Ongoing work and what it means.
I am now at home in California and mostly recovered from my jetlag – it always hits me harder when I travel east. My gear is mostly unpacked and I have begun sorting some of my data files and videotapes. I won't get to work much on my data from the bottlenose dolphins around Mikura because I will soon begin packing for the Bahamas. Data collection is an integral part of my work, my research. Indeed, without collecting the data, there would be nothing to analyze or think about or try to understand. Still, time spent in the field doing the actual observations is truly only a fraction of my time. I will spend most of the fall months, winter and early spring months analyzing the data I have, and will have, gathered this summer. (I must admit that viewing the dolphins on videotape during these coming months is a happy reminder of the time spent in the field!) I hope you all have a good couple of weeks. I will begin writing again around 10 August to bring you up-to-speed regarding my Bahamas field work gathering data on the Atlantic spotted dolphins. Thanks for sharing the summer with me! Cheers Kathleen