Only three weeks left of the program, and I’m finally feeling the crunch. Last week was almost entirely lab work, and the slow pace of that work is beginning to concern me. Setting up the equipment isn’t terribly difficult or time consuming, but each run can take up to 90 minutes and I’m doing three runs per sample. With almost two dozen samples left to run, and water holding tests to do after those are complete, I should have a full week ahead of me.
One of the downsides so far has been the complete lack of beavers in my field work. I have seen all kinds of snakes, fish, moose, etc. But in my study of beaver habitats, I have yet to see a single beaver. I have seen signs of them, from freshly cut trees to blown out dams being rebuild. But the furry critters themselves keep to their lodges when I happen to be around. I’m hoping to score one more field day before the internship is over, if for no other reason than to arrive before dawn and catch a few of them at work.
