It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like

Halloween?

This week in the Gila, it snowed.  Yes, snowed.  Not a lot.  Only about 2 inches at the most.  But still.  It’s only October, people!  It doesn’t even snow this early in Michigan, usually.  And I still had field work to do!  Snow is not exactly conducive to identifying forbs (aka flowering plants) and determining canopy cover percent.  Digging the hole wasn’t too bad, once we got down to the soil part.  But the main problem?  It was coooold.  Very very cold.  Not just in the morning, either, but all day long.  A couple times the sun would make an appearance for about 2 seconds, and just when we were starting to get excited, it went away again.  Boo sun!  And it was very windy also.

This morning we had to clip a site.  Clipping a site basically means going out to where you dug your hole and throwing a metal hoop around.  All the plants that fall within the hoop are cut with garden clippers and put in a carrying container (in our case a Wal-Mart plastic shopping bag).  The cut up plants are later weighed to calculate biomass content, or some such thing (I’m not really sure how this is done or what it involves, since I have never been a part of this process).  In order to get an accurate(?) assessment we have to do this ten times.  It is oodles of fun.  It’s even more fun when there’s snow on the ground.  Don’t believe me?  You should try it sometime.

While we were clipping, Nori said, “What a ridiculous way to end the field season.”

And with that, I am done with field work.

Don't be sad, Gila. I'll be back next year.

Don’t Try This At Home

This past week at work was our annual field review.  Last year I went but I didn’t have to present anything for it so I spent the whole time wandering around being not much use to anyone.  But this year I presented my first site for review.  What happens is our main boss comes out and looks at the sites we have chosen to see if we did a good job or not.  This can be stressful!  I didn’t have to show anything until the last day so I was somewhat prepared for what to do by my boss and Nori, who went first.  They both did a really good job and I got some experience looking around at and describing sites I had never been to before.  And I saw some pretty neat stuff.

Plains of St Augustine

BEAUTIFUL eluviated horizons

At that point it hadn’t really sunk in yet that I would be the one doing the presenting very soon. By Thursday morning, I was shaking in my boots in anticipation for the events that were to come later that day, when I would be the one in the spotlight.

We started off the morning at Quemado Lake, where we met some people who usually work in an office all day.  It was the week of their leadership team meeting and they decided to go camping in the cold weather. (Believe it or not,  New Mexico does get cold this time of year)  Silly people.  Even we stayed at a hotel.  Anyway, we went up there because our bosses had to give a presentation telling them about what we do all day, because they have no idea.  Honestly, I have no idea what they do all day either, but oh well.

Then it was time to show my site.  I was nervous but I managed to explain things and answer questions with confidence (or at least what I thought was confidence).  On the site itself I had described some things that were not quite right but I just tried to explain my reasoning the best I could and admit when I knew I had done something wrong and correct my documentation where appropriate.

We were able to have some fun times as well.  It was a really great group of people, including all the usual suspects (the field soil scientists), the forest soil scientist and hydrologist (who are both awesome), the contract botanist from Arizona, and a couple student employees who came and went as time allowed.  I sat on the porch of the hotel drinking tequila and beer with my bosses and heard stories about serial killers, and pigs feet, and run-ins with the law, plus much more.  It’s great to hear from these people who have been in the business for so long because they have so much knowledge and experiences to share.

When we arrived back at the office on Friday afternoon and were taking out luggage to load back into our own vehicles, my boss told me I did a good job.  He said,  “I’ve seen some improvement, just keep trying to get better.”  I told him I was really trying and he said “I can tell.”  It was something I really needed to hear.

We also did some trundling.  This is amusing.  You should try it if you ever find yourself on a steep slope with many large boulders.  Exciting times in the woods of New Mexico.

Spin Cycle: A Revelation

Ok, so the other day (Monday) I was getting ready to go down to the Gila, loading up the Suburban and whatnot.  It was then that I realized I had neglected to bring my iPod, meaning four hours of driving and listening to nothing but static.  Poor me!  Not to be dismayed, I began searching my car for a chance CD, hoping to find something buried among the seat cushions.  And I found this.

An audiobook!  Why did I not think of that before?  I could have spent the whole summer listening to books on CD.  This particular book got me all the way from Ann Arbor to Albuquerque.  It’s an interesting book about a Mexican girl who transfers her emotions into the food she’s cooking so that everyone who eats it will feel that emotion as well.  I tried to listen to it but for some reason the stupid Suburban did not like it, so I couldn’t.  Luckily, tucked inside this case was a Moby CD so I listened to that a couple times and it was ok.

But I decided I was not going to give up on my CD book idea that easily.  Next week, I’m driving up to Taos and Cimarron for a plant association class (should be interesting), and I’ll need something to listen to.  So this afternoon I walked my lazy butt over to the library in search of a good looking audiobook.  In the end, I came out with this.

I chose this book because it looked scandalous and I could use a good scandal right about now.  I think I like DH Lawrence but I can’t remember.  English Lit class seems so long and far away.

But anyway, I’m going to listen to this book on my trip to Taos and then after that I’ll get more books to listen to when I go back to the Gila in a week, and it will be fabulous.

I think this may be the best idea I’ve had all summer.

*this post is a contribution to the spin cycle, a weekly rant on all things blog-worthy.  check it out to see some more great spins.

Life in the Fast Lane

Actually, now that I’ve been driving back and forth to Nowhereville, New Mexico (not an actual city) all summer I’ve been spending a lot more time in the fast lane than I’ve ever imagined possible for myself.  (These people in their sedan on their family vacation are going waaay too slow!  I’ll just pass them!  Never really thought I’d do that.)

Anyway, two weeks ago was my last week at the hotel in Reserve, and now we are camping.  I thought it would be hard to go without a shower all week but honestly by the time I got back from work I didn’t really care.  All I wanted to do was drink a beer, eat, sit by the fire for a little while, and go to bed.  So that is what I did.  The weather was really good.  I don’t remember it ever being that warm while I was camping before, even in Nevada and California.  It only rained a little bit.  Once for about ten minutes while we were working, and then the afternoon we were packing up to leave.  Not exactly the most fun time, taking down a tent in the rain, but I guess it can’t be all perfect.

The other thing that wasn’t so perfect was getting stuck behind a locked gate right when we were trying to go back to camp for the evening on Wednesday.  We had to drive allll the way back the other way to get out.  It took about an hour and a half.  Stupid private property.

But other than that it was pretty good.  I got everything done that I wanted to this week.  And also, it was the last week for the student employees (HALLELUJAH!   …I mean, umm, that’s so sad…)  Ok, I’m happy.  They were really starting to get on my last nerve, and I think it will be a lot better now with just the three of us left.

And now, I will leave you with this picture of what I like to do in the field when I run out of stuff to work on.

That was taken last week.  This week, while I was digging, I made up a song for him.

Dirty the soil man

is a very messy soul

with two gravel eyes and a gravel nose

he was dug up from a hole!

Yes, I’m a dork.  Later.

Battling the Elements

This week, I experienced the dynamic effects of weather in the New Mexico forest, and lived to tell the tale.

It started out like any other week.  Monday we drove down to the Gila; my boss, a student employee, and me; met up with the rest of the crew from Silver City, and headed off to our respective mapping areas.  The afternoon was short and uneventful, and we returned to the hotel to rest and prepare for tomorrow.

Tuesday we drove down a dirt road in search of the site I had previously mapped out.  The crew was my boss, Nessa and myself.  Some minor navigational errors occurred but eventually we found the site and began working.  By lunchtime, one site was done and a second almost complete when it began to look like rain.  We finished up quickly and sat down under the trees to eat lunch.  That’s when the thunder and lightning came.  I put on my rain jacket and prepared for the storm.  But nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.

It hailed on us.  And when I say it hailed, I mean it HAILED.  In New Mexico.  In July.  It started out small, just a few little circular pellets of ice.  Then a few more.  And I thought, this isn’t so bad, and remembered the times when we were kids and, from the safety of the garage, watched the hail fall like little pieces of raining fertilizer bouncing off the pavement.   After that, it started to get nasty.  And it hurt, as rapidly falling pea to marble-sized ice crystals being pelted into your back are bound to do.  It was also really REALLY cold, and I was soaked.  I thought it would never stop, but when it finally did, I looked up from under the dripping brim of my hat and saw the land covered in ice.  It looked like it had snowed (which I might have preferred, actually).  I headed back to the truck tired and freezing but still managed to get one more site in before the day was over.  I honestly thought it couldn’t get any worse than that.

The next day began fresh and full of promise.  The weather looked clear and I felt optimistic.  But then things started to go wrong.  I won’t go into all the details because I think some decisions were made that I did not exactly approve of, but I often neglect to speak my mind for fear of being wrong in front of other people.  This usually ends up causing some problems.  Long story short, we went the wrong way a couple times and by the time we got to where we wanted to be, I was exhausted.  As in heat exhaustion.  I felt nauseous and lightheaded, collapsed under a tree, and did not dare to even stand up for quite some time.  I must have been dehydrated, though I honestly thought I had been drinking water pretty much constantly, so I finished one water bottle, drank another, added some of Nessa’s to mine, and drank that too.

I felt better after that but still had a headache that didn’t go away for the rest of the afternoon.  We stopped work an hour early and I proceeded to pass out in my room for half an hour.

Hiking in the woods can be very physically demanding and potentially dangerous, and I cannot emphasize enough the importance of being well prepared for whatever may happen.  I may have a degree but I still have a lot to learn.

What’s been goin on

I left work early today and decided it would be a fantastic idea to eat an entire $5 footlong.  Yeah, not really so fantastic.  So, my tummy is not really in the mood for me to sit up and write an entire full-blown post right now.  Instead, I will just post some pictures.  Because who doesn’t like pictures?

These are a continuation of photos from my trip to Michigan.  My sister and I went downtown to eat gelato and take pictures for her art installation project.  Here’s some of what we came up with.

we liked this one because it says ERECTED in honor of the men... we are very mature

downtown ann arbor. this one wasn't for the project; it was just for me.

this is her finished product. can you see a theme?

I took my own picture of a circle as well.  Starring Jazmine.  I call it the ciiirrrrcle of miiiiiiiice!  (think of the tune to the circle of life from lion king)

We also went back to the cottage and took a kayaking trip down a really pretty creek.

On the flight home, I took some pictures out the window.  This one was for Matt.

This is flying out somewhere above Kansas City.

Shortly after this it started getting dark so I couldn’t get any more pictures, but we flew next to a thunderstorm, which was really cool to see.  Being above the clouds as they produced continuous bolts of lightning was crazy, scary and beautiful.  Just another little thing reminding me why I do what I do as an earth scientist.  Totally awesome.

A Year in the Life

One year ago today I officially started my new job in Albuquerque.  It seems so weird that it’s been a year already.  Time has gone by so fast.  So many things have changed this year.  I’m a real scientist, getting a paycheck for doing what I’ve wanted to do since college, and I’m starting to form an idea of what I want to do with my career in the future.  I really would like to get into geology research.  It will take some time and extra planning efforts on my part but I know that if it’s something I really want, I’ll make it happen.  I have so far, and it really has worked out incredibly well for me.  I met a wonderful person who cares about me very much, and I’ve met some nice new people at work as well.  (If only they lived a little closer, as in the same city/state as me, it would be better)

But right now I’m not at work.  I’m on vacation!  I am in an exotic place called Michigan, visiting my family.  We spent the weekend at our cottage on the lake, boating and kayaking, eating and watching fireworks.  In a way, it’s like I’ve come full circle doing exactly what I was doing a year ago.

I don’t have all that much more to say about it.  It’s just really good to be home for a little while, away from the week-to-week, day-to-day, packing, waking up at 6, hiking and digging for 10-11 hours, collapsing, unpacking, starting all over again.  Not that I hate it, or even dislike it.  It’s just really really good to have a vacation.  Everyone needs one of those.

Here’s some photographic highlights of what I’ve been doing so far.  If you have never been to Michigan, it’s actually a pretty nice place.

my sister and me, boating and blue moon

The best restaurant in Ann Arbor

dinner! (at aforementioned restaurant)

You Wish You Were Me in the VCNP

Well, Matt did not wake up in time to go to the French restaurant today.  Blah blah excuses excuses.  It’s okay, though.  I imagine it’s hard working nights and sleeping during the day.  I wouldn’t want to do it.

Right now I should be packing and getting ready to go to the Valles Caldera tomorrow.  I’m ALWAYS late to work on Mondays due to poor planning on my part.  This will probably not go over too well in my performance review.

But I thought I’d throw a picture of where I’m going to be up here just so that while all of you are at home on your computers you can imagine me frolicking in the forest.

See ya in two weeks!

Summertime, and the livin’s… easy?

Around here, summer means one thing: FIELD SEASON.  It’s already in full swing and I’m still attempting to get a handle on it. This year, I am expected to map 72,000 acres of soil and vegetation along a climatic gradient (try saying that three times fast).  Yes, 72 THOUSAND.  It should be an experience, for sure.

The funny thing about me having a mapping job is that my sense of direction is terrible.  I have absolutely no internal compass.  Therefore, my first field experiences in mapping have included a lot of getting lost and walking up and down a lot of hills/mountains that I probably didn’t really need to walk up at all.  But it’s all part of the learning process, right?  That’s what I thought.  Apparently, some people do not feel the same way about this.

But I am getting ahead of myself.  So I’ve been spending oodles of time down on the Gila doing my work (of which I’ll try not to bore you too much with the details, but some of it may come out eventually) and in the past couple of weeks, I have met a pretty interesting and diverse cast of characters, which I must tell you about.

I’ll start off with the major players.  I work with three other women (yes, women, because we’re like adults now, and stuff) Nora-the “boss,” Nessa-the ex Mormon, and Jade- the hippie, (names are sorta changed; they aren’t exactly their “Chistian” names, if you will).  Nora and I are full time employees while Nessa and Jade are student employees.  This makes us the ones in charge, yes?  One would think so.

Nora is smart, quiet and down to earth.  She has the most experience out of all of us.  And she helps me a lot by explaining where to go and why to go there when we are mapping.  I have been depending on her a lot but am looking forward to getting out there and starting to figure things out for myself based on the experience she has given me so far.

I like Nessa pretty well.  She is nice and knows a lot about plants, since she started off as a biologist.  This is helpful.  The only problem is she walks FAST.  I have short little legs and do not walk so fast, especially when going up or down hills with many rocks and the potential for falling on my face, while she just takes off and leaves me in the dust.  I don’t think she even realizes it.  It just comes naturally to her since she’s lived and worked here for a while, so it’s not her fault.  Still, it makes me annoyed sometimes but what it really comes down to is I need to try harder (as much as I hate to admit it).  One of my goals this summer is to get in shape so if I can keep up with her by the time field season is over, I’ll know I’ve accomplished something.

Then there’s Jade.  How do I explain her?  She reminds me a lot of a guy I know from grad school.  Outgoing, pretty wild, likes to drink and strike up conversations with random strangers, and enjoys being the center of attention.  Generally in a fairly good mood, but can also be super bitchy at times without warning.  She’s like the female version of him, really.

All four of us have been staying at a motel in a little podunk town called Reserve, the county seat of Catron County.  It’s a popular town for people like construction and electrical workers to stay in.  And generally, because of this, the motel stays pretty busy.

One week we met an old man who was with a rockhounding group.  He was retired from his government job, of which he had spent many years and worked his way up pretty high on the ladder (GS-15 for those of you familiar with government work).  Several years ago his wife died of cancer and he has since remarried another woman, who was also widowed.  After they got married and he retired, he built a gorgeous house (he had pictures) for the two of them, and soon after that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.  But it hasn’t stopped him.  He’s been to Australia twice since then and also goes on these rockhounding trips.  Later this summer, he’s planning to take his niece on a trip through several states around the country.  He’s a really cool old man.

This past week we met another old man named Bob.  He has been retired three times but was asked to come back as a contractor for his most recent job.  He and his partner, who is a younger guy, were working on electrical wires in the area, doing something or other.  Our first night there, we were sitting around on the porch drinking when Bob came out to go for a walk.  Jade, always the social butterfly, invited him to come have a beer with us.  It was an offer he couldn’t refuse.  We all stayed up pretty late that night so I decided to take it easy on everyone the next day and go to an area with not a lot of mountains or long hikes.  It was a really productive day and I was super proud of myself for getting so much done.

That evening when we got back to the hotel I went to my room to take a shower.  We were planning to go to dinner together that night so I went out to look for everyone and found Jade with a group of construction workers.  They offered me a Bud Light (bleh, I didn’t want to seem rude though…).  Soon after, Nessa and Nora came outside and we explained what we do to the construction workers.  Since I decided to do the easy stuff that day, it was inevitable that tomorrow we’d have to go back up to the other side of the mountain I took them on the previous week.  And Jade said to me, “you’d better plan that out tonight because I don’t want to have to walk all over the place again.”  Umm, is it just me, or should student employees not tell their superiors what to do?

So the next day, we went to the other side of the mountain, and it took a while as expected.  Nora was sort of taking charge even though it was my map area.  I guess she’s just used to being the one telling people what to do, and she was helpful, but sometimes she would get ahead of me (because I’m a slow walker, as mentioned above) and take us to a place that I didn’t necessarily want to go to, so that was a little frustrating, but I still got some stuff done, so it was ok.

The first place we stopped at, I was trying to figure out where to dig the hole, since we have certain things we have to incorporate when describing a map unit, and Nessa was just bounding up the mountain.  I told her we didn’t have to go to the very top, I just needed to go somewhere on the side of the mountain.  At this point, Jade stepped in and said, very sarcastically, “Yeah, that helps me a lot.  I know exactly what you mean.”  I sort of just blew this off and kept going.  It’s not my fault you stayed up until all hours of the night drinking beer and flirting with old men (oh yeah, some people stayed up late again the next night too, but I didn’t) and now you are cranky.  Deal with it.

At the end of the day we were sitting on the porch again at the hotel and some of the construction guys came over and started talking to us.  I didn’t really care, I just sat there eating my reheated dinner while some of the other people smoked cigarettes (yucky, but I deal with it, I did live in Vegas).  There was one pretty sleazy guy in the bunch though, who had sort of taken to Nessa the previous night, and something he had said to her did not sit right with me.  (She wasn’t too pleased with him either) Well that night, as we were going in to bed, Nora walked by the guy, Joe, to get into her room and as she walked past he slapped her on the butt.  I did not see this because at this point I had gone in the other direction.  I just heard some comment about a butt before I went inside and didn’t find out what actually happened until the next day.  Since Jade and Nessa are the more outspoken of the group, they yelled at him for it, so, good for them.

And that’s what my summer’s been like so far.  But since this week’s spin cycle was supposed to be about summer plans, I will say that I PLAN to be doing more of the same for the rest of the summer, plus some other things which I will try to keep you all updated on (I’m sure you’re all hanging on the edge of your seats) because I think the next month and a half is going to be a lot of fun, and I’m pretty excited.

I will tell you now that starting Monday I will be spending the next two weeks up north in the Valles Caldera, so no internet access for me.  Boo.  But I may make another post tomorrow because Matt and I are planning to go to the French Restaurant, if he wakes up in time, that is.  We’ll see!

And in This Moment I am… Happy

This song is… perfection.

I heard it earlier this week while driving to the Gila and it made me happy.  Just listen to the lyrics.  It reminds me of the time when I was a junior in college and my professor threw the books away.

This is what happened.  Our class had just finished a story project and handed it in to our professor who was going to a writing workshop somewhere.  She took the stories to grade on the plane while we stayed behind and worked on our next story assignment.  The professor returned the following week completely enlightened.  She informed us that she had discovered a new way of writing and that our stories that she had just graded were a complete disappointment to this “method,” as she called it.  Previously we had been very “by the book” with our writing exercises; this was no longer acceptable.  After a little bit of discussion, she said, “That’s it, I am starting this class over.”  And she walked out of the room with her books in hand.  A few moments later, she re-emerged, throwing her books in the air and exclaiming “I’m throwing the books away!”  So we did.  We never went back to the books, and we began practice of The Method.

The Method is a writing exercise in which you do not think, you just write.  To help get us in the mindset, our professor read us this poem.

You’re sitting here with us, but you’re also out walking
in a field at dawn. You are yourself
the animal we hunt when you come with us on the hunt.
You’re in your body like a plant is solid in the ground,
yet you’re wind. You’re the diver’s clothes
lying empty on the beach. You’re the fish.

In the ocean are many bright strands
and many dark strands like veins that are seen
when a wing is lifted up.
Your hidden self is blood in those, those veins
that are lute strings that make ocean music,
not the sad edge of surf, but the sound of no shore.

– Rumi

Then to help get us started with our writing, we were asked to use this formula:

I am…  You are…  We are here because… The worst thing in my life right now is…

From this formula, you can either draw on a memory or create a fictional story from it.  Personally, I think it’s easier to start off using memories because they require less effort and “thought.”  Remember, thinking is not allowed.  It is supposed to come from some place inside you, outside the realm of thoughts and ideas.  This is really difficult, and takes a while to master.  I’m not sure if I ever did, or if anyone in the class ever did.  For a while, I even decided it was stupid and I went “anti-method,” but every time I hear songs like this one, I can’t help but think that they are using the method, and they are using it beautifully.  Maybe they don’t even know it.  That’s probably the best way.  Because then you aren’t thinking about trying not to think.  You’re just writing.  And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

From this I’ve decided that I’m going to use this concept a little more in my blogging.  I’ve realized that sometimes I think too hard about what I’m writing, and that people seem to like what I write better when I’m not trying so hard.  Take my last post.  I honestly thought it was a bunch of crap, but people seemed to like it.  And writing is nothing if it is not for an audience.

I won’t be using the method in here, because that form of writing is not for an audience.  It is something very personal.  But what’s the point of writing it then, you may ask?  My response is this.  Just because no one will be reading the original thing you wrote, does not mean there will not be later versions that will be read by a future audience. There is also an editing process in which you get into the same mindset that you were in when you first wrote whatever you are editing.  Go through it and cross out anything that is too “think-y.”  You can do this ten or a million times.  It’s up to you.  But eventually you’ll come up with something very different from what you first wrote, and that is when it is time to let other people read it.

If you’d like to try this, here are the rules:

1. Don’t think, just write

2.  Try to write first thing in the morning when your mind is not bogged down by thoughts of the day.

3. You are not allowed to type on a computer.  Everything has to be written out by hand, in ALL CAPS.  On paper with no lines.  And write very slowly.  This makes you focus on the formation of the letters instead of on what you are writing.  Some people even paint their letters.

4.  Set a timer and write for 10 mintues.  You can work your way up to longer amounts of time as you get better at it.

5.  DO NOT think about the timer while you are writing.  Just let it go and stop writing when it goes off.  Don’t try to finish a thought after the timer has gone off.  You are not supposed to be having thoughts!

6.  Be patient!  This is not easy.

7.  Have fun!