Well it's been long enough that I feel like I should post a new update. I was worried that not enough has happened since I last posted to really justify it, but it turns out I've been quite busy. My alternative plan had been to do a "meet the reindeer" type post, but I don't think anyone has the patience to read something quite that long (read: I don't have the energy to write it). So the photos will be of specific reindeer I've met thus far, but the text will be mostly unrelated.
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| Clarinet was the first of the females that I learned to identify. She's one of the dominant cows, so she's generally a leader in the herd. Her defining characteristics? She has a giant head and is pretty much bomb-proof when it comes to interacting with visitors. |
Since I last posted, I've been putting in a lot of work on my dissertation project. Unfortunately, I discovered some issues with my potential sample sizes (not enough first time mothers). I did figure this out soon enough that I've been able to adjust and, I think, salvage the project itself. Rather than looking at the effect of maternal experience on behavior, I will be (have been) going through a whole mess o' historical records do determine how maternal experience affects calf survival to some early milestones. In all actuality, the new research direction will likely produce a much stronger piece of work than my original ideas could have. Unfortunately, it means that my days are now filled with data processing (sitting in front of a computer) rather than field observations (hanging out with reindeer).
Despite the changes, I've done my best to take a break each day from slogging through records to go out and see the animals (which is something, as I've only managed to allow myself 2 days off since I came up here at the beginning of March). The best opportunity to completely forget about my database came just yesterday afternoon, when I was invited by Fiona and Hen (two of the resident herders) to come and help out administering a vitamin/mineral supplement to our 67 females/calves. The animals are not particularly fond of this sticky, orange syrup though, so it ultimately amounts to a bit of reindeer wrasslin'. Which was awesome. I learned the technique for restraining a reindeer, and after my first few tries got to be pretty respectable at it. I won't bore you with the details, but to an untrained observer it probably looked like I was putting each deer in the ol' sleeper hold. I would have taken some pictures but didn't, due to a combination of poor lighting in the shed, constant activity with the treatments, and a general fear that someday animal rights activists will find find this blog and continue a long train of overreacting to normal, humane husbandry procedures. You'll just have to trust me that it was awesome. How awesome? Let's just say that by the end of the night I was covered in reindeer eyelashes...that's right, reindeer eyelashes. If there's any combination of two words more magical than that I'd love to hear it.
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| Spider is one of last year's calves. She is generally pretty shy, so I don't really interact with her much. She is quite pretty, though, which seems like a good reason to include her (I don't know what I'd do in a world where looks counted for nothing...). |
Alongside all my research work, I've been putting in a lot of time on my PhD application to the University of Alaska. There's not much involved in this that I think you all would find interesting except that I will have to take the GRE. Pardon my British, but this is bollocks. It seems like a complete waste of time, energy and money to require this test from applicants who have not only proven themselves in undergrad/professional realms, but will already have a postgraduate degree. There's almost no university outside the US that requires a similar standardized test (including some of the top universities on earth), and they all seem to be doing fine. I'd love to see just how much this standardized test actually indicates success in the future.
Also, I just don't want to take it.
The added stress of preparing for this test (including not really having time to study at all before I take it on the 14th) is really bumming me out.
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| Mantis is probably my favorite of all the reindeer. He is almost a year old, but acts like he's much larger (poking everybody with those "antlers"). He is super-scruffy and a little weird - if he were human, he'd be one of those awesome kids who have mullets and wear snowboots year-round. |
Oh well. I suppose it's just another due that needs paying if I really want to do this. In the interest of preserving my sanity, I've been trying to find some new music to listen to. After a bit of a lull in the music discovery business (I was doing very well just before Christmas time), I stumbled across some great new bands that haven't really hit it big yet. One of these groups, a husband and wife duo who call themselves "Shovel's and Rope" have been playing on my computer almost non-stop for the past week. The song I've tried to include here is one of my new favorites, but they have several more that I love as well. I'm sure you can guess that they play a similar Americana style to those bands that I normally listen to, but they're sufficiently different to pass on a recommendation. Hope it works.
