..and then the rain came.

So our first day of work was pretty simple. We were pounding rebar into the ground, pulling it out and putting in Willow Stakes. This helps with all sorts of erosion in the flood plane. Because there were only 1500 stakes, and also our first times together we spent a lot of time playing. There was one group who was doing blackberry removal (this is painful and dirty) so whenever we rotated groups, the group who did blackberry lost a "game." We played rock, paper scissors and then the team played kickball, while Laura, Deverton (the WCC lead) and I had a business meeting...by playing golf. They dug a hole in the dirt and flagged it, then used the tennis ball as a golf ball. It was a lot of fun. Aren't I cute?

Then there was a snow day!!! We got too much snow on wednesday to get out of the Valley! Unfortunately it was pretty lame. Since then, Gold six has been fighting the urge to mudslide all day at work. Wednesday we had a snow day and then the rest of the week it's been raining. As we drove up to the site on Thursday, and the windshield wipers squeecked quickly to keep up with the rain I just thoguht about how happy it was raining. I love working in the rain. I love the way it feels on my face, and the temperature difference of it vs my skin. I also love the mud. I love being dirty. We were still pounding in rebar for willows but this time it was in shin deep water and in the rain. We continued to play games during the day, some groups removed invasives. The work has just gotten better. The team has been so great. The sponsors are awesome. And its been raining! It's just been getting muddier and muddier. Tomorrow we're leading volunteers in some tree planting.

Sorry this was so short but trust me I'm happy. I love Washington.