3 Things: Today

I determined the organic matter content of some soils and sediments …… spotted this little dude staring at me from the grass …… and finished the day with some furry friends.:)

Poudre River Canyon

Man I miss mountains … I love how you can still see a little bit of snow :)

Photos are from our sampling trip in the Rocky Mountains.

High Park Wildfire

Spent last Saturday poking around the burn site of the High Park Wildfire in the Colorado Rockies – Collected a bunch of samples for an upcoming study and got a much better idea of the climate and hydrology of the area: Flew out there expecting to grab only 2 samples … Returned home with 11.

I will certainly be kept busy this summer!!

3 Things: Bought to you by the letter B

Bunnies …… buds …… and bugs.More photos from my trip to the Rockies coming soon!!

Florida Bay + Taylor River

Tagged along on a sampling field trip yesterday – We shoved off of Key Largo, crossed Florida Bay and worked our way up the meandering, mangrove-lined Taylor River as far as our boat would go.

Spotted 3 manatees, 2 sharks, stingrays, pelicans and a variety of other creatures along the way:

Alaska Coffee Roasting Co.

My new favorite study spot:  Alaska Coffee Roasting Co.

They have 2 locations:  1 in Fairbanks, AK and 1 in North Miami, FL (weird, right?)

They roast their coffee on site (I’ve had 3 different kinds already and love them all) and serve up some amazing sandwiches.  I can’t wait to meet Jim for lunch there someday so we can try one of their wood-fire pizzas!

I spent about 7 hours there yesterday grading a giant stack of lab reports and studying for my last final ever.  In a city where nearly every coffee shop is a chain, this little cafe is a welcome breath of fresh air :)

Never Stop

Just popping in to say “hello” – It’s been too long since I’ve posted here, but for good reason.

This month has been all together busy and exciting …

• I’ve been planning a trip to Colorado next week for field sampling and a dissolved organic matter fluorescence workshop
• I’m finalizing an experimental design that will likely take me all summer to finish, but I expect that the results are going to be pretty awesome
• Our group recently published in Science and the story was picked up by both NSF and the Wall Street Journal (!!) – This publication is essentially the precursor to what I am currently working on (just in case you were wondering what I do all day in lab) – We know that black carbon is associated with dissolved organic matter, but how?  This is the question I need to answer
• After this week I am completely finished with college classes … of course I will still constantly be learning, observing and absorbing information related to my research, but I am stoked to never have to cram for another final ever again

P.S.  It’s National Parks Week!  Free admission to all national parks until April 28th!  Get out and explore :)