Peck Ranch - 2/24

After 2 days of rest I felt ready to take on the world again.  I started off by joining my teammates on our route to the Peck Ranch office to talk with Marshall.  He had nothing but praise for us.  Marshall told us he was very appreciative of the work AmeriCorps has been doing and was he is hoping to treat us to lunch in the near future.   Not only that, Marshall told us he is going to try and get us on fire detail before this week is through for all the hard work we have done.  I guess he knows we are itching to put our new Red Cards to use (of the wildfire variety—we aren’t a bunch of ruffians…most days)! The thing about Marshall is he doesn’t give compliments often, so when he does you appreciate them so much more.  Here’s hoping that the weather for the remainder of the week works out in our favor!

As for our project, we went out and worked on fire line for the day again.  Due to the fire line being on a ridge we needed to cut down snags further back than usual and drag fuels another 15 to 20 feet into the burn unit.  That little bit of extra effort left me exhausted by the time lunch rolled around.  I am ridiculously out of shape for a man who spends 10 hours a day completing physically challenging tasks.  I admit I keep some energy in reserve due to the excessive amount of sweating that occurs when I go full force, but I intend to only hold back a bit longer.  I hate sweating when the temperature is cool enough to make my body regret perspiring.  Hopefully this winter will end soon and the Starks can begin their doom saying anew.  Miss you warm weather… those 60 degree days were a horrible, horrible tease.

I saw my first armadillo in the wild today!  I don’t know why… but I was expecting to see them in more of a desert setting as opposed to the floors of a coniferous forest.  Shows what I know!  My team also saw a large number of elk, including two bulls that were play fighting with their antlers as we drove by.  It was pretty awesome—this whole day has been awesome.  I think I am going to quit while I’m ahead and go get some shut eye.  Night all!