Winter cometh

Happy Thanksgiving to all. The day was a quiet one-spent watching the snow fall (2.5 inches total to make for 0.97 inches of precip), playing on the computer, watching movies, and staying in doors, and that is about it.

Housing has finally been resolved, not in my favor of course...So I will begin the search for a place "off campus." Parts of me are sad, upset, thrilled, and can't wait. I can feed birds, have a garden, but have to drive up in bad weather (yuck).

Months go by...

So it has been a while--a long, long while.

I have taken a permanent job! Well, permanent, subject to furlough--which means taking a "mandatory vacation" every year basically. Things are falling into place with the exception of housing--which is a circular decision apparently.

Here is a photo. Yes it snowed here on Wednesday--no not that much, it was taken a few years ago... enjoy!

More on the joys of living in nature...

The days are cooling off and so are the nights. Every afternoon the clouds build up and sometimes dump rain and sometimes just lightning. Only a few fires though, so we have been lucky.

And then nature has been coming to our front doorsteps--literally. Two of the rangers had a mating pair of rattlesnakes hanging out on their poarch, and living under the apartment. I have been a little luckier and have only seen a bullsnake hanging out beside my apartment, but he maybe living under the building. Not a big fan of snakes, but I would definitely rather have the bullsnake than the rattlesnakes.

Turkeys

There is nothing quite like the sound of turkeys gobbling first thing in the morning as you are headed off to work, or as you're sitting around with friends in the evening. Nice to live in nature.

Spring

It is hard to believe, but according to the calendar this is Spring. Spring time in the mountains. This morning was not quite as "brisk" as yesterday--11 degrees Fahrenheit for the 24 hour low. We had a little snow day before yesterday too. It looks like the higher mountains around us have a fresh coating of new snow on them. The animals are starting to move. People have been seeing bears and yesterday someone saw a mountain lion. The wildflowers are starting to bloom too. Right now we have some Hayden's Gilia (Gilia haydenii) , arrowleaf balsam root ((Balsamorhize sagittata), and dandelions brightening the landscape.

Arrowleaf balsamroot from www.fs.fed.us

Sacred Planet

"Get set for a 45-minute journey around the world to some of the most exotic and beautiful places that exist. From the comfort of your armchair, you'll visit the last remaining old growth forests of British Columbia, the glaciers of Alaska, the red rock canyons of Utah and Arizona, the tropical jungles and underwater mysteries of Borneo, the ancient ruins of Thailand and the remote deserts of Namibia." (Netflix synopsis)

Rated: G

This is a beautiful film.  I have watched it twice and still have only actually heard bits and pieces of what is being said as I am so captivated by the images.  It is visually stunning.  Almost every second of film could easily be made into a beautiful photograph.  It was shot in IMAX format which means the images are huge--they just feel huge.  The message is fairly similar from all of the elders, but each one uses their own cultural references to say it.  There is a lot of time lapse images in here--but is not the usual grass shooting up through the ground ones that are often seen in nature oriented movies/TV shows.  The very simple use of speeding up the film and also showing normal speed speaks volumes to those who pay attention.

personal rating:

8.5 / 10 stars

Tis the time of rangers... seasonal ones that is...

As spring draws near, just like the swallows of Capistrano, another phenomena occurs all across the United States.  It is the annual migration of the seasonal national park employee.  Due to visitation (and budget) most parks can only offer full services during the summer months.  There are some exceptions to this--the Everglades, Death Valley--the places that are not exactly "user friendly" during summer months, which have greater visitation during the winter months.  With the full services comes the need for additional employees, hence, seasonal rangers (and other park employees).  The season of these employees is generally 6 months or approximately 1039 hours.  So what do these people do the rest of the year?  Many different things--some seasonal employees are students, teachers, retired, find another park to work at, or take the time off until the season starts again.  Unfortunately seasonal employees do not receive any sort of benefits, but can accumulate sick leave, and annual leave (which can be paid out at the end of the season for hours not used).  But it is an interesting way to spend a summer or winter, learning about different parts of the country, different parks, and different topics.    The National Park Service is not the only one that offers seasonal employment.  The Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies do as well, however one of the most common conditions is that the applicant is a US Citizen.  Click on the USA JOBS link to look for openings by job, location, or agency.

10,000 BC

The movie 10,000 BC will be out on March 7, 2008.  Though the story line doesn't look terribly promising, the animals and CGI work looks very interesting, and well done.  Will this be the Jurassic Park for 2008?

Lunar Eclipse

Tonight there is a lunar eclipse, the last until 2011.  On nights such of these, I wonder exactly how the ancient cultures perceived these types of events.  Surely they saw it as a sign of some sort.  It is very easy to see how it could have been a negative sign, but is it possible they saw anything positive in it?

Another new dinosaur discover announced

Another new dinosaur species has been announced, this time coming out of Mexico.  Velafrons coahuilensis,  a duck-billed dinosaur with a "sail-shaped crest" on its head, made its home in the lush tropical environs of present Mexico  around 72 million years ago.  Paleontologists from the University of Utah and Utah Museum of Natural History, say this "beach bum" is the "most complete dinosaur ever found in Mexico," living there at the time that an inland sea divided the North American continent.

Source:  Yahoo News

The Rockies

Watched an interesting program on the National Geographic Channel last night about the Rocky Mountains.  The show discussed the formation of each phase of the Rockies and talked about them from the Northern Rockies in Canada, down to the Southern most region of them in New Mexico, including the Rio Grande Rift.

Saw today that there is a new species of winged dinosaur that has been found-- Nemicolopterus crypticus.  Looking at the skeletons, it was probably about the size of a modern robin, and lived in what is today China over 120 million years ago.  One of the smallest pterosaurs, it had curved feet, like modern birds, indicating it probably lived in trees.

Source: Yahoo News / National Geographic

Welcome

Welcome to The Lady Ranger.  What the title bar says is true.  I do work for the United States National Park Service.  In no way do my views reflect those of the National Park Service or other park service employees.  I am using this as a chance to tell the stories of a ranger, express my thoughts and opinions, ask questions, seek answers, and see what other people think about things that affect you, me, and our parks.  But this isn't just about the parks, but about our entire world.  I can't promise that this will be updated frequently, but I will do what I can.

Who am I?  I am a single female approaching 30ish, a college graduate with a BA in English and History {US, primarily SW}, MA in Interdisciplinary Studies (again English and History).  I have worked for the NPS since 2003 as a Museum Aide, Park Guide, Park Ranger, and Dispatcher.  I have worked in one park and one monument.  I put some of that information in because it is who I am and it does indicate how I might see our parks and the park service differently than someone else.  Along the sides I am trying to include links to sites that contain resources, information, and other blogs.  Please feel free to leave our comments and I look forward to hearing from you.