Lost Baby Sea Turtle

We were on our way back from the mountains when we got a call that there was a baby sea turtle that had been disoriented and beached itself near our house. Our staff picked it up and turtle-sat all afternoon at the office. They asked if we could return the little squirt to the ocean after nightfall since we live so close to the water!

I think that all baby animals are always so cute, but this little guy, ahh, it was almost breathtaking! It was probably only a day or two old and so tiny! This little loggerhead needed to get to the ocean since its survival rate is about 1 in 1000. That means for every one-thousand eggs that hatch on the beach, only one will make it back to that same beach to lay eggs, about 50 years from now. Maybe this little guy is the one?

We patiently waited until it was dark enough and then took the little guy to the water's edge. When we put him down in the sand, he knew just what to do. And in a few moments, he was gone into the surf. There were some people walking down the beach that were so excited to be part of our release. Be sure to watch the (very short) video and see for yourself :)

Trip to the Mountains!

Another great perk of the job is the annual Educator Retreat, which this year happened to be hosted by the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, in Brevard, NC, just outside of Asheville. We traveled 8 hours to get there but it was so beautiful that it was definitely worth it!

First we visited Vanessa, who took care of Maverick while we were at meetings. It was neat to be in South Carolina again and to see where she is going to school. And Mavie had a playmate all week long- he demonstrated his approval by eating every single meal!

Then we traveled though Asheville and up into the mountains, quite literally, we camped at 4000 feet! Our campground was along the Blue Ridge Parkway and was amazing. The leaves were all changing in the higher elevations and everything was crisp (and cold- I wore a hat for the first few days!) We took a workshop on birds in a little place called Elk Knob State Park and did some sightseeing outside of Boone. A few stops for eating, shopping, and even a tour of a cavern led us to the bed & breakfast where we met up with all of the other educators across the state.

We spent a day in the field with the biologists (I went out with the salamander and turtle biologist, while Ben did electrofishing with the trout biologist) and another day at the Center, teaching school groups with their staff. I had a bunch of pre-k kids and we taught them about vermicomposting, or composting with worms. I'm working on an adult workshop for the winter on that very topic so it was fun to talk to the lil' tikes about worms!

The Center is located in the Pisgah National Forest and actually has a trout hatchery on site. It was very informative for those of us from the coast! They raise brown, brook, and rainbow trout here to stock in the region. I asked how long the trout live and they said they keep them in the raceway tanks until they are 10" long (2 years +) and expect them to survive about 2 weeks in the streams before they are caught by fisherman! Seems like a lot of work, but fly fishing is a serious sport in these parts.

Overall we had a really great time and actually learned a whole lot. Now its back to the grind for a little while!

Excursion Day

While I'm not really into hunting or fishing anymore, that's a lot of what we do at work... and Excursion Day was actually pretty fun! This is an annual event where the county invites all of its residents to see our center and enjoy free activities, like climbing the lighthouse and visiting the Whalehead Club (both of which are normally $7 each) plus they provide a free picnic. Ben and I took full advantage of today's activities, I mean, when in Rome...

We competed at archery, where neither of us actually hit the bulls eye but had a fun time trying to out shoot each other. We put about 10 arrows each in the kill zone, so I guess we're pretty decent. **Notice the new hairdo in this picture!

Ben tried out the laser shot program, which is basically a bigger, fancier version of Duck Hunt for Nintendo. You stand in front of a screen and "shoot" the wildlife with a play rifle. He was really good at shooting clay pigeons!

To top off our day of work- we posed next to Grave Digger, yes, that is a monster truck. Parked right in front of the Whalehead Club, which is so funny because its very fancy over there. Who knew Currituck County is home to the famous Grave Digger?

New Age, New Haircut

Its all chopped off! Ten inches from the Sarah-hair farm will be sent to Locks of Love to be made into wigs for kids with cancer. Ben was a good sport and took pictures while the stylist and I chatted and laughed. It feels much MUCH lighter and only requires about 1/4 the shampoo!

**Sorry we forgot to take an "after haircut" picture... will post one soon :)

Happy Birthday To Me!

I've been having a wonderful birthday celebration- for days! I guess that's an only child thing, to celebrate your b-day over and over again :) Ben orchestrated a surprise dinner party at a tapas restaurant, you know the kind where everyone orders several little appetizer-sized entrees and you pass them around the table sampling everything. It was WONDERFUL and very thoughtful of him to invite 9 of our friends to join us! As if spending gobs of money on dinner with friends wasn't enough- he also showered me with gifts! I'm very excited to get started with my Aerogarden! In just 3 weeks, it should look like this picture. Combined with my breadmaker cookbook (thank you Mom!), we're set for a long cold winter on an island, haha! Thank you to everyone for all your kind wishes, I feel so loved :)

A Learning Weekend

Ben & I traveled to Fayetteville for a workshop on Amphibians of North Carolina. It was really fun to see our friend Matt before he deploys to Iraq and hang out at his new house! We had such a fun time exploring the middle of the state; we stopped at a several nature centers and took Mavie on hiking trails. And yes, Ben looked for birds!

Our workshop was really cool- we learned about lots of frogs, toads, and salamanders. We hiked around Clark Park and found lots of cute little critters, the two in the picture are both southern toads. There are about 22 species of frogs and toads in eastern North Carolina!

Then on Saturday, while my old friends were celebrating National Estuary Day (sigh, I miss you guys!), Ben and I were out at Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge in honor of National Hunting and Fishing Day (who knew?) The event was sponsored by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and Ducks Unlimited, so the kids received a t-shirt and hat, fishing rod and reel, bait and a tackle box to keep. There were prizes for the heaviest and longest fish and hot dogs for lunch (I ate chips and cookies instead!) We did have a good time- it reminded me of when I used to go to those tournaments with Dad and Rayme, and when I won a nice pole with a 16" trout! The part of the refuge that we were in is not usually open to the public, so Ben got lots of bird-action: 36 species! Not bad for a day at work :)

Maverick's Shenanigans

The Currituck Sound does not experience traditional tides like the ocean; its tides are wind-driven. We've been experiencing some very strong north-east winds and as a result, there is an extreme low tide on the sound right now. Maverick thinks that this means he has more play area, since there are vast areas of mud exposed where there is usually water. He has been a manic running around through the mud and grass, loving life! We went over to the Whalehead Club and where the old landing strip for planes had washed away, you could see the pilings that are normally underwater. He's squinting his eyes in this pic because its so windy!

And with these NE winds comes some cooler weather! We've had our windows open for a week now and even had to dress a little warmer to play outside (yes, that is a scarf around my neck- it isn't even this cold in January in Florida!) Of course, Ben and Maverick love it outside while Sarah and Otis seek the sunshine filtering through the skylights!

Speaking of Mav loving the outdoors right now, he's discovered that a "kitty cat" likes to hide in the massive pile of bicycles next to our house. The rental store downstairs apparently isn't renting many bikes these days because there are a ton, all lined up, providing stealth cover for the cat. Everytime we go outside, we allow some extra time for "kitty cat hunting" :)