This morning my classmates and I met Dan Gardoqui for the first time. I hope it won't be the last. Dan is nothing short of what anybody might call an expert on animal tracking and deciphering the intricacies of the woodlands. I mean, this guy has on hand an assortment of acorns he's personally picked off the forest floor, each with its own pattern of teeth and claw 
marks, and he can, with ease, tell you which critter got to it. He stealthly led us on an hour+ excursion through what Eleanor, one of our instructors, likes to call "the thick of it." He somehow accidentally (and often purposefully, depending on clues he's followed) leads us to marevelous sites; a singular camoflauged baby grouse near an intact bright blue egg in a perfect nest; a clean white doe skull atop a small mound of leaves; the nesting tree of both an elusive scarab beetle larva and flying squirrel family. It was the perfect way to spend any day. Dan has the kind of skills, temperament, and of course, job that I would happily devote the rest of my life to. It was a pleasure to meet him, and I now have a token of our experience with him - a "quick guide" to commonly seen animal tracks and scats of North America. It will be put to good use.
I hadn't even gotten over my envy of Mr. Gardoqui when we all trekked to meet Randy Warren at his family farm abutting Tamposi woods. Randy, who is now 57, shared with us all the personal, political and environmental challenges of how he finally ended up owning and running the family farm he grew up on. Now, nobody would ever dream of asserting that a farmer's work is easy work, but after spending time with Mr. Warren, I was longing for a life in
the fields. You can see in his face and attitude that he has greatly labored to become what he is; to keep his family and farm alive and healthy. But more importantly, you can also see in his face and attitude that there is nowhere else he'd rather be. Randy long ago left behind a money-and-benefit-promising job for his life on the farm. He and his family know more about the history of the land and the importance of respecting relationships between humans, animals and plants than most people ever could. It was endearing to meet a man with such a connection to the land that to sever him from it would mean negating who he is.
We're three days in now and getting to the meat of why we're here. We're touching on tough issues like the benefits and challenges of different teaching methods, and hearing budding debate on what it really means to be organic or free trade. I'm definitely excited to see what comes next.
marks, and he can, with ease, tell you which critter got to it. He stealthly led us on an hour+ excursion through what Eleanor, one of our instructors, likes to call "the thick of it." He somehow accidentally (and often purposefully, depending on clues he's followed) leads us to marevelous sites; a singular camoflauged baby grouse near an intact bright blue egg in a perfect nest; a clean white doe skull atop a small mound of leaves; the nesting tree of both an elusive scarab beetle larva and flying squirrel family. It was the perfect way to spend any day. Dan has the kind of skills, temperament, and of course, job that I would happily devote the rest of my life to. It was a pleasure to meet him, and I now have a token of our experience with him - a "quick guide" to commonly seen animal tracks and scats of North America. It will be put to good use.I hadn't even gotten over my envy of Mr. Gardoqui when we all trekked to meet Randy Warren at his family farm abutting Tamposi woods. Randy, who is now 57, shared with us all the personal, political and environmental challenges of how he finally ended up owning and running the family farm he grew up on. Now, nobody would ever dream of asserting that a farmer's work is easy work, but after spending time with Mr. Warren, I was longing for a life in
the fields. You can see in his face and attitude that he has greatly labored to become what he is; to keep his family and farm alive and healthy. But more importantly, you can also see in his face and attitude that there is nowhere else he'd rather be. Randy long ago left behind a money-and-benefit-promising job for his life on the farm. He and his family know more about the history of the land and the importance of respecting relationships between humans, animals and plants than most people ever could. It was endearing to meet a man with such a connection to the land that to sever him from it would mean negating who he is.We're three days in now and getting to the meat of why we're here. We're touching on tough issues like the benefits and challenges of different teaching methods, and hearing budding debate on what it really means to be organic or free trade. I'm definitely excited to see what comes next.
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