Hi, merry Christmas, happy new year and all that. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on here. I got puppy, I’m obsessed and she’s perfect. I’m also tired and busy and prob won’t be here much.

Hi! It’s been awhile! Was contemplating not even coming back to this site but here I am.

Field season is over, and I’m getting really focused and honed in at the gym. It’s hard to balance workouts and field work.. it’s hard to balance anything and field work really.. so this is a nice routine I’m starting to build.

Getting lots of saddle time with my trail crew, including one 7+ hour ride to a brewery that was quite the adventure. The days are getting shorter though and that means these rides are becoming less frequent.

I’ve had more time for the pup too! A few lovely fall hikes and some romps at the dog park. We went for our first run in what feels like a life time (maybe since May?!) and she did so so good

Work is still busy tho and I’m so stressed about a big event this weekend. Next week is a well deserved vacation so I just have to make it through Saturday. Oh and there are now baby lions at work so it doesn’t all suck. Actually I’m still just completely obsessed with my job and I had a great quarterly performance review and I just really really cannot believe I’m lucky enough to get to do what I do.

I’ve also gained a decent amount of weight :/ not ideal but I’ve realized that it tends to happen during field season. I remember feeling the exact same way this time last year and I managed to lose weight in the winter. I actually think this off season will be even more dramatic as I enter this new gym phase. I have just never felt this much excitement about going to the gym. Or this much comfort once I’m at the gym. It kinda feels like a 2nd home, I have a routine now, I’m really hitting my groove and most importantly I’m enjoying what I’m doing.

So yeah overall life is great, not much has changed. A few areas to improve on tho:

- eating habits. Im slowly making progress towards not snacking as much at night. Eating less processed foods too.

- drink more water dammit!!

- my relationship with s. We’re not exactly bad, things are fine I guess? But we’ve had some communication issues and overall it’s our first year of marriage and I want us to be jiving and having fun and it just feels like we’re doing our own thing and too comfortable in this routine.

It’s been such a joy to settle back into routine after a hectic field schedule. I’m getting to the gym and the barn more regularly (it’s been a week) and still getting a few hikes in as field work winds down.

Last Friday’s hike was truly my perfect day. Leaf peeping, sunny summit naps, amazing veggie burger and a cider afterwards. Saturday I went on a trail ride and galloped around a field, took a dip in the lake and rode to the taphouse for a wine slushy. Sunday s and I hit the gym and then lounged and watched football most of the day. Perfect weekend.

Field season is coming to an end! One more long camping trip to go. Last week’s trip was certainly an adventure.

I brought s along and it’s always so validating having him recognize how hard (and incredible) my job is. We did 20+ miles in 2 days with some tough bushwhacks and horrible weather. It was peak fall one day and then we got our 1st coating of snow the next!! We ended up packing and leaving a day earlier since I was prepared for the rain and hail but not quite for a few inches of snow. Still it was such a good trip exploring a new part of the state.

Did way too much this weekend. 3+ hour horseback ride and then gym and woke up feeling sore all over, still went out for a hike to peak a new mountain and now my knee hurts..

I did my undergrad in Zoology and I have a masters in Evolutionary biology & conservation. But many of my coworkers are field techs and just have an undergrad degree. If you’re interested at all in this career path I recommend applying for seasonal field work positions, they’re typically entry level (you may need an undergrad degree) but don’t always require much experience. It’s a great way to see if you like this kind of work.

I just don’t feel very connected, there are a million things to do that would make me feel better in the long run but I choose the instant gratification option instead.

Quick recap of the week..

Swam with the ponies, hozier was incredible as always, went backpacking, Nori has a new sleeping spot, put on a work event all by myself and it went really well ((: