Month: August 2015

The next Jeff Corwin?

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Hey everyone, check out my new video!  Still new to this stuff, so let me know if you have a problem with the link.

So what do you think?  The next Jeff Corwin?  I’ve actually met the guy and he is a nice dude.  Really down to earth.  He visited our lab and of course I had to be that person and get his signature.  So I gave him a picture of him hugging a deer to sign (only one I could get on Google fast enough)… so cheesy!  Then he tells me, “Oh, I remember him.  He tasted good!”  I about died but then he SWORE he was joking.  He better be!
Speaking of cool people I’ve met at the lab, I also got to meet Jason Mraz!  I noticed him walking down the hallway and chased him down the building.  I didn’t think I would get celebrity stoke but I don’t think I even breathed the whole time he talked with me.  I was so nervous!  He asked what I was working on at the time and I happened to be extracting chlorophyll, so then he proceeded to give me a nickname… Chlorophyll Chloe.  I wonder if he remembers that…
Anyways, have a great night!  I’ll keep you posted on the turtles.
Best,
Chloe

Little Hen! Little Eggs!

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Bobby and I are so proud of our little lady!  We got her as just a little baby and she laid her first egg last week!  I didn’t realize she was old enough, honestly, but I did notice her acting a little out of the ordinary.  She began hanging around this secluded area in the coop and I just got that feeling like only mom’s can get… so I put a little hay in that area and she laid her first egg about two days later.  I was collecting about an egg a day for a week!  She later moved inside the coop to lay her eggs, so now she has the cutest little nest.

Our chickens are the little Bantam chickens and are like mini-me’s, so the eggs are pretty small.  Now that we collected enough for a good breakfast, we got brave and tried them!  It’s a little weird for me when I try to eat something new I grew or in this case, raised.  I don’t know why – she is healthy and eats organic food and the eggs look normal, but I was still being kind of a chicken (pun-intended) about it.
IMG_0368Well, we decided to take the plunge and they were delicious!  Tasted totally normal, and had a nice rich flavor.  We are big animal softies, so I feel so much better about eating eggs from a chicken that I know has a great life.  If anyone reading this has access to local farm fresh eggs, I would highly encourage you to support them!  I can’t even think about commercial chicken houses without getting very upset, especially now that I have some of my own.  So I hope you get out there and support happy healthy chickens!
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Toes in the water, *** in the sand… life is good today

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Everyone, meet Harley – my Diamondback Terrapin.  I have had him since he was a hatchling and he is most definitely the friendliest turtle on the planet!  He is always coming up to see me, and if you put your hand in the water, he will literally swim into your hand.  UnIMG_0354believable.  That’s a trick I taught him when I would feed him in a separate bowl.  If you ever have trouble with your turtle eating, that’s a good method to teach him to eat at certain times and to focus on the food.  It also keeps the water cleaner!

I took this picture because Harley loves to bask all day, and it’s funny because he always has a toe dipped in the water while he basks.  Animals are not all that different than people sometimes!  I love this turtle and he is hilarious, so you will be seeing many more posts featuring Harley.
Have a great day!
Chloe

It’s the little things…

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I just love Crape Myrtles this time of year.  Especially ones with white blooms.  When their IMG_0343blooms are full force, their tiny little flowers fall like snow, slowly falling through the air and creating a pretty white groundcover underneath the tree.  I know they are more of a southern landscaping tree, but they are so beautiful and hold tons of wildlife!  I have seen more hummingbirds fly in and out of these trees than any other, and they are always full of bees!   Look closely and you can see the happy little bee on the top side of the bloom (below).

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Best, Chloe

Get Ahead Mini-Series

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Get Ahead Mini-Series

Some people get hired for a specific role, but it seems a lot of people (including myself) enter this field to do the lagniappe – Cajun for “leftovers”, or the miscellaneous jobs.  Most biologists have a specialty due to their grad school thesis and field/lab experience, which is great when the agency is looking for exactly that person, but sometimes you have to look beyond your specialty and be willing to work your way there.  I think this is one reason it may seem intimidating when looking for a biologist job.  This is how my story began.  I’m going to write a mini-series on how to take advantage of this situation and get where you want to be!  I don’t claim to know all, but I will share my observations and real-life experiences with you and I hope it will help you in your journey.

Part 1.  “Networking”.  Get to know people.

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So many jobs are landed through word of mouth.  I know social media is key these days… but don’t ignore actual, real, face-to-face relationships!  Other than being plain old good for the soul, developing relationships broaden your world.  You meet people who know other people, who know other people, see where I’m going?  For me, my husband’s boss knew someone who worked at a research lab and put me in touch with that person.  I just went for a tour but ended up finding out they were hiring, and Bam.  I wasn’t just words on a page, I was a person with a face to my name, and a personality with recommendations from those close to them.  One thing is key- you can’t just stop at saying hello.  Get to know people and take it a step further… attend events, volunteer, get out of your comfort zone.  If I had never taken a tour of the lab, I probably would have never gotten hired.  I had little experience at the time, fresh out of college.  Why would they hire me?

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Hello!

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I have beenIMG_2642 wanting to start a blog for so long, and today is the day!  First of all, I really appreciate those of you reading.  I hope that I can entertain, educate, and encourage you.

As my bio says, I am a Florida native who moved to southern Louisiana about five and a half years ago, right before the horrible oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and got a job as a fisheries biologist.

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