Chesno Buck

This is my cousin, Julie Buck. She's a great gal with tons of talent, kindness, and passion for what she does. And, she's really good at it too.

She needs some help paying for grad school and we all know how expensive that can be. I had to take a 6 year commitment in the Army to pay for it.

So, she has set up a blog to ask for help with grad school expenses. Please help her out. She's a wonderful person who does great work, and all she's asking for is a "buck".

Chesno Traitor?

So, am I a traitor?

My chances of going to Afghanistan with my Army buddies came to a screeching halt on Sunday when I was told that I had to renounce my Canadian citizenship to get the required top secret security clearance to go. I did not renounce it and now I am not going.

That is probably for the best, but I can't help but feel a bit like a traitor when my brothers-at-arms are going off to battle with our newly-allied Afghani friends, and I am staying home because I pledge allegiance to another country.

But, I guess that's something I have to work out on my own.

Chesno Giardia

So, two days ago I was on one of our little "walking" trips as my co-worker likes to call them. He is quite the fit fellow and his favourite activity to do is go walking. So, to him, hiking is like "extreme walking". [I've used too many quotation marks already in this entry. I will try to control myself from now on.]

So, we are out for work surveying, he for plants, I for wildlife. We are on a 7 hour hike in 90+ degree (F) weather that takes us across MANY canyons, up and down, and up and down again and again.

About 4.5 hours or so into this, I run out of water. We were close to a small remote stream fed by snow melting high above us, so I figured if my choices were to hike for another 2.5 hours in that weather without water, or drink from a stream, I would drink. And drink I did. The water was cold and clear. At least on the macroscopic level.

I don't know what was there in the microscopic level. Could there have been a dead deer laying in the stream half mile up? Could a bear doing one of its famous poops in the woods happen to choose the stream as its location? Could I have just ingested giardia?

We'll see. Giardia has a 7-10 incubation period. Come next Tuesday if I am doubled over with terrible diarrhea and stomach pains, the answer will most likely be, "yes". However, I could probably use the time off of work.

Chesno Geek

Those of you who know me know I have many diverse interests. You probably know I am also a geek.

While I was out this week doing something as manly as flying in a helicopter looking for birds of prey, I had to soil the eveningtime with something truly geeky. I went to three different stores in small Richfield, Utah looking for a Star Trek movie. I finally found Nemesis at a local rental store and actually signed up for a membership I will probably never use again just so I could get a Star Trek fix.

Pathetic.

Chesno Chicks

So, last night I got back from two days of flying in the helicopter looking for raptors . . . again. This time we didn't "go down". I have a serious case of tired butt. Pretty sure that is the medical term for it.

Anyway, we were lucky enough to find a peregrine falcon nest, barn owl nest with eggs, see lots of owls, hawks, and falcons, and tons of golden eagle nests. Most were old and inactive but there were two that we found that each had three chicks similar to the picture included here (similar because these are bald eagle chicks not goldies).

All in all it was a pretty good trip, but I am still recovering from my dramamine "trip". I feel like a am going to fall asleep every 15 minutes. Now I know why the package said "Less Drowsy" and NOT "Non Drowsy". At least they were honest. I was "less" drowsy than certain times in Iraq when I went without sleep for 30+ hours.