P.S.

I almost forgot....I wanted to say thank you to my visitors I had my last week! Josh's mom and two of his siblings came to visit as well as their friends Jonathan (also my Israel travel buddy) and Shruti (who they stayed with in Seattle). It was so good to see them, they drove me around the island and I gave them a mini tour.
Also Yvonne from San Luis stopped by with her family and I showed them around the place. It kind of felt like the beginning of my assimilation back into society, as I saw more and more people from back home.
It really is beautiful up there, so I highly recommend visiting the San Juan Islands if you ever get a chance!
over and out

TIme to say goodbye

^ O'o and Coho all grown up


^Holding the young bald eagle for it's inspection


^Marion's turn to hold the eagle


^ Janel feeding the bunnies


^More bunnies!


^Mr. Whitenose...our protector!


^Shrike and Ocelot meeting each other for the first time!


^ Marion and Ocelot finishing up swim time


^Kat feeding Wolf


^ The raccoons resting atop their tree fort


^ Celeste and Hannah at the lavender farm


^ Pi in the sky!


^ Ben and Hannah checking out the tide pools at Lime Kiln


^In the garden at British Camp


^Shruti and Jonathan and the gang enjoying some deep-fried-goodness!

So this is my last post (sniff, sniff) and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to finally do it!
I finished my internship last Wed and flew into LA where I spent the weekend with Josh's family and went to his cousin's wedding. It was definitely a shock going from a place with no streetlights to a major metropolitan area!
I was so sad to leave Wolf Hollow, the island, all the animals and the wonderful people I met there! As you can see in the pictures the animals were all growing up, the raccoons have graduated to the big tree fort area, and even some of the harbor seals are about ready to be released! It was so cool to be there and see their progression but it went by so fast that I hardly had time to notice!
Two of the little harbor seals died while I was there and it was really challenging thing to go through. They are the animals that we have the most contact with and they even get names, so to see two of them die felt like even more of a loss than some of the other animals. One of the seals Concho, who was the illegal pickup, left us unexpectedly because we all thought she was going to make it. Little Ocelot though was having a very rough time, but came a long way and we really thought she was improving. All in all, I'm glad I was able to experience wildlife rehab at it best and worst moments because that's what it is like in reality.
One funny thing that I learned while being here is that most of us want to work with animals because we don't want to have to deal with people. This can make for some interesting situations, when you put a whole bunch of us together. We interns actually got along really well, but there were some issues between the staff members that made things a bit awkward at times and ended with one of them deciding to leave. Having people skills is just as important in this line of work, especially because we are constantly interacting with the public, and with out them we wouldn't be able to do our job.
Even through all the craziness, this was still one of the best summers ever, and reaffirms the fact that I want to work with animals for the rest of my life. It was so sad to have to leave but I was really missing all my family and friends so I am so glad to be back! I was so isolated out there! I can't wait to finally be able to call people and reconnect with them, so prepare yourselves...you might be hearing from me soon!
I'm off to San Diego Thursday for my cousin Zach's wedding...woohoo! Family Reunion! So that's it and thanks for reading!
Love, Jana

Back in Sunny California!

I flew into LAX last night and will be staying with my friend Rachel until I go to a wedding here and then finally back to Morro Bay!
I am loving the sunshine and can't wait to go to the beach....it was stormy and rainy for the last few days in WA so this is a good change!
Once I can use my own computer again I will get my pictures and make my final post...so don't give up on me yet!

A whale of a tale

^ Orca! I finally saw them!


^ Stormy skies make for great sunsets


^ Katherine and Jessica feeding the big kids


^ Some more fishies from me


^ Kat and I preparing for butchery


^ A fox!


^ "PUT YOUR BUTTS HERE"


^ Kat, Janel, me, and Katherine out on the town


I forgot to mention that about two weeks ago two of the other interns and I went to the outdoor theater here. There is a professional theater troupe that puts on free productions that are entirely sponsor funded. Every summer they put on Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', and it was really good! We sat on blankets right in front of the stage, and there were people all around having picnics and sipping wine. I'm going to have to steal my friend Kevyn's comment...it was "very artsy", that's the only way to describe it.

Last Friday the storm let up just enough for me to go whale watching! I only got one decent picture, everyone else had intense telephoto lenses, so needless to say I was ill equipped. It was so amazing seeing them jumping and playing around, there were even newborn calves! We boated around the entire island, and of course we found them in the exact same spot were I had been kayaking previously. It would have been awesome to be up close on a kayak, although I probably would have peed myself! Legally we had to keep some distance from the shore although not all the boats did so. Our captain got on the radio and called them out on it...so they eventually backed off. Everyone on the boat was really nice and I chatted with them a bit, and pointed out harbor seals on the rocks. I even practiced a little Spanish by saying hello to the Colombian family that was on the tour. I rehearsed in my mind what I was going to say and they understood me, but then it got a little awkward because I got flustered and couldn't respond to what they were saying. I just giggled and kind of walked away. On the way back the sunset was amazing! There was just enough light out were it was possible for me to ride my bike back, but before I did a really nice couple offered to take me home! They somehow managed to fit my bike in the back of their tiny rental car, and I was so thankful for the ride, because on the way back it started raining!

We have so many seals now but they are growing up so fast and starting to eat on their own. The best news is that none of them are on midnight feeds anymore! woohoo! We are just hoping this will last a while until we get more!

Monday night we had a bonfire at the beach! Nothing says summer like a good bonfire, so I was loving it! We got to hear the ocean, see the stars, and make smores...it was sooo good! The "beach" was more drift wood than sand, and there were so many huge pieces, that people had used some to build little shelters around the fire pits. The staff conveniently forgot to mention until now that we could use the truck after 9 when the late shift is over! Now we are making plans for more nighttime adventures, like watching the meteor shower next Monday night! Driving that truck is so much fun...my favorite part is the little squad car light on top. At the beach I flipped that on and scared all the hoodlums! hehehe
*Of course I have to mention yet another brainless thing I did! While on the beach I could have sworn I heard a whale spouting out water. So I ran down to the shore and after hearing it again, jumped out onto a rock outcropping and slipped right into the water. I didn't get too wet...my shin absorbed most of the fall and I got a nice goose egg to show for it!

D - Double E - Double R - U - N....DEER RUN!
Kat and I went on a deer run the other day to pick up a carcass off the side of the road. We were both a little too excited about it, hence the pictures. It was kind of sad seeing the poor dead deer but we had to lighten the mood. We moved the carcass onto our property so all the vultures wouldn't get hurt trying to eat it. But before we let them fill their bellies, we cut off the hind legs and "back strap" to feed to our raptors. I was fine doing it(I guess my Meat Science course came in handy after all!) but I think the staff gave us "the honor" in order to toughen up Kat, because she's super squeamish.

I released another bird this week (don't worry this one was planned), a little 'killdeer'. Penny, the rehabber, said "Ya, go take it over to the horse ranch on the Ring's property". I was thinking that Ring was the name of the family or something, but come to find out she was talking about the movie! The really creepy, scary movie! Apparently the story was based on the woman who owned this horse ranch and kept her daughter in a well so she could spend more time with her horses! That was a spooky journey out there! I saw two foxes while I was out there which made the release a little tricky, but I didn't need to worry about the little bird... he was up and flying in no time!

Sad day! Katherine left on Wednesday! We went into town to have dinner at a nice little Italian place, in honor of her. It was expensive but worth it, even the out-of-place taco salad looked like a culinary masterpiece! Then we got some yummy icecream...if there's one thing Friday Harbor doesn't have in short supply it's ice cream shops! (and bookstores, and coffeshops, and restaurants!) They also have a lot of quirky signs, like the "place your butts here" over the cigarette canister. It just screamed photo op!
Now there's an empty bed in the house because one of the interns decided not to come! About eighty people applied and only ten were accepted in the spring. Just a few weeks ago she e-mailed to say she was going somewhere else and hoped it wasn't an inconvenience! I couldn't image turning this opportunity down! It has been so amazing, and I'll be very sad when it comes time to leave (two weeks!). Until then I'm the go-to-girl who should know everything by now, but I'm still working on that. ahh, but the best part is that I have first dibs on the special assignments, it's funny how things like going to the dump somehow become glamorous just because it's a change of pace!
Now that I'm the next to go I feel like the clock is ticking! Hopefully I'll be able to savor and make the most of these last two weeks!

Catch and Release

^Release of the 3 amigos!


^Coho in the big pool on a rainy day

^Mr. Killdeer in his kiddie pool

^The devious raccoons

^ A wild shrew!

The other day I got the chance to go out and be a part of a release!(picture above) We let the three amigos(a mallard, wood duck and merganser that had been 'roommates') and another mallard back into the wild! It is so cool to see this happen because it's the center's main goal to have every animal be released. The mallard had an injured foot prior to release, but she took off as soon as I let her into the water. The other three stuck together like always so it will be an interesting situation for them once it comes time to migrate!
The seals are growing up fast and some of them can now eat fish and live out in the big pools. Recently we got a ninth seal, Concho, who has become somewhat of a celebrity. The local news stations have been calling trying to get more info about her because she has quite an interesting back story. Apparently some woman picked up Concho and was parading her around on her boat for a day. The next day the police found the seal in a backpack in the woman's car after she was stopped for running a red light! Now this woman faces a possible $10,000-$20,000 fine and/or jail time! Yikes!

Among all the planned releases that have been going on lately, I've also managed to almost release many other animals. It happens to everyone, but it seems that I have had more than the usual number of animals try and escape from me! The other day I was moving two mallards to a bigger pen. There were some technical difficulties, and while the second one was in the net it managed to jump out and take off down the path! I had to call for backup to lure it out of the wild rose thicket that it had waddled into! It took a while and everyone got a little scratched up but it was a good lesson...one that I should have learned from. A few days later I went to feed a crow and broke the cardinal rule: always latch cage doors behind you! The crow managed to sneak by me and hopped outside (fortunately it couldn't really fly very well). I tried to throw a towel over it but it ducked into the seal nursery and came out the other side where I cornered it. Somehow no one saw this commotion but I was sure to tell them about it! They said that there are sometimes 'unscheduled releases' but this could be classified more as a flight test; if the crow was ready to fly, he would have been long gone!
The older raccoons have made a jail break on one of the staff members, and in the picture above the little ones are trying to figure out how to do the same!
What I've really enjoyed while being up here is that everyday I'm able to see wildlife roaming around, like the bald eagles, deer, foxes, and yesterday for the first time I saw a shrew!

We had another switching of interns this past week. While it was sad to see another one go, it is also exciting because now the house is all girls! Things haven't changed that much, but we did have a dance party the other night. We've all been cooped up a bit due to the rain this week so we have to find other ways to get out some energy! Hopefully I'll get a chance to go outside soon, possibly even go whale watching! That's all for now!

Long time, no update!

^The reason why we were so busy the past few weeks! These little cotton tails take so long to feed, fortunately some have grown up, but sadly others didn't make it




^ I finally got a good view of the Island from Young Hill, a nice little hike on the west side



^Our Red Tailed Hawk got released back into the wild! Yay!




^ Shrike and Eskimo...two of the newest harbor seals! We now have eight! Eskimo is "my" harbor seal because I got to name him...at the bottom there's a video!



^ Barn and tree swallows...some of our MANY birds!


Sorry I haven't updated for a while! I've just been getting lazy I guess!

I've done a few harbor seal midnight feeds so far and at first it was a little spooky! It's very dark and quiet out there but after a while things feel like a normal work day. My first night was the worst though, because earlier that day one of the interns asked if there had ever been any gruesome murders on the island because she's always scared when she's out there. Of course that's all I could think about, but we have Mr. Whitenose the cat to protect us, so it's all good! (BTW there haven't been any reported murders)

Exciting news...I got a library card! I had to bring in a note from the center saying I'm living/working here on the island, but now I'm in! I've been getting old movies to watch here with the other interns, like An Affair to Remember. After seeing Sleepless in Seattle I always wanted to see this movie, all the other girls said the same thing...we all loved it, talk about an emotional roller coaster!
Last week I went on a little hike up Young Hill, that had an amazing view of the west side of the island. Back home there are so many hills and mountains to climb, I was really missing that! It was good to get a view my surrounding, maps just aren't the same! On the way back I stopped at a little country store to buy some eggs and fresh ice cream. There are so many little farms around here(even an alpaca ranch), but unfortunately I have to work during farmer's market, so this was a nice treat!
One new thing I got to do at work was practice holding the owls! It's tricky because you have to wear these giant gloves so it's hard to tell if you have a grip on their little legs or not. I guess I didn't quite have a grip because while we were feeding the Barred Owl it reached out and clasped onto the other girl's finger! I felt so bad, fortunately there was no blood but it was still shocking!
I have a lot of homework to keep up on, but I'll update if anything new and exciting happens!

If you ever see a harbor seal pup on the beach, don't interfere. It's actually a federal crime to touch, harass, or even come within 100yds of a marine mammal! A lot of people don't know about that, but people have actually been prosecuted. Some of the seals we get were separated from their moms because people didn't know she was just out fishing and they decide to move the pup, and then the mom can't find them. Here's a little clip of Eskimo so you can hear how loud these little guys can be!

Finally some exploring!

^ Kayaking trip on west side of island



^ Me tube feeding one of the harbor seal pups



^ Exhibits from the whale museum



^ British camp and the telescope view of an Osprey nest

A quick update:
I got to do some really cool things during my days off, in addition to catching up on some schoolwork! One thing was a sunset kayaking tour, which was free! A few businesses like to support Wolf Hollow by offering discounts or deals to staff and interns so I was really thankful I was able to go. It was beautiful out there; we saw Canada in the distance, the Olympic peninsula to one side and Bald Eagles swooping around on shore and over the water. The best part was when a humpback whale came just along side my kayak! It totally took my breath away! Our group was bummed we didn't get to see any Orcas but it was a treat to see the whale because they aren't seen around here very often! The only down side to the trip was that because it was sunset I had to take the taxi home and it was ridiculously expensive, but it all ended up being worth the trip!
Good news! I'm now officially signed off and can feed the harbor seal pups on my own! I kind of have mixed emotions about it though...now I GET to do midnight feeds all by myself, they really now how to take advantage of the free labor around here :0)
Another free excursion was the whale museum, fairly small but very cool and educational! I learned a couple neat things because I don't now very much about marine life. One is that the orcas don't ever sleep, they just shut off one half of their brain occasionally and navigate the waters with the other half! Also seals, and a few other animals, have delayed attachment when they conceive, where a fertilized egg just floats around until she's done nursing her other pup!
I also went with or Education Coordinator to the British Camp (the island used to be occupied by both the British and America at one point), where we talked to people about wildlife. It was nice because I also got to walk around a bit and see more of the island that I probably wouldn't have gotten to on my own!
The days have still been long and crazy but fun too! The interns got a pizza day today as a 'thank you' for being troopers. It definitely helps knowing you're appreciated, maybe not paid, but appreciated!