Hottest Tent 6-27-24

 6-27-24 POBR


My tent breathes above me while my nose is stuffed with decompressed emotions. Today our journey started somewhat early, late enough for me to not feel like a cup of coffee. I remember packing my day pack in the back of the suburban, seeing the waiters in a plastic bag, and then feeling my poofy hair compress from rain drops. Today was probably my wettest day yet, more so than the beaver day. Our gracious hosts Brain G and AJ came to us this time and asked if someone wanted to ride with them. Me and Gilberto in a competitive rage both joined the boys for our own sense of retribution. We got to talkin’ with Brian and AJ and they were both super nice and very knowledgeable; AJ had just started his job, and Brian grew up for this line of work. We got to our first site which was another BDA (beaver dam analog) and it was Gilberto and Virginia’s job to measure the water at 9 different points - 3 spanning the dam, 5 feet from the dam, and 50 feet from the dam. The next stop we went to was mine and Gilberto’s time to shine. I believe we completed 4 other beaver dam measurements, but in between that time, me and Gilberto looked like two beavers with our front teeth chipping away at laughter. It was a challenge to work without Brian’s guidance because he was so knowledgeable about the town, the people, the land, and he had great relationships with each of them. I noticed that in his position, he had to narrow down his values and reference points to very few things that genuinely matter. For instance, his calculable way of telling if his beaver dams were successful or not was based on sediment level, because there are too many factors that affect water level, vegetation growth or diversity, or even creek microbiome. His interactions with the neighbors had to be founded in this standard of simple values in order to get across his point straight and fast. His mission was accomplished, the convincing of the property owners, the beaver dams, the trees he grew, his finite compartments of truths and values holds him up as a great man willing to get the job done. That being said, I was exhausted once I got back to my tent, lets just say this isn’t the only time I’ve slept in my tent today. 



Camello Farm


(Graphite drawing of Camel in a pen and two Longhorn bulls in the grass.)

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