What a long strange trip it's been...

Well folks, the time has come to once again close this chapter. I can't believe that 4 months have already past. This has been one of the most amazing opportunities that has ever been given to me. I will treasure the experiences and most importantly the friendships I have developed.

Grateful Dead had it right (that's right Tyler I am quoting the Dead), "what a long strange trip it's been" but now it is time to "hang it up and see what tomorrow brings"! I am heading back home and now it is time to see what is next for me in the world of science. But I will never, ever forget this place, and these people!

So, for all of you who have been on this journey with me, this tribute is for you:

Until next time!

Sincerely,

Your Field Biologist

"The camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity"

The title of this blog post is a quote by French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson,  the father of modern photojournalism. What does this have to do with field biology you might ask? Well, Cartier-Bresson also once said that "a photograph could fix eternity in an instant" and I completely agree. I want to remember this experience for years to come, and photos are the way to do so. For the most part, I have been taking photos throughout my internship using my easy-to-use point-and-shoot Panasonic in order to document this amazing journey. However, I have also taken my Nikon D90 Digital SLR camera out on some spontaneous adventures. Just my bike, my music, and camera. So I would like to share with you today some of the photos I have taken throughout my journey here in The Bahamas, taken with a both a point and shoot and DSLR, photos that were taken underwater and on land, and photos of human and nature subjects. I hope you enjoy.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS20

 Beautiful Sunrise!

Sunrise from my tent on Surfer's Beach

Birthday Cake rock in the Hatchet Bay Caves

Caught Schoolmaster Snapper handlining

Setting the last anchor of the longline

Green Sea Turtle caught in Half Sound 

 Diving at the Cage

Diving at the Cage

Diving at the Cage

Diving through the Tunnel at Tunnel Rock

 Corals at Tunnel Rock

 Corals at Tunnel Rock

Corals at Tunnel Rock

Large palm trees located at the abandoned Club Med

Nikon D90 DSLR

 @ High Rock

 @ High Rock

 @ High Rock

 @ High Rock

@ High Rock

until next time!

Sincerely,

Your sometimes photographer Field Biologist

In the Aftermath - Tales from Hurricane Sandy part 4

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay. Immediately after the hurricane we lost internet connection for a couple days and since then, we have been very busy getting back into the swing of things. We all made it through the hurricane unscathed with one more interesting story to tell. The campus also managed to sustain minimal damages:

• The Wet Lab lost 4 roof panels, one of which got blown across the road
• Aquaponics lost a couple of their shade sails and posts, even through they were secured before the Hurricane
• The Island School had
• 1 toppled Flag Pole
• countless destroyed plants
• 2 fallen trees
• Mangroves held up quite well with few losses (which just proves why mangroves make such amazing storm barriers!!!)
• Surprisingly the wind turbine held up ok, and for days afterwards was moving with such ferocious speeds the sound could be heard all across campus

 

I spent a few hours on the Saturday following the storm, along with the other Interns and Island School kids, cleaning up campus. In particular, we righted the flag pole and attempted to save the large almond tree that got blown over. We dug out the ground for the roots and tried to pull it back up with the truck but the cord snapped. We ended up propping it up with a 2x4 until we could get the crane truck in to do most of the heavy lifting. It now seems to be doing ok.

What I think was absolutely amazing was for days after the storm passed, we still experienced extreme winds! So much so that the wind turbine was still running at amazing speeds!

I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who sent me well wishes during the storm. They were very much appreciated! I hope everyone who got hit by Sandy along the East Coast of the United States are doing ok as well and my thoughts are with you!

until next time

Sincerely,

Your Field Biologist

Don't Worry, Be Happy - Tales from Hurricane Sandy part 3

Hey Everyone!

Our internet/phones are being very unreliable right now. I have managed to get a call home to let my folks know I am ok. But since I am unsure when I will get cut off again, I thought I would share with you my Ultimate Hurricane Sandy Playlist to enjoy while you wait for my next update. We rocked out to this playlist last night, and it certainly kept me happy and calm. I recommend everyone make this playlist as it is a great combination of everything! I feel particularly proud of my creativity in some of my choices (Queen's "Under Pressure" in particular...LOL Pressure, Get it?). I have listed the songs by artist but I would highly recommend hitting shuffle as it adds an element of surprise and livens things up each and every time.

Enjoy!


A Fine Frenzy - Blow Away
ACDC - Highway to Hell
Amanda Marshall - Let It Rain
Barbra Streisand - Don't Rain On My Parade
Beach Boys - Fun fun fun
Beach Boys - Wouldn't it be nice
Bedouin Soundclash - When the Night Feels My Song
Bette Midler - I Think It's Going To Rain Today
Billie Myers - Kiss The Rain
Blondie - The Tide Is High
Bob Dylan - Shelter From The Storm
Bob Dylan - Rainy Day Women
Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
Bob Dylan - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
Bob Dylan - Blowin' in the Wind
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Against The Wind
Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry, Be Happy
Bon Jovi - Wild Is The Wind
Bon Jovi - Get Ready
Carpenters - Rainy Days And Mondays
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Who'll Stop the Rain
Duffy - Mercy
Eagles - Take It Easy
Eagles - Life In the Fast Lane
Eagles - Take It to the Limit
Elvis Presley - All Shook Up
Film Dialogue - Stay Home
Frank Sinatra - The Summer Wind
Frank Sinatra - Stormy Weather
Gene Kelly - I'm singing in the rain
Guns N' Roses - November Rain
James Brown - That's Life
Men At Work - Ain't Nothing Gonna Break My Stride
Michael Bublé - Summer Wind
Muddy Waters - Sittin' Here Drinkin'
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
Poison - Nothin' But a Good Time
Queen - Under Pressure
Queen - Hammer to Fall
Ray Charles - Old Man River
R.E.M - It's the End of the World as We know it
Sammy Davis Jr. - Something's Gotta Give
Scorpians - Rock you like a Hurricane
Supertramp - It's Raining Again
Sweet Thing - Change of Seasons
The Beatles - Come Together
The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun
The Beatles - Good Day Sunshine
The Beatles - Yellow Submarine
The Beatles - Octopus's Garden
The Beatles - Rain
The Blues Brothers - (I Got Every Thing I Need) Almost
The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go
The Rankin Family - Forty Days and Nights
ZZ Top - Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell

Later folks!

Your Rock-n-Rollin Field Biologist

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Against the Wind - Tales from Hurricane Sandy part 2

Hello Everyone!

I survived! Not that I had any doubt. Fortunately, the campus has a back up generator so I am able to provide everyone with an update even with power outages happening elsewhere across Eleuthera.

What a fantastic experience that was last night! I have never heard winds that loud. A couple other Interns and myself tried to watch a movie on my laptop but even on full blast, the dialogue got completely drowned out by the wind. Below is a series of videos taken by a couple of the other interns as the storm progressed throughout the day yesterday. As you can see by the last video, you can hardly hear what they are saying as the wind picked up:

Noon on Thursday, 10/25 Sandy on the way

4:30 on Thursday 10/25

Walking to dinner, 5:15

The beach is gone, 5:30

Going outside is not smart anymore, 6:15

We got hit pretty hard right around 6 pm and that continued right into the wee hours this morning. This next video is of the Hurricane "proof" windows bowing in the wind as the storm hit us full force (around 9 pm last night). The vibrations created by the windows acted like a giant bass drum making sounds we thought were coming from thunder at first. I thought that was really neat! Also what you will hear in the video is not static, that is the wind and rain battering the windows:

When I woke up this morning, the wind had completely changed direction. Winds are still strong, but have significantly lessened from what they were last night!

I am off to help re-plant 2 of the large almond trees that got toppled last night, but I will send another update later today...provided we still have power.

Sincerely,

Your Hurricane-Surviving-Tree-Saving Field Biologist

Rock you like a Hurricane - Tales from Hurricane Sandy part 1

Well, right now I am sitting through my very first Hurricane. Literally  right now! As we speak Hurricane Sandy is hitting us head on. Sandy is a Category 2 Hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds of 105 miles per hour (Yikes!!). Normally Cuba and Jamaica would have slowed down this puppy, but no, it decided to pick up speed. as it went over land!

We spent the last 2 days of preparing the campus for this tropical event so I feel relatively prepared...well as prepared as I can be for my first ever Hurricane.

Walking across campus a couple hours ago, before the storm got too bad, I spotted the first downed tree. So, I have decided to bunker down in one of the buildings on campus (where the Interns have stocked their food) which is very secure with its reinforced hurricane "proof" glass. Right now I am enjoying the view and listening to my Hurricane Sandy playlist. It consists of 3.5 hours of music (56 songs) and includes medleys such as:

Scorpions - Rock You Like a Hurricane
R.E.M - it's the End of the World as We Know it
Bob Dylan's - Shelter from the Storm and Rainy Day Woman
Amanda Marshall - Let it Rain
Barbra Streisand - Don't Rain on my Parade
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band - Against the Wind
Blondie - the Tide is High
Frank Sinatra - Stormy Weather
-among many others....

I will try to give you guys reports as this storm progresses but for now, here are some pics from, as Bob Dylan would say, my shelter from the storm.

and it will only get more intense as the night goes on...

Later folks!

Sincerely,

Your not-even-remotely-willing-to-engage-in-storm-chasing-happy-in-my-hideout Field Biologist