Letter to a Douglas Fir

In American Literature of Nature and Place, one of the classes I am taking this quarter, we were given an assignment during class to go outside to the arboretum for an hour and write a page long essay about a douglas fir. It isn't the fanciest piece of writing (I did write it in less than an hour) but perhaps you'll find it interesting.

      Here you sit atop a bluff, king of your little hill. From here the movement of those below look small, the time they are with you fleetin. Do you hear their conversation, do you know our words? What of the gossip of jays and chickadees, and the chatter of squirrels, do you hear them? I assume you do, with over 100 years to learn to decipher the clicks, caws, and whistles. What secrets do you keep great tree, locked beneath your thick bark? Have others before me asked you these questions?
      I know you can't answer me but I imagine a sigh as you ponder all the lives you have witnessed and the many more that are sure to pass around you. I imagine your voice as that of an old man brimming with stories; but you are still young yet. Perhaps I judge you wrongly and for all your stateliness you still brim with the energy of youth full of equally pondering questions for me as I sit at your feet deaf to your inquiries.
      Though I may not understand you what of your neighbors maple, alder, and cedar? Do you philosophize about the stars and discuss life as we do? In the winter when the life of alder and maple and alder is hidden from me do they still speak with you?
      I find the need to apologize for my incessant queries and beg your forgiveness if I have offended. I mean to leave you alone now to sit and think on these questions myself but once I sit back, more questions come to mind.
      Do trees have a religion? I feel the answer is no though there is still a deep spirituality in you. Your life is directly tied to the sun so do you worship it? My life as well is tied to the sun though sometimes I forget. Perhaps that is how we can communicate, through our mutual need of the sun. As I turn to face it I feel a kinship with you my tree friend and a not of pleasure as I came to the realization on my own. though we speak differently the light of our lives is unbreakingly entwined.

Learning to Enjoy Rugby (for Americans)

I first started learning about rugby my freshman year at university when I decided to join the schools women’s rugby team. Now I realize not everyone may want to learn about this strange sport by spending six hours a week getting it literally ground into you, so here are my suggestions:

1. Find a way to actually watch rugby
Rugby is not the most popular sport in the US so it can be difficult to find a way to see it, whether live or on television. Unbeknownst to many, there are rugby teams at a considerable number of universities across the country. They don’t get as much press and are often more student run but they are there working every week just as hard as any other sports team. Some high schools even have rugby teams and many medium to large cities have recreational rugby teams that compete against neighboring cities. I can almost guarantee you that there is a rugby team somewhere near you if you look for it.

If you searched and still have no good way of watching rugby live then try the television. In the past American networks have been loathe to air rugby due the difficulty in having commercial breaks. Luckily with the growing popularity of the sport, that  is beginning to change. In September and October 2011 Universal Sports and NBC Sports aired the Rugby World Cup live; this was the first time the world cup had been aired for an American network TV audience.

2. Find a knowledgeable buddy
I know this sounds difficult when you are just entering the rugby world but somewhere in your life is a rugby fan, I swear. Or, show up to the rugby pitch and find a kind soul to explain what’s going on. Rugby rules can be confusing – the rules change about kicks depending on what side of the 22-meter line (yes, 22) the team is on, if there is a foul or a smaller rule is broken instead of stopping the play one team is given an advantage; strange small rules such as this abound and having someone to explain them can be incredibly helpful.

3. Drink beer
Beer is the lifeblood of rugby. The team I played for was sponsored during its inception in the 70′s by a local bar, the Flames Bar and they are still called the Flames today. Other teams have similar stories. Most rugby teams and rugby events around the world have major beer sponsors and traditions surrounding beer. Bring a brew to the game to get the full experience and share it with your new found rugby friends!

MatadorU

I started taking a travel writing class online. It is a twelve week program that can be completed on your own time during the twelve weeks or longer if you need it (the materials stay available to the purchaser forever). Part of the class is that we are given weekly writing and small research assignments to complete. I figure that I will post the writing assignments both at the MatadorU blog (lindsey.matadoru.com) and here. My first assignment will be posted shortly.

Apple Picking!

Two and a half weeks ago now my housemates and I decided to go apple picking at Apple Creek Orchard in Ferndale. It is a nice little orchard of Jonagold apples. The apples cost $0.50 per pound or $10 per five-gallon bucket. Upon arrival my friends and I each grabbed a bucket and headed out into the orchard.

We were greeted by these lovely fowl

Yay apples!

There are the bucket we were working on.

These were dwarf trees so I was able to reach the top in most cases.

One of the cool things about this orchard was that we were able to eat as many apples as we wanted while we were picking. I believe we all had at least three. And if kids come, any apples they can fit in their pockets are free.

By the time we were done we had three heaping buckets. When we got home we weighed them at approximately 80 pounds! At $30 total that is 38 cents a pound!

We made many a quart of apple sauce, apple chips, pie, and cake. After giving five and a half quarts of applesauce away, we still have 8 quart jars on the counter and several tupperware containers in the freezer (not to mention the immense amounts we ate straight off the stove). Two and a half weeks later there are four apples left...

Windy in B'ham!

Yesterday and especially this morning it was particularly windy in Bellingham. My housemates and I woke up this morning to this site on our front sidewalk:

 

The branch had fallen from the middle of the tree!

New Classes!

So this quarter I am very excited that I am now only in classes that have to do with my major! I still have one or two more general credit requirements but I can do those any time. Two of my classes began today and two yesterday. Yesterday I had Introduction to Global Change and Environmental Education. Today was Oceanography and Environmental Interpretation.

Oceanography is being taught by the professor whose lab I worked in all last year and he is in judo. I am very motivated to do well in that class because if I do badly I can't hide in relative anonymity, I would have to see him at judo later. I would much rather go to judo knowing I did well and excited to see him than did bad and want to avoid eye contact.

Environmental Interpretation is being taught by a woman with a lot of experience working for the Park Service and the Forest Service. She is a graduate of Fairhaven College with a much more liberal view of teaching. She tried to convince Huxley College of the Environment to have all her classes be pass/fail but the college said no. Now much of her class is participation, we grade ourselves for part of it and instead of having a final in December we will be going to North Cascades National Park next weekend.

All of my classes look like they will be a lot of reading and projects but it will all be interesting things. None of them have busy work or even homework every day. I just have to make sure to stay on top of deadlines and what not.

Project Survival - Cat Haven

On Monday one of the other interns and I went to a local cat sanctuary. This place was amazing! they had leopards, jaguars, tigers, a cheetah, some bobcats and a few other less well known species. These animals are used as ambassadors, some just at the sanctuary and some travel to shows. the cheetah they have is the only trained cheetah in the state of California (I think that is what they said) and anytime you see a commercial with a cheetah, 90% of the time it is theirs.