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The view made the day worthwhile.
Sep. 12th, 2010 02:57 pmLast Wednesday was a busy, busy day. A.J.'s seventh grade class had a special field trip planned to go duck-banding at dawn, but there was a catch: only 20 students' names would be drawn. On Tuesday, A.J. learned he was one of the lucky ones! I was really hopeful they would let me attend as well, wanting to have some pictures for A.J.'s school scrapbook, but the office staff couldn't grant permission. They told me to arrive ready-to-go and hope for the best.
I did just that. I got out of bed at 2:50am (I was too anxious and wasn't sleeping anyway), and then I woke A.J. at 3:45. We'd planned all of his clothes and things the night before, so he got ready for the trip, as well as packed the things for the rest of the school day afterward. We arrived at the school at 4:30am, and the bus was roaring in front of the school. I ran inside, found Mr. Walz (A.J.'s science teacher) and said, "Hey, can I please come with you guys? I'd love to take pictures." He said yes!
I moved my car to the staffing side, and we all loaded up in the bus. It was the darkest of blacks as we lumbered down the highways in extensive morning fog. We went down small roads and eventually reached J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge. It was still the color of midnight when we stepped foot off the bus for a restroom break in the Refuge offices before heading to the water's site. It was very cool and windy, but I couldn't help myself from standing and staring at the sky in awe - the stars were countless and amazing! With no lights anywhere near, it almost seemed as if more stars popped up visible the longer you gazed.
From that moment on, the kids had to be super-quiet. As we approached dawn and the water, the bus pulled to a halt, and we waited in absolute silence. We turned off our cell phones (there wasn't any service anyway!) and didn't even chance a whisper. The silence was paramount to the birds feeling safe to flock and feed once the rockets went off and the nets went out. Within half an hour, we heard the soft boom! of the feed rockets, and we saw the smoke curling against the faintly lit sky. It was time.
The nets formed an apron and captured the birds as the bus moved closer. We shuffled out of the bus and straight up to the ducks - hundreds of them. Just as the kids moved in to begin sorting the birds, I turned to catch the sunrise over the water's edge:
The kids worked for a few hours, becoming cold, muddy, and sometimes, pooped on! Every single one of them had a fantastic time, though. They were hyper and chatty the bus ride back to the school, all wishing they could come to the Refuge and do it again!
We arrived back just after 10am, in time for the kids to head to their 4th period of the school day. I raced home, gathered a box, and then headed out to Jack's school to have our traditional Wednesday lunch together. The tables seemed more crowded than usual, and I sat across from Jack and very close to a new student from Louisiana. He was engaging, and had the entire table enthralled as he told them of alligators in the marsh at his old base. :-)
After lunch, I delivered some cookies to a teacher in the school. I came home, grabbed my list and ran a few errands, and then I prepped several boxes for mailing. I went to the post office, and I made it home just a few minutes before A.J. arrived. We gabbed about the morning, and then I set to making dinner and cleaning house a bit. I worked hard the rest of the day/evening, and when I crashed into bed at 11pm, I was POOPED!
There will be more pictures soon from the actual duck-banding trip. I'm working on them right now. :-)
I did just that. I got out of bed at 2:50am (I was too anxious and wasn't sleeping anyway), and then I woke A.J. at 3:45. We'd planned all of his clothes and things the night before, so he got ready for the trip, as well as packed the things for the rest of the school day afterward. We arrived at the school at 4:30am, and the bus was roaring in front of the school. I ran inside, found Mr. Walz (A.J.'s science teacher) and said, "Hey, can I please come with you guys? I'd love to take pictures." He said yes!
I moved my car to the staffing side, and we all loaded up in the bus. It was the darkest of blacks as we lumbered down the highways in extensive morning fog. We went down small roads and eventually reached J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge. It was still the color of midnight when we stepped foot off the bus for a restroom break in the Refuge offices before heading to the water's site. It was very cool and windy, but I couldn't help myself from standing and staring at the sky in awe - the stars were countless and amazing! With no lights anywhere near, it almost seemed as if more stars popped up visible the longer you gazed.
From that moment on, the kids had to be super-quiet. As we approached dawn and the water, the bus pulled to a halt, and we waited in absolute silence. We turned off our cell phones (there wasn't any service anyway!) and didn't even chance a whisper. The silence was paramount to the birds feeling safe to flock and feed once the rockets went off and the nets went out. Within half an hour, we heard the soft boom! of the feed rockets, and we saw the smoke curling against the faintly lit sky. It was time.
The nets formed an apron and captured the birds as the bus moved closer. We shuffled out of the bus and straight up to the ducks - hundreds of them. Just as the kids moved in to begin sorting the birds, I turned to catch the sunrise over the water's edge:
The kids worked for a few hours, becoming cold, muddy, and sometimes, pooped on! Every single one of them had a fantastic time, though. They were hyper and chatty the bus ride back to the school, all wishing they could come to the Refuge and do it again!
We arrived back just after 10am, in time for the kids to head to their 4th period of the school day. I raced home, gathered a box, and then headed out to Jack's school to have our traditional Wednesday lunch together. The tables seemed more crowded than usual, and I sat across from Jack and very close to a new student from Louisiana. He was engaging, and had the entire table enthralled as he told them of alligators in the marsh at his old base. :-)
After lunch, I delivered some cookies to a teacher in the school. I came home, grabbed my list and ran a few errands, and then I prepped several boxes for mailing. I went to the post office, and I made it home just a few minutes before A.J. arrived. We gabbed about the morning, and then I set to making dinner and cleaning house a bit. I worked hard the rest of the day/evening, and when I crashed into bed at 11pm, I was POOPED!
There will be more pictures soon from the actual duck-banding trip. I'm working on them right now. :-)
