Montane meadows

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains! - John Muir

This is a photo from a few weeks ago during our training session. The meadow is Truckee Marsh in South Lake Tahoe--one of the few meadows left in the area that was not turned into housing developments or a marina. We saw lots of yellow-headed blackbirds here along with soras, waterfowl, and many other great birds. Sometimes I forget to be grateful that I get to work in these beautiful areas and take it for granted. I am often reminded when I show newbies the meadows and they are blown away by how beautiful it is out here. Each summer I'm here I have to remind myself that it could be the last one so I should enjoy it. Honestly, I've been thinking of retiring from the area after this summer and starting something brand new so that I don't turn something amazing into something mundane. After all, I can always come back and visit...