The Family Dog

Also in June, my brother got his family a dog. I was so excited for him. Then his family discovered they were getting something even better than a dog: A baby brother. And rambunctious puppy + pregnant mommy = difficult situation. So I got a phone call: "Libby, do you want my dog?" I said I would have to talk to Mic about it hoping that he would be the logical one because I am a total push over. Alas, Mic, like I, believes that we are the saviors of animals in need. And so "Sniffer"- Ella came to stay with us.

She has a beautiful black coat and gorgeous brown eyes. She is a Weimaramer and black German Shepard mix.

She looks glamorous at first,

But look at her laughing at me! She knows she's a powerful ball of destruction. "Sniffer"-Ella came into our lives to show us that even though we thought we were patient people, we are wrong. And so it is the job of "Sniffer"-Ella to teach us patience.

As she settles into our lives and our hearts.

The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

As part of my goals for the new year I decided that, whatever Mic decided, I would begin to make choices for where I wanted to be and not necessarily what the best thing would be long term or even short term. This summer marks 3 years since I received my Bachelors degree in Anthropology and not utilizing it was beginning to bother me. June 2010 marks my 33rd birthday. I do not believe that it is old, but it is definitely too old to be waiting for life and career opportunities to begin. Since field school would be expensive and probably not possible in the near future, and since I didn't really want to do archaeology if it meant being away from Michael, I decided to explore what other jobs were out there for someone with an anthropology degree. I was pleased to find the the federal government had many options and one really close to home:

The Fish and Wildlife Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

I worked as the the summer leader for the Youth Conservation Corps on the refuge. I was an amazing experience. I was able to plan work activities for the corps. Much of the time was spent doing maintenance like weeding are structures, painting an old duck blind, and organizing storage facilities. BUT, I was also able to get my group opportunities to catch and tag geese off air boats, catch and tag seagulls chicks, wade through the reeds to catch and tag white-faced ibis chicks, monitor snowy plover nests, and do service at local animal care places. Although by the end of it the kids were glad to see me go and I wasn't all that sad to see them go, the summer itself, the work, and the learning was AMAZING!!