field work

AWash and I took a brief hiatus from field work in April, but we're back at it now. The sites are much greener since it has warmed up. We're seeing tons of incredible critters! All sorts of caterpillars, moths, butterflies, spiders, dragonflies, and even a fawn. A lot of plants that were pretty dormant during the winter have sprung back to life and are flowering. AWash is doing a much better job at documenting these incredible finds, and I'll see if she'd mind if I posted some of her pictures. Until then, these images from good ol' swamp cam will have to suffice.

Leucothoe racemosa (Fetterbush)

The logging trail. It looks very different than the last time we visited the site. Much more greenery and ferns.

Itea virginica (Virginia Willow)

Woodwardia virginica (Virginia chain fern)

Cypress dome

enjoying the solitude

Yesterday, I spontaneously decided I was going to walk part of the Gainesville-Hawthorne trail. I parked at the trail head, walked the mile or so to La Chua Sink and then walked out to the over look on Payne's Prairie. Along the way, I inspected the various blooming plants and quizzed myself on their names. I appear to be a tad rusty.

Not too much to report. I went alone and did some thinking. My mind seems like a messy place these days and I was in need of some serious self reflection. I feel a bit more at peace with myself. At least for the time being...

career day

Let me first say, the thought that I have enough of a career to be qualified to participate in career day is mind blowing. I don't want to be mistaken for a real adult... ew.

I have a small phobia of teaching/facilitating groups with youth under 10. I'm afraid I'm going to scar them for life, or damage their sweet innocent little brains or they'll eat my soul. Although, I sold that long ago, so this fear is possibly invalid and the most irrational. To top it all off, I don't really know how to talk to them. I don't speak their language. This fun fact about me came out during a staff meeting last month as we were discussing my slow (and not so successful) development of a violence prevention curriculum for Elementary aged youth. Da boss, and da BIG boss decided that all I needed to get over my fear was more practice. Hence the signing up for career day at M.K. Rawlings Elementary School in Gainesville. I've also been permitted to 'borrow' some coworker's 5 year olds. Oh, joy!

The panic didn't really set in until I received an email from the coordinator giving me some ideas for talking points. The big one being "What education did you need to prepare you for your career?" The degree I used for acquiring me job was my B.A. in Women's Studies. HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN WOMEN'S STUDIES TO EIGHT YEAR OLDS?! Many college students can't seem to wrap their heads around what this is. How in the world could I break this down into kid friendly speak? I called Mom in a frenzy. We decided to explain it like this:

"You all have learned about the founding fathers, right? Well, do you know anything about the founding mothers? I studied the work and lives of the founding mothers. Not just in our country, but in other countries around the world. I learned their special stories and about why they're often hidden from the histories that we all learn in school. Pretty cool, huh?!"

This explanation went very smoothly. There was no glossy look in their eyes. I even heard a couple of them whisper "cool". We did several activities that we'd do with our groups (made age appropriate of course. No talk of dating relationships, instead of friendships). We played telephone to explore a new big word, communication, and talked about why being clear with our messages is so important. I had one student tell us she could read minds. Which, she failed to read mine, so I think she might have been being silly.

On a whole, the entire experience went VERY well. Thanks to Mom for helping me prep and Da Boss for bailing me out when I ran out of ideas on how to simplify my language and froze. The interns observed and reported that I did fairly well. With only a minor sense of panic and terror in my eyes. I only slipped up and used words that were too advanced a few times, but we turned that into a vocab lesson. We learned 'communication', 'confidential', 'parental figure', and 'compromise'. The kids used them in sentences when they were telling us about their experiences. Go team!

Kids can be cool and aren't really anything to be afraid of, I'd just rather stick to talking to teens. I can use big words and be cool for occasionally saying 'shit'.

where did february go?

I've been slacking on most of my 2010 resolutions. Updating the blog included. There has been a lot going on in my part of the universe. Traveling, working, laughing and eating... oh the eating. Lots of delicious foods, fun and friends.

I dropped my camera in the swamp a few weeks ago and lost some pictures. Luckily, after a good drying out, the cam is somewhat working again. Although, I might just use some of that tax refund to get a new one and designate the other as "Swamp Cam".

Last weekend, I went to Ft. Collins, CO to visit The Hanners. We had a wonderful time and it snowed the entire time I was there. It was magical. Snow is way cool. The picture below is a shot from The Hanner's front door.

We went on a hike to Devil's Backbone Open Space in Larimer County, CO. It was a nice little hike, but the altitude difference left me a bit winded. At least, that's the excuse I'm using. We had a wonderful time!

After the hike we drove through Roosevelt National Forest and checked out the lovely snow covered mountains. We ate lunch in Estes Park and then headed back to Ft. Collins. On a whole, great outdoor time with! I'm definitely planning on going back to visit The Hanners again and do more exploring.

first day of 'work'

Monday I started my second job. Well... it's more like a weekend adventure time where I get paid. Oh, gee. Life is SOOOO terrible (sarcasm, incase you didn't catch it). Thanks to Dan the Man, I landed this amazing gig with AWash's research for her Master's project. Every weekend or so, I help her measure the depth and density of cypress domes in logged sites. I'm learning more and more about the process and regeneration of the ecosystems every day. I'm also brushing up on some rather rusty botany skills. My job is to help with collect data and identify plants in the area. I'll be going out with AWash as often as she needs, and my 'day job' permits. Stay tuned.

The site we went to Monday had been logged last year (2009). It is our most recently disturbed habitat and proved quite the difficult walk. Also, boots (galoshes) are not the most fun/comfortable things to walk miles in. Definitely noted.

Logged site, the entry point.

Cypress dome aka the Laboratory

Moss of sorts.

Possibly Selaginella apoda (Spike moss). It might be difficult to see, but there is representation of the sporophyte stage in this specimen. Uber cute!

The dominant tree species we were surveying were: Ilex cassine (Dahoon Holly), Gordonia lasianthus (Loblolly Bay), Magnolia virginiana ("Swamp Magnolia" or Sweet Bay), and Persea borbonia (Red Bay)

The logged pines were mostly Pinus elliottii (Slash pine).

providence canyon, georgia

This weekend several friends and I went on a quick hike in Providence Canyon State Park in Georgia.  The park was only 4.5-5 hours away from Gainesville and had a 7 mile backcountry trail.  Our group was originally of 7, but by the time we departed, we were down to 4 plus a pup.  When we drove up Saturday morning it continually rained.  We kept our fingers crossed that the weather prediction of sleet wouldn't hold true.  At the start of our hike, it was a whopping 38 degrees and still rainy.  We would not be deterred and decided to hike in 2 miles and make camp.  

Surprise, surprise.  I'm in the back of the pack.  

The rain never let up.  It continued throughout the night and into Sunday morning with torrent waves coming and going.  We decided over breakfast that we should probably head back the way we came and call it a short hike.  Everything was soaked.  We packed up very wet tents and gear and headed the two miles back.  However, we could never have predicted the surprise we were in for.  The creek bed had risen 6 inches to a foot in some places.  Of course, our trail was the creek bed.  There was no alternative but to walk through the flowing chai colored water.  The rain pounded down and we trudged through.  We all laughed and rolled with it.  It was exciting, refreshing, and just plain fun.  I remained relatively dry (so to speak) until the water reached my knees.  There's really only so much water prevention Gortex can handle; my boots were probably carrying 5lbs of water.  We reached the segment of trail back up out of the creek bed and turned to survey our triumphant path.  We all laughed at our orange, clay covered bodies.  The hike might have been cut short, but the adventure hadn't.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of us when we reached the cars.  Everything was soaked, including the camera.  Naturally, the rain stopped once we got off the trail.  Figures.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my companions and the challenge of hiking in the cold and rain.  I also learned just how out of shape I am.  I suppose I need to get back into the real gym and get back on the bike.  Simply rock climbing twice a week just ain't cuttin' it.

tat #2

I did this while in CA with Mess.  I'd been thinking about it since coming home from India about a year an a half ago.  Dominic Vasquez at Full Circle Tattoos drew the image and then inked me up.  We found them on yelp.com (which I'm also quite pleased with).  It took a total of an hour and a half.  I'm not going to lie, it hurt.  But the end result is AMAZING. 

Thankfully it's not as red and angry looking anymore.  It has healed up quite nicely, and I'm increasingly tickled with it.  I couldn't have done it without Mess there cheering me on.  Hooray for sisterly bonding.

in search of harbor seals

For Thanksgiving this year, M & D helped me get out to California to see the sister unit (Non-profits don't pay all that well..).  While Southern California isn't really my cup-o-tea, I had a fabulous time with Messy.  She's currently working on her Masters in Evolutionary Biology at San Diego State University.  She studies whales... Fin whales (Balaenoptera sp.) to be exact.  More on that later.  

Check out the harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) Messy took me to see.

La Jolla Beach, CA

Mess on the Beach

There are more pictures, if you're interested.  They're on facebook.  Just let me know if you'd like to view them, and I'll gladly send you a link.  

weekend weaving

Over Halloween weekend, Erin and I signed up to take a Beginning Weaving workshop with the Gainesville Handweavers Guild.  It was a two day intensive class where we learned the basics of the loom, how to read patterns, and most importantly (and also the most difficult part) how to 'warp' or 'dress' the loom.  

The first day, I used a table loom which belonged to the GHG.  However, on the second day, Erin lent me one of her extra table looms so I could continue to work on my project at home after the class finished.  I'll post more pictures of my current project soon.  Until then, check out some shots from the workshop.

say hello to my little friend

I was so excited about going to the beach, I forgot my camera.  However, I feel it is important to note I attempted to do some recruiting for my crab army.  Ghost crabs, mother nature's mercenaries.  Below is what my most hopeful candidate looked like.  I talked of catching one... but I was not successful.  They are quicker and smarter than I.  Ninja skills are in need some work.  I love how their little eyes stick up.  I want eyes like that.  Perhaps it is time to make a hat...

Ocypode quadrata (Ghost Crab)

Picture obtained from the internet.

While observing the crabs I overheard a woman explaining to her small child how God put the crabs on the earth to dig in the sand.  She then continued on to explain how God gave them pinchers for protection.  Seems like if this God had his ish worked out properly he would have given these crabs a shovel or scoop of sorts.  But what do I know, I'm no theologian.  But, I am very good at eavesdropping on random strangers conversations.  Four women on the other side of us were discussing careers as pinup girls.  Very interesting.  I wonder God's rationale on that.  I love public beaches... you get all kinds of freaks and weirdos.

the artist and the botanist

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, an artist became interested in natural fibers.  She made friends with a botanist, who was also interested in natural fibers.  The two went on adventures and became fast friends.  They were constantly pulling, tugging, twinning, and experimenting with tid-bits.  They ventured here and there collecting and examining.  The artist nurtured the botanist and encouraged her nerdy habits.  The botanist taught the artists about new and exciting materials.  They collected treasure, played and shared.  They learned each other's language.  The universe smiled.

Yesterday, they began the process of making paper from paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera).  

employment

Wednesday I officially took a job with Peaceful Paths Domestic Abuse Network in Gainesville Florida.  My position is a Violence Prevention Advocate.  My duties are to facilitate teen groups/presentations on a weekly basis, adapt violence prevention curriculum as needed, conduct professional and community awareness presentations as requested, and serve as the right hand to the Director of Violence Prevention to establish and maintain connections.

I am so excited.  Not only is it a HUGE relief to have a job, but this one is something I feel passionate about and has some immediate impact on society.  I'm so happy about it; I've told pretty much everyone I've come into contact with.  I also gush about it upon inquiry.  I fear I'm slightly annoying... but honestly, I don't give a shit.  3 months and 45 resumes later, I'm employed with a kick ass organization doing something worth while.  P.S. I have yet to graduate.  I'm on cloud nine.  I can't wait for this new adventure to begin.

You can find out more about the organization here.  To learn more about the Violence Prevention Program go to the first scroll bar, go to the last option and click.

specimens

Southern green stink bug

(Acrosternum hilare)

Ok so I've been on a bit of a bug kick lately.  I can't help it though, they're literally everywhere.  Oh Florida in the summer time!  Today I came home from class and found this dude in my shirt.  Jerk didn't even offer to buy me a drink!  So I lured it into a plastic container... and put it in the freezer.  I have no idea if I was sprayed, or stung, or whatever but while I was getting it out of my shirt my hand was burning.  Hence why this visitor went into the freezer.  I feel slightly bad about freezing its tiny ass, but not enough to truly regret it.   Now I have something new to play with/look at... and give to a friend... they know who they are.  I would post my own pictures, but my camera won't capture images that tiny.  So we must make due with these I found on the internets.

I really like this diagram.  The shape of the abdomen is oddly pleasing.  I have a sudden urge to draw them and put in the specifics of my specimen.  I also enjoy the word specimen.  Specimen... it makes me feel closer to Charlie D.  Yeah that's what I call Charles Darwin.

Specimen, specimen, specimen...