Biking with Yellow-rumps

Since I won't be getting any nice days off this spring, I have to enjoy nature when we can't burn. Light rain and 60 degrees isn't so bad, so I chose today for my first spring bike ride. I rode the Gateway Trail, an old railroad bed, from St. Paul to near Stillwater--36 miles round-trip. My only mistake was not packing food and water, since the drinking fountains along the trail were still shut off for winter. By mile 14 my body was running out of fuel, so I ended up taking frequent rests until I could refuel and re-water at a Burger King at around mile 28. Yellow-rumped Warblers were my constant companions once I got out of the city. Small groups of them, some with kinglets as well, were searching for insects in debris on the trail or watching me from the low branches. I probably saw close to 50 of them by the end, which seems high for this early in the year. I hope they can survive the coming cold, rainy, snowy weather.

No work til Monday on account of weather and broken equipment. Time to go help Ed plant the garden in cold mud, just like in past years.

Long days

I owe my occasional readers an update. Trouble is that my time has disappeared. I worked 12 hours on Sunday, 9 hours yesterday, 10.5 today. The weather has been good for fire, and we have clocked 3 burns in the last 3 days. Sometime, if I feel like it, I will write about our crew and the 8-foot wall of flames we had yesterday. But tonight I am looking forward to going to bed early...

Acceptance, the pack test, and more annoying ATV training

First day of work today, and the burn crew looks like a good group. Two burn bosses and four crew like me, all guys and most in a similar place in life. We started the day with a mountain of paperwork before moving on to the most-annoying two-hour computer ATV training. This was followed by some pretty simple ATV riding and the beginning of some fire training. By this point it was 3:30 and it was too nice to stay inside, so they hauled out the 40-pound vests (MUCH more comfortable than packs) and announced the pack test. The test was rather anticlimactic, a fast walk down a nice trail along the train yard. As it turned out, I matched pace perfectly with one of my co-workers, so we chatted throughout and finished in 39:58. One guy, in great shape, finished in about 38 minutes, and the bosses and the rest of the crew rolled in at about 42.

Michele was waiting with a letter from OSU when I got home, a very simple letter saying that I am accepted. So it is finally official!

Accepted!

Name and Address
Name:	Markael Daniel Luterra
Current Address:	559 Humboldt Ave Saint Paul, Minnesota 55107-2916 Ramsey
Phone Number:	651 3075945
Admission Term:	Fall 2008
Admission Type:	Domestic Student
Decision:	Admit
Current Program
Doctor of Philosophy
Level:	Graduate
Catalog Term:	Fall 2008
College:	College of Engineering
Campus:	Oregon State - Corvallis
Major and Department:	Biological & Ecological Engr., Biological & Ecological Engr
Date Created:	Jan 29, 2008
Documents Required
		Received	Note	Status
College Transcript		Feb 13, 2008	Carleton College
College Transcript		Feb 05, 2008	Southwest State University
College Transcript		Feb 04, 2008	Utah State University

Not much notice, just the subtle addition of one line in the table. Decision: Admit.

Now I can get on with my life...

A good thing?

My OSU application no longer says "pending department decision." It doesn't say anything else either, unfortunately, so I'm not quite sure what that means...

I've got a job!

A short job, but a job nonetheless.

I'll be working on prescribed burns on SNAs (Scientific and Natural Areas) with the DNR from April 14-May 23. Pay is $13 per hour plus time-and-a-half for overtime and weekends. My hire is, however, contingent upon me passing the "pack test" on my first day of work. For the test, I will have to speed-walk three miles in under 45 minutes while wearing a 45-pound pack. Probably doable, but the manual recommends 4-6 weeks of training. I have 10 days, so I'm hoping I can at least come close to 45 minutes on my first try. Time to drive out to Renville to get my pack, fill it full of rocks, and start getting myself in shape!