My job has got a lot busier in late August because we are now in the herbicide treatment season for Phragmites, and we are up against a moving target of the first hard frost, which could come any time in October (which means the work has to be done in time before a date we don't know). The plants start to store energy to make it through the winter in the late summer/early fall, and that makes it a really good time to effectively treat them with the herbicide. Lately every day has been packed with trying to set up contractors and get the last minute arrangements in place. I can't say I've ever had to make arrangements for a helicopter to take off and land before! We expect to get started this week and should be able to finish by the end of the month, if the weather cooperates. We had rain last week and winds so far this week, which are the two things that make it a lot harder to get the work done.
To top it off, I started a second part time job after Labor Day at the Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission, also working with managing Phragmites on a different project- this one funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (from EPA) to promote recovery of the Green Bay/Fox River Area of Concern, which has been impaired due to historic pollution from industry in the area. I will also be developing some outreach programs for different audiences, and already have attended a couple of meetings in just a week of work. So far, so good.
So then once I was working full time, I accepted a last minute third job teaching a biology lecture class this semester at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay! I start the animals section of the class on October 26 (the first half of class covers plants). While I am pretty busy right now, all of this work will be over by the end of the year, so the chaos will be relatively short-lived.
After a quick flight "back east" to PA over Labor Day weekend for my dear freshman roomie's wedding (congrats, Karen and Brent!), Mom and Dad came to visit last weekend on their way to the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan for their vacation. We had a nice visit and nice weather- we spent one afternoon up in Door County visiting Door 44 Winery, Door Peninsula Winery, and Door County Distillery, and checking out the shops and lighthouses in Sturgeon Bay. And of course, a trip to Culvers!
Sturgeon Bay Pierhead Light- much warmer than last time we were here!
Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Light- on an active Coast Guard Station
We finished off the day watching the sunset at Potawatomi State Park. The view from the shoreline was great, but the climb up to the top of the observation tower made it even better!
Sunset behind Green Bay
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