it's official!

four things i never would have predicted: (1) paper in Science; (2) paper in Science in the Policy Forum section; (3) paper on ocean acidification; (4) congressional and staff briefings on Capitol Hill in DC (yes, i have to wear a suit!).


more here:
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6033/1036.summary

spring in victoria

i just returned from a whirlwind conference circuit...9 days in victoria, british columbia, for the international marine conservation congress and 2.5 days in washington, d.c., for the blue vision summit. the two venues could not have been more different...and i hate to say that canada won. my coworkers and i rented a condo in james bay where we woke up every morning to a phenomenal view of the snow-covered olympic mountains. lovely, eh?

room with a view

we managed to spend our very limited amount of free time in victoria at butchart gardens. so lovely! the grounds were spilling over in tulips of all sizes, shapes, and colors. the photos tell a better story than my words...

 english daisy

 japanese garden

 puffballs

 tibetan blue poppy

 tulips!

 check out the edges of these beauties!

we also managed to fit in a quick trip to the infamous bug zoo! it was amazing! i got to hold a hissing cockroach (see below), mexican red kneed tarantula, millipede, and a katydid! we also saw the largest leaf cutter ant farm in all of north america, scorpions, spiders, walking sticks, atlas beetles...so many cool things! we were maybe the nerdiest adults in the room.

imcc felt like a reunion of sorts...many, many good friends were in attendance. i did not have nearly enough time to spend with each of them, but it was so good to see their smiling faces nonetheless.

d.c. was about 25 degrees warmer than victoria and was a bit of a whirlwind. i was on a panel about ocean acidification, had to wear a suit, and talked about laws. those are all things that i had not envisioned for myself! i did get to have dinner with my dear friend kate during the 48 hours i was in the city, so the trip was well worth it!

i got home tonight to a happy but confused dog. i replaced pete...he left this morning. somehow i need to come up with a doggie calendar so cass doesn't worry about us...

road trip!

pete and i tend to spend anywhere from about four to six months away from each other during the year. so when opportunities present themselves, we try to take advantage of any quality time together we can get! quality time for the month of april looked like this... 18 hours in a ford F-750 and miles of interstate between seattle and santa cruz.

 the giant truck! note that it requires TWO stairs to get into this thing.

i think my carbon footprint for the year is ruined!

i flew up to seattle on friday and we spent the night with our dear friends tish and morgan. this was the first time that the four of us have been together since tish's defense a year and a half ago. we went for a lovely hike, had dinner at one of their favorite neighborhood restaurants, and enjoyed each others' company. saturday morning, pete and i loaded up in the ginormous truck and started our journey south. it was fun for me to drive that stretch of highway again...it has been a few years. there are many sites along the journey that are tied to memories from my years in the pacific northwest. 

lighthouse on puget sound

we drove as far as ashland, oregon, the first day and made it there with enough daylight to go into downtown and walk through the park. it was a beautiful, warm evening and the walk was much needed after 10 hours in the truck. despite it's truckiness, it was actually quite comfortable. 

ashland, oregon

we made it back to santa cruz by late afternoon on sunday after 18 hours of driving (and a stop at the olive pit in corning). the journey was well worth it for the quality time with pete...however strange that may sound. 

(cassie got a weekend away with my friends erin and nick who took her to the beach, topped her food with pork gravy, and paid endless attention to her...so i don't think she felt left out at all!)

pennies for patients - a success!

thank you to all the schools across the country who participated in the pennies for patients fundraising campaign again this year! you are saving lives, and i hope you realize how much it means to those of us who have been forever changed by leukemia or lymphoma. 


this is the year-end video from the minnesota, north dakota, and south dakota regional program. my niece madeline (finished her treatment in december 2010) is prominently featured in many of the shots from the minnesota schools. the video makes me smile and cry all at the same time...


http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=584680274102

p.s. you don't need a facebook account to watch the video

wildflowers!

a few photos from the last couple of outings in central california. the wildflowers have been amazing!


first up, pinnacles national monument. i go here every spring to see the wildflower bloom and condors, and to enjoy the other worldly landscape that gave the park its name.

                    pinnacles high country                       blue dicks

indian paintbrush 

                           fremont star lily                         pinnacles!

hungry caterpillar

 dudlea and lichens

shooting stars 

fiddleneck 

cream cup

last weekend, pete and i went to point reyes. pete spent a significant part of his youth at the national seashore, but it was my first time. i've been meaning to go for years but finally put it on the calendar this year. the wildflowers were great here too!

one of my favorites...the california poppy

                  lighthouse stairs (308 total)   blue-eyed grass & checkerblooms

buttercup

                  blue-eyed grass                        chimney rock

pussy ears 

pete's latest handiwork...

check out the amazing planter boxes Pete built for the deck! five little beauties in all. we'd been searching for a pattern for quite a while when pete came across this one from the new yankee woodshop. thanks norm! these will soon be filled with tomatoes, basil, eggplant, peppers, and beans...i can hardly wait! i hope the veggies enjoy their new home as much as i do.

doggie drama

another day in cassie drama land...


cassie got attacked by two neighborhood hound dogs about 10 days ago. she's on the mend and is in good spirits, but she has many stitches still in place.


we had just left the house on the fateful day when two large-ish hound dogs, being walked by two young kids, pulled their leashes free and charged cassie in a matter of seconds. after some frantic pulling, kicking, and who knows what else, the attacking dogs were pulled off, the kids were horrified and completely traumatized, and cassie was laying still on the street. she managed to get to her feet, but was shaking so badly that i carried her back to the house where she collapsed on the grass. 


she had a puncture wound in her back and wouldn't put any weight on her right front leg. after a bit of searching, i found the source of trouble for her right leg....several gashes that nearly encircled her entire leg. while i figured the puncture wound in her back would heal, these were not quite so pretty. so off we went for another traumatizing visit to the vet. 20-some stitches later, we were sent home with antibiotics, pain medication, elizabethan collar, and a sore dog with another funny shave-job. 

 back of her front leg

 front of her front leg

  puncture wound in her back

now that the trauma and trickery of having pills shoved down her throat or badly hidden in her food, she is returning to her old self. she still favors her right leg, but has been going up and down the stairs mostly on her own in the last couple of days, which is a good sign. i'll miss the bicep and quad workout...

after getting cass settled, it was my turn. two days after she was attacked, another neighborhood dog decided to take a bite of MY leg! i couldn't make this stuff up if i tried. i have five small teeth punctures in my thigh, but fortunately i didn't have to take myself to the vet. what a week!