This week was relatively uneventful. Both jobs went well all week, nothing too interesting to report. The worst of it was that I had a couple come in this afternoon, and the husband was complaining about the refuge (and government/wildlife management in general) having too many rules. How dare a small portion of the beach get roped off for a few weeks so endangered birds can successfully nest, when people want to drive their cars on the beach? Why can't taxpayers camp inside the renovated lighthouse, even though it's so rickety inside it's a hazard to be in there? Why can't people go fishing on the specially protected land even though we are on the coast and there are miles and miles of beaches to fish off of? Fortunately, the refuge manager overheard, and finally stepped in to rescue me. It's not my fault, people! Other than that, I spent my week mostly still working on the anniversary posters. The first one is finished finally, hooray!

Here are some more photos! I accidentally forgot the cord to my camera at home, so my wonderful family just mailed it to me - thanks guys!

Wild strawberries! (Fragaria virginiana)

Another herring gull. They're everywhere!

A Gray Catbird, they really do sound like mewling kittens

A pretty butterfly, according to my Google sleuthing it is a Red Admiral!

Beach Plum! (Prunus maritima)

Horseshoe crabs...almost stepped on my toes they got so close...

Jealous?

Beach Rose (Rosa rugosa)

Starflower (Trientalis borealis)

The salt marsh area of the refuge

Forget-me-not! (maybe?)

:)

Not much to update right now, I'm mostly here to share pictures!

A herring gull, I watched him flap about and
eat for quite some time!

This weekend went pretty well, I was on my own again but I've gotten the hang of it a little more so it was more comfortable. The ferry for the seal tours started on Saturday, so I was a little busier, but most people didn't bother to come inside so it was mostly the same as last weekend. However, being mother's day, the ferry didn't run on Sunday, much to the dismay of many of my visitors. I had some pretty interesting people, including a German couple, and a guy who thought that "the ocean ruined the beach" since the last time he visited, about 20 years ago...okay then.

Some pictures I took on the beach Sunday afternoon:

I'm not sure what these cute flowers
 are...must investigate!

You can't see it, but it said "mom" and "love" above,
but "Smile" is my favorite part anyway :)

Today I started my second job, working at a cafe for some extra cash. It went pretty well, although it's interesting working for a small shop, as I've only worked at coroporate/franchise-type places before!

To the left is a little bunny who was sitting outside when I was about to walk in!

As hoped, Sunday went well. Again, I was on my own, and it was a little busier because of the nicer weather, but still slow most of the time. I mostly worked on research for the even with the schoolkids. Something really exciting happened, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to disclose it, so you will have to wait in mystery until I can tell everyone!

Monday and Tuesday were my days off, so I mostly hung out, watching TV, visiting with the housemates, and the like. Monday we've established as Bowling Day (it's $1 bowling, woo!), so we did that Monday evening. I am horribly out of practice, but had lots of fun! We also tried candlepin bowling, which is pretty cool - the pins are much thinner and less curvy, and the balls are about the size of a softball! It was pretty neat.

Wednesday I spent again working on the presentation, but as it turns out, it got cancelled because it was raining! I'm not sure which is worse, scrambling to put together so much information and working so hard, or not getting to use it at all! As others have pointed out to me, at least I have the experience down, and I'll have the handouts and the like ready for next time.

Today was cold and rainy all morning, but it cleared up around lunchtime. It's still windy, but very nice outside! I mostly spent my day working on the 300th anniversary presentation...the poster is turning out really well! I can't wait until it's finished.

Today I ran the Visitor's Center by myself for the first time today! Until the other intern gets here next month, everyone else is on a M-F schedule, and thus, I was alone.

Nothing very notable happened...there was a grand total of 24 people that came in, and I was able to field most of the questions, and got to play the "sorry, I'm new!" card for the ones I couldn't answer! Everyone was super nice, and it was interesting seeing how far away everyone was from. A tour group came in (as it turns out, there's a man who does a guided walking tour of the area, including some of the refuge), including a couple from England, and an Asian couple (I couldn't tell what language they were speaking!) I found it pretty funny that the first two people of the day were from cities near where I grew up.

Lets hope tomorrow goes just as well, as I'm on my own again.

The past few days have been relatively uneventful. Yesterday, the woman who hired me and works for the entire refuge complex came down to visit, and we spent the day sprucing up the visitor's center, dusting it off and making it pretty for the new season.

Today I spent the day preparing for a presentation I'll be working on next month, which is part of a celebration for 300th anniversary of the town we're in. Although the bulk of the research has been done, I had to organize and construct a timeline for 300 years of history! Times three, as it includes information for our refuge, for the town as a whole, and then comparing it against national/worldwide events. How daunting!

This weekend will be my first time running the Center alone, as all the regular employees have the weekend off...I hope I do alright! It's been rainy and overcast the past few days, not to mention still in the off season, so there hasn't been too much traffic. I kind of hope it stays that way this weekend, so I'm not too overwhelmed by myself!

And now, time to work

The past few days have been rainy, windy, and chilly (I guess this is Massachusetts's way of saying welcome), so we didn't spend much time on the beach. We did plenty of sight-seeing, including Provincetown and the Pilgrim Monument, which honors the Pilgrims first landing there in 1620. We also checked out the Cape Cod Brewery, which is pretty amazing! They had a special Cinco de Mayo brew this week, where they infused one of their brews with poblano, serrano, and jalapeno peppers - it did have a kick, and you could definitely taste the peppers, but I really liked it!

Throughout the weekend, we had been craving ice cream (especially when we first arrived, when it was warm and sunny), but as it is still the off-season, most of the places weren't open. We were determined, though, and investigated every ice cream shop we drove by. We finally found one with the lights on, but quickly discovered that the store wasn't open, the woman was only in there preparing it for next week. However, she was kind enough to sell us the ice cream she had just gotten in that day!  Everyone here has been incredibly nice so far.

Sadly, our mini vacation had to end, and my family went home this morning. Shortly after, though, I began my first day on the job! As most first days go, I spent the entire time listening to my new bosses talk to me about the upcoming summer. I'm definitely being thrown in the deep end - a week from today, a group of students will be driving up from New York to listen to me for an entire afternoon! I have to prepare at least 2 hours of material, including some special requests from the teacher for wildlife we don't really even manage for (namely whales...which swim by but don't really need our help). Hopefully I can do it! I also have to prepare for the town's 300th anniversary celebration, and World's Ocean Day at a nearby aquarium.