Week 3- Trying New Things- Huckleberry Ice Cream, Buffalo Jerky, Skining Cats....

Warning: Just a warning about Monday's post, I had a lab on dissections so it might be slightly graphic. Just avoid the whole post about Monday if you don't want to know about cats.

Monday 8th September-

Today we started our dissections for my Vertebrate Design and Evolution class. Before we could start though we had a quiz on skull bones, which I got 5/6 in so I was happy. As our model organism is the cat, we would be dissecting some for the lab. Unfortunately the supply company messed up the order and the cats arrived with fur. This meant we would have to skin them before we could even begin looking at muscles. There was one cat per pair so Shannen and myself decided to go together. I'm not very good and found the whole process fairly difficult. I've had pet cats all my life and this particular cat was a large tabby tom much like my cat Tiber. Shannen, who had been very apprehensive got very into it whereas I had to leave the room every so often to escape the smell of formaldehyde, which preserves the cats. Our lab lasted from 2.30-5.30, and it was quite a long 3hours. By the end we had most of the skin removed but didn't get a chance to look at any muscles. Our lab demonstrator Kris, showed us all the muscles we would need to do our homework on and know for the quiz next week. When we got home I wasn't feeling great so just relaxed for a while. Well, now I know what people mean by the phrase "There's more than one way to skin a cat!".

Tuesday 9th September-

Had my first mammalogy lab quiz today on bears, racoons, skunks and weasels. It was set up as three stations with five questions each and four minutes at each station. I thought it went ok, although I messed up on what I thought was a trick question but actually turned out not to be. I also hadn't learned my skulls as well as I thought I had, so overall I only got 5/1 which I was disappointed in. I'll have to try harder for next weeks 100pt lab exam. When we finished the quiz we continued the lab on the  Felidae and Canidae, aka cats and dogs. There was a huge silver/black wolf pelt (or at least what I thought was huge, actually turned out to be very average). I was expecting the hair to be coarse but it's so soft. There was also a wolf/dog hybrid pelt, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, lynx and a cougar. Once I felt I had studied them enough I left. I met Shannen and we headed to sign up for the Yellowstone trip on the 20th. We are the only two from our group of Internationals who signed up unfortunately. There was no way I was going to miss this trip though. I have always wanted to visit Yellowstone from watching documentaries about it as a kid. We then headed to the Natural science building to hand in our sign up sheets for our class on Hunter Check Stations. This class involves learning how to ID animals, check their age and check hunters tags as they remove animals from wilderness areas. We had been recommended to apply to the station in Darby as wolves had been seen here. So we signed up for a Saturday and Sunday where we go to the station and work with older rangers. We also went to the UC and got our free tickets for the Grizz game this Saturday. Very productive morning! In our Habitat Conservation class we got our assignments on Conservation back. I got 10/10 so I was delighted. On our way home we met Jak and he asked us to come to his hockey game that night. We said we would if we got most of our work finished. After working on assignments for a while, Shannen, Elliot, Barry, Sarah and myself headed over to the ice hockey game along with most of the other internationals. We almost made up the whole crowd! This was the first hockey game I'd been to, but the rules were pretty easy to pick up. Jak was playing in goals and had a lot of great saves. The other team had a stronger team though and they won the match. After the game we went to Big Dipper to get some of their unreal ice cream. Myself and Shannen stayed up late chatting before bed.

The wolf pelt

A bobcat pelt

The wolf's bushy tail

My first hockey game!

Wednesday 10th September-

There was a change in the weather today, with temperatures down to -3°C and frost on the lawns. This is just a warning of what's going to be coming sooner rather than later. Most people in my mammalogy class wore warm clothes and clutched coffees. I had my usual shift at the beverage station in Food Zoo from 10am-1pm. When I finished I ate my free lunch (my first ever sloppy joe :P ) as fast as possible before my class started at 1.10pm. I made it to class just after the announcements about our upcoming field trip to the Bison Range. We were also told which group projects we'd been assigned to. Me and Shannen are both looking at if birds adjust their take offs and landings depending on the compliance of a perches material. This is the project I was most interested in so I'm happy to be working on it. When I got home I worked on my assignments for some time. I went through my Mammals of Montana book to compile a list of all the mammals found in Missoula county, which is due next Tuesday. I found it surprising how many mammal species live here, 71 in total. After a few hours, me and Shannen decided to take the rest of the night off. Since she had never watched Disney's Tangled (Shocking, I know! :O ) so we put that on. Love that movie so much!

Thursday 11th September-

Had the usual 6.30am work start, then class and four more hours of work. When I finished up I got my dinner. I saw some of my international friends so ate with them. They had just decided on a trip to Seattle. Unfortunately I can't go too because it's the same weekend as Yellowstone. This evening everyone who signed up for the Missoula International Friendship Program got to meet the families they had been paired with. There was a big meet and greet at the Missoula Carousel. I have been paired with a lady, Kelly and her 6 year old son Max. They are a lovely family who have lived in Europe for quite some time. It was nice to chat about the differences between Europe and America with someone who has experienced both sides. We had some ice cream and went on the horse carousel. I tried the huckleberry ice cream, which was strange, kind of bitter and sweet at the same time. They are really into their huckleberry products here. It was a really relaxed get together and the atmosphere was very nice. It was great to finally meet my Missoula family and I look forward to the next chat. Kelly headed away at 8pm as it was Max's bed time. Most people had already left as it was chilly. Shannen and myself decided to watch Dreamwork's Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron, another movie she hadn't seen, which is one of my favourites.

Friday 12th September-

After my morning mammalogy class and my work shift on the grill, which was actually kinda fun, I headed back home. Today's Vertebrate Design lab would be a little different. Shannen, myself and the other two members of our group Sadie and Nathan were to meet up at the University Field Station. This is located near to Missoula Fort and used to be a military base. The main research carried out here is on flight in birds. As we arrived before our 3pm start time we met Sadie upstairs in what I can only describe as a nursing home for zoologists! There were three reclining chairs, coffee machines, microwaves, a fridge labeled 'Food for Humans' and walls lined with bookshelves. I browsed the books which covered topics such as entomology, anatomy, animal behaviour and various others. I found one called 'Integrated Principles of Zoology' which I sat and read for a while. When he was ready Brett, our lecturer, gave us a tour of the building. I was amazed by the level of technology they had, which we will use. There was a laser camera for filming air currents, a slow motion camera so we can see minute wing movements and a wind tunnel to simulate real conditions. We then got to meet our birds; diamond doves. I held one, they are fairly small and light. After meeting the birds we went outside to see the semi-natural aviaries. Larger birds such as pigeons and chukar live here. When we finished I was delighted to find out we can borrow books from the collection so I brought home the zoology one. A few of my friends were heading to an open invitation Frat party where there was a band playing on the lawn so I headed along. The Frat, Sigma Alpha Epsilon (ΣΑΕ) checked our ID's on the way in and gave us wrist bands. They also insisted we drink from red cups and not bottles. The band was kind of jazz music but they did a few covers too. The Missoulians get very into their dancing, although it sometimes resembles bad Dad dancing :P. The band finished up before 9pm and unlike all the movies the frat was not very willing to continue the party. In fact some lads came out, shouted at everyone to "Get the F**K off their lawn" and then proceeded to spray beer at everyone until they left. I won't be going to anymore of that frats parties. Anyways, due to solar storms the Northern Lights were supposed to be visible that night, peaking between 10-12pm. Shannen drove one car of us up north passed Bonner to Blackfoot River, following behind David's friend. The stars were amazing here and the Saucepan (aka The Big Dipper) was huge in the sky. Unfortunately, so was the moon and this hindered any chance of seeing Aurora. We waited until after 12 but to no luck. Seeing as Shannen and myself had a field trip the next day we headed home. I slept most of the way and conked as soon as we got home.

The Field Research Station

Time for a Frat party

Rodrigo, Stacey, James, Kate, Dervla & Elliot at the party

Saturday 13th September-

We walked into college for 7am and met the rest of our Vert. Design class. We loaded into two UM minivans, made a quick coffee pitstop and were on our way. Kris drove our car, which contained me, Shannen, Joe, Sophie and Elliott. At first we spotted the usual; bison, pronghorn, mule deer and white tail deer. After another unsuccessful search for momma bear we headed up the mountain. At the top of the Bitterroot tail we spotted something new; big horn sheep and blue mountain birds. Brett set up a scope fpr us to see them up close. As the rut season nears many of the bull Elk were bugling, a very eerie sound. We walked the High Trail to get better views of the sheep. They were hanging out in a herd and chewing the cud. On our way down the trail Brett and Kris swapped cars. He pointed out lots of bird species. We even saw kestrels mobbing a hen harrier. Then at the bottom of the trail Kris pulled up in front of us suddenly. We got out to see what was up when suddenly in the distance we spotted a pair of coyotes! Me and Shannen nearly died with excitement! My first carnivore sighting, and not only was it one coyote but a pair. One appeared to be carrying a small prey item as the two trotted away over a rise in the hills and out of sight. We were no longer on the road again when we spotted another coyote. This one scurried away quickly. Along the prairie drive we also saw some pronghorns up close and a large bison bull just chilling by the road. Below the road near the river was a large herd of bison containing many calves. We watched these for a while before someone spotted yet more coyotes, four this time! These worked their way between the larger bison, who took no notice of them. The coyotes then began to approach a young bison calf, who was lying in the grass. Spooked the calf rose and another older bison came to it's aid. The coyotes quickly backed down and trotted off through the herd. It was amazing, like watching a documentary play out in real life. I looked over the cliff down to the river and spotted a cute little chipmunk. Then Sophie pointed out a kestrel on an electricity wire and soaring above that a bald eagle. On our way to the end of the track Shannen spotted a coyote right beside the road. He pounced, trying to catch something unsuccessfully and then ran off. That made a total of eight coyotes in one day. Best field trip ever! Brett even agreed that it had been a bumper day for wildlife sightings. We stopped at a souvenir shop outside the park and Brett bought some Buffalo Jerky because me and Shannen have never had it. I quite enjoyed it, even if it is quite chewy and salty. Shannen on the other hand wasn't a fan.

Shannen was too tired to go to the Grizz game that night,but I was all for it. It was supposed to be a whiteout where everyone wears white. The Grizzlies were playing the Dakota bobcats and they won 28-20. The game was very fun but it takes so long for the action to happen. They run for maybe a minute before a break happens or they have to change formation. The band plays loads of songs and the cheerleaders keep the crowd pumped. The mascot, Monte Bear is hilarious, along with Mini Monte. He even crowd surfed a few times. The game lasted from 7pm to after 10pm. I was wreaked when I got home. Shannen was face-timing Nicole so I chatted away.

The Vertebrate Design Class

Bighorn sheep

Pronghorn antelope

Bison bull

Chipmunk

Up close to a coyote

Coyotes harassing a bison calf

A huge Elk antler!

Some lovely jerky :P

Monte Bear

Me, Dervla, Dan the Bear & Steine

Go Grizzlies!

Sunday 14th September-

Had a lovely, much needed sleep in. I spent most of the day ringing friends at home and getting all the gossip. Finished typing up my Mammals of Missoula list and started my paper on the phylogeny of the Canidae. After work, which finished up early I watched the end of The Amazing Spider Man with Shannen. 

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed my shenanigans- Fiona