Wow. I can’t believe it’s been a little over a month and a half since I have arrived in New Hampshire and started with the Lake Winnipesaukee Association (LWA). The time has flown by and I have learned so much since I began in June. The mission of LWA is to protect the water quality and natural resources of Lake Winnipesaukee and its watershed now and for future generations. Gloria and I have been immersed in this mission throughout the various projects and activities we have been doing. From performing a watershed survey to identify potential “hotspots” of stormwater runoff and pollution loading into the lake to assessing homeowners properties and suggesting “do-it-yourself” remedies to help reduce their stormwater runoff, all our efforts are to help protect the water quality of Lake Winnipesaukee.

Scuba (scu. · ba): An apparatus utilizing a portable supply of compressed gas (as air) supplied at a regulated pressure and used for breathing while swimming underwater.

This is an accurate although dull definition of a device that allows you to explore a mysterious realm that would otherwise be inaccessible. This is good for multiple reasons. One is that it allows you to spend ample time underwater removing and surveying for variable milfoil, an aquatic invasive species here in the Squam Lakes region. A good deal of our AmeriCorps service during the summer months is devoted towards eradicating this plant for both ecological and recreational benefits. The second is that it allows you bask in that peculiar underwater world without the sense of urgency to return to the surface; a unique experience for us humans who are not adapted to such an environment.

This past weekend, I served as the SLA’s caretaker on Moon and Bowman Islands. The islands are situated in the center of Squam Lake and lie about 200 yards apart from one another. Both have been conserved through conservation easements, and are owned by the Squam Lakes Association (purchased Moon in 1978, Bowman in 1994), so they will remain as they are today into the future. Both have at least a mile or so of hiking trails laced over them, and save for a few docks, tent platforms, privies(bathrooms) and one cabin each, they look very much the same as they did many years ago.

Pictured on your screen is Julia and I’s first ever, independently run, Watershed Warrior event! We are so ready to teach children about how lakes are made, the water cycle, the dangers of pollution, the food web, and how to identify invasive species. Once those kids have gone through those stations, they will be thereby dubbed Watershed Warriors, with a snazzy certificate to show off.

Today was the first day I’ve ever seen a leech in my entire life. For all the New England locals and those who have lived by freshwater, this is nothing new. For me, someone who’s lived by the ocean their entire life, this was both shocking and repulsing.

After eight months with Green Mountain Conservation Group (GMCG) in Effingham, New Hampshire, I’ve gotten used to the highs and lows of New England weather. When the first snow fell in mid-November, I marveled at the winter wonderland and experienced some winter firsts including: skiing, snowshoeing, and – my favorite – shoveling. Effingham clung to winter longer than some nearby towns, and when the last snow fell on the muddy, barren ground in late April, I was desperate for spring.

Two penguins are in the middle of a desert.
They’re sitting in a canoe, just paddling away, as hard as they can, and not going anywhere.
Sand is flying, and they just keep on paddling.
Eventually, one penguin looks to the other and says “where’s the paddle?”
The other replies, “sure does.”

Uh… what?

It’s a riddle, and if you don’t get it, I’m not sure I can help you. I’ve been living in a cabin with nothing but joke books and my three coworkers; we’re all a little “off.”

I was born and raised in Texas and have never experienced a place quite like New Hampshire. Most of my camping and hiking experience is limited to the desert landscapes of the Southwest. Thus, the thought of packing up and moving to New England was intimidating to say the least. However, I knew my fear of leaving Texas was a sign that this would be an opportunity for me to grow by exploring another region. Thankfully, I haven’t been disappointed!

Where to even begin?

Joining the Squam Lakes Association has been one of the biggest turns in my life, but I can’t help but feel like it’s going to be, quite possibly, the best decision I’ll ever make. Even in the short time I’ve been here, I’ve already had so many “firsts”. So, in an attempt to put my own chaotic brain in order, and to paint a picture to you about what the past month has been like, I’ll share a few of these!

Wow. What a crazy couple of weeks it’s been. Since getting here on the 22nd, it has been day after day full of trainings and orientations—Wilderness First Aid, CPR, SCUBA (Brrr!), NH Safe Boaters, the list goes on. It already feels like I’ve spent a lifetime here, after taking in the whirlwind of faces, places, knowledge, and just things, that have made up these past couple of weeks. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world. After graduating in May, like most of my peers, all I really wanted was to find a position, any position, to get my foot in the door in the ‘real world’. I wasn’t picky, willing to go anywhere and do pretty much anything, so long as they’d take me. When I was offered the opportunity to serve through the Lakes Region Conservation Corps here at the Squam Lakes Association, I was ecstatic to have been accepted somewhere. But, little did I know exactly what opportunities this position would entail. The certifications and experience that it offered are admittedly what drew me in, but there’s so much to love here at Squam that I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around it all.