These past Monday and Tuesday nights, Db and I helped out the Northeastern region do their Black-footed Ferret surveys in Vernal, not too far from the Colorado border. In case you've never seen a black footed ferret. . .
To learn more about this endangered North American carnivore (not rodent!), here is a link to the Black-footed Ferret Recovery Program:The survey involves Db and I driving the same small area of the boonies from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., looking for bright green eyeshine. If we were to find the eyeshine, we would run out to the hole, grab a trap, and set it hoping to catch the ferrets. However, that part is all theoretical.
This is how it actually panned out. I promise, it is a sorry scene.
It is 1 a.m. Both our windows are rolled down. Giant spotlights are attached to the roof of our truck, each with a handle that extends down into our windows so we can maneuver them. It is somewhat cold, and we are driving, so I am wearing a clean sock on my hand to keep it from freezing.
Db is lying next to me, asleep. There are twinkie, kitkat, and Baby Ruth wrappers sprawled everywhere, not to mention a few empty cans of Mountain Dew and Cream Soda. The crew happily provided us with they nutritious snacks. Needless to say, my stomach is a little edgy.
As I drive along, I am listening to one of two things on the radio: country music or UFO talk radio. The "scientist" is describing, in a boring monotone, how aliens and ghosts are the same thing, beings from an alternate dimension. I listen waiting for the crazy callers. Got to love those drunk crazy callers.
When I am listening to country music, I keep waiting for my new "favorite" country song. The lyrics go "I can take you for a ride on my big green tractor. We can go slow, or we can go faster. . . " Perfect. Instead they keep replaying this horrible song were the singer gave up "smoking, women, and drinking. And it was the worst 15 minutes of his life."
Occasionally on the hand-radio (after all, we have a whole team sprawled out on the horizon), we hear one of those guys shouting about how he found a coyote and it is his turn to shoot it. Awesome. DWR is, after all, a hunting agency created for and by hunters. So half the dudes are really looking around for coyotes to shoot. I guess it needs to be done. They need blood samples, but really, I shirked my duty by leaving one coyote to his evening.
At dawn Db and I get to go to a trailer and sleep, today for only 5 hours. Truck fever and a headache and no sleep. I am not a happy camper. Only one more day.
No comments:
Post a Comment