A daily blog to keep my friends and family up-to-speed with my 3-month sabbatical at the Finnish Forest Research Institute (METLA) in Suonenjoki, Finland. For my birding friends, I'll post the "new" birds seen each day.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Thursday, 18 Jun


We were up by 8:00, but since I couldn't get into the grocery store last night, we were forced to have a PB&J kinda breakfast. At 9:00 we headed to the store to pick up some food for lunch and dinner before heading to the field. The parking lot was packed. Why was the entire town of Vindeln going to the grocery store at 9:00 am on a Thursday morning? Maybe they should stay open longer in the evening!! Now fully stocked, we headed out for sampling. The afternoon found as at the Norrliden sites. I believe they are the buggiest sites on the planet. We were no sooner out of the cars when the blackflies and mosquitos descended upon us, and then didn't leave us while we worked on the plots. The work went well. I excelled at my "strong back, weak mind" assignment. We managed to dig up 5 plots, 4 more to go tomorrow. Dinner at the hostel, and now we are processing the "parts" we retrieved today.
Bird of the day: Hazel Grouse (lifer).

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About Me

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Moscow, Idaho, United States
I'm a research plant physiologist with the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Grassland, Shrubland, and Desert Ecosystem Program. I'm also the National Nursery Specialist for the Forest Service.