And so begins another internship...

Week 3 back in Ohio, week 2 at my new internship at the Cincinnati Nature Center as 1 of 3 education interns. I'm living at the Nature Center in a lovely house with one of my best friends and previous co-workers from Glen Helen, Amanda. (She is 1 of the other inters, but has been here for a term already, and is the reason I knew about this position in the first place.) Aurora, the 3rd intern, lives close by in Kentucky. So far work has been a completely new learning opportunity, as I have never worked for an organization this large and well-funded, but also with a pretty laid-back attitude. My boss, Jason, jokes a lot and seems to be an amazing educator. I think I will learn a lot from him.

So far we're just training and doing projects. We won't have any school groups until mid-September, and when we do they are just day field trips, not week-long programs like at the Glen. In the eight days I have worked so far we have: hiked and hiked some more, attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a Playscape that will open in fall 2011 (where kids can play and discover in nature without rules!), explored creeks, turned lots of compost for an educational display (and found a juicy grub in it and fed it to a black widow), built a wigea from start to finish (see pictures below), labeled grafted pawpaw trees (and looked for ripe fruit to eat), dismantled shelves in a dusty, dark barn, worked at a weekend Creek Romp and caught crayfish & salamanders & snakes & mussels & frogs, etc., attended a fish-shocking workshop by the ODNR, put up a rope "spider web" for kids to climb on, and planned and planned for upcoming events... And I assure you I am forgetting plenty of things! But that's what sticks out. Who knows what the rest of this week will bring!

In my spare time, I've been able to see many friends from the Glen, have some cooking and baking adventures, try to keep my room clean (haha), and experience some fun local activities. The Cincinnati area has so much to offer! The week before work started I got to hang with some 1st term Glen friends (Allie, Tim, Hong, Jesse, & Amanda) at Tim's house on Indian Lake in Russells Point, OH. Lots of swimming, jet-skiing, pontooning, bird-watching, & lounging! Then Amanda and I went to the Glen last week to help put on an example Evening Program (skits, songs, etc.) for the new naturalists. It was really fun and nice to meet everyone. Amanda and I also went canoeing last weekend on the Little Miami River with Glen friends Stephanie and Jesse, Hannah and Phil. Amanda, Eric (Amanda's boyfriend, also a previous Glen co-intern) and I hit up the Taste of Blue Ash last weekend and ate some delicious treats such as creme brulee cheesecake and berry crepes and vegetable samosas and cream puffs, just to name a few! Good music, too. Went to happy hour with some younger co-workers at a place called By Golly's. Hahaha! Anyway, now that my computer is working again (hard drive failed and it has been out of commission until today) I should be able to update this more frequently, or at least more coherently and less jumbled mess... Pictures below to go with the above jumbled mess. :)

At a pond at work. There were so many frogs in the water, on the banks, on the lily pads! There was a chorus of ker-plunks that preceded us as we walked, as the frogs jumped into the water to avoid us!

dragonfly

Pawpaw fruits in the trees! I can't wait to eat one!

Behind our house. Yes, I do live here. Yes, it's okay for you to be a little jealous. Just remember I don't get paid much, so they compensate with experience and fabulous views.

Found this hummingbird nest (I think?) while exploring at the Nature Center. If it's not a hummingbird nest, my next guess is Fairy Slipper.

O.M.GGGGGGG! If you look closely, you can see the wing on the inside! The golden parts looked like glitter. So beautiful!

Ah yes, the Wigea. Apparently it is a Native American shelter that would've been used in this area in the past. We started in the morning cutting down saplings and trimming off branches and leaves. Then we transported them to the above location (a play area for early childhood visitors), dug 12 deep holes in ground that has not been rained on in quite some time, and tied the trees together to form the skeleton of the wigea that you see above. Looks simple, but it took us a whole day to construct this thing! Our hard work paid off though, after we attached a canvas for our finished product! (See below.)

Me, Aurora & Amanda in our wigea!

Jesse & Amanda swimming in the Little Miami on our canoeing adventure.

Rest stop! Hannah, Stephanie & Phil on the Little Miami.

Stephanie, aka Badass McGee, jumped off this ginormous tree! My hero.

Fish shocking with the ODNR at the CNC. Their net is the only electric part, and it generally doesn't hurt the fish. Pretty cool. We saw ~15 different species of fish!












The white sucker! Our favorite! We touched its lips and they were so soft!







Baking adventures with Amanda! We tried to make strawberry banana muffins. They didn't turn out too well, but I think it's because I accidentally put in too much salt and baking powder. Oops! They look good though, don't they? :)






Ripe pawpaw that Jason found and brought in for us to eat! I am going to eat that so-and-so tomorrow!!! Report coming soon! Like, maybe tomorrow soon.