Week 12 - Last week in 2010

Week 12

Gilead

This week we're back on the mainland working on a site along the Snoqualmie River that lies between Duvall and Carnation.


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More after the jump!


Monday - Paul Adler spent a generous amount of time explaining the history of the site and the scope of the project. The site is right behind Camp Gilead, a bible camp, and was comprised of 2 ponds situated West of the Snoqualmie. After a debate on what was to be done with the 2 ponds they calculated the elevation to channel a connection with the river. Many factors, primarily flooding related, went into this decision. It was quite interesting to hear the process and hang ups invovled.

Snoqualmie River

The Spoils - A site where levee remnants were relocated to.

Afterwards we got to work with staking of willows on the larger pond and planting of bare root alders and skirting them with black fabric. While we were working on the planting, Kris worked on decommissioning some of the old paths that would have attracted ATVs and dirt bikes.

Beaver Dam breach

Beavers doing what beavers do.

This was the first time that I got to wear the chest waders and I must say that I am a fan! I've never been so clean after work!

Woodpecker holes!

Tuesday - Today we were surprised with new gloves and our own clippers! On the way to the site another surprise awaited us in the form of doughnuts!  The remaining sections of the site was set for underplanting of Western Red Cedars, Douglas Firs, and Western Hemlocks.

Crazy Western Red Cedar growing around a fallen tree.

The areas to be planted were fairly dense and some areas were unplantable due to the presence of knotweed stands. (When the knotweed returns they will shade out anything under their canopy.

Wednesday - We finished planting cedars and hemlocks, finally moving onto cutting down holly trees and removing English Ivy from trees. Max and I took down some hefty holly trees. It was rigorous and tiring but we found it very satisfying and amusing.

One of the Holly trees that we cut down with hand saws.

After we trekked back to the truck we found a delivery of Douglas Firs from our awesome IP, Jen. We planted a few and took lunch. The girls took on the task of planting and skirting Sitka Spruces; this became our task for the remainder of the day.

To cap off the day we buried the Douglas Firs to prevent them from acclimating to the warm and dry environment of the bags that will trigger them to start growing like they would in the spring. The energy expended is necessary to keep them alive through the winter.

Comp Day - 12/29/2010

An opportunity to work  came up to earn a comp day; essentially a free pass to use when needed. This was an opportunity to wrap up a few projects before the end of the year.

I was assigned to finish the planting and skirting at Gilead. We had a slight twist in our day... SNOW! As we ascended into the highlands we began to see snow accumulate on the roads. Going through some of the hills we ran into people struggling to make it up. With our 4x4 going we slowly but surely made it to the site.

The snow began to pick up dramatically and we became unsure of the future conditions. Would the roads become worse? How long would it take for us to make it back home? After some phone calls, we got to work by planting all of the Douglas Firs. After the firs were planted we did our best to skirt the remaining spruces that were missed from the week before. The snow covered many of the plants, but eventually we finished up.

Thoughts so far:

My time at the WCC thus far has been very rewarding. I am really enjoying my time experiencing first hand the work that is done in the field. It feels like we've been working for a long time, yet only 3 months have gone by.

4 day work weeks.. I say this should be standard everywhere. 3 day weekends are amazing and a lot of work gets done in a 10 hour day. There is no need for that initial lethargic start to a day on the would be 5th day, not to mention the added savings of commuting costs, wear and tear, etc.

Not going to lie, the cold and wet sucks sometimes. After the initial shock and misery, you get used to it though. The task at hand consumes you and you forget about how wet or cold your hands/pants/feet are.

Overall, I am excited to have this opportunity to serve my community. I look forward to the tasks that lay before us and the lessons that each task brings.

Photography Update!

I said "just F^&# IT" and started the wall project with the help of my brother. We got the supplies and in 2 days framed the whole entire wall. I think we could have done it in 1 if I had planned it a bit better.

On another note I had a concept in my head that I wanted to try and create. I envisioned myself cloned with letters on my shirt spelling out "P DRAGON". (My alter ego if you will.) Each clone would be doing something different. Here is what I created!