Slumber Party

At 31 years old I had a slumber party with my 3 year old niece and my 2 year old nephew at my sister's house. We ate homemade pad thai (my favorite!) for dinner, followed by popcorn and ice cream while watching "Elf." Possibly one of the most fun nights I've had in a while. We woke up to fresh coffee cake (for the vegans) and crepes (for the non-vegans). My niece told her mom "Hey, you're supposed to be gone" when she saw my sister in the kitchen. When it came time for me to leave my niece and nephew were so disappointed that I wasn't staying with them another night. I'm sure my brother-in-law thought it was silly, but I'm quite thankful for the adventures.

Mountains

I went into the mountains today, to find trees for decorating the houses of my parents and each of my sisters. Five dogs and four kids later I feel full of joy. The dogs were good (mine even listened the whole time!) and the kids full of laughter. We talked about trees and rocks and lichen and moss. We often talk about birds too, but I'm certain the altitude and the ruckus kept any birds in the area at bay. The lack of snow did not dampen spirits, though sledding is certainly more fun than playing in the dirt. Perhaps the snows will come soon enough for a family outing before Winter Term starts again. Being an auntie is one of the greatest joys in my life. Sharing my love for birds and nature the icing on the cake.

Snowy Owl Adventure

What a wonderful birding adventure I embarked upon yesterday. People have been seeing a snowy owl in Albany and a mountain plover near Corvallis, for several days now. I am generally not a "seeker" of birds. I see what I see wherever I am and am happy with that. But...I have always wanted to see a snowy. Over the summer I decided that I would go to their "normal" Oregon winter hangouts. Then, it turns out it is an irruption year for snowies, with larger numbers of them coming further south than in a typical year. Albany is about four hours from Ashland, but I didn't care. My post Fall Term of Graduate School celebration would be going to find the Albany Snowy Owl. A friend from the cohort came along and we met my birding compatriot in Eugene. After some delicious baked goods at Sweet Life we headed west/northwest on hwy 99W, toward Corvallis. The mountain plover was off of a road near one of my favorite wildlife refuges, Finley Wildlife Refuge, in a large field. Once we selected the right field it took mere minutes to spot the plover, but it was not alone. A winter plumed black-bellied plover was hanging out with it. Not my first black-bellied, but a wonderful surprise either way! We then headed to find the snowy in Albany. It was amazing how easy the snowy was to spot, in the large green field it was hanging out in. Particularly compared to finding the mountain plover (brown in a brown field). I know that snowies are big, but nothing I've read, no photos that I've seen, prepared me for how big and how wonderful snowies are in person. The bird was clearly a female, based on the amount of black barring on its chest. We watched him for quite a while, moving slowly away from us in short bouts of gliding. After a bit we drove to a road that took us closer to the snowy. The highlight of watching the snowy was having it fly toward us, land, look to the north, glide up, gracefully drop to the ground and bounce back up into the air with a large rodent in its talons. Of course, watching the owl swallow the rodent whole was even more delightful! Pizza Research Institute pizza after birding rounded out the delightful adventure. Happy birding.

Extended weekend

This weekend is a four day weekend. While not having a schedule to constrain my life is wonderful, I have many projects due in the coming week. Thus, my weekend is not nearly as full of relaxation as I'd like. My winter break will be similarly structured with gift making, thesis proposal writing and PhD professor seeking on the agenda. Hopefully, there will be enough snow for a little snowshoeing too.

Its winter and I have, once again, become very self-reflective. I think this graduate program is helping with this process. I've always loved teaching, but I'm learning more and more about the places I do not want to teach in. I'm also realizing that I truly love natural resources and conservation. Understanding how we interact with the world around us and what we can do to preserve nature. Research is a must in my future. I've also come to realize that meetings really are just not my "thing," particularly inefficient and unproductive meetings. I don't need to have meetings about meetings, I need to have meetings about progressing forward with decisions and what-not.

Anyway, I'm off to an Environmental Education Holiday Potluck. Enjoy your weekend!

Snow Day

My dog loves the snow so yesterday I hiked up the mountain behind my house, hoping to find snow for her. We found a couple of inches at the higher elevations, making for a wonderful way to start the day. On the hike back down the mountain an adult red-tailed hawk and a raven circled over head for a short portion of the hike. In that moment I felt so happy, and so lucky to be alive. To live where I live. To be so completely happy to "just" watch birds. A lovely morning indeed!

Thesis Project

Okay, all you birders out there, I have a favor to ask of you. My thesis project has changed quite a bit from my original idea. In its current form the project is "The Effects of Birder Use of Playback on Bewick's Wrens and Song Sparrow." In putting together the methods for this section I have come across some question that I cannot answer myself. How do birders use playback? What time of day are most birders out birding? Where do most birders acquire the songs they use for playback? What kind of equipment do most birders use when they use playback? If you, or anyone you know, uses playback, or if you have suggestions or thoughts on these questions, please let me know. Any assistance you can provide will be much appreciated! Cheers!

Fall Term

Man, oh man, this term has been hectic! Between class, work, my thesis proposal and planning meetings for the fall outdoor education program that my cohort will be putting on next fall I seem to have little time to stop and think. Or blog for that matter. I've never been in Ashland for more than a day trip, so this fall has been interesting. The irrigation ditch is now dry. The neighborhood bears and foxes hang out closer to my house (both leaving scat behind and the foxes talk a lot!). During the peak of fall migration there were hundreds of swallows performing their aerial acrobatics over Ashland. Turkey vultures also gathered over Ashland before heading south. In one day I counted over 40, and that was after I finally gave up and just stared up at their thermally soaring silhouettes. Now the white-crowned and golden-crowned sparrows hang out in the bushes around town and the winter flocks of black-capped chickadees, ruby-crowned kinglets and golden-crowned kinglets have come down from the higher elevations. There are occasional flocks of bushtits and every now and then I hear a brown creeper. Moments of reflection on the cycles of life, circadian rhythms and changes both in my life, self and the nature around me are wonderful distractions from the bustle that my life has become.