Changing Seasons

As of two weeks ago I finished my final day working with my students. Our hard work on our projects ended with a beautiful mural and an awesome interpretative field day. We received many thank you cards and notes from our teachers and students. I already miss them so much I want to go back to school on my time off just to visit. After a few days to finish paperwork and give our final remarks we began the transition from education season to conservation season.

The day before yesterday we completed a 9 day WFR (Wilderness First Responder) course. We had three of the most incredible instructors to teach us. While the days were long and chilly (we even had snow one day), the class was fun and I'm constantly amazed by how much I can learn in such a short time. We had various scenarios to test our skills, including two longer scenarios which lasted two and three hours. The longer was a night scenario and finished about 10:30 pm. Needless to say that was the most tiring part of the course, not only the lack of sleep but working with a combative "patient" for three hours while trying to remember my training. On our last day we took our final exam and said goodbye to our instructors, whom we had grown fond of and didn't want to leave. Yesterday and today are our days off before beginning the rest of our training for the season.

While spring has officially been here for weeks, the days have been cooler than I expected. Although the upcoming days are forecast to be in the high 70's, which is a huge change. So far I'm not tired of the morning chill but needing to wear a jacket and be cuddled with a blanket indoors is getting old. I'm hoping that the long winter and cool spring will lead to a cooler and hopefully shorter summer. The days above 80 and especially above 90 are a bit too hot for me.

I've often based where I want to live one day off the desire for a cooler summer, but I've yet to find a place with cold but not frigid winters (I had no issues with my first New England winter and wanted more snow so that's not out of the question), warm but not too hot summers, all four seasons, decent snowfall, preferably a state bordering the ocean and close enough to home to visit on weekends. That last one seems to rule out most of the rest, especially the not too warm summers. As of now I know that my heart is on the East Coast. With all these factors I have determined that my ideal location is Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland or possibly Tennessee. But my requirement is that I want to be in the mountains to have a bit cooler weather, specifically the Great Smoky Mountains or the Blue Ridge Mountains.

So for now I've only just started applying for jobs but I'm keeping those locations in mind. While I'm still very much enjoying New England, I know my heart lies in the south surrounded by family, the home cooked food I know and love, and the mountains that still take my breath away.