Fire and Ice: North Meets South: Bravery and pride

"What about this? Is this a healthy riparian area? Is it functioning properly?"

"And tell me about this one - is this a functioning riparian area?"

And this is the look that Sam and Isis give me when I try to answer the question(s) about riparian areas. Basically, I didn't know to begin with and now I definitely have no clue what a functioning riparian area should look like!!!!

3 months in America and I still wake up wondering where I am. It remains a challenge to be surrounded by crowds of people with some folks walking so closely behind me. Maybe I've gotten bushed living up in the north country, but this civilization thing sure is different then getting out into the high hills with the freedom, vastness and openess that Robert Service also felt so passionately about. I also wonder a lot about what I'm doing here - pretty much on a daily basis! I'm looking at my latest purchase off of Amazon.com which is Biogeochemistry: an analysis of global change by William H. Schlesinger and I find myself thinking - wow - this is so cool and exciting and interesting, how come we don't talk about it more at work?!

Patch burn pastures

I am aware that what I am about to type will sound silly to most folks, but taking 4 grad classes is fairly time consuming. Sometimes it does feel like school gets in the way of research but then I remind myself that when I get home, I will have plenty of time to read and research, sitting on my lazy boy in my new house!

First spring flowers at the Cross Timbers Experimental Range

I'm currently plowing my way through our latest Forestry exam. I think that it's funny that Rod has made Stuart and I sit further apart in class because we are on each other constantly about range vs. forests. It's funny also to think about that discussion in an even larger sense - we all manage natural resources so we should all be aware of the system as a whole. I can see even better now how there has to be a balance between politics, society and science. Although, I would also argue that we need the science as a base - a logos to balance out and root our mythos in.

Were these one tree a hundred years ago or were there 3 trees there before? Who knows? Out at CTER last weekend.

The new languages that I am learning are starting to become more familiar. SAS coding in statistics is not like a second language yet, but it sure is slowly starting to make a bit more sense than my minimal knowledge of mandarin. We are being introduced to coordinate systems and the world of mapping in GIS. That language is not quite on the tip of my tongue either! Range management however, is starting to spill out of my mouth and I am able to understand where a lot of our range work in BC is founded and why the legislation reads the way it may for reasons of soil conservation and water health.

Carbon sequestration.

Do we seed crested wheatgrass in BC? Matthew Braun of the Range Branch has caught my attention at my potentially over-generalized statement on an earlier blog. I had seen crested wheatgrass on our range readiness criteria list as well as SMOOTH BROME! I have been learning that they are both highly invasive species and my comment was to reflect the concern that we may be planting non-native invasive species on our rangelands since we measure RRC for them. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/HRA/Publications/brochures/Rangeland_Health_Brochure11.pdf

The chewed up and spat out magnolia tree outside my windown with windchills down the -10C which I normally would have laughed at but somehow, that was a bit chilly!!

Seriously, this is 24 hours after it was +23C!!! Thought I was back up in Nellie.

So, after it was +23C on the friday before spring break, then there was a blizzard and total white out just about the following day where I apparently forgot how to walk on ice, then it hit +21C 24 hours later. That was last week. This week I almost melted on my way to hunt for lunch and then I saw that it was +28C and went up to +31C by the end of the afternoon. Then it hailed the other night or at least I thought it did, but when I woke up, there was nothing white around which was weird - I must have been dreaming. When I went outside I realized that it had hailed but that it was so hot that it all melted so fast. This is crazy Wx! Right now it's +18C and it's almost midnight. I guess my vacation in the deep hot south has just begun?!

Holechek comes with me everywhere, even in blizzards!

Finally found me some food without pepper in it! My first meal on my "camping trip" in Drummond Residence

I have convinced myself that I am just on a camping trip and that has helped me make it through some of the tougher days. I'm sleeping in my sleeping bag on top of all my sheets and I'm pretending that the small hot plate I just purchased at one of the two local WalMarts is my campfire. I make things like rice and kraft dinner on it and in the mornings, it even provides me with some hot water. I didn't think that some of the things about being here would be as challenging as they have been. One of the greatest things that I have re-discovered is that bravery comes at a high cost. I was also reminded by a couple good friends that it's OK to admit when things are not going great and it's OK to rely on those around me to help me through it. So I'd just like to give a shout out to Sam and Steve. And defintely also to my mum, Trevor and Karla. Red Greene was so right when he said we're all in this together eh?

Ray Moranz's PhD defense - "The Prairie Butterfly: how does a disturbance sensitive species survive in a disturbance-prone ecosystem?"

Dipesh - a fellow grad students - is from Nepal

Regina Henry and I at Cultural Night - thanks for a great night Regina!!!!

Although I have my head slammed in my books for most of the time, tonight I was invited by Regina Henry of the International Students and Scholars to the Cultural evening on campus. It was an absolutely phenomenal event with dancing, drumming and performances from all over the world. Not only did I leave with my jaw dragging on the ground from being in such awe over my fellow international students, I also came away with the reminder of how proud I am of being a Canadienne. Our country is so amazing and we are so fortunate and blessed to live in such a land. My name is Sonja and I AM CANADIAN eh?!