Normally I don't like abandoning my blog for long periods of time, but I've been traveling to visit friends and family for the past couple weeks. Shortly after returning from the mammal conference in Portland, Matt and I headed to Connecticut and Virginia.
There never seems to be enough time to see the people I care about. That's true regardless of if my visits are a week or a month long. I haven't been back home since Christmas, which thanks to a stomach virus, wasn't the most productive trip. This time no one got sick, my mom took some time off of work to be with me, and I feel like we got more out of my visit.
On July 4th I met up with Jenn to go to the annual Willimantic Boom Box Parade. We got there early to get a seat on the porch at the Willimantic Brewery. It was so weird, and also fun. The parade has no marching bands, but a radio station plays marching music and people bring radios, and there were also some speakers set up at the parade itself. It also seems like just about anyone can march in this thing, and there were individual people marching, church groups, political groups, and businesses that participated. It's kind of hard to describe, because it's such a random assortment of entertainment. I'd like to be able to go again next year.
In the afternoon Lura and Steve stopped by to say hello, chat, and make plans for later in the week. We sat out on the patio, drank Hosmer Mountain sodas, and caught up. Later in the afternoon Grandma and Uncle Dave came over and we grilled some chicken and enjoyed other cookout stuff. I really value even these short visits with people, I've always liked just sitting around, being with people, talking. Sometimes I feel like there's an expectation to always be "doing" something, but to me this counts as "something". I did it more in high school and college with friends. It's sad it doesn't happen more often, because graduate school has made me into an accomplished breeze shooter.
On Tuesday my Mom, Matt, and I drove down to Abbots in Noank, CT for a lobster lunch. It might seem silly to make a trip like that, but after being in New Mexico, and no where near an ocean and reliable seafood, it isn't weird. We enjoyed some steamed mussels while we waited for our lunch, and took in some nice scenery. We sat out on the dock that looks out over the marina nearby.
I recently attended the annual meeting for the American Society of Mammalogists in Portland, OR. Despite its reputation, the weather held up for most of the time I was there, and we only got some drizzle on the last day.
I really liked Portland, and it's a place I would definitely go back for another non-work related visit. I really liked how easy it was to get around, how relatively clean it was, and all there was to do. I went to the Saturday Market (which actually goes on all weekend), which was really neat to see. It's basically a huge craft fair/flea market and you can find a lot of unique hand made items. I got a nifty bronze and copper barrette.
Portland State University was also really nice, it's right in the middle of the city but it doesn't feel overly city-like when you're actually on the main part of the campus. During the first day of the meeting there was a huge farmer's market going on right in the plaza area of campus, which made for a really convenient place to get lunch. The growing season there is several weeks behind NM, so it was a treat to see all the late spring veggies and berries.
I stayed with a friend while at the meeting. Fred's mother lives in Gresham, OR, which is really close to Portland. Fred, Matt, and I camped out in her mom's living room, and we enjoyed the added company of Jack the dog and Darwin the cat. We took the light rail in to get to and from the meeting, which was about an hour long trip, but it was convenient none-the-less. I can always appreciate cities where you don't really need a car. I could live in a place like Gresham, or any of the other cities near Portland. They're all just really convenient, and you can get just about anywhere between the light rail, a bus, and some walking. Portland is actually pretty eco-friendly, as far as cities go. They recycle everything, and it's one of the few cities I've seen that composts.
The meeting itself was very enjoyable. I personally prefer smaller meetings to the supersized meetings I sometimes go to. This was my first mammal meeting, and it's the first meeting where I was in the minority as a paleoecologist. Unfortunately, there was a mix up with my abstract and I ended up presenting in a session that wasn't ideal. But, the show must go on, and it went alright. Not my best talk, but certainly not my worst. I did have a couple of people approach me about my work with some interest, which goes to show that I am, in fact, my own toughest critic.
The final day of the meeting was really good because I saw some really interesting posters, got some really good deals on reference books, and the keynote talk was also fantastic. Liz Hadley from Stanford gave the talk, and it was on Pleistocene paleoecology and really highlighted how paleontology is relevant to modern ecology. The whole talk was basically about all the things that keep me up at night, so I really enjoyed it. Liz is also just really cool and a really great speaker. She's definitely on my list of amazing female scientist role models.
Here are a few non-meeting related highlights from my trip. I know it starts to sound a bit like a travel guide, but honestly, if a good time can't be had at a conference (or during field work for that matter), then you're doing it wrong:
Multnomah Falls - a really good afternoon hike, beautiful scenery, and I saw TWO pikas. Very appropriate for my first mammal meeting! If for some reason you don't know what a pika is...
South Park Seafood Grill & Wine Bar - I was disappointed with the mussel & sausage appetizer, but everything else I tried was delicious. Kind of pricey, I recommend the butternut squash ravioli, and Fred enjoyed the smoked salmon salad. The wine was also very nice, and I had a Sparkling Elderflower cocktail which was fabulous.
Saturday Market - Lots of hand made goodies! North Waterfront Park and Ankeny Plaza. The portion near the waterfront has the most hand made stuff.
The Seafood Groto - This place is tiny but good! Matt and I broke a cardinal rule by going to a restaurant on a Monday, but we still got a nice (but again, pricey) dinner. The crab stuffed mushroom caps and hazelnut crusted halibut are really great.
Saturday Farmer's Market at PSU - Located right in the middle of Portland State University is a really nice farmer's market. An excellent place to get a bargain lunch that is delicious. You can also buy really fresh fish, and the berries in June are just beautiful.
Powell's Books - The world's largest book store that takes up over a city block. I got some good deals on books, and they have just about everything.
Voodoo Donuts - They're going through a remodel right now, so the hours can be kind of iffy, and if you try to go during the day on the weekend, be prepared to wait in line for at least an hour or more, no exageration. We went at 11pm on a Tuesday, but were still able to get a decent selection considering they were out of a lot of things. They also have a really large selection of vegan donuts, and I've heard their maple bacon donut (so not vegan) is really good. I'll definitely go back to try and get it.
Hotlips Pizza - Definitely a good place for a delicious slice and good drink, right near PSU. They offer up a variety of guest microbrews and they make their own fruit sodas. I got the raspberry soda which was on tap, and two slices of veggie/vegan pizza. You can get a large slice of pizza and a (good) beer for $6. Did I mention they have HUGE fresh cookies? The service is also really quick and they have both indoor and outdoor seating.
Rogue Brewery - There are a lot of breweries in Portland, and I want to go back and try them all (wishful thinking, haha), but this is arguably the most famous. I went to the Rogue Hall on campus, it's under a dorm for Pete's sake. They have all their beers you can find nationwide in stores, plus a bunch of others which you can only get at the brewery. I was very happy with their Mocha Porter. Also, there was free Rogue beer at all the social events for the meeting, and the Hazelnut Brown Nectar Ale is really really good.
McCormick & Schmick's Pilsner Room - Another good place to get a beer, not to mention the best place I did my networking at the conference. They have an extensive selection of guest brews on rotation, and they do their own on the premises. Most of their beers can be had for about $5 a pint, or they have a sampler of 6 varieties for $9. Plus it's down by the marina which has a nice view.
I need to start taking advantage of good things that come my way. Starting now.
Felisa was asked to write a chapter for a book, and the other day she invited me to help her with it. We met yesterday to discuss what we were going to do, but what I mostly got out of the conversation is that she thought it would be fun/enjoyable/a good idea to include me. She generally hates writing book chapters, but seems more excited about doing this one. Needless to say, I was surprised and pleased.
The book is about paleoecology for modern ecologists and conservationists. We haven't completely settled on what our chapter will be about, but Felisa made it clear that this is a collaboration and that I have a pretty hefty say in the matter. So far we've decided, very broadly, that we're including climate change in whatever it is we end up writing about. We've got it sort of narrowed down, but only time and research will reveal what "wants" to get written.
I don't think I'm at liberty to give any more details about the book, other than I'm excited to get started working on it. Future updates will probably just be about how the whole thing is progressing. This new project will give me something else to work on during my self imposed "writing time", which I've been neglecting really badly. Between this and the manuscript, I have a lot to work on over the next few months.
Over the past couple of weeks I've been spending a lot of time working on this one particular data set. After several hours of tinkering, I'd find a new and easier way that I could have performed the task. I went through this frustration for about a week, then realized my original data set didn't have everything I wanted, and it also looked funky for reasons I'm still trying to figure out. These kinds of revelations take a lot out of me, to the point where I even look exhausted. Moping about the building doesn't help, and sometimes I just need to give up on a project for a period of time otherwise I get too discouraged.
I decided I needed to reevaluated my priorities for the near future. I'm giving a talk next Sunday, and I had been neglecting this looming deadline for months. I dropped the new projects I had been hopelessly working on to give some attention to an old friend: my master's research.
Sadly, the project I did for my master's thesis is only slightly closer to being published than it was a year ago, but giving a talk on the topic injected me with a little motivation. I had started putting together an outline for the paper. I got all the way to the results section, but had to stop because I needed to do some more statistical analyses. What I had so far was adequate for my thesis, but not for anything I wanted to send to a journal. I did those analyses over the past couple days, so not only do I feel more secure in giving my talk next weekend, but I can move on through the results section of my manuscript outline and on to the discussion, the meat of the paper.
Thank God I had this productive distraction from what I had been doing. I sometimes get stuck in a rut where something doesn't go right, and the next thing I know I'm stuck in a spiral of failure. Hopefully when I come back to my other projects I'll be fresh and have a different (i.e. better) outlook. Among other reasons, this is why I like having multiple projects going at once. If I had to keep working on the same old thing, even if it wasn't going well, I'd go crazy.
When Matt and I were first looking for a place to live in Albuquerque we only had a couple days to find a place and sign a lease. We didn't know where the good and bad places were and were trying to do the best we could from Pennsylvania. We found an affordable place with adequate room and a nice landlord, but the location left a lot to be desired. We figured we'd stay for a while, then move once we figured the city out and our lease was up.
Our lease ends in July, and we're not exactly on the fast track to moving out of here. We both really want a place with a yard so that we can have a garden, but so far most places we've looked at in our price range haven't been so great. There's the temptation to just settle for something, but I really don't want to move again while we're here.
The truth is there isn't really much rush for us to move right away. Even though our lease is up, we can still rent month to month without any problem. I was feeling a sense of urgency about the whole thing over the past couple of weeks, but I think that's left over from being in a college town. The housing market was rather cut throat in State College, because there were so many students. Now that we're in a regular city, housing options pop up periodically throughout the year, and there isn't as big of a mad dash to try to find something.
The biggest issue for me right now is not being able to putter around in a yard. We're not supposed to have ANYTHING outside of our apartments. I'd like to at the very least be able to grow some lettuce and herbs, but that's not an option at the moment. The closest I can come to fresh local produce is the farmer's market, and that can be expensive.
I'll get my yard eventually. I'm just sick of apartment living and being in a sketchy area. But I can suck it up for a while longer.
Over the past few weeks there have been several wildfires throughout the southwest, including my state. The biggest and scariest of these is a wallow fire that has been going on for 11 days in east-central Arizona. With the drought and the strong winds, fire danger is a serious problem in this region. From what I've heard, this is a human induced fire.
I was sitting in my living room around 7pm on Monday, and I noticed the light in my kitchen looked weird. I realized that the light was coming from the window, and the weird color was from the sky which was a strange brownish orange. We had been getting smoke from Arizona for a couple days, but that was the worst I had seen it. In addition to being able to smell the smoke, there were particles falling from the sky. Of course, this is just ash, none of it is on fire, but the flash from my camera made the particles look a lot like snow.
As of yesterday, this is the second largest fire in Arizona's history, and it doesn't really show any signs of stopping soon. The cities of Eagar and Springerville have been evacuated as firefighters work to try and save those areas. Another major concern now is the possibility that the fires will take down some major electrical lines, which could cause cascading blackouts in Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Texas.
I don't feel as though I am in any imminent danger, the smoke here in Albuquerque wanes in the morning but then is thicker in the evenings when the winds change. It's more of an inconvenience for me at this point, my asthma hasn't been too bad. However, my heart goes out to the people in Arizona who are helpless and can only watch as their homes and communities are consumed. I hope that we get some rain and that the winds die off before much more destruction happens.
I was talking to a fellow student yesterday who experienced the Cerro Grande fire in Los Alamos, NM during 2000. She was evacuated from her home. The smoke in their air here from the Arizona fire is causing her anxiety, even though we're in no real danger at the moment. I guess when you go through such psychological stress, the physical affects can last for a long time afterward.
On my last full day of my visit in Louisiana, Bea and I took in an air boat tour. When we first started planning my visit she had mentioned this activity, and I was looking forward to it since. It turned out to be a great way to look at some of the really cool scenery and also look at natural historical stuff. Plus, the guy driving the boat (I didn't catch his name) had an awesome Louisiana accent.
This is an air boat. As you can see, the propeller doesn't go into the water. It has a flat bottom, and doesn't need much (in some instances any) water to move.
These boats don't come equipped with seat belts, but there is a little bar that keeps passengers from flying off the side. In all seriousness though, it was a really smooth ride and once we got going it felt like we were flying. They are, however, very loud boats. For most of the time we were moving at full speed I had ear protection on, although I did take them off near the end of the trip and it wasn't so bad.
The objective (or at least one of the objectives) was to see alligators (gators) in their natural habitat. The area we were going around is government property that is leased by the air boat tour company. Gator huntin' isn't allowed in this area, and it's kind of a refuge for them. Most gators don't live to be more than 5 feet in length, so gator farms will raise them to be that size to give them a head start before releasing any. These farms, in addition to releasing a certain number of animals back into the wild, also sell the skins and meat for profit. The bayou we were in had a mix of wild and farm raised gators. Farmed gators have a notch taken out of the tip of the tail, so that's how you can distinguish them from a wild gator. Of course, they fight so much they may end up with missing parts anyway... like this guy...
This gator's name is Tripod, and he's about 9-feet long. It's not obvious from the pictures, but he is missing his front left leg. He probably lost is sparring with another male for the rights to a female. This is not uncommon, and there are much larger male gators in the area, which we unfortunately didn't find. The guide spent some time looking for Vicky, a 13-foot male. Apparently it was mating season, so there weren't as many large male gators around, but that just means I'll have to come back at another time of the year!
The way in which the guides get the gators to come up to the boat is kind of insane. They use marshmallows (or gator crack, as our guide called it). They love them, which is convenient since they float and the guides can plop them on the surface to make ripples. The gators sense the movement on their snout and come toward the boat. It's actually pretty ingenious, until you see something like this...
Oh yeah, he's totally leaning in to kiss the gator. That little maneuver gained this guide $5 from me, personally.
We spend the rest of our 2-hour tour driving around looking for whatever we could find.
A Great Egret.
A common moorhen, who also liked the marshmallows! (There was a gator in the water about 15 feet away.)
A very large turtle, he didn't like us and he jumped off his log when we got close.
Another exciting moment was when I got to hold a juvenile gator. It wasn't a wild gator, but that's fine with me, I didn't particularly want to lose any fingers. It was so cute, and the longer we handled it the limper it got, probably trying to convince us that he/she was dead or something. All of us who held it managed to avoid getting peed on (gatorade). It was cool to see it up close, I got a good shot showing the pores around it's mouth that helps them sense movement in the water.
Look at those teeth! He/she is going to be fierce when they grow up (or a marshmallow junkie).
Aside from seeing and touching gators, the best part of the trip was getting to see all the scenery. The bayou is beautiful in an kind of eerie way. Most of the live oaks and swamp cedars are draped in Spanish moss. It's like there are thousands of dark graceful veils hanging off the trees.
When we got back, I took some pictures of the inside of "Air Boat Adventure Tours", because the place was definitely quirky and like something you read about in creepy books. They had stuffed gators and skins all over the place. They also had a holding tank filled with gators. There was a fairly large albino gator which came from a farm. This animal can never be released into the wild, it's color would have made it stand out too much and it would likely die. This animal also had another strange feature, it had a double eye on the left side of its head. It only had the one eye socket there, but you could clearly see two pupils. I don't know if that affects its vision, but I imagine it must.
The albino gator. If you look carefully you can see the double eye. The right eye was normal.
Most of the gators in the tank were pretty small, and were just kind of hanging around. Normally I don't like captive animals, but these guys didn't appear to care. I'm of the belief now that gators are pretty big couch potatoes.
This shows the eye glow that hunters and trappers use to find gators. They hunt at night, when the animals can't see very well, and the glowing eyes give them away.
This more or less concludes my Louisiana adventure. For a four day visit, we did a whole lot, and it was exhausting but super fun. I would have to say it was one of my more successful "short" trips. Bea was really great about coming up with stuff to do, and I can't wait to go back. I think Louisiana is such a neat place, the people and culture are really different. Maybe next time I'll go on one of those ghost or Voodoo tours in New Orleans, that would be awesome.
It was really good to see Bea again, as well. I'm terrible about keeping up with people, I'm just not a phone person. I was just starting to really know her when we were living together in State College and then we all moved. It was also great to see the girls again, I miss having a cat around.
This is the story of finishing my master's thesis at Penn State and moving to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque to start, and hopefully complete, a PhD. It's a major change and a huge adjustment and I'll be documenting my successes, mistakes, musings, triumphs, and tragedies.
Throughout my master's degree, I witnessed my friends with their PhDs, suffering immensely. I decided in the 11th hour of my thesis that I wanted to join them. To that end, I moved to Albuquerque to attend the University of New Mexico in fall 2010. That means I moved away from friends and family on the east coast for adventures out in the southwest. Temporary moment of insanity? Nah.
I'm a paleoecologist, which means I study fossils to understand long term ecological trends in earth's history. My current research is on the last ice age, specifically, changes in climate and associated effects on biota.
