Study break

Last weekend I went with a friend to a cheese-making workshop at a suburban goat farm just north of Nashville. Not only did we learn how to make chevre and mozzarella, we got to feed a week-old kid and hang out with a few others that were just days old:

Don't let the perspective fool you: this goat is indeed just about the same size as this chicken.

Number 10

A little while ago we started collecting string art that we found in thrift stores or estate sales. Behold the handily-labeled tenth:

 

Seriously, I'm not sure we would have definitely known it was a teardrop without the label...

Tillandsia

Flea market jar + perfect plant = Edison-esque terrarium. Hopefully it flowers!

Rejection, surgery, recovery.  It all seems so long ago now.

Changes afoot: I decided early on that being a professional arborist is not a career I especially enjoy, since working with people (especially city folk) and the environment is what enlivens me. A few weeks ago I saw an ad for an educator position at Bartram's Garden, and I applied, interviewed, and got the job. The tricky part is that it is a part-time/seasonal position, so I was super-excited to be doing the work that I enjoy but freaking out on the inside about finances. But when I finally talked to my current boss about returning to arborist work, I proposed coming back part-time so that I could still make enough money to keep our lil' ship afloat. He was fine with the idea, and so for the next few months I will be working every day. That's right: 7days a week. Ouch. But some work "days" are only a few hours long, so I think I'll be able to handle it.  I hope, anyway.  The work at Bartram's is fun, the people are amazing, and it mostly doesn't feel like work. But before I launch into my new occupation, here's what I've been doing with myself:

I went to Nashville for two weeks, during which I strolled around the Opryland Hotel Atrium with the fam.

Sharon and I came back to Philadelphia, where among other things we checked out the maple sugar festival at Fox Chase Farm. This horse was the best part.

We went across the mighty Delaware River into Jersey and explored a park. A park with a pipe.

I bought a really great watch that apparently is so reliable and easy to use that it has a steady fan base in the IED-making crowd. That's what Amazon said, anyway; I have no idea if it's true. Obviously.

I went on a Zoe-Strauss-billboard-viewing ride with Trophy Bikes.

I went to the Blueberry Capitol of the World (Hammonton, NJ) to get our lonely blueberry bush some friends. At $5 a piece, and a nice drive to boot, we're in.  

I walked around Bartram's Garden and familiarized myself with the plants.  Can't wait for this one!

I got a laser pointer to point out tree branches and such.

And last but not least, I got cleared from the doctor to go back to work.  Here goes!

Weekends and other adventures.

Oops, this post has been malingering in the drafts folder instead of being out and about...

Sharon and I have had some wonderful adventures together in Nashville over the past 10 days or so. Having a car in this sprawling city opens a lot of options not available if you are limited to a bicycle. (Well, one can bike pretty far, but you know what I mean).  Sharon's younger brother and his wife came to visit this past weekend. Sharon is a master planner of fun times and she did not disappoint this past weekend.

First, she took us on a snipe hunt -- err, a search for mating woodcocks at Bells Bend Park. Look at what we could have found but didn't:




Then we went to the Frist Museum in downtown Nashville, where we saw this very life-like sculpture in their new exhibition:

This was followed by ice cream and honky-tonks.

The following day we made french toast, then went to a huge flea market at the Nashville fairgrounds which only happens once a month. Sharon found a cool hat and I a weird padlock:

It has no opening for a traditional key. Instead, a magnetized key is placed alongside the lock and it either repels or attracts the locking pins inside into place to let the lock open.  I, however, do not have the key, but for $1 I got a good story and the chance to pick a very unique kind of lock.

After the flea market, we swung through the Goodwill Bins (quite possibly the most competitive thrift store experience ever), and then sated our super-hunger with delectable Chinese food. Fully nourished, we went over to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel where they have 3 indoor atria, each larger than the last, complete with rivers, waterfalls, fountains, palm trees, and plenty of tropical ornamental plants everywhere. If you're ever in need of a simulated tropical paradise in the middle of winter, then step right up!  Just take a look at this place, it's crazy:

Sunday we set off towards the northern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway to eat at the famous Loveless Cafe.  This is a southern biscuits-and-gravy kind of place, and a plate of biscuits comes to every table for you to snack on while you wait. ( I consider myself somewhat of a breakfast snob, though, so I was not overly impressed with their version of homefries and my taste of Sharon's omelette was not up to the grade-AA omelette that I'm accustomed to at Honey's). Overall, it was good, but I'm not aching to go back any time soon. Afterward we stopped by Antique Archaeology, a store famous for its owners who star in American Pickers.  We swung through the store fairly quickly (t-shirts, stickers, and expensive antiques) and made our way to the Vanderbilt area, where we walked over to the Parthenon replica then had a mid-afternoon treat  of gourmet popsicles at Las Paletas.

Afterwards we parted ways with the younger set -- they headed back to Knoxville, and we facilitated a workshop on seed-saving.  It was a fun weekend filled with long walks and good talks.

Thursday we start driving north to Philadelphia for spring break (or as it's better known, SPRING BREAK!!!)!

Recovery

Finally, after a few weeks of no work before my surgery I can now start on the 6-8 weeks of no work for post-surgery recovery.  It's been mostly what you would expect (pain, soreness, immobility, etc.) with a little surprise gift of a sore throat from the breathing tube that goes along with surgery (surprise to me).  I've been watching lots of movies but I think it may be time to start reading a book.  Danny read 1Q84 a little while ago and it's in the house here somewhere, it got good reviews and it may just take me all of the 6-8 weeks to read the 944 pages.   I picked up a new hobby since Christmas (locksport) and have picked a Master padlock a few times and a cheap door lock a few times.  The nice thing about the door lock is that I can take it apart and re-pin the lock to make it easier for a beginner like myself and progressively add more pins to make it more difficult.  So, my next project is to make my own pick.  I want a bogota pick and to make them you need a very thin/strong/springy piece of steel.  One of the most common free ways to get these is to look for street sweeper bristles on the road that had broken off the sweeper.  Last week riding my bike I found a few, so now I just need to print out a template and file down my bristle into a pick.  So, I'll be keeping busy reading big Japanese books and crafting my own lock picks like every other guy out there recovering from hernia surgery.

and...rejection.

So, after a nice weekend (if not a little stressful) of interviewing and presenting I found out today that I was not accepted into the graduate program I applied for.  And to think I held off putting it on this blog specifically so that I wouldn't have to let everyone know that I got rejected.  Anyhow, I hope through all of this I come out "stronger", but I feel like I don't need any more of these strengthening experiences.  Well, not much more to say about that, thanks for all of your encouragement, I can always re-apply next year.

The day after.

Well, it's the day after Groundhog Day (but you knew that, right?). Yesterday morning I was actually awake before 7am and was watching the news, when I was surprised to see that there were predawn fireworks and an entire festival happening in western PA. The announcer said that Punxsutawney Phil would emerge from his hole and speak Groundhogese to a man in the "inner circle," who would then translate that into a human tongue.  So I hopped onto the interwebs because it was the first time I had heard the mysteries of Groundhog Day explained thus:

Frequently Asked Questions About Groundhog Day

1.    Yes, Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just imposters. [So where are these imposters? Is there a Punxsutawney, Alabama, or something?]

 2.     There has been only one Punxsutawney Phil.  Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking “groundhog punch” (a secret recipe). One sip, which is administered every summer at the Groundhog Picnic, gives him seven more years of life. [Holy scientific breakthrough!]

 3.    On February 2nd, Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler’s Knob, in front of thousands of faithful followers from all over the world, to predict the weather for the rest of the winter. [Followers?]

 4.    According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring. [Phil lives in a cage in the Punxsutawney Library -- or at least he did several years ago when we biked through -- so he probably doesn't see natural light that often. I can imagine that shadows would sort of throw him.]

 5.    No, Punxsutawney Phil’s forecasts are not made in advance by the Inner Circle. After Phil emerges from his burrow on February 2nd, he speaks to the Groundhog Club President in Groundhogese. His proclamation is then translated for the world. [Does the Inner Circle take applications? Do you get language training?]

 6.    The celebration of Groundhog Day began with the Germans, Pennsylvania’s earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states “For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May….” The settlers found that groundhogs were plentiful and were the most intelligent and sensible animal to carry on the legend of Candlemas Day. [Clearly.]

 7.   Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800s. The first official trek to Gobbler’s Knob was made on February 2nd, 1887. 2012 marked the 126th prediction.

 8.    So the story goes, Punxsutawney Phil was named after King Phillip. Prior to being called Phil, he was called Br’er Groundhog.

Not as simple as we all thought, 'eh?  I had thought it was pretty straightforward  -- shadow or no shadow -- but nope, it needs to be decided on by Mr. Br'er Groundhog in a language more intelligent and sensible than our own.  The newscaster was also a little unimpressed that Phil always predicts 6 more weeks of winter and the crowd always responds with a collective "Booo."  [After 126 years, though, what can be expected?]

The waiting game.

Well, since my last post sounded so dire, I felt that I should update what's going on with me. First off, luckily I am in very little pain (almost no pain) right now, for which I am very thankful. I do feel a little guilty being off work for an injury but not being in pain to the point that I can't carry on with my normal activities (though I'm sure if I was lifting 50lb-logs all day I would indeed be in a lot of pain). Next Tuesday I have outpatient surgery and then begin my 6-8 weeks of recovery. It's strange to think that I have yet to begin my recovery process, but that's just how it is.

So how have I been spending my time? Well, I've been hesitating to mention publicly that I applied to a graduate program last fall (for fear of not being accepted and everyone knowing, of course). This particular program runs its admission process somewhat differently than most: they invite the top 10 candidates to the school for a weekend of interviewing, meetings, get-to-know-you events and such. At the end of the weekend they decide which 5 to keep. Survivor weekend. So, that weekend is this weekend, and I'm stressing out about it. I need to prepare a 5-minute presentation and for an interview with the selection committee. I had to go shopping for clothes because I need to be in a jacket and tie for the entire weekend (um, some wardrobe gaps had to be filled). To be perfectly honest I hate jackets, mostly because I feel like a little kid wearing adult clothes. They're always too big even when they are "my size." The jackets at thrift stores are okay, but man -- is everyone that much bigger than I am? I guess so. Anyhow, here's the jacket that makes me feel all slim and trim:

 

Pretty great photo, huh?

While I've been out and about in the city, I've been going to free lectures at the Philadelphia library and Academy of Natural Sciences. One was on Haiti and environmental degradation; honestly, I was more informed about reforestation/deforestation than either of the presenters, but I just sat quietly and didn't say much. I was surprised that most of the photos were "borrowed" from this photographer. Granted, neither of the presenters work in reforestation (one was a sociologist and the other a herpetologist), but I still expected more. 

Afterward one attendee asked me why I was there, and told me that he goes to Haiti for 2 weeks every year and has done so for over 25 years. When he asked if I go back to Haiti regularly, I told him I had no plans to return. He asked why, and I said that to always stand out as a white/Westerner is not easy for someone like me. He replied that he felt very comfortable in Haiti and then walked away. This made me somewhat mad, as I spent two years in the Haitian countryside living and working through floods, earthquakes, etc., and this guy goes for two weeks a year with his supply of money and aid projects, where he is most likely treated like a movie star, and then he leaves. Why wouldn't he like Haiti?  Yes, apparently this is something of a raw nerve for me.  

The other talk I attended was about the race to the south pole in the early 1900s.  It was somewhat interesting, but it really make me realize how different our world is today. These guys spent years preparing for the trip, years on the trip, and then many died in the process. Today people fly down in helicopters and go to Antarctica on cruises.

I've also been trying to find small gardens in Philadelphia to explore, and I found a nice little historic garden at the Pennsylvania Hospital. It's a "Physic" garden, and while not in its prime right now, it looks like a nice place to come back and check on again in the spring or summer:

It's mostly an herb garden, which is nice, as I have been admiring small herb/kitchen gardens for a little while and definitely like finding them in the city. There is something very nice about the interaction of city life and plants that I just don't see in the suburbs or in rural areas. The persistence of plants growing in urban areas is always encouraging to me. When I see a similar plant growing in the suburbs without a care in the world, (besides being tended too much by an overzealous gardener), I want to take it on a field trip to see how its city cousins are doing.  Cities + plants = happy me.

I will hear back from the program selection committee shortly after the interview weekend, so by this time next week I should know about the program -- and be a few days into my actual recovery process. Wish me luck!

Who would have thought.

I always remind myself (and Sharon) that everything can change in 24 hours. We may hear back from a job or graduate school application sending us (or just one of us) to another city, an earthquake may change the course of our lives and thousands of others, and the triumphs or struggles of friends and family may shift our worldviews irrevocably.

And unfortunately health concerns have their place.  Last Monday at work I started feeling a slight pain in my abdomen in the morning, and as I tried to continue working the pain increased. The pain also made my stomach upset, so overall I was feeling bad. I sat down and tried to breathe slowly and figure out what the problem was. I made a few phone calls, and Danny (in nursing school now) asked me how it felt if I put pressure on it. I stood up and felt a shock of pain and put my hand on my abdomen and felt a lump. Great. I put my palm on it and pressed lightly, and I could feel the lump decrease. So -- a hernia, great. My coworker saw me in pain and and we got everything together to go back to the shop. I called my doctor and made an appointment for that night. She confirmed my suspicion of a hernia and scheduled a CT scan for the next day, which confirmed the diagnosis.

So here I am, injured and going down a road I never thought I would be on.Workers' compensation will kick in, fortunately, because I can't work until I heal (there is not much I can do at work that is not strenuous). My next few weeks include surgery to repair the hernia and some recovery time. This past Sunday when I was not looking forward to a week of manual labor in the cold I would never have thought that I would be lying on a table for a CT scan two days later, but here I am with my life taking a change of course that I hadn't planned on - and all the questions that come with it.

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