of the group that went to Washington, Illinois.  

Roaring Rivers - 12/4

Winter is coming.  Tomorrow through Friday night we have a winter storm advisory.  On Thursday we are predicted to have freezing rain throughout the day and a couple inches of snow.  The ice is our major concern because the stage designer in Mario Kart created the back roads in this part of Missouri: lots of twists and turns and hills.  We even found the shortcut that is included in many of the maps… but it was very treacherous.  Buckhunter barely made it down that goat trail and there were more than a couple of moments we toppled down the steep hillside.  Somehow I don’t think a Lakitu would have put us back on the course so we lucked out.  But I digress; tricky roads and ice here would make it nigh impossible to reach Glade 10.  Will have to wait and see if the forecast changes.

As for the here and now, we did light off a couple of our burn piles.  I think we crafted them a little too well as we were only able to light 5 of them before lunch.  Those 5 ended up burning 40 minutes beyond our intended stay time and would have gone longer had we not intervened.  After the fires were cold we raced the sun’s waning light back to the truck.  We won.  Barely.  I think we have at least 40 more piles ready to burn and have to construct at least double that to finish the glade so we will have our hands full in the days to come.

Think I’m going to pass out.  Before I do, I thought I’d tell you who all is on my team this week.  There is Chelsea Catalano, Richard, Kelly Kaufmann, and Danielle.  They have me smiling almost nonstop even when ascending those towering hills.  Although my remaining time in Roaring Rivers is going to push me physically, with this crowd I think the overall experience will be an enjoyable one.  Night all!

A find on the interwebs.

Roaring Rivers - 12/3

Goodness.  I’m beat.  To get to Glade 10 we had to hike down a very steep incline.  Hike is probably not the best word as we were doing all sorts of shuffling and sliding to make our way down.  My vocabulary has been stunted… I guess my mind is as tired as my legs are.  The way back up- that was a hike.  Thankfully Ranger Shane flagged us a route that brought us to a much easier hill to scale.  Even so I needed to call for a break and go at my own pace to keep myself from overexerting.  Right now I’m just thinking 7 days.  No eerie calls or static screens involved, that’s just the number of times I will have to make the trek.  I almost regret my comment the other night about wanting to climb around—almost.  One thing’s for sure, I’m going to come out of this 10 day stronger than I went in.

As for what we did while we were in the Glade, I can’t tell you.  We did some top secret stuff for Shane and the Rangers of the North.  Something involving the hindrance of some Dark Lord and his finding of a golden trinket.  Whoops, I just had a Hagrid moment.  In all seriousness, we created a number of burn piles out of Red Cedar.  Tomorrow we will be lighting them and I’d like to imagine it will look something like the beacons being lit in The Return of the King.  Maybe Rohan will lend us some horses to get out of that ravine.

Time for some rest.  The name of the game this week is pacing.  I’ve never been particularly good at it.  Practice makes perfect though or so they say.  Night all, hope you’re all having fun wherever you may be.

This picture is a throwback to my 10/31 entry in Cape Girardeau.  The photo of the double headed snake was taken by Sean Kerr.

Roaring Rivers - 12/2

Roaring Rivers, Missouri, team yellow: new destination, new team.  Today marks the start of my first 10 day project for AmeriCorps.  From what I’ve gathered this doesn’t necessarily mean that our task will be more intense, the extended time is due to the location where we will be serving.  These projects are lengthened because they typically take a day to reach and depart.  Anyhow, today was pretty much a day of travel.  When we arrived we met our contact, Tim, who showed us where we will start the following day.  They termed the area Glade 10.  It looks like we will be doing a lot of limbing, bucking, and burn piles during our stay.

Our lodging and the state park we are staying in are beautiful.  The only downside is that it appears there is no cell phone service where we are sleeping.  I feel bad as I texted Haley right before we hit the dead zone.  Sorry Haley!  I will have to see if I can sneak in some time to call while we are out on project.  But yes, clear rivers, walls and slabs of giant stone spread throughout the greenery; I would love nothing more than to just climb around the varying landscapes.  Maybe I will get my chance.  For now though it is time for bed.  Good night all.  Talk to you tomorrow.

ACSTL HQ - 11/25 and 11/26

Yahoo watashi wa kattaze!  These past two days I have been taking online fire training courses non-stop.  I guess we had all weekend to get a start on them, but with the move that wasn’t really an option for me.  So, after 24 hours of reading, stressing, and test taking I have successfully completed the S-130 and S-190 courses!  My brain is kind of down for the count right now, so I will leave you with an animated rendition of how these couple of days went down:  Final Fantasy A+.  Check it out on Newgrounds if it isn’t on Youtube.   Final Fantasy A+.

Pinecrest Camp 11/22

We returned to the Riney Tract to perform some Cedar genocide.  When we were done it looked like one of Tinkerbell’s cousins went a little overboard.  The forest floor was blanketed by what appeared to be a fine layer of pixie dust.  That may explain why we didn’t encounter any woodland creatures…  Anyways, the big story of the day has nothing to do with timber or service: today is one of the last day’s I will be living at 2354 Lawrence Street.  It was a great apartment, but in the end it just wasn’t a good fit for Haley and me.

As for where I will be living?  I feel like I need a podium for this announcement-- along with a cap with my future roommate’s name on it.  After much deliberation and a couple of visits to the interested parties I have decided to go with… *dramatic pause* … Dan Burch! *puts on imaginary hat* I will be heading over to the Doah and Haley will be returning to Illinois temporarily.  No worries, we’ll be living together in the not-so-distant future, this just works best with how often I am away on service projects.  Mm, this means that we have a crazy weekend ahead of us.  Glad I have friends in the area to help us move!  …Maybe I will incorporate the Incident Command System.  Later!

Pinecrest 11/21

My parents don’t even know how good of a deal they got when they bought my rain coat.  Its pockets are bags of holding!  For those of you who are slightly less geeky, they are like one of Hermione’s bags, enchanted to hold an impossible number of things.  For example, I thought I had lost my last pair of safety glasses so I was borrowing Dan’s spare.  A couple of days later I was rummaging through my pockets, which I constantly keep my hands in so they don’t freeze, and… they were there.  Maybe my coat has been hexed or something.  It does have a mischievous personality.  Like, I always keep pens in my pockets but I cannot find them when I need them.  But yes, good find!  I only hope it lasts as the brambles we’ve been weaving through are starting to take their toll.

I’m very glad I had the coat today because it has not stopped raining since we left at 6:30am to take our Pesticide Applicator Test.  I think I passed the core part of the test, but the right-of-way exam was extremely difficult.  Many of the questions touched upon things that were only briefly mentioned in our study materials.  Will have to wait and see; it’s too close for me to feel comfortable about it.

After the tests my group went to Riney Tract Conservation Area.  It was a long haul, but we were determined to at least put a dent in the Cedar population there because we didn’t want to let Marcus down—so that is exactly what we did… not let Marcus down, the other thing: put a dent in the Cedar numbers.  We had very little time when we showed up on site, but we made sure those Cedars understood who was in charge.

And now we’re here.  Tomorrow is our last day together.  Richard, Chelsea and Dan will be scattered to who knows where.  I guess I will be too.  I’m going to miss Richard and Dan bantering and Dan tormenting Richard and Chelsea about how great chain stores are.  We were a great team.  Night all; got a long weekend ahead and I need my rest.

Photo taken by Dan Burch.

Pinecrest Camp 11/20

A highway.  We went there.  We killed stuff.  Found a dying deer.  It was very sad.  Studying… so much studying.  Sleepy.  Going to pass out.  Good night.

Pinecrest Camp 11/19

Pinecrest!  That is the name of the camp we are staying at.  Very nice place.  I am currently sprawled out on the queen bed scanning my room.  It’s very spacious and… white.  The sheets are white, the walls are white, the blinds are white, the lights are an incandescent white, the towels are… brown, actually.  This is as good a time as any to let you all know that I am colorblind.  I guess they have modified the term to “color deficient” in the past decade or so for people like me.  I will leave you to speculate what that means.

To complete our service project of the day my team returned to Thompson Ford to tackle a Bush Honeysuckle insurgence.  We left none alive.  From the tallest peak to the dry and still-watered river beds below we hunted the invasives.  To our horror we came across a couple of Privet emissaries mingling with the Bush Honeysuckle.  They had formed an alliance.  Well, we couldn’t have that.  Though we were horribly outnumbered we charged their lines with shear and saw in hand.  Their defenses quickly succumbed to our persistent blades and by the time the sun had set we were the only ones still standing.

Good news!  Tonight is taco Tuesday!

Bad news!  I have to go study some more!

Miscellaneous news!  I almost got run over by a group of deer!

And in other news, I really should be going.  1 day until the test; I got this.  See you later!

Picture taken by Dan Burch.

Pinecrest Camp 11/18

We are getting the royal treatment this week.  The room I’m staying in has a queen size bed, a bunk bed, a futon that folds out into a bed, and a bathroom.  Oh yeah, there’s one more thing: I have this room to myself!  We could easily fit both the red and the orange team in just one of these rooms, but we were given 6 so we are making the most of it.  As for where we are… I know it is a Nazarene Camp of sorts but the exact name eludes me.  Something to do with Pine.  Anyways, the camp is gorgeous and our sleeping quarters are the equivalent of a 4 star hotel.  This is going to be a good week.

To kick things off my team went over to a local river and eradicated any Bush Honeysuckle we could find.  For extra credit we took down a fair amount of Privet too.  While walking our impromptu grid I came across a natural stone formation that could have passed as a fort.  It vaguely reminded me of Weathertop.  In place of Ringwraiths there was Bush honeysuckle assaulting the ruins so I assumed Aragorn’s role and came to the rescue.  Other than that the day went on to be a pretty normal day.  I’m just happy we are all in one piece as the insane wind storms and tornadoes that ripped through Missouri and Illinois yesterday made a mess of things.  I lost count of how many widow-makers and fallen trees we had to work around.  We did it though!

After we returned to camp, Dan Burch cooked us up some of his fries, which were delicious.  Kelly was giving Dan a hard time about them, but even she went for seconds.  And now we’re here.  I got to go though.  I need to study for this chemical applicator exam I have in a couple days.  Somehow I need to cram a couple weeks’ worth of a course into a couple days.  A time turner or a visit from the Doctor would be handy about now.  Talk to you later!

Picture taken by Dan Burch.

Cape Girardeau 11/15

It dawned on me that the rules in Zombieland apply rather well to the Emergency Response Team.

Wear your seat belt – Of course.  This is a requirement of the program whenever we travel.

Double tap – We chop trees down then limb them up.  We sever invasive species then spray the stumps.  Double check.

Beware of bathrooms – Well, to be honest the bathrooms should beware of us.  When we are all sent on a project those gas station bathrooms go through their own disaster of sorts.

When in doubt, know your way out – ALWAYS know your escape routes when felling a tree.

Enjoy the little things – This rule is a must with how harsh conditions can get out in the field.  Taking in breathtaking scenery is one of my favorites so far.

Be a hero – Everyone’s a hero in their own way according to Captain Hammer!  I’d like to think our service can be considered heroic.

Limber up – A number of us are with Tallahassee on this one, we don’t believe in it… but we are starting to sing a different tune.  My wrists are sore from all of the chainsaw work we’ve been doing.

Pretty good right? 

Before heading home we did more invasive work over in the Cape Woods area.  There were new species that we were dealing with…but I cannot recall their names…  Winter Creeper and some kind of thorny plant...  Anyhow, we were only able to do so much because it started to rain and using chemicals when it rains is a huge no-no because of the chance that it will run off and tamper with things we don’t want it to.  We’re on our way back to St. Louis now so I am going to leave this entry short to match the shortened day.  Until next time!

Random find on the interwebs.

Cape Girardeau 11/14

MoDOT is starting to freak me out.  You can find their signs plastered all over the highways in Missouri.  “MoDOT  thanks you for driving,” “fasten your seatbelts, MoDOT cares,” “use left lane or slow down for stopped vehicles, MoDOT cares.”  Isn’t that kind of creepy?  It is like we have some sort of overlord or something. 

Man I’m loopy.  I don’t think I drank nearly enough water today.  I know we’re supposed to, but it is such an inconvenience when you have to battle brambles to get to your water.  The cold doesn’t help either.  That’s no excuse though.  Will continue to work on my intakes I suppose.

We continued our highway patrol again today.  There were a surprising number of rabbits in the brush on the edge of the road; this lead to an epiphany.  I’ve never seen a bunny strewn out like I have deer, raccoons and just about every other woodland creature.  Are rabbits secretly smart?  Anyhow, we cut and sprayed a score of Pear Trees and Autumn Olives.  One Autumn Olive in particular was a monster; it had trunks as big as my thighs, which is huge (from what I’ve seen) for this invasive species.  Richard took it down.  I was preoccupied fending off the thorny bramble barrage so our group could safely navigate the area.  We won the battle, but at a price; one of my bootlaces will not be returning from the line of duty.  

Both groups also received a couple of books with details about the chemicals we have been using.  The information they relay includes, but is not limited to, how to mix them, what to apply them to, where to apply them, and what they do.  We have a test next week to become certified applicators so we need to hit the books a bit before we return to Cape Girardeau.  If I pass, does it mean I could go around calling myself an alchemist?  Who deals with poisons?  The Apothecary?  Are those guys alchemists?  I really just want the alchemist title…

What a mess of an entry!  I apologize to anyone who comes across my actual journal; all these chicken scratches everywhere.  Going to go watch some Dark Knight Rises and hit the hay.  Good night.

Picture taken by Dan Burch.

Cape Girardeau 11/13

Z bars—the ERT equivalent of lembas bread.  I’ve lost track of how many of these delightful bars I’ve consumed since I joined the program, but I expect the number to be well into the hundreds by the time I leave.  Make no mistake; they do not starve us in AmeriCorps.  Whenever we go out on project we get $4.00 per person per day of service, which doesn’t sound like a lot but when you pool the money together it adds up to some nice meals.  Taco Tuesdays are always a high point of the week but team red has also grown accustomed to the deceivingly delicious potato bar.  We’ve also made stir fry, chili, pasta, and burgers while we’ve been out here in Cape Girardeau.  I think Z bars are just a favorite of mine because, like our dinners, they taste amazing, are semi healthy, and, in addition to these pluses, they are extremely portable.

We cut down the remaining Sycamores at Friends Farm to start off our day.  With those trees felled and the fire line started we have completed both projects Marcus assigned to us in the area.  Just in time too.  After lunch (sandwich and a Z bar for me), Marcus showed us the ropes on what to look for in terms of invasive species along the highway and how to combat them.  He turned us loose for a little over an hour to wreck some havoc on some Japanese honeysuckle before calling it a day.

From what I gathered we will be working the highways all day tomorrow, but why worry about tomorrow when tonight is a cause for celebration!?  Sean Kerr, the fellow I keep borrowing pictures from, had his birthday today.  To celebrate the occasion we went to Lambert’s whose motto is “if you leave here hungry, it ain’t our fault.”  At this restaurant you order a meal and are constantly treated to sides like macaroni, cooked potatoes and okra.  Be careful if you raise your hand to get the waiter’s attention though as you will find a very warm roll flying in your general direction.  Even if you are right by the wandering bread distributors, they are forbid to hand it to you—they will toss it.  I found it highly entertaining and caught 4 out of 4 rolls.

Due to the late hour we just put on Jurassic Park.  The Batman movies are a tad long for sleepy folk so we thought it would be better to save the conclusion of the trilogy for tomorrow.  Tomorrow… hmm.  Time to retire, but before I do, what do you think of the nickname Wheels?  Richard gave it to me today and I’ve yet to figure out how I inherited it.  Night!

Cape Girardeau 11/12

We worked at Friends Farm again today.  We encountered a couple of farmers who told us a bit of the farm’s history; such as that it was once entirely swamp and that the farm has belonged to the same family since the Louisiana Purchase.  That’s a long time!  Our job is to prepare designated acres of the farm for controlled burns so that we can “reset” the landscape.  The MDC is looking at converting some of the fields into a sand prairie and a wetland, both of which are endangered ecosystems in Missouri.  Dan and I cleared a fire line of trees to help make this happen.  The path still has grasses and shrubs littering it, but given a weed wacker, some rakes, and a couple of bodies, I think we could knock the fire line down to soil in a day—2 at the most.

I just received the amazing news that my Spartans beat the number 1 team in college basketball!  This is greater in significance than you may realize.  Tom Izzo is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to March Madness, yet, for some reason top recruits always choose other schools.  Warmer climates or something.  Traditionally a weakness of Michigan State’s basketball team is coming out with a win against the nation’s best in early tournaments and match ups.  That is why this game was huge.  I’m hoping it will attract some more talent to the banks of the Red Cedar.  If not, MSU will just continue recruiting decent players and transforming them into great ones.

“You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself turn into a villain.”  I love movie quotes.  Who knew?  This one came from The Dark Knight, which we just finished watching.  It was superior to its predecessor, but I believe that could be the result of a couple factors.  One, Batman Begins had the arduous task of telling Bruce Wayne’s back story.  While interesting, there was a lot to cover and it made the movie seem like it was progressing through the plot slowly.  Two, Heath Ledger’s performance.  Incredible.  Just about our whole group was captivated for the movie’s duration… which is more than can be said about last night.  Everything ties together in this trilogy though, so I would highly recommend watching all three if you want a more fulfilling experience.

Life is good.  Wish I had a camera to show you our progress here in Cape Girardeau as we have completely transformed some of the landscapes.  Working in nature conservation is kind of like working on a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle.  The first piece is a solid color, nearly indistinguishable from several other pieces.  But, each day of work is like fitting together a couple more pieces and only after a couple of weeks of work does the puzzle’s picture begin to take shape.  Going to go pass out now.  Bye!

Cape Girardeau 11/11

Looks like somebody has a case of the Mondays.  That somebody is me.  I can’t explain it, but I’ve been tiring much quicker than usual.  Part of it may be that I have grown closer to my teammates and the members of the orange team over the weeks we’ve been together.  I’m so comfortable that I’m sleepy.  There are other factors I’m sure, but yes, very sleepy.

We went back to LaCroix Bluffs to deal with the Autumn Olive pests.  Being more than a little distracted I elected to stray from the chainsaws and stick to the sprayer.  Much less dangerous for one who can’t keep his eyes open and his mind from wandering.  We got most of it in the area we have been touching up in prior visits.  One more trip should suffice in the eradication of the invasive unless Marcus and Bob find something else for us to do. 

I’m going to go crash.  Oh yeah, we’re in Cape Girardeau again.  Forgot to mention that.  We also started the Dark Knight trilogy.  I liked the “why do we fall?  So we can pick ourselves up” quote.  Very positive outlook.  Good night friends!

Cape Girardeau 11/8

I smell like campfire, which is better than the alternative I suppose.  By this time in the week I can only imagine what aromas are floating around for those with noses good enough to smell them.  But yes, we did our burn today!  Accompanied by some staff from the MDC SE we safely controlled a fire through a field at Friends Farm.  If I had to guess the flames peaked at about 10 feet, but they didn’t last very long.  Wildfire crews term grasses as 1 hour fuels to indicate that they combust easily and don't burn for very long.  With the wind’s help the waves in the sea of flames didn’t last more than a couple of minutes.  While I admit I was distracted a couple of times, I was vigilant on my watch and didn’t let any embers cross the fire line.  I did let two bunnies get passed me, but they weren’t on fire so it was ok.

Afterward I got the green light to head back to St. Louis and check out the home front.  Going to call it until next week all.  Until then!

Pictures were all taken by Sean Kerr.

Cape Girardeau 11/7

Yesterday started with water and today started with fire.  We’re well on our way to having a day involving each of Aristotle’s elements.  Only thing is today didn’t really start off with fire.  It was supposed to.  We were all prepped in our Nomex at the burn site when we got the word that there would be no prescribed burn today.  Instead, we would be felling trees in the Friends Farm area in preparation for a future burn.  I primarily dealt with Black Locusts, but I also tried my hand at an Ash and a couple of Sycamore trees.  We were given clearance to bring down everything that wasn’t an Oak tree.

The sawing went very well; surprisingly I walked away from the spiky invasives without a scratch.  Black Locusts have bigger thorns than Autumn Olives, in case you were wondering.  The second years were telling me horror stories about Black Locusts and how they tend to give as good as they get, but my biggest issue was the thorns on the ground.  Thorns were unavoidable unlike their tall, pointy, doomed brethren.  They tore chunks out of me and my clothes.  Oi.  Why do thorns exist?  Do they produce fruit?  What is their contribution to nature?  I tried to be nice and weave my way through nature’s barbed wire but it decided to try and go all Gandalf on me.  Unfortunately for them, this Balrog had a chainsaw.

Life is still a bit off for me, for lack of a better term.  That “Fly Me to the Moon” song has been stuck in my head.  Only the chorus though so I have slowly been going insane.  My best guess for this development was Pacific Rim triggered a tie to Evangelion, which has the song play in its closing credits.  We haven’t seen that film in over a week though; tonight we watched The Purge where America’s government decided to designate a 12 hour span to do whatever you wanted.  The hope is that people will kill off the non-contributors in our society, but some people use it to take out competitors at work among other things.  According to the movie this 1 day resulted in only 1% unemployment and the elimination of our nation’s debt…  I don’t think that would actually happen.  Kudos to the script writer for thinking outside of the box in trying to solve our nation’s ever increasing problems though.

 Tomorrow we are supposed to do the burn we were scheduled to do today.  We also have to pack out and clean, which means an earlier start than usual.  So, time for bed.  I wish you all the best.  Take care of yourselves.

Cape Girardeau 11/6

The heavens were weeping this morning, probably because someone felt bad for us having to pick up trash along the Sand Prarie.  We toughed it out though because that’s how we roll!  Now that I am a trash expert, let me give you a couple of tips in case you are in ever in a picking up trash competition.  Glass bottles and crushed cans are great in terms of the weight they provide for how much space they take up.  Your gold mine, however, is rubber.  Blown out tires are surprisingly heavy.  Most car parts found along the roadside are good finds, but tire remains are one of the few that won’t tear your bag.  Oh, and pick up any trash you find along the way.  Not only is it good for the environment, the additional items may also add up to that extra pound that will lead you to victory!

After having completed my first Missouri road side clean up, I have reached a conclusion.  Missouri should have bottle deposit.  Over half of the litter we picked up were soda cans and beer bottles.  If there was some reason to not chuck them out your car window aside from being responsible, I feel like Missouri’s road sides would be in pristine condition—at least in comparison to what it is now.  Sure there will still be McDonalds bags blowing around like tumbleweeds, but hey, they are made of paper and are thereby biodegradable.  As for whoever’s bright idea it was to tear up a huge Styrofoam cooler and spread its entrails along the road.  Please don’t?  Shepard Book said there is a special layer of hell reserved for child molesters and people who talk in the theatre.  The layer for polluters is one level below that.  So yeah, get on that bottle deposit!

After we thoroughly cleaned the entire road side next to the Sand Prairie we got word from Marcus that he had another task for us.  We traveled to the MDC and then tailed Marcus all the way to Juden Creek.  Upon arrival we were met by a pile of gravel, shovels, and some rakes… Marcus too… AND a tractor.  Thank goodness for that tractor as we had to take several loads up a hilly path and spread them out to give the ground some traction.  Marcus thought this project would take up the rest of our day but we’re AmeriCorps!  Our team finished more than an hour early, which was great because we needed to pick up more supplies before returning to HQ.

My mind is rushing.  Combined with exhaustion my mind’s eye is viewing a colorful montage with the occasional fleeting image.  We just got done watching Warm Bodies.  I wonder if what I am experiencing right now is similar to what the zombies were feeling as they were coming back to life?  Everything is out of focus.  There are two currents in my life right now that may or may not be causing this abnormality.  I’m trying to make the most out of the hand I have been dealt though.  The last time I saw this film I was with Haley.  She was skeptical, as I recall, but we both ended up enjoying movie.  The snacks we had were another matter.  Haley told me that she would treat me to a real… what’s-it-called sometime.  Can’t remember the name.   It involved marshmallows though.  Hmm, think I will buy Warm Bodies one of these days.  For now though, it is time for some rest.  Night all; I wish you well.

Cape Girardeau 11/5

Remember, remember the 5^th of November gunpowder, treason and plot.  Tonight we watched V for Vendetta.  Great movie.  Couple of fun quotes like “a revolution without a dance is a revolution not worth having.”  Immediately my mind jumped to Dance Dance Revolution.  I’m sure V would have been a fan… aside from the constraints that are inherent in all video games.  He was a big fan of ideas as ideas are bulletproof and unhindered by most boundaries.  Well, I’m sure he would have liked the name at least.

Another good one is “the people should not be afraid of the government, the government should be afraid of its people.”  After all, what is a government?  It is an idea created by the people, for the people.  As it is an idea the government is essentially bulletproof, but that only holds true so long as the people continue to believe in it.  I don’t think the United States has merited a march against its capital, but I am kind of in shock that our Congress is only able to agree about 10% of the time.  It would be nice if they could find a way to function a bit more fluidly.

For our service project of the day we started off by returning to the LaCroix Bluffs and finishing up our work with the designated Maples and Autumn Olive.  I was on a team that focused on the Maples so those Autumn Olives should consider themselves lucky for the brief reprieve.  Afterward my team drove over to Friends Farm and helped Marcus and Bob set up some Barn Owl houses.  We didn’t get to see the owls, but we set up some nice perches so I’m hoping the next time we visit we may catch a glimpse. 

Mixing concrete and building 12 foot skyscrapers was fun, but not nearly as fun as what came next.  We got to clear a prescribed burned area of Black Locusts.  It kind of reminded me of Dynasty Warriors where you just run through basic infantry and take them all down with a swipe or two of your weapon.  I’d say I put up video game numbers in terms of how many trees I cut down today.  We left the place looking like it had been hit by a windstorm, which we are normally not supposed to do, but our contact said this helps with quail habitation and not to worry about it.

All in all it was a great day.  Wish I could be home with Haley though.  I know my service is valuable, but my fiancée is priceless.  Only a couple more days right?  I’ll make it.  I’m very happy we get cell phone service at Charleston’s Baptist Camp as that makes things a bit easier.  Hope you’re all doing well.  Good night.

Cape Girardeau 11/4

I don’t pray as often as I once did, but for those of you who believe in the power of prayer or the sending of positive energy, St. Louis could use a hand.  Chelsea Evan’s husband, fellow ERT member Justin, is undergoing surgery today to repair the tendon in his hand.  I overheard it is going to be a 3 hour process and it will be a good 3 to 4 months before he regains use of it.  I’m wishing him a speedy recovery.  Also, Haley has been having a hard time with her class.  Lend her your strength and support as this week has been particularly tough on her.

Well, here we are again.  Cape Girardeau.  I can now spell the place with ease but saying it is another matter.  Our first service project was over at the LaCroix Bluff Conservation Area.  The place put on a vibrant display of fall colors… made me mourn the loss of my camera but at least I got to see the spectacle for myself.  Imagine a picture frame of red and yellow leaves of varying hues surrounding a downhill glance at the Mississippi.  It was gorgeous… Then there were those pesky Autumn Olive plants trying their best to photobomb with their green and silver leaves.  As much as I love those colors, I’ve been pricked by one too many of their thorns to show the trees any kindness.  Tomorrow, a red dawn will rise for the invasive species.

I’m trying to determine which is worse: barbed wire or thorns.  Both are in abundance in our service locations and I’ve had the “privilege” of having both wrapped around my legs.  You know?  I think the thorns actually hurt more than the wire.  Granted the barbs were so old I broke a couple by unknowingly moving through them.  Still, Mother Nature 1, Mankind 0.  Think we will stop the tally there as Man is competitive and Mother Nature deserves a fighting chance.

That about rounds up our first day.  No movies tonight although we have a special movie picked out for tomorrow.  It’s going to be great.  Sending all the well-wishing I can muster back to St. Louis.  Night all.

Cape Girardeau 11/1

This area has some interesting radio stations.  Just the other day we heard the Ghostbusters song remixed with Gangnam Style.  And today, remember that commercial where a camel is walking around an office all excited about it being Wednesday because it’s hump day?  Well, they turned that into a remixed piece as well.  It was weird.  Look it up on YouTube as I have no idea how to replicate the experience.

Our objective for the day was to get rid of Black Locusts at one of the last sand prairies in Missouri.  Once we arrived Richard’s keen eye picked out a couple of hunters on the other side of the field.  He brought to our attention that they would have guns and dogs, both of which we didn’t want to mess with.  So we called Marcus and he gave us the ok to head over to Charlie.  Back to battling Autumn Olives.  I chose to just  swamp today because I was still riding a high from the cedar I cut a couple of days ago.  Whitney and I took down a nasty gnarly tree that reminded me a bit of Fern Gully.  She was very good at communicating what she was doing and what she wanted done and, as a result, we cleared a grove.  As is protocol, I sprayed the remains of the Autumn Olive with Pathfinder II and a dash of Milestone to ensure that they wouldn’t just sprout back.

Aside from cleaning up the Baptist Camp that’s all we really did today.  We worked until lunch and then packed up to head home.  Sounds like most of us will be back here next week to continue what we started.  So until then!

Cape Girardeau casualties:

1 pair of safety glasses

1 water bottle

1 pair of gloves

The first picture is a shot of us in Cape Girardeau's sand prairie while the next two were taken in Charlie-- all three of which are Sean Kerr's work.  The last one I found on the internet.  It is how I was feeling after messing up a rain coat my parents just got me and destroying some of my PPE.  The coat is still functional so it did not make the obituary.

Cape Girardeau 10/31

I underestimated the power of the beard.  I of all people, a native of Michigan where come November every man (that matters) locks away the razor to help the Red Wings.  I mean, just the other day when we met our contact, Marcus, he was talking to me as if I was the leader and I knew what we were doing.  Guys.  It’s the beard.  The Red Sox discovered its powers and used it to eliminate both my Tigers and my Cardinals.  We must find a way to restore balance as I feel they tapped more than their fair share of bearded glory.  Until then, I feel it has come time to shave.  I predicted that whoever won game 5 would go on to win the World Series with my beard reaching its potency.  This is just too much power for any one man to bear alone.

Thor and Zeus did their thing.  We worked at Holly Ridge today in strong winds and fluctuating downpours.  For safety’s sake we didn’t use chainsaws.  Instead, our weapons of choice were shears, rakes, and blowers.  Our teams cleared the areas around snags of debris and natural fuel for fires so that when we (or someone else) goes through on a prescribed burn they will be less of a danger.  It went pretty well.  We finished the trail before lunch so we were able to return to base for food and dry clothing before continuing on with the day.

After lunch we drove to the Missouri Department of Conservation SE and watched some videos about the state’s history and what to look for in terms of invasive species.  Slightly more educated, we were then turned loose on the building.  The place was nice.  I got to hold a two headed snake!  According to one of the workers they aren’t all that uncommon, but they don’t last long in the wild.  Two brains and one stomach causes issues in terms of fighting over food and over eating, not to mention it makes running away from predators incredibly difficult.  Uncommon or not though, this was the first one I’ve ever seen.  Since we were assisting the MDC they also let us into the back where they kept their venomous snakes.  The copperhead took particular interest in me.  As I tilted my head to the right, it mirrored me.  Same with the left.  I did this for a minute or so before I realized I was the only one left in the back room.

Oh yeah, Happy Halloween everybody!  To celebrate this holiday (my favorite, by the way) we indulged a little.  There was a huge bowl of candy that we didn’t even get a fourth of the way through, some cider, and a scary movie.  Tonight’s film was Orphan.  It specialized in suspense.  Of the three horror movies we watched I’d say Zombieland would win the best overall movie, Orphan would win the scariest and American Psycho… I still don’t really know what was up with American Psycho.  I get that it was all in his mind so maybe we should be terrified because we never know what is going on in our co-workers heads.  Don’t know.  Wasn’t really our kind of film.

The tension and jumps have subsided now that everybody is preparing for bed.  It was a great night and an even better week.  My one regret is not being home with my fiancée to help her pass out candy to all of the trick-or-treaters.  Gives me something to look forward to next year!  Tomorrow is our last day in the Girardeau area.  As usual, our schedule is tentative, but it sounds like we will either be combating invasives or fixing up fire lines like we have been doing.  Can’t wait to catch up on what the rest of you all and the world have been up to!  Talk to you soon!

These pictures were taken a couple of days ago, but they are at the same location.  The top shot is Clare sharing her opinion about a cut with Fatima.  The bottom two are Fatima reenacting the Texas Chainsaw Massacre with some snags.  All three were taken by me.