I don't know, thanks for asking: a mid-season recap

Dear EN502,

    I have been in Wyoming for two months, with two more to go, and I am back to applying for jobs. The two constants of volatile seasonal work are the never-ending job search and the practiced shrug of the shoulders when someone asks, “What are your plans after this summer?”

    I don’t have a clear plan for once September rolls around, either. There are a lot of things I miss about living in an urban area, and I’ve thought about moving to Seattle for the past year. One of my friends lives in Seattle and has a roommate that’s looking to sublease for the rest of 2023, so when he offered me a place to stay, I said yes.

    And what am I doing after my sublease ends in Seattle…?

    I don’t know. (Thanks for asking.)

    I’m spending the majority of my brain space staying alive, and making lists has been very helpful for me to feel less scattered. Most of my lists are for groceries, chores, and what I like and dislike about Wyoming, but I’ve included a few of my fun lists below:

Things I have acquired

1. Heinous tan lines
1. Hand: the only part of my body that is not covered by clothing when I’m out in the field. Sunscreen does not work because it washes off as soon as I start working in water. The backs of my hands are at least 5 shades darker than the rest of my body.
2. Watch: I bought my watch in October of 2021 and have since worn it nearly every day. The resulting white stripe on my wrist delights me, I find it funny.
3. Back: a weird gradient of colors and lines on my back from various clothes and swimsuits that I wear.
4. Neck: the only place tanner than my hands is the back of my neck. I saw a picture of me from behind earlier this month and I still can’t stop thinking about the pale white of my skin under the collar of my shirt contrasted with the dark nape of my neck.
5. Hair: if I were to shave my head bald right now I would have a tan stripe running over my scalp where I part my hair. Both the idea of applying sunscreen to my hair and the prospect of scalp skin cancer upset me.
6. Arms: farmers tan from my short-sleeve uniform. I think about it often and apply sunscreen liberally.
2. Mosquito bites EVERYWHERE
3. Weird bruises on my shins and knees
1. Banging into miscellaneous field equipment
2.  Falling into the creek

Things that brought me joy this month

1. Watching Pride and Prejudice (2005) for the first time
2. Hiking into Death Canyon and coming across the biggest old-growth Douglas Firs I’ve ever seen. I had never seen trees so tall and wide in person. I realized this is what the entire northwest could look like, if not for the damaging effects of human development and environmental change. But knowing that such trees still exist and will outlive me by hundreds of years, despite everything, comforts me. 
3. Holding tadpoles
4. Going to the Hootenanny with my coworkers (I had to google “Hootenanny” the first time I went – it’s a social event with live folk music. Possibly the most western small-town thing you can think of, aside from riding horses or going to the saloon).
5. Biking on the multi-use pathway after the hootenanny and witnessing a brilliant, panoramic, glowing, ethereal sunset. You’ve spent an infinity years not being born yet and you will spend another infinity years being dead, I thought to myself. How lucky I am to be alive right now, seeing this.
6. Catching frogs
7. Swimming in the lake after work each day
8. Deploying both bear spray and a fire extinguisher during safety training day – somewhere out there is a picture of me, holding a fire extinguisher, engulfed in a cloud of extinguishing powder, looking absolutely delighted. If I ever get my hands on the picture I’ll be sure to share it.

    The middle of August is when tourist madness dies down, so for these next few weeks please send me well wishes, thick skin, and patience; I will return in a more cheerful mood later.

    With teeth,

    Hanna

tan lines

post-hootenanny sunset

me & tree