Day 9: Montani Semper Liberi

I am well aware that White Tail Deer are not limited to West Virginia. Anytime that I see a White Tail Deer, my thoughts immediately return to West Virginia. As a child I would climb trees and wait for them to walk by my hiding place. They were the spirit of the mountain forests that made me into the man I am today.

This morning while hiking to our lake survey site, I counted eight deer running away from us. When we arrived at the pond, a mother and her two fawns were drinking on the far side of the lake. During the morning survey, there were deer at every turn. What a fitting way to celebrate the 150th birthday of the mountain state. No matter where my journey takes me, West Virginia will always be my home. Montani Semper Liberi, Mountaineers are Always Free!

Our survey today was almost completely fruitless. We saw fish, deer, even a musk rat that nipped at a team member’s boot. If not for the eleventh hour heroics of Brian, we would have returned to the training center completely empty handed. The canoe group spotted a turtle staring at me from the water’s edge. While I distracted him, Brian crept up from the side. The turtle was on to us but it was too late. A leaping pounce captured our first specimen a half hour before quitting time. A few minutes later, we had our second turtle of the day. Yes, the one stick streak is still intact. Viva la streak.

I am getting closer to actually catching a frog. I was able to touch one this morning before he disappeared into the reeds. While hiking back to the truck for lunch, I proudly announced my small feat to our team. Danielle replied, "Well, you have to walk before you can run." Before the next eight weeks are over, I am determined to catch a frog. When I do you can bet that I will be running to the nearest keyboard to announce it to the world.
 
Highlight: While staying out of the way of the wildlife experts, I managed to find a tibia from a deer. It was not in the best condition but I thought it was neat so I kept it. When we met back up with the rest of the team, I learned that Danielle had found the skull, a femur and a humerus. They are now adorning a table on the back porch of our cabin. In the afternoon, I added os coxae to the bone collection.

Lowlight: I was covering the hillside on our afternoon survey while the team covered the water’s edge. As they moved forward, I saw motion in the tall grass in front of me. Parting the grass, I laid eyes upon my amphibian nemesis, The Green Frog. He must have heard from the others that the best chance for escape was to head towards the tall guy.
 
I called for a net and positioned Matt to block the frogs escape. Holding my hands in a 'V' shape, I made my move. Matt stood up with my frog in the net. My delight at seeing my plan executed to perfection was short lived. The frog squirmed, squeaked and escaped right through the net. I could not believe my eyes when I watched him make two leaps and land directly in the water to swim to freedom.