It's a pretty established phenomenon that when you spend lots of time with someone, you develop your own language, often full of inside jokes. In fieldwork, it seems like that gets amplified, because you also develop language very specific to the (often odd) tasks you are doing. And when you get along with your field partner the way my tech and I do (I've never identified more with the phrase "get on like a house on fire"), your field lexicon can get pretty weird.
Normal field abbreviations are things like calling your study species by their species code. For example, Columbia Spotted Frogs's scientific name is Rana luteiventris. On our data sheets, they're RALU, which is what we often call them. But after weeks in the field, and getting to know your study species' personalities...you might start calling them other names.
Gage and I have been joking about putting together a list of all of our weird sayings. I finally did it today while I was waiting on my laundry, and sent it to her for feedback. I have no idea if this will be as funny to anyone else as it is to us, but I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into the field minset:
Beav
noun
1. Abbreviation for "beaver." Affectionate.
Bastard
noun
1. A Columbia Spotted Frog, especially when resisting capture. Affectionate?
2. A mosquito (not affectionate).
Small friend
noun
1. A tadpole.
2. Squirrels and other small mammals and birds.
Friend
noun
1. A frog, toad, or beaver.
2. Pretty much any animal.
Large friend
noun
1. A moose, bear, elk, or bison.
Spicy snack
noun
1. A human carrying bear spray.
Spottie
noun
1. An abbreviation for Columbia Spotted Frog (affectionate).
Beautiful lady/princess
noun
1. A very large, female toad.
To spread the Beaver Gospel
verb
1. To tell tourists and other researchers why beavers are amazing.
Enrichment time
noun
1. Time spent outdoors that does not involve fieldwork.
2. Downtime, generally.
3. Making sure our station manager, who has to provide 24/7 coverage of the research station, gets the opportunity to leave and go on hikes.
Squish
adjective
1. Often said in a deapan voice, used to describe wet ground into which a boot will sink slightly.
Squishy squish
adjective
1. Used to describe ground that is geothermally influenced and warn the person behind the
speaker that all pretense of solidity may disappear.
Impalement risk
noun
1. A sharp stick, most often either a beaver chew or a branch on a fallen tree, onto which one
does not wish to fall.
2. Sticks that will, even if one does not fall, cut one's shins to pieces and leave beautiful bruises.
Other frequent exclamations and phrases:
"Toad!" - universally, a cry of joy, typically accompanied by the speaker scrambling on hands and knees to catch the stated toad.
"Nets." - a single word, used to remind the listener of the day we screwed up and hiked all the way to a wetland without our nets. Prevents forgetting the said nets.
"Sorry, Mama!" - an apology directed at a recently flushed bird, most often a female duck with babies or a ruffed grouse.
"Hole." - the unfortunate declaration and implied warning of the person walking in front who has fallen an unexpected distance into an unforseen hole. When walking in water, the culprit is most often a beaver channel. When walking on land, bank beaver dens are often responsible.
