At the end of August, we finally wrapped up our 2.5 years of field work! At times, it felt like it was never going to end, but here we are. We pulled everything from the field and packed it away into boxes again. We left a few cameras that were deployed on the small mammal grids so we can continue to overlay some carnivore data on those long-term small mammal monitoring grids. For those of you who have worked on this project, we kept grids 2, 5, and 8 (yikes!). We were able to transport all of our equipment in 2 neat and tidy trips, and just like that field work was done.
After some vigorous scrubbing, the place that we had called home for so long looked like we had never even been there. Even the stench of skunk was beginning to dissipate before we had packed all of our personal belongings into our cars.
But one thing was for sure, getting all of my personal belongings packed and moved up to Corvallis was no easy task. Scott and I had been living in 3 separate places over the course of these 3 years, so it was difficult to know exactly how much stuff we had both acquired. And unlike our field equipment, nothing fits very neatly and nicely.
Four trips later, (and, yes my car looked this full each time) I had finally moved all of my things from the H.J. Andrews and Eugene.
On our last night in the H.J. Andrews, we also made sure to properly dispose of all the invasive false brome that had been drying in our closet. I have to admit, toasting marshmallows on false brome seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was not the delicacy that one might expect. After "drying" for a year, this false brome was definitely still quite moist and smoldered for some time.
And just like that, I said goodbye to the Andrews Forest. Thanks for all the memories. I hope to be seeing you again soon.
My Thorn (a woe): Never quite being able to fully appreciate this place while I was in it.
My Rose (a joy): Getting to work in this amazing temperate rain forest and old-growth forest.
My Bud (something to look forward to): Data analysis!