I wrote a few days ago about not having enough money to attend the ELME summer program. This morning I found out that I was receiving a fellowship to attend. Money problems solved! Theoretical population biology, here I come!
Berry Go Round 3
The 3rd edition of Berry Go Round is up at Greg Laden’s Blog. I had a big presentation today that went quite well, so I treated myself and sat down and read the whole thing this evening. There are all sorts of wonderful in this carnival, including a 5 meter tree that can sting and KILL you and XXX plant porn. My post about dying coihue trees even made it in!
opportunities and money
I recently applied to attend the Enhancing Linkages between Ecology and Math summer Program at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Biological Station. And I got in! I’ve even been offered an awesome scholarship that covers tuition, room and board. I had been hoping for a fellowship because it would have covered travel and given me a stipend. I can’t afford to not work for 7 weeks. I found out I’m pretty high on waiting list for the fellowship, so I’m hoping one of the people offered the fellowship has a better summer opportunity. I’m also digging around for some other funding sources. Keep your fingers crossed!
I had also applied to go on the ESA SEEDS field trip to Alaska, but got my rejection letter yesterday. I hate when they say things like “not being selected is not indicative of your quality as a candidate.” It makes me imagine them pulling names from a hat.
I’ll find out about the Goldwater by the end of the month and a bunch of departmental and general scholarships through my university sometime in April. Since my financial aid award suggested I take out a bank loan with interest rates higher than my credit card, I really hope I get some good scholarship money for next year.
weekly top 5
Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
Belle & Sebastian – Tigermilk
TV on the Radio – Desperate Youth and Bloodthirsty Babes
Bjork – Medulla
Ani Difranco – So Much Shouting, So Much Laughing
political poetry
One of my professors was astonished when I said I didn’t read a lot of poetry and gave me a short book of poems by Robinson Jeffers
While this America settles in the mould of its vulgarity, heavily thickening to empire,
And protest, only a bubble in the molten mass, pops and sighs out, and the mass hardens,I sadly smiling remember that the flower fades to make fruit, the fruit rots to make earth.
Out of the mother; and through the spring exultances, ripeness and decadence; and home to the mother.You making haste haste on decay: not blameworthy; life is good, be it stubbornly long or suddenly
A mortal splendor: meteors are not needed less than mountains: shine, perishing republic.But for my children, I would have them keep their distance from the thickening center; corruption
Never has been compulsory, when the cities lie at the monster’s feet there are left the mountains.And boys, be in nothing so moderate as in love of man, a clever servant, insufferable master.
There is the trap that catches noblest spirits, that caught–they say–God, when he walked on earth.
Spring Break 2008 – Day 2
Day two was way more fun. We did a little early morning botanizing around our campsite in San Simeon, then jumped in the car again.
We drove just a little ways to Point Piedras Blancas and hung out at the beach with the seals for a few hours. This one was waving his flipper a lot. Possibly he was saying hello. More likely, he was waving off some bugs.
When we were done looking at the seals we drove a bit further north to the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and set up camp. Then we went on a hike. The hike started in the redwoods. We were in a grove of fairly small trees, but I was still impressed with how huge they were.
This part of the forest was very wet. There were all sorts of cool mosses and even a banana slug. We hiked through the redwoods until we got to a waterfall and a steep turn in the trail.
At that point the vegetation became very different and it got a lot hotter. The plants on this part of the trail were more likely to have strong scents when the leaves were crushed. We all smelled of salvia and sage after this part of the trail, which was good because we hadn’t showered in a while. We took a long break at the top and ate a lot of m&m’s.
After our break, we headed back and went down to Pfeiffer beach. The road there was a bit scary, but no one died. We climbed around on the rocks looking at rare dudlyea species, checked out some algae, and watched the sunset.
Spring break 2008, Day 1 continued: Mohave desert stop
Plants from the stop on day one near the Granite Mountains:
- A species of Phacelia with pretty cool photoactive compounds. If you touch the plant and then are exposed to the sun, you get a wicked rash. I refrained from touching it.
- I was really excited about Isomeris arborea, which is a member of the caper family. It had very tasty flower buds. The seed pods were a bit too spicy for me though!
- The popcorn flower is a really cute member of the borage family.
- We also ran across at least one species of Camissonia from the evening primrose family. Most people are more familiar with the non-desert genera of this family, like fushias. I couldn’t find a picture of the one we saw, so you’ll just have to trek out there and have a look yourself.