Although people usually use the phrase “living my best life” ironically, I have been using it as a guiding mantra the past year or so and it’s served me well. Everything isn’t fabulous all of the time, but I do get bored without challenges to motivate me. In trying to figure out what living my … Continue reading Living My Best Life
What I learned last week: just because water looks fine doesn't mean you can be thinkin' everything [is] alright. On Wednesdays we wear waders I had a blast with water quality testing! Waders are the height of “field chic” and wearing them in water up to my chest was very much a trust exercise. Our … Continue reading Splish Splash
Frank the Combine from Cars While touring several working farms this week, my ideas about agriculture were flipped upside down. I had seen the ag industry as the scary combine from Disney Pixar’s Cars, a giant and all-consuming monster that somehow gets food onto my table. I knew that productions of large monocultures (when one … Continue reading Dirt Made My Lunch
Bystander: “one who is present but not taking part in a situation or event : a chance spectator” I learned from an early age to not be a bystander. As a toddler, the exciting days that we took the metro to daycare were punctuated by semi-audible announcements and colorful signs: “If you see something, say … Continue reading Terra-bullying
“If you're gonna tell them everything, Don't leave out the good part” Lake Street Dive View from Thursday's jaunt to the Appalachian Trail, which runs along the edge of SCBI's campus (hence the creepy old fence) I make friends wherever I go. Not just the new school, new town, kinda situations; I mean like train … Continue reading You’ve Got Your Story and You Know I’ve Got Mine
-Buffalo Springfield This week we focused on climate change. While I find the topic compelling, it never fails to make me feel sad about the state of the environment. What the whiteboard looked like after a few days of class... There are 27 thousand vulnerable, threatened, or endangered species. Our overproduction of plastic is ending … Continue reading Nobody’s Right if Everybody’s Wrong
Me being a fool and trying not to drop everything I'm carrying while re-layering during a chilly, mountainous plant-survey. “Lord what fools these mortals be” Shakespeare: Midsummer Night’s Dream Humans don’t have all the answers and we probably never will; everyone should act accordingly. I absolutely cannot believe that we’re halfway through the semester already! … Continue reading A Mid-semester Night’s Reflection
Took a little time to make it a little betterIt's only going up, just one thing and anotherYou know, you know Two Door Cinema Club The weather has been giving me whiplash. It’s sunny and 50*F one day and snowing literally the next. How are animals and plants supposed to cope with this?! The daisies … Continue reading Something Good Can Work
Here we are, now entertain us. I feel stupid and contagious.Nirvana Middle school. My gut reaction upon hearing those words is to scrunch up my nose and make a face that’s a mixture of disgust and sympathy. And yet, I voluntarily chose to spend 7+ hours over the next ~8 Mondays in one of the … Continue reading Smells Like Teen Spirit (or AXE Body Spray)
"Now let me at the truth which will refresh my broken mind"Mumford and Sons One of my favorite places on earth is pitch black, damp, muddy, cold, and a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare. I can’t really explain why I love caves so much. I've always sought out small spaces- apparently smushing my tiny self in between … Continue reading Musings of a Cave Crawler
Kira in the woods 