When it’s a remote workday, that’s a day to work overtime gathering data from the field. I gear up for the clinical setting of my workspace, and while there is no air conditioning in these areas, it sure beats a day in a windowless office!
So here I begin with my cheep entertainment for the day.
Answer calls and emails. Check.
Set up a meeting. Check.
These are things I do from the field, whether it’s stop one, stop two, stop three or four.
I put on my work hat and grab my keys, calendar, notebooks and computer.
I drive to Stop One.
As I leave my driveway, I put my window down so I can hear the sounds of nature all around me. I never know what wildlife will appear, so I keep my camera near to collect rich data in the field.
At Stop One, I check on the Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers in the tree by the park, and at Stop Two, I visit the House Sparrows under the pavilion. All the way to the Red Oak Covered Bridge, I listen and do a head count of my feathered friends. Some are pairs – they fell in love online, and the rest is history. They follow each other on Twitter, these left-wingers and right-wingers – – they tweet in unison.
These are my Georgia red clay dirt roads with the rocks that grit underneath the tires while warm air blows in through the windows and cool air through the vents with the only radio the song of birds – and crickets, even in the daytime.
Along the way, I have a chat. A Yellow-Breasted Chat, to be exact. Second one of these today. Add that to the count.
The tally grows. Collecting data in the field is hard work, but someone has to do it.
I like to use the data to bridge the gaps….so I’m always on the lookout for just the right bridge. Come along for the ride with me if you dare, and more alarmingly if you trust my driving. There’s only a 9-foot clearance (the sign says there’s also a 3-ton weight limit).
Mom waves a red flag over there from the bushes, reminding me to slow down, make sure my seatbelt is fastened, and drive safely. Thanks, Mom!
And my buddy the Eastern Towhee, in magnificent abundance here in this rural area of middle Georgia, reminds me to watch the ditches on the edges of the roads – – this is no easy place to have be “tow”ed.
A full morning of data gathering is complete, so I check my “calls” once again and return home to analyze my data.
I have no egrets about spending my morning working so hard.
It’s all in a day’s work.
Common Threads 