Azeroth Quests & Counting Heron Nests

Before faction switching, I had all but 25 Kalimdor quests for Loremaster. I zoned out and listened to good music while completing all of Northrend, Outlands and Eastern Kingdoms. When I hit a roadblock with Kalimdor I decided to take a break and figure out the last 25 another time. I kept putting it off. When I faction switched, all of my Horde-specific quests were wiped. I have to basically start over again... but I've decided that it will be fun to do it over the next few weeks. I've never leveled an Alliance character, so it will be tons of new content for me. Doing all the quests on a decked out 80 is bound to be more fun than leveling - I can focus on enjoying the scenery and story lines, rather than taking effort to kill stuff and survive. Wish me luck in maintaining the  patience to do zones all over again! I'll need it...

 I got my full Tier 0.5 as part of Loremaster just before 

faction-switching and losing Loremaster-related achievements

Last week I got a fun opportunity at work. The biologist needed to do a survey of the Great Blue Heron nests on the refuge, and asked if anyone could come. Take a canoe trip along a creek that's closed to the public and see some baby herons? Yes please. We spotted a Belted Kingfisher diving into the water for fish just as we put in the canoe. Many Canada Geese and one family of Sandhill Cranes flew by overhead while we were on the water. When we saw a group of 8 Great Blue Herons, we went ashore. I learned an important lesson: let someone else go first if you're walking somewhere beavers might live, because beavers dig big holes and tunnels in the ground. I fell into a hole about waist deep. Luckily I didn't injure anything falling into the hole - but I instinctively put my hands out to catch myself, and my bare hands went right into a heavy growth of Stinging Nettle. The sharp stinging gave me quite an adrenaline rush. I was determined not to seem frail in front of the biologists (who are obviously tougher than educators), so I held back my overwhelming urge to whimper in pain.

From the Hudson River Museum

But then I look up. I see Great Blue Herons at work so often that I barely even notice them. Sure, I like them, and sure I watch for a minute if it looks like they're about to catch something, but they have become about as exciting as crows or mallards. Except that when I look up, I see something I completely didn't expect. Those birds that are always so statuesque looking in the water or on the gravel road are way up high, bumbling awkwardly around the top branches of ash trees. I expected their nests to be on the ground, on the edge of shallow water - not 100 feet up! I also expected to see some baby herons, but sadly, the eggs haven't hatched yet. Maybe it's just the dizzying effect of stinging nettle, but watching the herons clumsily navigate through the branches is one of the most beautiful moments I've had so far at the refuge. We count 8 nests, and 5 more further down the creek.