Your field assistant checking in

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[I've copied Katheryn's comment into an proper blog entry as she intended - Richard]

My arduous task today was to post a blog regarding my thoughts as I prepare to return to Costa Rica in a few days. While assuring Dr. Brown of my great competence as a field assistant, I apparently can only figure out how to "comment" on preexisting posts and have no idea how to submit my own. Who knew that blogging could be so mysterious?

My thoughts? In class this morning as we went over the details of our reforestation project for the students, Dr. Brown pulled up a panoramic photograph of one of the bird-points. Having spent 10 minutes a day simply sitting at this particular point counting birds, I was not surprised to remember specific trees and plants. It will be interesting to note how each bird-point has changed over a year's time. I think we are going to take yearly panoramics of these set points.  Then, with our demonstrated technical expertise we will stick them in some sort of program that allows you to move a scroll bar and blend the images as the years progress.

 I was surprised that the picture conjured up more complex memories of smells you can almost taste, the chatter and sounds of colorful tropical animals and shockingly large insects, and the clammy feel of humidity under my ever-present poncho. I am excited!

I am currently resolving to find my poncho. As much as I despise sporting the garbage bag look, and as much as I dislike being trapped in my own Turkish bath, I would not want to be attacked by tropical rainstorms without it. We are practicing low-impact living, but in some cases it is best to keep a plastic barrier between oneself and nature.

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About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Katheryn Miller published on May 19, 2009 3:00 PM.

Volcan Arenal Status was the previous entry in this blog.

Technical stuff: Maps and panoramic photography is the next entry in this blog.

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