Is Camping Supposed to be Fun?

Umm...okay. I'm gonna try to say this politely. Bear with me for a second here.

We have class from 8-11 AM, 1-4 PM, and 6-9 PM every day. Every day. And we also just got back from a camping trip that was over 24 hours. I'm sorry, but is it alright to say that I am sick and tired of these people now?? I see my classmates all the time; I slept in tents with them for goodness sakes. I ride in vans with them for hours on end. I eat lunch with them. I take notes in class with them. I take 2-3 hour hikes with them looking for herps. I am so tired and annoyed with these people at this point. I'm not ashamed to say that.

Camping was more like a nightmare to tell you the truth. We went trapping, which was cool. We actually caught a lot of stuff. We caught like 8 turtles and a huge salamander in one funnel trap. That was alright. But the hiking...and the campfire stuff...and the car rides...let's just say I wasn't the happiest camper. By the end of the night I was just saying what I thought, no filter. No filter whatsoever. These people probably think that I am the most horrible human being ever because of what I said. If they said something stupid, I let them know. I said exactly what I was thinking. I guess we're more of a family now than we were before. And by family I mean we don't care about calling someone out and telling them how much of an idiot they are. It's really fun.

Our nightmare herp hike that lasted until 11 at night in the cold. We. Were. Over it.

I can't wait for the weekend. I'm planning on studying and going to the beach. And sleeping, that too. I want to save up my energy for the crazy ride ahead of me next week.

Oh, and we have another camping trip next week. Pray for me. Hopefully there won't be any fatalities, but I'm a loose cannon.

Gopher Tortoises Are Apparently Important

We just had a group discussion on a scientific paper all about gopher tortoises. Yes, gopher tortoises. And apparently there's a lot to say about them. At the beginning of the week I didn't even know gopher tortoises existed and now I'm immersed in a scientific discussion about them for almost an hour. How did that happen?

Who knew that one could discuss something so odd for such a long time. I'm still kind of surprised that it just happened. I mean, these guys are important in their habitat...but it's like talking about the influence of PB&J's on today's society or something. It's important, but do we really have to spend so much time talking about PB&J's? They're kind of insignificant compared to, I don't know, global warming. Or world peace. Or terrorism. 

I'm probably biased. I mean, I wouldn't mind having an hour long discussion on how great white sharks positively affect their ecosystem or why orca whales play with their food before consuming it. That sounds like a perfectly amusing use of my time. But gopher tortoises is a stretch for this marine enthusiast. Terrestrials don't really get me going. 

Oh, well.

Never Alone

It's so refreshing to be here. Like it's a breath of fresh air. Like I can relax and know that everything is going to be okay. I don't know how else to describe it. Yes, this schedule is stressful and chaotic, but at the same time it feels like I'm free. 

All of these students here (most of them) are just like me. Not exactly like me in every sense, but a lot like me in certain ways. There are students here from all over the country. Arkansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas. They have that desire to study marine biology just like me. They've had this long-lived passion for the ocean. Despite where they are geographically they are inspired and focused. I didn't know I wasn't the only one for a while. 

I'm not the only one who has dreamed about this their whole childhood and didn't let their geography determine their passions. I'm not the only one who has decided to go for it and take classes here. I'm not the only one who wants this so badly it hurts. I thought I was alone for so long. Thank you, God, that I'm not alone. I knew I wasn't the only one. 

Funny...I was never alone. I am never alone. I am comforted.

"For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to will and to act for His good purpose." Philippians 2:13

Ward Bayou Pictures!

Our copperhead we found surprisingly!

That's me fashionably holding an adult box turtle we found in the middle of the road on our way out of the bayou.

Our ring-necked snake we found on our hike.

The copperhead had some crazy yellow eyes. You could see the fangs tucked in a little bit, too. Its skin was really rough.

This was one of the salamanders we caught. I think this was the 2-lined salamander.

I touched a copperhead, y'all. It's pretty exciting.

My new best friend the ring-necked snake. That was me holding it. 

That was the 3-lined salamander. It has 3 black lines instead of 2, which distinguishes it from the 2-lined salamander...

That's me and my best snake friend!

The bayou was so pretty. And muddy. And humid. And soggy. But really pretty.

Trapping in Ward Bayou

Ok let me just list off the stuff we found today: 

A bunch of frogs (narrow mouth, bronze, cricket)

Eastern fence lizard

A bunch of salamanders (Mississippi slimy, southern 2-lined, 3-lined, etc.)

Southern ringneck snake

Copperhead snake (extremely venomous!)

A lot of crawfish

Some bony fish

2 box turtles

Amphiuma (a salamander that looks incredibly similar to a snake)

Also, too many spiders to count. I hated that part!! I've never seen so many wolf spiders in my life. We also saw a fishing spider, which was cool but I had a freakout moment obviously. 

Overall, a good day spent on the Mississippi bayou.

Ward Bayou Night 1

Wow. What a night. I can officially say I have set traps in the Mississippi bayou! That was an experience...I had my waders on and I was ready to go. Not everyone had waders on so the ones wearing them did the dirty work. I loved it, though. It was so much fun. I hope we caught some critters. We'll check the traps tomorrow morning bright and early.

The Ward bayou was flooded so we just stopped where the road was flooded over. It was quite muddy, I have to say. It was so much fun. I liked getting dirty!

This was a green tree frog we caught out in the middle of the road! It was so pretty.

I caught a crawfish in my dip net! It's waving hello to all of you on the Internet! Actually it was trying to pinch me with its tiny claws but with no luck.

I hope we find something interesting tomorrow morning once we retrieve all our traps! Wish us luck!

Relaxing at the Beach

Fun times at the beach! The top right picture is me and some of the girls from my marine herpetology class! Later tonight we'll be working hard in the Ward bayou setting traps for amphibians and reptiles, but now we're busy relaxing! 

Ah this is the life...