Boise Venture of Mine

Coming Full Circle

2010-07-09T09:42:00.009-06:00

College Cove, looking souh toward Trinidad Head.

This is my last post for the Boise Venture of Mine, seeing as how the Boise portion of my venture has come to an end. Here I am, in Humboldt, where my heart has longed to be since I left. But I find that part of me is now left in Boise, and I guess that's how it is... When we go places, and let those places seep into our bones, we take them with us. Humboldt won out because it has seeped in so deeply, it's like the marrow of my bones. But now Boise is filtering around my veins, and reminds me of possibilities and chances. All of life is a venture, and I plan on living it to the fullest, wherever home may be.

Sam on log, Emily putting on shoes, looking south toward Trinidad Head.

Emily and Sam on the point at College Cove Bluffs, near the Blow Hole.

Berhwood and Giovanna are happy horses. Idaho wasn't bad for them, but Humboldt is best. People who haven't seen them for a year and a half drop their jaws. The words Gorgeous, Handsome, and Statuesque have been used to describe Ber, and Beautiful, Lovely, and Sleek to describe Gio. (We won't talk about the words Hag and Obnoxious).

My brother, who saw them regularly in Idaho, noticed how much sleeker, fitter, and buoyant they are in their new pasture by the sea. I've trimmed their feet for the first time since their move. We've been working/riding regularly. Ber has had no lameness issues, and is actually quite energetic. Seems to have come into his own here. Gio is nervous and spooks at everything, But she's gradually settling, and my confidence in working with her is growing. Here are some pictures of them, one month after moving....

Giovanna and Emily on the driveway to the pasture, looking across the canyon to Berhwood. See horse trailer--Ber is the brown dot to the right of it!

Pretty Gio...Ber and Emily are riding on the "road" that goes around the pasture.

Gio and Emily walking up the driveway...

Ber and Em riding, Gio ignoring. Trinidad Head and Moonstone Beach in the far distance, north.

Exploring the driveway.

My home is gradually coming together, though I have honestly not had much time to devote to putting my things in order. Hit the ground running when I arrived, and haven't stopped since. So rather than share pictures of my house in post-move-disarray, I'll share some pictures of the beaches, where I have been hiking regularly. These pictures are from the past couple days, because Stuart's been visiting, and taking pictures!

Giovanna and her biggest fan.

Emily and Sam on College Cove Bluffs, with Trinidad Beach/Head behind.

Coming down to the Blow Hole. Looked like Egypt!

Sam: "What's beyond that lip of rock there?" Stuart: "Not a good idea, I've tried that..." Emily: "It's the end of the rock."

After deciding to attempt the descent, Sam: "Is there a foothold?" Emily: "Try right here." Sam: "Okay, move Emily!"

Emily moves. Sam Leaps. Stuart clicks his camera!

The dissertation is moving forward at a snail's pace, mostly because my horses have needed my time, and the people I care about and their horses have needed my time. Been trimming horses, doctoring horses (not mine, for once!), working on overgrown gardens, shopping for used furniture for my house, hanging with my friends, and generally getting a ton of exercise. My friend Jennifer has been visiting her family, so it has been lovely to spend time with her and her kids, and my brother Stuart has been visiting, and working on his house. These are all things that took a back seat to the last 18 months, and if I learned anything (outside of what I was learning at BSU!), it's that people really matter.

Returning the log to the sea.

Things are gradually getting to a routine, and I expect to be plugging away on my dissertation pretty well by the end of July. I do not have a job, and won't until January, so I can focus on my dissertation until it is finished. I'll be back in Boise in September to take care of dissertation stuff, and will plan on a couple days to check in with my Idaho friends! I will do my best to keep in touch, but once I get immersed in my writing/transcribing/thinking, I need to keep going. But I'll come up for air a few times between now and December, for sure.

Until then,
Emily

We Made It!!

2010-06-14T10:32:00.004-06:00

We are home. Move went great. Settling in slowly. So utterly unreal, being here.
The horses love their new digs, I love my new home.
I give myself until the end of June to get settled, and then I start back on the dissertation path. Need a desk, a dresser, and a couch of some sort.

Sorry so short, I don't have internet yet, either, so I'm stealing a few minutes at a coffee shop! Just wanted people who check here to know that all is well. Very well. :)

Hitting the Road (for Real this time)

2010-06-09T08:28:00.003-06:00

Looks like we really are leaving tomorrow morning. Though the way things have been going, I won't be holding my breath!!! I did want to take a moment to say thank you to the people who've kept me going up here, while waiting to haul out.

Kathy and Joe, thanks for going to dinner with me at El Gallo, and for loaning me the cot! Would not have made it through these four nights on the hard floor. Getting too old to do that well. :) And thank you for your friendship and the many phone calls. I will miss you much when I return to California.

TJ and Kathy and Dora, thanks for going to dinner with me at the Texas house place with peanut shells on the floor. What a treat. Also, thank you TJ for showing me where all the fluids in my truck were, and doing a full systems check on my truck so I knew I was truly traveling safe. Finally, thanks for the movie treat. I never would have rented Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and I would have been missing a funny, positive movie. I hope you find the picture book so you can see where the movie started. I really enjoyed hanging out with you all! You have a special place in my heart, and I will miss you greatly when I return to California!

Finally, Scott and Jenny and Savannah, thanks for letting me hang out a couple times at your house. Being around your family helped me feel not so alone and wandering during my brief "limbo" up here waiting to leave with my horses. I keep laughing, thinking about everyone drawing the flip-flops. Good dinner, too! I look forward to seeing you again in September, because I will miss you until then!

It ended up being okay, this in-between time of four days. I took care of a lot of loose ends, and in some ways, eased into this transition back to Humboldt a little bit more. I feel fortunate to have met so many wonderful people here, and to be leaving with new friends for a lifetime.

See You Later!!!

Screech to a Halt

2010-06-05T22:28:00.002-06:00

Shipping out has been delayed at least four days. Berhwood injured himself (Day before heading out, go figure). He's in a lot of pain, and takes tiny mincing steps with his hind feet. So, the plan is to give him four days to recoup. If he hasn't mended by then, we'll delay it another four days, and so on. With the long haul (650 miles) over windy, mountainous roads, he needs to not be in pain.

Best guess is he cast himself and wrenched his back and pelvis. Bute has not knocked down the pain much, but soaking with cold water helps. Will call the vet on Monday if he hasn't improved over Sunday. I guess I'll get a few rides in on Giovanna before we leave, and I'll get a head start on transcribing the interviews for the dissertation. What else am I going to do? My house is completely empty, no food, no fridge, no bed... Oh, I know, it's called Camping!!

I figure, there's a reason this happened, and I may not know what it is for a while. At least this way if my landlord has any serious issues that need to be addressed before I get my deposit, I have time to take care of them!

Bottom line, I want him to be okay.

Home Sweet Home

2010-06-02T00:33:00.008-06:00

Limpets on Rock, Trinidad, Ca.

Just got back from a very busy week in California. Just have a short week left here in Idaho. I'm not going to get much sleep, but that's okay. The end goal is extremely motivating! The picture above was taken by my brother on a hike he took, last week.

Thanks to a full day of work from a six-pack of friends/family, Ber and Gio have a Beautiful pasture within hearing distance of the buoys off Trinidad Head, and a view of Trinidad when the fog lifts. The ponies ship down next week, and I can't wait to see what they think of the belly-high grass! I put in a smaller paddock so I can regulate their grass intake for a while.

Good thing, because when I saw them this evening, my jaw dropped. The guy who was taking care of them decided they needed alfalfa to supplement their grass hay, and that they needed to be fed twice a day. I left pretty fit horses a week ago, but now they have this thick layer of padding everywhere! As my friend said, they will drop some weight on the haul down. Pretty funny, though. He thinks my grass hay is junk, evidently! lol.

Thanks to my brother's help, almost all of my belongings are now in California, unloaded and in my new home. OH!!! My new home is lovely. I so, so lucked out. Going to take me a while to get things set up, but I couldn't ask for a nicer place. Skylights throughout leave the most luminous light, and I can see stars at night!

I have a delightful neighbor dog who comes to visit. Her owners are pretty neat people, too. They are my landlords.

It was extremely hard to drive back up to Idaho for this week, because I felt so "at home" back home. And here it is, three days before the horse hauler arrives. I have a riding lesson tomorrow, I donated my almost new fridge to the Boy's and Girl's Club, and donated my dryer to the Rescue Mission. After nearly 2 months trying to sell them on Craig's List, I had to just get them gone. Who knew fridges were so hard to sell? I have the last three interviews for my dissertation tomorrow, too!

I wake up here, and look for the light from the skylights. And that was after six nights sleeping in my new home. That's how deep my roots sank there. Home.

So, I leave you with a few pictures of Ber and Gio's new home. I'm standing outside of their pasture, looking towards their pasture. Can't wait for Marsha (Marsha's Equine Transport) to arrive to take them home, too!

The trees are the border. Looking to the left...

Looking straight ahead...

Looking to the right. You can see the ocean and Trinidad through that gap.

We're Moving!!!

2010-05-25T19:20:00.006-06:00

Ber heard he was moving back to Rain and Fog!

In the final stages of this move back to Humboldt. So looking forward to having a "home" again. As my brother, Stuart, said, the Lake Hazel house was like living in a hotel of sorts for 18 months. Within a week of arriving in Boise, I knew I wasn't going to relocate permanently to Idaho, so I kept my roots shallow. Not to say I didn't make friends I will treasure and stay in touch with. Rather, I kept my home-making roots shallow--no garden, no real cooking, no projects, etc. No routine.

Honestly, there wasn't time, looking back. The reason I am able to move back home after only a year and a half is because I kept my head down and kept on task. If I'd had my friends and family up in Idaho, I would have taken a much more leisurely path (I think...) through this doctorate! Being alone gave me the motivation to get done, as well as the ability to focus so I could get done. :) Kind of a double edged sword.

As of June 7th, I will officially be a resident of California again. I think I may just hide for a week, and not do anything I'm supposed to. Except unpack, move in, spend time with horses and friends, and adjust. This has been a long haul. I sure appreciate my friends and family for hanging in there with me! I am so fortunate... And so grateful for the opportunity to devote this time to my education. As my friend Mark once said, "Emily, you know there is such a thing as too much education." Or something to that effect. I do believe I've come to the end of my formal education!

At any rate, Stuart was up this week helping me load up all my belongings, which I'd packed before heading to D.C.. So I was ready to go. Though it rained most of the time, we were able to get out and ride yesterday. Here are the horse pictures from Stuart's visit... Enjoy. Next blog ought to be pictures of Ber and Gio happy in their sea-side pasture!

Coming up the pasture.

Giovanna Stepping Out, I'm trying to set up a turn....

Later in the ride, setting up another turn. We do turn to the left, too, really! Gio is totally focused on wild quail or a horse-eating tire feeder or something, so I was working on keeping her busy. Obviously I have more work to do!

Ber on the move. I am loving how he is starting to move out with energy and impulsion. He's starting to be a fun ride.

My Farside Ponies. Gio is such an elegant package, I think.

Will definitely miss this pastoral setting. Been a very good place for the ponies to grow and learn. Very good indeed.

Reminiscent of Pigs Wallowing...

Six Weeks Out

2010-05-05T23:13:00.005-06:00

Lake Hazel house, one year ago...

The end of this Boise Venture of mine is coming to a close. Like most change, there's the good and the not so good... I've added so many friends and colleagues to my life, and though I will keep connected with many of them, I know many will drift away, as that's what happens in life. It's been good to meet new people, and see other slices of life.

I've watched Ber and Gio mature into horses, and I've become a stronger rider and regained the confidence I'd lost somewhere along the way. I've worked with several horse people, who have left their hoof prints on my horse work, and I've learned a new method of horse hoof care which will positively impact all the horses I trim. I will miss this pasture and arena, but I won't miss the scorching sun, bone chilling wind, and biting insects.

Horses at Far Pasture, last May.

I had my dear companions, Arcy and Georgia, along for this adventure, and we shared a brief "second puppy-hood" as they explored this new state. Their presence kept the loneliness at bay and kept a life-line stretched back home to what was, before Boise. Losing the girls continues to haunt me, but a little less every day. Slowly, all the good days and good memories of their many years are beginning to outweigh their final months and the emptiness they left behind.

Puppy Yin-Yang, back home.

The remainder of this northern jaunt is highly positive, and I leave with greater clarity on who I am, what I want to accomplish in this world, and why focusing on the positive in life, no matter what's coming at you, can really help.

I learned that I can start over, can build a new network of friends and acquaintances, and can muddle through things on my own without making a complete disaster of it.

Duckling in Reflecting Pool at Washington Monument.

I learned that I have something of value to offer the world outside of my little pond back home, and that doors will open up no matter where I land. Yet I realized that the little pond back home was home, not because I'd always been there, but because I wanted to be there.

My Home Town...

I learned that the greatest treasure of life is the people we know and share our lives with, and it really doesn't matter where you live...it's the people you are with that makes where you live so special. And any place can become special if you open your heart and mind to the people who are there.

I learned that my place is clearly working with kids and helping them connect to their learning and their talents. That is where my joy lies, that is where work ceases being work. No matter what anyone says I ought to do with my time and skill, I intend to work with kids. It's where I belong.

Great Blue Heron, wading in Potomac River, FDR Memorial.

So, I leave this place with more knowledge, and the inkling of an idea of where I'll go and what I'll do next. Hoping that the extra letters after my name will give me the leeway to make that inkling come to life. We'll see where the road rises up to meet me.

Stainless steel tree, Sculpture Garden, Capitol Mall.

Meanwhile, I am in the middle of collecting the data for my dissertation, which is enjoyable and interesting. I feel pretty privileged to be talking to these parents.

My goal is to have my dissertation complete by December, so I can enter the world of "normal" work come January 2011, two years to the day since I left for Boise. Not sure how the time flew by so fast, because every day seemed so long. But it has.

Here's to dreaming big and asking the universe for what you want. It may not always arrive the way you envision it, and there may be more in the package than you bargained for, but at least it's a great ride.

Hawk flying overhead, Mt. Vernon.

A Grace Day

2010-04-17T21:14:00.008-06:00

Ber in the middle of a turn on the forehand.

Today was a very good day. Grace Owsley, the riding instructor I worked with last year, visited from Twin Falls, and we were lucky enough to get to work with her today! Here are photos, taken by one of Ber's favorite people, who also visited today (see picture below). Thank you so much for fitting us in, Grace. Can't wait for the next time!

Ber with the photographer, Dora! He thinks she's really nice. He's right.

I already knew that Ber was doing and feeling better, but having Grace here really kicked things into gear. We had (gasp) forward in the trot. Actually using those hind legs. And he was really thinking, and enjoying the work. I believe we pushed past some of the sullen resistance, and he realized he could do these things, it wouldn't hurt, and he'd get a lot of positive kudos for it. We ended with leg-yields. Yay.

Switching whip hands. Ber is carrying himself lightly. Such a big boy.

Ber walking in front of Grace. Love how round and soft he is.

Ber looks so happy here. He knows his job.

Giovanna had a great Grace day, too. Gio's on ride six, perhaps, but only the third time under saddle since November. Spaghetti horse is what she is. And a flexible little noodle, at that! We were working on straight and forward, and moving off of leg. Gio has soft, supple and giving down, I think. Again, Grace pushed the envelope, and we ended with trot work. First trot ever. Holy Cow, talk about an engine! She launches into a trot, all from behind, just beautifully. Forward impulsion to die for. The picture does not capture how cool it was, but it is placed here for posterity--like a picture of a kid using a bike without training wheels for the first time. My job with her is to stay out of the way and let her go forward. Easier said than done, but I'll keep working on it. Pictures below.

Talking to Grace, but look at how light and lovely Gio is...

Giving my Good Girl a well deserved pat!

WOW. We trotted. It isn't lovely, but soon it will be. No, my arm isn't flailing, that's the edge of the roof of the house. lol.

Soft and forward, straight not spaghetti!

Em and Gio, actually in sync in the turn! (We were spiraling in to a smaller circle, I think)

Oh, and Happy Birthday Berhwood. The big SEVEN.

Another Hurdle

2010-04-14T10:29:00.004-06:00

This is my Research Committee. They are Relieved the defense is over, I think.

After the Pilot Study defense 3 weeks ago (With Dad and Stuart).

Well, I passed another hurdle, this time the defense for my dissertation proposal. I've attached it in Google Docs for anyone who was interested in seeing what I proposed to do. Dissertation Proposal Document When I uploaded it, Google Docs messed the paragraph indentations up, and changed it to single space, but otherwise it's good. The first page (Introduction) will give you a good idea of what I'm looking at.

Thankfully, my committee said I was good to go. Boy, did they grill me. Basically, this whole presentation I'd created go thrown out the window, and I ad-libbed in response to their questions for most of it. For over an hour I was on the hot seat. Threw me off, but they said it gave them a more real understanding of my understandings and proved to them I knew what I was doing. They asked great questions, and I have some things to work on. When it was over, amazingly, they did not ask me to leave so they could debate whether I passed. They just signed me off and said good luck. I hope that means I did a good job, and not that they were just tired of the whole thing!

One of the team was concerned about the amount of time I had committed to this, and wondered if I'd be able to do it. I keep telling them, I don't have a life right now. This IS my life, so I have a lot of time to devote to it. LOL. They were skeptical about my original plan of finishing the coursework in 18 months, though. Who knew I could actually do it?

Thanks for your support and encouragement. Could NOT have done it without all of you!
:) Em

Beautiful Flowers. Thanks Jen & Company!

Home Stretch

2010-04-11T10:13:00.003-06:00

Last May, Happy Girls!

Headed into the home stretch here in Idaho. Enjoying looking back on this venture, and the life-time of memories squeezed into a year plus a few months (that's 5 months, Stuart. lol). I decided to do some posts commemorating this time. A "Best Of" Boise. I'll start with the girls. How often do senior dogs go on such a journey? I'm grateful for Arcy and Georgia's company, and this blog post is for them. Laughing, happy, leaping, grinning, sniffing, adventuresome pups. Here is a series of shots from a day last May, when the grass was dog-high. Enjoy.

Doggie Schooners, Full Steam Ahead!

Georgia really IS the leader of this crew!

I love the angle of this shot. A Dog's-eye view of sorts.

Double Yikes!

2010-04-05T16:38:00.007-06:00

Fence at sunset (taken by Stuart)

Well, the next ten weeks are going to be super intense and busy. So I may not get back to blogging for a while. I just got back from a week in Humboldt County. Had a great time, though it rained almost the whole time I was there! Go figure. So much for riding at the beach. lol. Did get a lot done, but not exactly what was intended.

Possibly found a great pasture for Gio and Ber. Am in the process of talking to the land owners and working out an agreement. It is a short ride to the beach, and trails. Beautiful land. We'll see what happens. I have a place to stay (my brother's house in Trinidad) either permanently or short term. I'd like to be closer to where the horses will be, but that may not be in the cards. I am set to move the first two weeks of June, depending on transportation for the horses and my stuff. Woohoo!

Pretty braids, busy teeth... (picture by Stuart)

Approaching weather, coming up the pasture (photo by Stuart)

However, a lot to do until then. I have my dissertation proposal defense Tuesday, April 13th. I stand up in front of my committee and any audience who comes, and explain what I intend to do and why. They grill me with questions, and then send me away while they discuss. After I pass the proposal defense, I can start collecting data. I am not real confident about passing this defense, from where I stand right now. Monumental task.

On top of the defense, I have a poster to put together for an education research presentation next Wednesday, and I need to work on the research projects I'm doing with the professor I work with. Yikes. And I need to finish up the work I was doing for my independent study classes. Double Yikes. Oh, and did I mention I'm going to Washington D.C. for a week, to supervise a high school student? Last week of April, something my professor hooked me up with. Will be a great experience, but it warrants a Triple Yikes at this point! lol.

With the weather warming up, and the arena drying out, I plan to start riding this week, as my diversion from this massive pile of work. lol. We'll see how that goes. Needless to say, I need to get off of here and get back to work. The house is so quiet, and I miss my girls. I may be taking my work in to the university and setting up shop at the Library from now on, to avoid this empty house. Until I grow accustom to the silence, I guess.

See you all in a while... Oh, and Happy Birthday, Stuart!

Arcy's Moon.

Georgia's Moon.

Spring is Here, I Think

2010-03-25T07:31:00.006-06:00

High-desert lupine. About the size of a teacup saucer!

It is spring, I can hear the birds singing, and the grass is starting to grow a little. The trees still look dead, but that's how it goes up here. The flowers above are from Jump Creek Falls.

It's spring break next week up here in Idaho, so I'm headed south. Not much I can do with my research with most people gone, and I can read pretty much anywhere. While in Humboldt, I'll be looking for a place to call "home" while I finish my dissertation this next year. Also looking at trucks, and making sure Ber and Gio have a place to call home, too. The week is going to fly by.
Hopefully I can ride a couple times, visit with friends, and have a good meal at my favorite Mexican restaurant. I'll try to post pictures, and maybe a few videos of horses.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with some very, very cute goats from down the road, an example of a "catbird seat", and my happy horses.

Cat in a tree...

Very content cat in a tree!

Mama goat and two kids.

Third kid-an "orphan" in her own home. Bottle fed, hence people are very cool.

Tiny, micro flowers. The size of a pin head!

Side view of same micro flowers.

Carrot time!

Rare, quiet moment for Ber. Before the carrots appeared...

Jump Creek Falls

2010-03-23T16:34:00.006-06:00

Went to Jump Creek Falls today, which is south of Marsing, on the south side of the Snake River. I'll let the photos tell the story....

At the Entrance, looking south into Jump Creek Canyon. It's a 1/4 mile hike in.

Walking up the trail.

Really cool caves all along the cliff sides.

I have lots of pictures of moss an lichens. Rocks were covered in them!

This yellow lichen was all over the place, especially high up on the cliffs. Looks exactly like the stuff on Abert Rim, in Oregon.

Jump Creek, winding under the boulders

Can you see the fish? Talk about camouflage!

The water fall.

The water fall from up on the cliff.

Hiked up on the west rim of the canyon to see the water fall.

From way up on the cliff, where the ravens were soaring.

A Sad Day

2010-03-17T10:58:00.009-06:00

17 great years.

14 weeks, omg cute!

So Glad March has 31 Days!

2010-03-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

I'm glad March is here, but I'm grateful there's 31 days in all. I need them! My Pilot Study passed IRB, which means the university research review board said I could go ahead and do my study. I mailed out 57 letters, with return SASE's, to prospective participants. I've heard back from 20 so far. That was enough to pull five participants for the first interviews, to test my questions and procedures (aka "pilot study:).

The exicitng news is that I need to submit a draft of my Pilot Study report on Monday (Mar. 8) to my committee for their review and feedback. Why so soon? Because my Pilot Study defense is March 22nd!! Wow. Pretty cool. So, nose to the grindstone and all that. Do five interviews, transcribe them, analyze the transcriptions and the data from the demographic survey, and find my conclusions. Whoa!

The weather here has been really nice. In the 50's, clear skies. Arcy has decided she likes to go for walks again, after a couple weeks of being a house potato. She says the warmer weather suits her fine. The horses are beginning to shed a bit, and the grass is beginning to grow in their pasture. So they are pretty happy. Jetta went to the VW dealer and had some work done, and seems to be running purrrfect again. I can't wait to see how the mileage is for this first tank of diesel after the work. Hoping to get back up to 45 mpg! None of this 40 stuff! (I realize 40 mpg is nothing to shake a stick at, but when you've been used to 45, it's hard to swallow! lol).

My dad and my brother, Stuart, are coming up the end of March to visit, just in time to go to my Pilot Study defense. Very cool. Then I am headed to Humboldt for a week. On my agenda for the trip is to figure out where the horses are going to live, find a truck to buy, and maybe even find a place for me to live! I also want to help a friend with her garden, check in on my house, spend some time with friends, maybe do some horse stuff, and spend some time each morning working on my dissertation proposal. Then it's back to Boise to submit my dissertation proposal, defend my proposal, and collect the data. Pretty exciting to see how it is all coming together. I hope to move back home by June 15th. WooHoo. Just before the heat really bakes Boise to a crisp. lol.

Putting the Cart before the Horses...

2010-02-21T14:20:00.005-07:00

Well, I went and did it. I found a sweet new ride for the horses. I do not own a truck, so it is going to sit there and look pretty until I find the right truck. And don't even ask if I have ever driven a truck pulling a trailer! That would be a "No." I'll be learning how on the flat farm roads of Idaho.

The trailer needs a serious bath to get rid of the dust, but other than that, it's a beauty. 2007 3-horse, slant-load, aluminum skin on steel frame. The story is, I've been shopping horse trailers for a while, and when this one came along, and they accepted my offer, it was just too good to pass up, even if I didn't have a truck yet. The sellers were kind enough to deliver.

As for the rest of things, I'm chugging along with my research and work. Really enjoying what I am doing, but I don't have much spare time to speak of. So, hello to everyone! I'll be down in Humboldt the end of March to start figuring out my move back, so if you're there, maybe we can visit.

Maybe I ought to go look on craigslist, see if I can find that diesel long-bed automatic truck I am looking for...

It's February!

2010-02-01T11:37:00.004-07:00

View from far pasture, looking towards barn.

Short post today. Just checking in and sharing my good news. The Pilot Proposal is done. I only learned of what I had to do on Tuesday, and fortunately I'd been working on reading the research for a week already, but still it was a major crunch to put it together in a week. Emailed it to my committee, and so far the response is very positive. So glad. Here's a link to it, for anyone who was curious or wanted to read it: Emily's Pilot Proposal.

Now on to contacting parents and lining up interviews. I'm definitely going to need every minute available to me, between now and the end of May. The good news is it is doable. I wasn't so sure a couple weeks ago. I can do this.

Snowed yesterday. The snow is gone today, but it's pretty cold out. The horses have decided that hanging out in the barn, eating, is a good thing!

Giovanna at snow-filled fence.

Horses investigating thrown snowballs.

Black walnut tree, holding snow.

A fat, happy bush.

About that new Dissertation topic....

2010-01-25T13:53:00.003-07:00

As some of you may know, my master's thesis examined parent and student perceptions of differentiated instruction at my charter school site, Blue Heron Middle School. My questions in that study were: Why did the parents/students in my school choose alternative education? What, if anything, was different about the school? and What, if any, impacts do those differences have on their learning throughout the year?

With the increase in emphasis on school choice options for families, the reasons parents/students choose different schools, and the outcomes of those choices, continue to be important. I am currently in an internship at a charter school here in Idaho which emphasizes an Expeditionary learning model. This year they expanded and added over 100 new students. This offered an opportunity to explore why these families chose to enroll at this charter school. However, because the school has been in operation for ten years, it is fairly stable in its curriculum and day-to-day organization, which is a huge plus. These families came into a successful school instead of stepping onto a new boat leaving the dock, like with my school!

My new dissertation topic examines parents' perceptions of how their choice has impacted their child's growth. In my thesis, it was interesting to look at parent/guardian's own elementary school experiences, and how that influenced their perceptions of their child's schooling. This is a big piece of this study, as well. Do parent experiences influence the act of making a choice? Do parent experiences color their perceptions of what school should be like, and their satisfaction with their child's school?

For my pilot study, I'll be talking with five parents/guardians. In the dissertation, I'll be talking to about 30 parents/guardians, as well as the students them selves, to compare perceptions. It's great to have a large population to draw from, because the more interviews I do, the better.

I'm doing good on my time line, so far. Have my project approved, and am submitting the Institutional Review Board paperwork tomorrow. That's the university approval process to make sure my research is safe for human subjects!

Am deep in the review of literature for the study. Best part so far has been finding a researcher in Finland who has spent a lot of time looking at the influence of parents' experiences on their perceptions of education. So my literature review is taking on an international flavor!

Onward and upward, one handhold at a time. :)

(I promise pictures of animals and scenery next time. Sorry for the dense text.)

Belay On!

2010-01-18T15:07:00.003-07:00

Here we go! Tomorrow the spring semester officially starts. Over the last two weeks I've been working on reading, doing prep for my dissertation, and started my internship hours at the charter school, but the pedal truly hits the metal tomorrow. As I'm mentioned to a few people, I feel like I'm standing at the bottom of a vertical cliff, looking up. Can't see the top because it's shrouded in clouds. No path. Just a lot of training and experience that I need to put to use, in order to carve new hand and foot-holds in this cliff. The title of this post refers to my friends and family who've been holding the tension on the rope this last year. Hang in with me, five more months! Belay On!

The steps along the way up this cliff are numerous, and I'm trying to do most of them this semester, which is perhaps a little nuts. But then I churned through 2+ years of coursework in a year, so I have a track record for being a little nuts. There's also that black walnut tree outside my window which had a LOT of nuts this year. Maybe it was contagious! At any rate, here's what I have left to do, in order to earn my doctorate and get really great table reservations under "Dr. Gibson"...

Independent Study: 6 units of credit for reading and internship courses, to finish out my credits/experiences.

Graduate Assistantship Research: 20 hours a week of work on research projects with my advisor.

Comprehensive Evaluation: AKA "Comps". This is a project which shows that I am able to conduct research and that I am ready to work on my dissertation. There are three options, but I'm choosing to do the Pilot Study option. This allows me to do a smaller research project, closely related to my dissertation, in order to test out some ideas and further develop my research design. Through a Pilot Study, I also do a literature review, which will feed into my dissertation. I do a proposal for my comps, get that approved, then do the pilot study and write up a "mini" research report.

Defense of Comps: I present my Pilot Study and defend its merits in front of a jury of my professors and peers. They ask me questions. If I am capable at this step, I...

Advance to Candidacy: I am a "legal" candidate for a doctorate in education, and I have free rein to work on my dissertation research.

Dissertation Proposal: I write up a proposal and time line of my dissertation. If approved by my committee, I...

Conduct Dissertation: research, data collection, write up, etc. I hope to collect data before I leave Boise in June. Then I have a year to write my dissertation.

Defend Dissertation: Similar to defending Comps, but even bigger, more public, and more important. If I am successful, I am allowed to graduate. I'm shooting for May, 2011, but I realize that things come up, so I'll be flexible.

I changed my topic for my dissertation. But until it's fully approved and my Pilot Study is completely designed, I'm keeping quiet. Oh, and I'm still doing the Grammar of Schooling study, just as a research project for my graduate assistantship instead of for my dissertation. Needed more flexibility of time for that study than my self-imposed timeline for my dissertation would allow.

Wish me luck, and check in with me from time to time. It means a lot to me. This is the hardest part, and I understand now more fully the desire to walk away from something really hard, rather than trying and risk failing! Coming back to face this semester was tough--you have no idea how close I was to just tossing in the towel and heading home. But I've come so far, so fast, and I can do this. I think I can, at least! I finally started thinking about all my students from the past, and imagining they were all watching me, holding my belay rope. What would I want them to see? What would I model? That lit a fire under me. :)

Off to the races...

Are they Washing Out?

2010-01-08T17:48:00.004-07:00

Here are my winter horses. While I was gone for two and a half weeks, my neighbor was feeding them. When I arrived back, he came to tell me that my hay was crap, that it was "washing" them. Which I understand now means it is running right through them. He then informed me that he'd been supplementing my crap grass hay with his alfalfa, and that I could continue to use the outside bales on his stack (which have been rained on and need to get used up, hint, hint). Hmmm.

My grass hay is the same hay they ate all last year. It's mixed grass hay, grown without pesticides, and it is weed free. Beautiful hay in my eye, but I have not had it analyzed, so it could be junk, I guess. There manure looks really good, as well.

Are they being "washed" out? I can't really tell, they look like my horses, and they are both covered in wooly mammoth fur! Horspoor recommended I post some pictures, so here they are... Would like to get anyone's feedback on how they look after almost two months of winter, and three months of eating the hay. Thank you!

Giovanna

Berhwood- the draft horse is really showing... Perhaps he'll be the vaulting horse?

Berhwood

Giovanna- isn't she supposed to be clean where her blanket was, not the opposite?

Berhwood

Video Trials- Top and Maisa

2010-01-05T12:26:00.012-07:00

Experimenting with uploading video from the video camera.
Here's a clip of Maisa Fahim at pasture last summer, I think.

And here's a video of Top lunging last week.

Back in Idaho

2010-01-04T14:06:00.005-07:00

At Kathy and Dick's house in Humboldt.

Made it back to Idaho safe and sound. Arcy is thrilled to be back in her house. She spent half an hour checking everything out, making sure things were still here. lol. Then she ate a huge meal and crashed. She hadn't eaten much for the last two days with the traveling, so it was good to see her eat.

Everything here looks good. There is a (expected) slush pile of muck in the stalls and arena, and I'll be busy for the next few days getting things cleaned up. But the horses look GREAT and seemed pretty pleased to see me. All blinky eyed and smiling. I'm so relieved. Being gone for over 2.5 weeks, I was beginning to worry.

The roads were perfect- I'm glad I waited another day and a half. No ice or snow anywhere, but banked up on the sides. I was quite fortunate. It's going to take me a while to get acclimated here again. I already miss the riding facilities at RA--clearly I will not be riding my horses anytime soon, given the ice in my arena! Bummer. Was having so much fun on Belle and Maisa. I guess I do need to be focusing on my dissertation research and reading, but still...lol.

Happy New Year everyone, and best wishes for whatever your plans are for the coming months!

Yay!!!! Thank You Dr. Winnacot

2009-12-31T16:50:00.005-07:00

Okay, I got a second opinion. Arcy was pretty much on borrowed time when I got her down to Humboldt. Wasn't sure she was going to make it, with her frantic, manic episodes and panting attacks. Took her to see her old vet, Dr. Winnacot. He prescribed some non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, and some joint medicine.

After a week, she's a new dog. Well, she's still an old dog, but she's got a lot of new life in her. Much less stressed, much happier. Doesn't seem to be in any pain. She goes for long walks, and her feet don't puff up in the evening. Yes, she's still semi-senile, and has extremely vacant moments, but I feel really, really fortunate that I followed my gut, brought her down, and gave her a chance at a few more months (relatively pain free!) at least.

From Blogger Pictures

So, here Arcy goes, into her 17th year, still ticking. Pretty cool.

O Christmas Tree

2009-12-31T16:31:00.006-07:00

Here's some pics of the Christmas Tree at HP's house.
Note: Be sure to find a Noble Fir next year. Much easier to drench in ornamentation!
In fact, we had about five garlands left over! Unheard of.

Too funny-- And I thought HP doing the lights in the past was excessive...I got to do the lights this year, and I had to run out and get five more strands! The tree just ate them up. lol.

I could not get my camera to do justice to the lights deep in the tree, and the brushy branches of the Douglas Fir hide lots of ornaments. Still a pretty tree, though, I think.

2009-12-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

Been a busy, busy two weeks! Drove down Wednesday, Dec. 16th, in a 15.5 hour haul. I've had a blast, and can't believe I'm headed back to Idaho in a few short days. Perhaps one of the best outcomes of this trip was taking Arcy to her old vet, and getting her put on medication for pain from arthritis which was causing her anxiety and stress attacks (shivering, pacing, panicky eyes). After a week on the meds, she is much, much better. No puffy feet at night, no stress. Much, much better. Will be having a talk with the vet up in Idaho, for sure...
Been horsing around a lot, riding, cleaning, playing around with vaulting with some kid riders. Painting kitchen cupboards at my brother's house, taking Arcy for long walks, visiting former students and catching up with old friends. Went to my house and found the Christmas ornaments, and put a tree up. Need to remember to get a Noble Fir next year. Douglas Firs are quite difficult to ornament properly! Also trimmed the fruit trees at my house.
Unfortunately, with the rain and the light-speed nature of my days, I haven't taken the kind of pictures I wanted. Ah well. It's all in my head, right? Would have been nice to have a picture of me pitching over the side of Belle when I was showing the girls a vaulting move...

Made It!

2009-12-17T10:32:00.002-07:00

Here we are in California. Wow, the world is green! Everything is drenched in fog...

As for the trip, we left at 7:15 am, Boise Time. Arrived on the Pacific Coast 15.5 hours later. Trip was fairly uneventful...
West of Vale, Oregon, the road was snow pack, beginning to break-up and freeze. Was like driving on a washboard, and I don't think I cracked 35 mph more than a couple times over about 80 miles of road. Passed a semi rig that didn't navigate a curve too well. I don't think he had put his chains on. Sideways on the shoulder. When I got past Burns, Or, and the pavement was clear, it was like a whole new world. 55 (the posted speed) never felt so fast!

The only other bit of trouble came west of Willow Creek, when the fog hit. Had to slow waaaaay down a couple times, just to even see the white line. When I was driving down 101 to the house I'm staying at, the fog played major tricks with my tired, tired eyes. Oncoming traffic lights made shadows of the signs on the side of the road dance and jump around at the side of the road, looking like herds of little deer waiting to jump across. I nearly came to a stop. Then laughed and realized I really needed to get off the road!

I'm off to my day. Will post pictures later. It's so green!!!!

Outta Here!

2009-12-12T09:08:00.004-07:00

Trinidad Head

So... I'm packing up and heading home Wednesday morning, as early as humanly possible. The trip back to Humboldt takes 12.5 hours, if I don't stop anywhere except for gas, in the summer time. I'm prepared to take two days, if need be, but I'm hoping for the best road and weather conditions. Car is winterized and ready, and I am, in the words of my youngest brother, an insanely cautious, careful driver.

Ropes Course, June

As I head off for this "vacation" that marks the end of a long, long year, I wanted to say thank you to my friends and colleagues at BSU. I've so enjoyed getting to know you all. Special appreciation goes out to Randy, Kathleen, Sherry, Phil, and Steve, for all the projects, papers, and powerpoints we've worked on together! Having you all to bounce ideas off of helped me make it through a difficult year. Not sure if I would have made it without our camaraderie. ( I hear Sherry's voice saying, "My Peeps!") Thank you, as well, to my professors who kept throwing reading, projects, and great paper/research ideas at me, to keep me busy and distracted! I'll be back January 1st, ready to hit it hard. That's fair warning, dear dissertation committee of mine. :) You know who you are. I hope!

Far Pasture, December

Winter has only just begun, and I'm convinced humans were not designed to live in this kind of climate! Yeesh. I have cold callouses on the tips of my fingers. Seriously! However, I do believe I've got systems worked out. The horses have a tank-de-icer that keeps their water just above freezing, which means they drink plenty of water. Colic can be a problem in cold weather, I've heard, if they aren't drinking water because it's so cold. They have plenty of hay, and beauteous inverted tire-feeders to keep the hay clean and fresh. I go out several times a day and rake the frozen manure in their stalls into piles so they aren't hurting themselves on the frozen golf-balls of manure. Giovanna is wearing her blanket, and Ber is wearing his thick hair.

My only concern at this point is hooves. They build up these ice balls in their feet, which makes them walk around like they're on stilts or high heels. I know, horses in the wild were fine. But these aren't wild horses, they're domesticated. And Ber has very thin soles. So he's hurting. After searching all the remedies, I tried spraying their cleaned-out hooves with WD-40. Miracle of miracles, it helps. The ice pops out rather than adhering to their soles like it's glued in. And it seems that spraying once or every other day works good. But Ber may need to go into boots or padded somethings, because he's walking like an old, old man. I now understand why he was so lame, for so long, this spring and summer--must have done some major solar bruising last winter when we moved up here. I'm prepared to give him the summer off to heal, once we move back to Humboldt.

As far as the rest of winter preparation goes, Jetta stays in the garage, but even then, morning start ups are tough. Once she gets going, though, it's all good. The house is warm enough, though the static electricity is impressive. I see arcs and sparks! Now that the snow and ice has settled in, I feel pretty isolated out here, but not in a bad way. It's very quiet.

OH, the copper pipes leading to my washing machine popped Wednesday night. I came home at 6 pm to a flood going across the washroom and down the stairs to the basement where all the electrical/furnace/etc are. Took me a while to find the water shut off. Since it was down in the basement, with the flood, I shut off the main breaker for the house before going down. I was so scared of getting electrocuted. I know it was probably a long shot, but better safe than sorry. Seen too many movies, I think. Anyway, got the water shut off, and cleaned up the water (swept it out the back door, turning the steps and deck into a sheet of ice, as the water froze almost as soon as it hit!) and mopped up with towels. The entry rug to the washroom is still sitting on the deck in an oddly contorted, frozen shape. Not sure if I'll get to use it again before May!

Plumber came out, and he was a nice fellow. He was able to repair one pipe, but the other needed a new cap, and soldering just wasn't working- everything was too wet and the cap was too old. So he came back the next morning and finished. But he let me turn the electricity back on, so at least there was heat! I'm leaving keys with the people watching my horses while I'm gone, so they can check on the house. Ugh. Give me fog and rain any day. :)

I better start my packing and such. See you next year!!!!

Phew!

2009-12-07T09:12:00.007-07:00

View of house from out Corn Road

Well.

What do I say?
How about "I'm Finished!!!!!"
Gone is the mountain of work from this semester. How did that happen?

Coming up on a year since I embarked on this Boise Venture of Mine, and after three semesters' of work, I've finished my classes and am ready to begin the "Comprehensive Exam" and "Dissertation" portion of my work. It' s mind boggling.

For now, I'm finishing my last class meetings, and the presentations I need to do for each. On my list from now to the 17th is to get my house in order. The fallout from this intense semester is not pretty....on my living quarters or on my personal self. Need a hair cut, need to clean my boots and wash a pile of clothes, need to clean and vacuum... LOL. Want to start organizing and packing for my trip back home for Christmas. Make arrangements for horses' care, make sure bills are paid, get Jetta checked out for cold weather travel, etc.

Warm Puppy

Then, on the 18th, I drive home, weather and life permitting. Hey, how's that? I'm learning to be a bit more flexible with plans, you say? Who knew. I'm staying at my friend Kathy's house, as she and her husband are traveling a great deal this holiday season. I am grateful for their hospitality! Their house is conveniently located near Redwood Acres, so I can horse around to my heart's content. Can't wait to see how Top and Maisa have progressed. Going to hopefully do some vaulting with some kids, which will be so much fun. And I've heard there's a tack room that could use my manic "must do something physical" energy, perhaps...

One of my dissertation committee professors gave me an assignment for my two weeks at home: absolutely no "academic" work. No thinking about education, dissertations, research, reading, etc. I think I can do that... I already have a list of things to do, people to see, and experiences to have that would take a month, as usual. Though I'll be bringing my computer to upload pictures and, possibly, video, I don't plan on spending much time on the computer. There are walnut bags to sew, an orange cake to make, a tree to decorate, presents to wrap, time to spend with people and animals I miss, Christmas dinner to prepare, walks to go on, movies to watch, and chairs to sink into and just sit...and...be....still.

Snow Tracks

It snowed last night, leaving over an inch on the ground. This house sits right on a busy "commuter" road that gets a lot of traffic from 7-8 am, and then 5-6 pm. Must say folks are driving slowly and quietly this morning! Oh, except for that truck pulling a trailer that just blasted by...lol.

Watching neighbor horses playing in snow...

Horses have been scooping and rolling in the snow this morning. Berhwood is a wooly yak who seems born to live in the snow. Giovanna appreciates wearing her blanket, since she has a more modest hair covering than he. The de-icer is working, and they have plenty of hay, so life is good, horse wise! The bitter cold has been hard on Arcy, but she loved the snow this morning and frisked around a bit. Every day's a good day.

Wooly yak Snow Nose

It's Hammer Time!!

2009-11-08T15:33:00.009-07:00

When are we going riding?

My office looks like its been hit by a hurricane. Stacks of books (now in loose mounds, thanks to Arcy's insistence in walking through and over the stacks, instead of around them, when she needs to find me), piles of articles and papers and notes... So you won't worry, thought I'd let you know I won't be blogging until after Dec. 14. In case you need evidence for this lack of communication, here's what I'll be doing for the next five weeks, minus the weekly reading, which I can't bear to list....Suffice it to say there are chapters and articles each week for 4 of my classes.

Holy Cow. Okay, I can do this. Better get back to work...

See you Soon! (Photos are of my peanut gallery, "cheering" me on!)

I'll be waiting right here, wake me up when you're finished...

11-9, Conference for Pilot Study on Jerome DONE

11-16, Advanced draft of Pilot Study on Jerome due oops, kind of missed this one...
11-17, DuFour book presentation/4-pg paper due DONE
11-18, Scholarly Paper -25 pg. (pre-service teacher ideas about teaching) DONE

TG Break (Yay, a week of work time uninterrupted by classes!) Done and Gone

11-30, Pilot Study on Jerome (25 pg.) Done!! WOW!!!
12-1, Article Evaluation for Quantitative methods class Teacher Cancelled!
12-2, Reading Notebook Due DONE

12-7, Research Proposal (Dissertation) DONE
12-7 Powerpoint presentation on Jerome Study DONE
12-7, Final Draft Jerome study due Done!!
12-8, CAMP Study PowerPoint presentation (DONE) and Prospectus Due
12-9, Book Review and Poster Presentation Due (Done with book review, just need to do poster)

12-14, Researcher Reflexivity notebook/reflection/paper due DONE
12-14, Internship Project- PowerPoint/Final Paper/Fieldstudy Notebook all Due. DONE

Hurry Up! Let's Go Play!! It's going to start SNOWING soon!

Fall--Flying By

2009-11-02T08:04:00.008-07:00

This isn't from Boise, but Stuart took this on his way north-west after visiting. You all KNOW how much I like yellow. Amazing sight.

Is that tree orange?

In case you've wondered, yes, I'm still living and breathing, here in Idaho. :) What on earth possessed me to take five classes, on top of my Graduate assistantship and dissertation preparation? Good golly. Oh, I remember--I'm DONE with classes in SIX weeks! That's why. Okay. I think I'll make it. But I'm going to need some serious decompression time after Dec. 14th when I give my last presentation... Fair warning to my friends and family back home!

Last night's moon over mown hay fields and "purple mountain majesty."

I'm going a tad stir-crazy with all this mental work, but it's what I signed up for, so I can't complain. Wish there was a house to go paint! Arcy is doing well.

Walking with Stuart. You can see the house behind him, days before the big winds stripped the Walnut of leaves and nuts...

She loves to go for her walks, and tries to con me out of another can of food at night. Horses are doing well. They are beginning to look like wooly Yaks.

Hmm, guess who grew in a black winter coat? No more sun-burned brown for her!

Good thing, because it snowed last week!
It's below freezing at night now, and day temps get up into the 50's.

The trees are almost bare of leaves. My walnut tree, besides shedding its leaves and opening up my office window to light, dropped over five 5-gallon buckets of walnuts!

Tribble Eggs! Help, I've been invaded!

Guess what everyone's getting for Christmas? LOL.

It's been a year since I came up here and found this house to rent. Regardless of what one of my friends thinks, I have only been here for 10 months, not two years. But some days it feels like two years!

Here's some pictures from the last month or so. I'm way behind in posting, but I'll make up for it over the winter holiday. Stuart came and visited a couple weeks ago, so I had some motivation to take some animal pictures. :)

Sorry for cutting off Stuart's head, but my girl's so pretty in this one...

A rare quiet moment for Ber.

Shires

Run, Stuart, Run! Trying to keep up with 15-year-old Arcy is NOT easy. Must be the good dog food....

Seniors get to beg. Whenever they want. It's in the manual...

Twelve Weeks and Counting!

2009-09-30T21:55:00.003-06:00

Arcy modelling the newest indoor accessory: Fresh Marigold Garlands (Marigolds from Sheila's garden).

In 12 weeks, I will be finished with my required courses for my doctorate. It seems rather insane, right now, to have taken on the five classes plus everything else, but the end result will be worth it. Having to say goodbye to Georgia took the wind out of my sails for a few weeks. I feel like I'm starting to rally back, now. Ber's soundness is steadily improving, Gio's eyes are on the mend, and Arcy has adjusted to being a single dog very well. Strange thing is, she has taken on some of Georgia's characteristics. If I'm stressed or feeling bad, she comes over to be petted, and her head is hot. When we go for walks, she has Georgia's jaunty head carriage, and likes to dart suddenly to the side of the trail to smell something, nearly pulling me off my feet. And she loves to be all snuggled up in blankets now, way more than she used to, and wears her coat all the time. Did I mention it has been freezing at night?

Oh, check out the hay delivery! Quite a bit different than December of 2008... Nice to know the horses are set.

Sept. 09

Dec. 08

Please know that if I am out of touch, or don't check in, I'm just keeping my nose to the grindstone and doing what's on my voluminous list. Though I may not reach out and connect with you, if you get in touch with me I will definitely respond. Come December 15, I will come up for air and rejoin the world. lol. Arcy says as long as she has a cozy place to sleep, she's fine. Oh, and lots of walks. And good food. And a new sweater to wear in the house....

For those who are interested, here are my classes and the rest of what I'm working on:

School Improvement Fieldwork. I am spending 80 hours working at a charter school that has an Expeditionary Learning focus. Helping them with their special education program. My end goal is to start up an expeditionary learning type school in a economically disadvantaged area. Expeditionary learning grew out of the Outward Bound program. The motto is "We are crew, not passengers." Active learning, out in the community, real projects, deep, meaningful, engaging.

Curriculum and Instruction. History of curriculum organization, assessing programs, designing curriculum... Getting some good tools out of the class, reading some important works that I had never been exposed to. Doing a curriculum research project on a school. We get to go on an overnight field trip October 18-19 to Jerome, Idaho to do research on a school. Pretty cool. My brother Stuart is coming to stay with the animals. Thank you, Stuart! (He's coming to visit anyway, but timed his visit for this.)

Qualitative Methods. How to conduct research, how to evaluate research. Qualitative methods include interviewing, observations, field notes, analyzing documents.... The Jerome project from the class above also is a project in this class, since the methods we are using are qualitative. Nice. I am also working on designing my pilot study for my dissertation as the final project for this class. I absolutely LOVE this course, the readings, the work. Really meaningful for me. Absolutely tons of reading for this class.

Quantitative Methods. How to conduct research, how to evaluate research. Quantitative methods include surveys, tests, and other numerical measurements of things. Statistics are used to evaluate results. The typical cause and effect kind of studies, as well as correlation. It is good information, but hard to relate to my dissertation. Our big project is designing a study, so I'm designing a project on academic self-efficacy of CAMP (College Assistance Migrant Program) students during their first year of college. Academic self-efficacy is a fairly good predictor of academic success in college, migrant/agricultural workers tend to have fairly low academic self-efficacy, yet students who participate in CAMP have the highest graduation rate at Boise State. So, I want to see what's going on with their academic self-efficacy. This study will be conducted next year, because I need to test students at the beginning of their first year.

Pedagogical Practices in Education. Basically, how are teachers taught to teach, how do teachers develop over their careers, what kind of professional development works, etc. Interesting class. Will be more relevant when/if I teach at the college level, so I'll ferret the information away. We need to do research project for this class. I am investigating RTI (Response to Intervention) as an alternative to special education referral. This is a project I am doing for the charter school, so it's nice to have it count for this class, too. Tons of reading for this class!!

But wait, there's more.

I am applying for a highly competitive PEO scholarship. The application is due on Halloween! Incredibly rigorous application, but it is really pushing me to think about what I am doing here, and why, which is really good. Wish me luck. It is based on academic excellence and performance and having worthy goals. This scholarship would allow me to work on my dissertation without having to have an outside job or work as a graduate assistant.

For my graduate assistantship, I help teach a Foundations in Education class, I am working on the second McNair paper, and I am designing the CAMP study (which also counts for Quantitative class, woohoo), among other miscellaneous things. The first McNair paper has been sent off for publication review.

For my dissertation, I am designing a pilot study, working on IRB paperwork (basically presenting my dissertation idea and explaining how I won't hurt any of my human subjects during the study), and researching/working on literature review.

I think that's it.

September's Visitor!

2009-09-20T21:17:00.007-06:00

Check out the corn field!

My friend Jennifer came to visit last weekend. What a treat! I am grateful that she understood and put up with my study schedule. Surprisingly, we were able to fit many things into her two-day visit. The above shot of the corn was taken one late evening as we walked up the road to try and catch the herd of elusive "Oreo" cows. We were not successful, but on our way to the airport on Sunday, we finally caught them.

I think these cows are quite interesting. At first there was just one, but in the 8 months since I've been watching them, two more cows, a bull, and three calves have been added.

Friday evening, when Jennifer arrived, we stopped by my Graduate advisor/professor's house. His family was having a big shin-ding, and we hung out and ate some amazing food before we went to the Lake Hazel house. OH, the girls were so delighted to see her. They didn't let her move for about an hour. She had been confiscated!

On Saturday, Jen came with me to my riding lesson. To our great delight, the woman with the two Shire horses was out working with them:

These seem like very kind, gentle giants. But I'm not hopping on one any time soon. Kind of like directing the Titanic.

Then I had my lesson on Sage. She's a very good girl. I'm beginning to feel better about my riding, slowly.

Warming up, getting Sage to stretch long and come round...

Turning, turning...

Working on leg-yielding out and in on the circle, I believe. Or doing turn on the forehands. Not sure.

Trotting down the long side. Sage thinks she's driving, at the moment. lol.

I think setting up for a leg-yield. Just wanted you to know I do look up. lol.

Then came Jennifer's chance to ride! After a 20 year hiatus, there she is, on a paint packer named Star. Here's an assortment of pictures so her son and daughter know that yes, indeed, their mom did ride,. :) She did a great job. They had some serious discussions about the difference between trot and canter cues. Star thought everything meant canter. Let's just say they did a lot of cantering.

After the lesson, we went by Vicki (real estate agent friend)'s house. Her PEO group was having a huge rummage sale. The rest of Saturday we spent at the house. I had to get my work done, and the girls wanted to spend more time with Jennifer.

Sunday, we went to Sheila and Danny Beals' garden to work. Gathered apples, squash, plums, and peaches. Jennifer made a peach crisp and a batch of zuchinni muffins.

Below is Fat and Sassy. You can decide who is who. Been over a month since either one did anything above a walk. Giovanna's eyes are looking pretty good, and I think I will be able to start working with her next weekend. Berhwood's leg (he put a puncture wound into his left front leg, which swelled like a stay-puff-marshmallow man) is healed, but he's still ouchy on his feet. I am hand-walking him on pasture, to try to build up his soles.

I took this picture of a quail, so I could show my friend back home how fat they were. Been threatening to send some to her part-bobcat cat, because his quail are so fit. The elite atheletes of the quail world, after 6 or so years of "Bobby" selection. Any way, when I saw the picture, I just laughed at the python stick. And the light is pretty nice, too.

Arcy and Emily.

Thanks for the visit, Jennifer! It was great to have you.
Couldn't have been better timing.

Red and Georgia

2009-09-15T12:09:00.003-06:00

Good friends, together again.

From Blogger Pictures

Here's Georgia's blog post from February.

Look Who's Five!!!

2009-08-30T22:09:00.008-06:00

August 26, 2004.
Happy Birthday Giovanna Asham Fahim!

She was born to Spyder, (I Spied Her),
a Swedish Warmblood mare of exquisite manner and grace.

Spyder

Her father is Omega Fahim, an Arabian of phenomenal talent and temperament.

Meg

To learn more about her sire, Omega Fahim, go to Kerrigan Bloodstock Arabians.

In the Beginning...

Check out the legs.

Catch me if you can!

From the front.

Sure looked like she was going to be tall, didn't it?

Fast forward to September, 2007.

Here she is, just before she came home to be with Berhwood and Red.

June, 2008, with her favorite non-horse person, Stuart.
Tacked up, working out.

July, 2008, Hanging with Berhwood.

November, 2008. Blissfully unaware of the changes a-coming...

January 1, 2009. Moved to Boise. In the snow. At Night.

Did she mention it was snowing?

Yep, snow. Fun to roll in.

February, 2009.

March, 2009. Woo Hoo! Yes, she's always in the lead.

May, 2009. And suddenly she was a mare.
A very pretty mare.
Where'd that scrawny filly from February go?

May, 2009. Giraffe Horse with her Uncle Stuart

July 2009, trying on western wear.

August, 2009, just before her birthday. Ride 8 or so!

Thanks, Giovanna, for being here. I don't believe I've ever met as smart a mare, as kind a spirit, or as willing a comrade. Really glad our paths crossed as serendipitously as they did.

Semester Three

2009-08-30T12:22:00.003-06:00

Fires lead to great moon shots in Boise.
(I'm experimenting with picture options. Click on the pictures to see full sized images.)

Well, I'm back at it. After discussing my options for this semester while back in Humboldt, I decided to take the plunge and go for the 5 classes. Why? Because I will be done with all required classes, and I will be able to move back home in June to finish my dissertation. I'll need to come back to Boise a few times to take care of meetings and such, but I can finish the work I need to do back home, and I'll be able to start working again.

That said, I'll be on a seriously turned-up treadmill for the next three months. Very exciting classes, though. I have a qualitative and a quantitative methods course, and courses in curriculum and current issues in education, and a field study class (where I'll be interning at the charter school I am studying). On top of that, I'm working on several projects/papers for my graduate assistantship, and beginning to plan out my dissertation study and get the preliminary paperwork and planning out of the way.

Speaking of that dissertation thing... I am planning to study the "grammar of schooling", which is the way that school is, and is "supposed to be" that everyone has programmed into their brains from their own experiences. It is one of the reasons that school reform is so difficult, because everyone is an expert (because of personal experience) on school. I am studying a school that has a very different grammar of school (a charter school centered on expeditionary learning) and interviewing some 8th graders to find out what their grammar of school is. I will also be interviewing some 8th graders who have attended traditional schools, and some high school students from both schools, as well. It's more complicated than that, but at least that'll give you an idea of where I'm headed. Once I have my full proposal, I can post it so those interested can see the nuts and bolts of it. It will be interesting, and no one has looked into this before. It is assumed that there is a grammar of schooling, and that everyone has it. It's a theory that hasn't really been tested.

There's Miss Giovanna under saddle. We got in about 5 rides before my trip to Humboldt, and then she got corneal ulcers (3!!) which have sidelined her for a bit. Among other reasons for wanting to be done with Idaho is how much my horses have been ill, sick, or injured since we moved here. Not sure what the deal is, but it has been non-stop. At any rate, she is recovering, and making progress. Finally started turning the corner yesterday, after almost two weeks of treatment. Very glad.

While I was in Humboldt, I painted about half of my childhood home. It was a working vacation, see? Also helped a friend with painting her house and prepping for her landscaping. Visited with other friends, picked up some incredible fish, got my computer updated and cleaned, and picked up the new lenses for my glasses. Was very difficult to step back into my Idaho life after settling back into my Humboldt life, but I've been intensely busy since the minute I got back. Not much time for anything else, which has been good.

Pictures of childhood home Painting project:

Before painting

Before painting. You can see Arcy and Georgia if you look close...

After painting. Oops, gotta finish the upper part! I did, but didn't get a picture of it...

Finished with the front.

Primer stage, but great shot of Georgia!

Almost There...

2009-08-08T10:46:00.007-06:00

Arcy knows how to take it easy...

One week left, and I'm done with the ten-week summer marathon. Have I learned a ton? Yes. Am I glad I did it? Yes. Glad I'm almost on the other side of it? Let me count the ways....LOL. Good news is I have my dissertation focus, which was one of my big goals this summer. So far, so good.

The walnut tree outside my home office window. Been watching the walnuts grow as a distraction to studying...lol

Despite the fact that I have not posted lately, I have been getting out and doing some things other than school...

Went to see Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, in concert. Francine Reed was back, and her voice was as good as ever. I was in the nosebleed section of lawn, but the music was great.

Nose-bleed lawn..

Very entertaining to watch these early twenties security people try to control the ever drunker crowd. There were the "reserved" bathrooms and the "general" bathrooms. The folks who were in general seating, but nearer to the reserved bathrooms than the general bathrooms kept trying to get across the security line to go to the bathroom. They argued, they flirted, they ignored, they yelled, depending on their state of inebriation and personality. Some set up these elaborate distractions while friends jumped across and went. Was pretty funny. I felt bad for the security guy who kept trying to get his fellow security guards to come help, and they just laughed at him.

Best shots I could get with the zoom on my camera.

Started taking riding lessons on a Trakehner mare named Sage. She is BIG. An honest 16.3, and I'd swear she was taller, especially when I'm trying to groom her back. She is a sweet horse, and I am getting a great opportunity to work on my position and technique, so I can be a better rider for Ber and Gio. The trainer's name is Grace Owsley, and I'm enjoying working with her.

Sage and me, at the end of an hour, half of that on a lunge. Phew.

I've also been eating fresh corn from the field down the road, (and sharing with Georgia the Corn Dog who yodels for her corn cobs), working in Sheila and Danny Beals' garden and eating all the produce I can eat, canning up jam, working with my horses, and taking the girls for their daily walks. Went to a pool party at Vicki Johnson's house. She is the real estate agent that was helping us look at property up here before I decided to rent.

Started working with a new farrier, Kathy Hopkins, who is an "equine podiatrist." I learned more about the biomechanics of the foot in the three hours we spent on my horses' feet than I learned in many years of trimming. I'm very pleased with how their feet look, and Giovanna is good to start riding again as of yesterday (vet gave her two thumbs up). Berhwood is on two weeks of no work. His feet are causing him pain, and the vet wants him to rest. He needs some sole-protective devices, but I'm waiting until my next appt. with Kathy the equine podiatrist before I decide what that device will be. I just want him to be free from pain so he can move freely.

My humming birds' babies are big enough to come to the feeder now, so it's a mob fest when all of them come in. I found out that they are "black-chinned" hummingbirds. Now one of the parents looks like she's carrying eggs, she's so round.

Hummer is on the left--check out the belly!

The local version of the snowy plover from Humboldt is the killdeer. I have several that are nesting in the area. Here is one of the nests. Talk about trusting the universe! Yeah, I just put my egg out on the rocks, it's camoflauged, it'll be fine. The babies hatch out ready to move and fly. Like tiny versions of their parents. The girls have stumbled across a couple babies on our walks.

Killdeer "nest."

With the temperatures rarely dipping below 90 degrees for the last month, the girls and I have been maximizing our use of the fans and window air conditioner, and the horses have become sprinkler fans.

However, this last week of weather has been an absolute delight. Rain for four days!!! Over cast, temps about 60 degrees. I have been spending a lot more time outside and felt motivated to get things done, like rake up all the old hay and prepare the storage area for the 5 or 6 tons of grass hay coming in September. Want to avoid having hay delivered in the middle of a snow storm, okay? lol.

Seems fitting that the weather should become so much like Humboldt, just when I'm gearing up for a week's vacation! Friday the 14th, I head home. Fall semester begins August 24, so I have a ten-day window of time. Won't be able to visit home again until Thanksgiving week. There is a girl down the street who will be watching the horses. The girls are coming with me, and we'll be staying at the Trinidad house while I paint the outside of the house. Yes, that's my idea of a vacation, painting! Will also be doing some work at my McKinleyville house, helping a friend with some work on her house, doing a lot of horsing around, and visiting with friends and the outdoors. As per usual, I have way more that I want to do than I have time for, but I'm an optimist. Don't mess with an optimist. lol.

Trinidad beach, looking north.

Doubt I'll get much computer time while I'm gone. I'll post again when I get back, with tons of pictures! For now, I'll leave you with a picture of where I'm headed....

Trinidad Head, looking south.

A Scenic Day

2009-07-11T19:43:00.007-06:00

Looking up the Snake River Canyon

For my birthday, the girls and I went to the Snake River Birds of Prey area, which is about 20 miles south from where I live. The Snake River Canyon is the closest I've ever been to a big canyon, and I'm pretty enthralled with it. We stood on the rim, and took photos, then went to the bottom and explored a bit. There is a dam at the bottom called the Swan Falls Dam. Here's a link to some info on the dam.

It was a hot expedition, despite the clouds (gee, it's July 11th, and there are still clouds in the Treasure Valley!). The girls are now crashed in front of the fans. I am debating whether to make this killer chocolate cake that needs a cup of strong coffee as an ingredient, or a batch of rhubarb muffins. Maybe I'll do both.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. :) If you click on the captions, you'll go to a larger version of the pictures, which can be kind of cool.

Looking down the Snake River Canyon

The building down on the river is the Swan Falls Dam

Looking southwards, across the Snake River. Yes, those are power boats in the water.

Arcy's Snake River Canyon portrait.

Georgia's Snake River Canyon portrait.

2/3 of the way down to the river, looking upstream at the dam.

The Swan FAlls Dam. How gothic is that architecture?

At river's edge, looking across. Just missed the biggest dragon fly I've ever seen!

Looking up from the bottom of the canyon to where I was standing with the girls.

Layers and colors on the canyon walls.

Reminds me of the colors in the Grand Canyon...

Close up of red color band.

Summer, and the Living is Breezy

2009-07-08T14:48:00.008-06:00

Sunset from the house

Well, I'm coming up quickly on the end of the first five weeks in my summer doc program marathon. Loved these first two classes. Best part of the doctoral program, so far. The next two will be more challenging, because the subject matter isn't as exciting. For these first classes, we were reading books that were more about real schools and leaders, whereas the next classes are more about philosophy and how to conduct research.

The really good news: I have a focus for my dissertation work! Amazing how these things evolve. A week ago, I had no idea, and then, suddenly, it came together. For anyone who's interested, here's the story. I did my master's work on differentiated instruction, which basically means making sure that kids are learning what they need to learn, are interested in learning, and are ready to learn. Didn't want to do any more work in that area, because it is being done, on a large scale. I visited this charter school here, and have gone to several events at the school. It is an "Expeditionary Learning" school, and if I'd known there was such a thing as "Expeditionary Learning" I would have been involved with it at Blue Heron. Because it is what I love to do best- get kids deeply involved in learning and doing, with narrow focus (coverage is not the issue, but depth of involvement, understanding, and knowledge is.). For example, the 7th and 8th graders spent the year studying Africa and Scientists. I went to their exhibition day, where they shared their culminating projects. Holy Cow. Amazing. I tried to dabble in Expeditionary Learning my whole career, with out realizing that's what I was doing. To top it off, Expeditionary Learning utilizes differentiated instruction AND writing workshop models. Actually, it thrives on workshop models in all subjects, so I'm pretty excited.

Long story, not getting any shorter... I was talking to my adviser about doing an internship at this charter school, because I'm thinking what I'd like to do is start an Expeditionary Learning school somewhere, perhaps back in Humboldt. So I need to understand this, thoroughly. We talked about whether this could lead to my dissertation, and bam, it hit me. All I can say right now is that my dissertation will have something to do with Expeditionary Learning and this charter school. I'll divulge the details when I can.

Now, you may be wondering why I am so interested in having a dissertation topic, when I've just started my program. Truth is, I'm working on being finished December 2010, so I need to be hopping. Plus, one of the classes the next five weeks is a research methods class, where we get to work on a literature review. In case you aren't sure what that is, a literature review means reading the research that has been done on a particular topic/area, to build back ground knowledge and find out where the holes are in the research. These holes can become a dissertation focus. So, you may have guessed that I am conducting a literature review on Expeditionary Learning. Way, way cool.

As for the rest of the program, I will be taking four classes this fall; I will be taking independent study/internship credits, collecting data for my dissertation, and working on my "Comprehensive Exams" in the spring 2010, and I will be doing more independent study credits and working on my dissertation Summer/Fall 2010 while taking the one class I can't take this fall. I may not actually finish my dissertation until May 2011, depending on how things go, but I can move back to Humboldt the end of 2010 and finish writing, if need be. During all this time, I'll keep working for my graduate assistantship, which has me doing research, writing, publishing, and teaching. I might try to work for the summer writing program for kids next summer, here in Boise, as I deeply miss the Young Writers Program back in Humboldt. This fall I'll hook up with the Boise Writing Project to see what I can do with them.

Phew. That was a lot of details. On to other aspects of life in Boise...

The 5:30 afternoon storm. Looks like the Dust Bowl Days!

The trees look like they're being whipped by a tropical storm.

I've started helping in the garden of my first landlords. They have a large, large garden in Eagle. The dirt is actually Hot during the day. And things grow so fast! I am eating squash, potatoes, basil, rhubarb, and lettuce. I'll be able to do some canning with them, too. I believe we are making rhubarb/ginger jam this weekend. (Yes!!!!).

Giovanna, modeling western wear.

Ber and Giovanna are doing well. Giovanna has three more weeks on her rehabilitation program before she gets checked to see if I can start riding. Her slew of injuries have healed up nicely, and now I'm just getting her muscles built back up after the month and a half of forced down time.

Giovanna going western. So much for being a dressage pony!

Berhwood is picking up some serious muscle as well, though I am keeping it light on the riding until I get a new bit for him.

Berhwood trying on the repaired western saddle. Need to get a different pad.

Somehow in the last few months, he outgrew his bit! So rather than teach him that bits pinch and are painful, we'll wait. I've heard he's getting one for my birthday, but don't tell him. :)

Ouch! When did this get so small?

The girls are thrilled that I finally broke down and purchased a window-mount air conditioner. After a week of 85-90 degrees IN THE HOUSE, I visited Sears. It works great, and the dogs are quite comfey. Georgia prefers to lay with her belly to the fan:

Georgia and her fan.

Arcy in her bed next to my computer. Now that she can't jump up on the couch, this is where she hangs out.

However, I am looking forward to taking them back down to Humboldt for a week, between summer and fall semesters. We'll be soaking up the cool moist air, and living the temperate life. :) For all my Humboldt friends, I'll see you the 3rd week of August!

Until next post, here's some pics of bird life around my Boise house.

Pair of morning/mourning doves

Hummingbird. When it's in the 80's and 90's, the hummers fly around with their feet hanging down, instead of tucked up under themselves.

Baby Robin, fell out of nest. Took a bath while waiting to learn to fly.

Though I put this water bowl here for the wild birds, because I saw them panting with the heat, the neighbor's herd of 5 roosters comes by every day to tank up.

Three baby yellow breasted birds (they act like swallows, but aren't swallows) branching out on their own. First day of flying!

Same baby birds, in nest, before branching out. They are right above the hitching post.

Snake River

2009-06-21T18:21:00.004-06:00

Looking across the Snake River, in a northerly direction.

It is Sunday, the end of week 2 of the "Summer Marathon" as I've been calling it. So far, so good. School is going great, and I'm keeping up with the work load. Today, for a treat, I decided to drive down to the Snake River. On the map, it seemed like it would take forever, but it just took about 35 minutes or so. I am going to try to go on a short road trip every Sunday, so I can get out and see the wonders of this place. My trip up to McCall two weeks ago, when my class went to the ropes course, opened my eyes to the places I could go...

Looking down the Snake River in a westerly direction. The girls were standing at my feet, water between their toes.

As you can see from the pictures, it was a cloudy, overcast day. I imagine the colors of the mountains would be stunning on a sunny day. It was hard to take pictures, because there was virtually no where to pull over. The farm lands go right to the edge of the road, and there isn't a "senic overlook" to be had. There was a boat launch area, and I took the girls out to explore, which made their day. Of course, now they are crashed on their respective rugs. Doesn't take much, these days, to wear them out!

Along the drive, there were all kinds of high spots. Hat Butte, Jackass Butte, Wild Horse Butte, and Castle Butte, to name a few. Not sure what all their names were, but a few times, they made a stunning sight, against the backdrop of gray. I'll leave you with the landscape as I head back to work, or out to work my horses. Haven't decided which to tackle first, yet. :)

I believe this is Kuna Butte, looking towards the North East.

Five seconds later, the light had changed, so here is Kuna Butte again.

I think this is Guffey Butte, looking northerly.

Unnamed Cliffs of the Snake River, east of the tiny town of Murphy.

School is....Scintillating

2009-06-12T20:27:00.008-06:00

All I can say is....Wow. And I thought my first semester of classes was interesting. I had no idea that these first two summer classes would be so fantastic. This is why I came here. The classes are about the problems of school reform (how DO we make things better) and examples of schools that are making things better. It is hard to express how charged up I feel, and how much I am gaining from the reading, writing, and discussing we are engaged in, both inside and outside of classes. I guess if you could see the smile on my face and the spark in my eye, you'd probably get it pretty quickly!

Catching Up

2009-06-09T19:20:00.004-06:00

Been a whirlwind couple of weeks. After my brother visited, I started on the reading and first paper for one of my summer classes. Read four books and ten articles, and drafted a 20 page paper on Memes and Education Reform. Phew. Also in the final stretch on the first McNair paper.

I am riding both horses now, and Berhwood is starting to go out into the world on trails. He loves it. Unfortunately, both of them had issues with their backs, so I had the horse chiropractor out. He did a full adjustment to Ber, head to tail, which has made a world of difference. Though Ber could go back to work after a day of rest, Giovanna's pelvis was terribly out, and she was on two weeks of rest, when she ripped open her heel. She's going to be fine, but it pushed back our ability to work two more weeks. I'll start lunging her again the end of this week, once I can be assured her wound is really on the mend. Oh, and I made arrangements with a teenager down the road, who trains horses, to come help me by standing on the ground while I get Giovanna going under saddle. I've been on her about 5 times now, and we have walked a few steps, but she needs (and I need!) the support of someone on the ground.

Next, I organized my life and found sitters for my dogs and horses for three days so I could run (fly) home for two days. I needed to check on my house, rescue a bunch of plants, help a friend with laying out her garden, visit a few people I missed seeing back in March, and play with horses a bit, including watching Top in action, finally. Wow, what a horse. (See horspoor's blog for pics of Top that I took.) I was delighted to find that my renters are taking excellent care of my house and the yard, and are really good neighbors to the neighbors. The flight down was great, and my visit was just what I needed, though it seemed awfully short! My heart is full again, and I find it much easier to focus on my work here.

The flight back was another matter. Turns out San Francisco had closed one of their runways, so all flights in and out were getting backed up. I was panicking when my flight out of Humboldt was delayed 3 hours. I called horspoor when I learned that I would be getting into SF AFTER my flight to Boise was supposed to leave, and decided to go ahead to SF and see what happened there. Luckily, my flight to Boise had also been delayed. I waited 30 mintues, then boarded the plane. Which had problem after problem before we could depart. While loading beverages, a bottle of wine was dropped and broke, spilling wine everywhere; a tray table was broken and wouldn't stay locked, so a tech guy came on to fix it and the pilot had to inspect before we could leave; some mechanism in the cockpit malfunctioned so they had to go to back-up, and test that. Finally we left, the flight was perfect, and I was home by 10 pm.

The girls did great at their sitters, but they've been my shadows since I returned. I told them I won't leave them again. My next trip down home is the end of August to paint the Trinidad house, and I'll be staying for a full week, so I will take the girls with me. Should be perfect timing, as the temps could be in the 100's at that time. Humboldt will be mighty fine. lol.

Summer classes began yesterday (Monday) at 7:30 am. For ten weeks, I'll be on a pretty intense schedule, and any spare time I have will be spent with my horses. Today, Tuesday, our summer classes drove 3 hours north to a small town on a lake, and did a ropes course with high and low rope elements. I got a lot more out of the low ropes stuff than the high ropes stuff, but I did everything, even leaping off a 30' pole to grab onto a trapeeze bar. Yikes. Quite the experience. They had elements with names like "Leap of Faith" and "The Screamer." Here's a pic of me, flying through the air.

In closing, I'd like to send out a big Congratulations to my youngest brother's mom, who just passed her Comps and has now earned her Master's in Literature. She's a high school English teacher. Way to go!!!!

Table Rock Quarry and Giovanna

2009-05-29T23:56:00.007-06:00

My brother, Stuart, was here last week. One day we went hiking to the east of Boise. The old penitentiary is there, and you can see the wall to the right in this first picture. It was another scorching hot May day, but when we got to the top, the winds were lovely. Not much else to say, but enjoy the pictures.

Headed up to Table Rock Quarry, which is the tip of that "hill" up there...

Getting closer, getting warmer (literally!).

Looking out, on the way up.

We were in what is called the Boise Foothills. There are hundreds of miles of trails up here, all over. Open to bikes, horses, hikers. If I could have my horses close to these trails, oh, the fun we'd have!

One view of the cliffs. Table Rock Quarry.

A look at the city of Boise, from halfway up to the rock.

View of the city from on top of the Table.

Stuart looking out on the city from Table Rock.

Wild Bachelor's Buttons!

Mountain Lupin. It came in many colors.

Now for some pictures of Giovanna posing with her favorite uncle...

Talking to the neighbor boys, ooh la la.

Feeding the Giraffe

The girls love it when Stuart visits, because there's this cushy place to hang out, and he's cool with dog hair.

Hummer hanging...

Dog Days of Summer, Already?

2009-05-19T18:11:00.005-06:00

Well, the air is popping here. Temperatures have been in the 80's and 90's for the last four days, and it doesn't look like it is letting up any time soon. It is hot outside by 9 am, and doesn't start cooling off until 8 pm. One of the best surprises was how cool it gets at night. That was a relief. Though I now understand how important humidity is, or rather the lack of humidity. 90 in a dry climate is easier to handle than 70 in a humid place. However, I have been running around for three days trying to make things livable for my dogs and horses. I can sit around eating popsicles all day, but the dogs are having a tough time. I take the hose out to the pasture and drench the horses at mid day, which they enjoy. Ber likes me to stand there, making a fountain he can play in. I seem to tire of this game long before he does. :)

Georgia has her belly angled towards the evaporation cooler. Smart puppy

Purchased an evaporation cooler for the dogs. It does a fantastic job cooling the house down--way better than I imagined. BUT it is defective. Have taken it apart three times this afternoon, trying to get it to stop spitting water out the back. I have talked to Home Depot, and they want me to bring it back and exchange for another one. Quite frustrating, but it will work out. After this third dismantling, it has been working for an hour without spitting. So maybe I've got it reconnoitered?

Got a "misting" line for out by the barn, so the horses can come hang in the shade and moisture, there. Not sure if they will actually use it. Need to go back to the store to get more misting nozzles, because I smartly/stupidly (depending on your perspective) ended up with one more mister outlet than came in the kit. Argh. So, with this luck, I am not going to do anything with the personal mister I bought for out on the deck, for me and the girls. Will work on that tomorrow. I must say that I am glad I have all the tools I've acquired in the last few years. Makes me feel pretty good to be able to come in the house, drill a hole in a pvc coupling, screw a valve into the coupling, and have it work exactly like I wanted.

Arcy's normal place, right at the base of my chair, when I'm working on the computer. My little shadow.

In the winter, back when it was a challenge just to keep the house above 59 degrees, I hung my mom's quilts in all the windows for insulation. When the weather started to get nice, I took the quilts down so we could have light in the house, because it is like a cave in here with them up. Drawback was it started to get so hot in the house. Quilts are back up, and the house is 10-15 degrees cooler than it was with them down. Silly me, I was thinking, "Oh, the house will be warmer with the quilts up, because when I'm under quilts, I get warm." lol. No, the quilts will insulate whatever temperature is there, ding dong.

One of the quilts, glowing with sunlight.

In other news, Giovanna is becoming a riding horse!!! She has two sessions under her belt. The other night, she walked forward many steps, was immediately keen on "whoa" and was getting the idea of turning. She's not sure about things, but more in a "Hmm, what's going on" way, rather than a "I don't like this!" way. In fact, when I first swung my leg over and sat on her, she turned to look at me, as if saying, "Well, about time. I was wondering when we were going to do this." I hope to get pictures in a couple days, as Stuart will be here later this week. I've been riding Ber, too. He's going to be a great trail horse. Until his feet are tougher, we can't go out on the canal roads, so for now we are bipping around the 3 acres of pasture, and he is just a pleasure to ride. Really a good boy. I am enjoying going out in the evening, about 7 or 8, and riding as the air cools off. It isn't dark, dark, until a bit after 10, which is a pleasant surprise. I guess not being surrounded by trees and mountains has some advantages!

Same quilt, but with the flash on, so you can see more of it. This is the "Yellow" quilt.

As for school, I have my grades for spring semester. Not a 4.0, but darn near close. That A- in statistics is going to haunt me for a while. :) I have the 15 books I need for my summer classes, and am working my way through them. It will be a pretty grueling 10 weeks, I can already see. But, it means I will not have to take classes next summer. I'll be able to work on my dissertation, and I can even go home to Humboldt County for the summer, instead of existing in this heat, if I want. So I think the effort will be worth it. Remind me, when I'm in the thick of it, if I forget.

This week, I also fixed up my bike, which needed a new tire, new handlebar tape, a thorough cleaning and oiling, and repacking of wheel bearings. Then I found out I didn't have bike gloves or tire irons any more, and remembered I needed a new mirror. Once that all arrives (thank you, ebay), I'll be set to go! Thought it would be nice to take some rides through the farm land in the cool evenings or early mornings. Guy at the bike store sold me tires that are thorn resistant, to repel the goat's head thorns, among others. Would be nice to get my bike to school, so I can ride on the river path...

Until later this week, when I have pictures!!

Spring, and the Grass is Green

2009-05-10T15:01:00.007-06:00

The Walnut Tree. Hard to believe this was bare twigs just a couple weeks ago. Soon I will have shade at my "office" window all day. Is that tree really bigger than the house?

Georgia "wading" in the thorn bush pasture, now dog-high in grass.

Spring seems to truly be here. Whereas a month ago, the predominant color was brown, the entire Treasure Valley is now green. Even the distant mountains, once white with snow, are mottled shades of green. I went back to the earlier blog posts, and couldn't believe the difference in the landscape! (Oh, for those who view this blog at the blog site-- www.embboise.blogspot.com--I just learned that clicking on the captions under the pictures will take you to full-size images. Pretty nifty. )

For the first time since I moved here, I have some mental freedom. No classes, no endless piles of reading hanging over my head, no research papers needing to be written. I have ordered all my books for the summer, and plan to start reading next weekend, along with working for my graduate adviser, and continuing with the McNair project writing. Right now, I'm getting caught up on house work, horse blanket repairs, yard work, and cleaning. Also having a great time working with my horses and walking with the dogs.

I think these are Love Birds, outside my "office" window. The male has a rose-colored chest.

My experimental hummingbird feeder attracted its first visitor today, which thrilled me, because I had no idea if hummers even lived around here. For you bird people, I am surrounded by flying, singing, eating birds. I can identify some, including robin, quail, hawk, nuthatch, pheasant, grouse, hummingbird, starling, lark, love birds, doves, and several other small birds, along with a beautiful yellow-chested bird I just met yesterday. The hawk has a nest in the top of the tallest cottonwood on the property. I set up my Guatemalan hammock, (which I bought about 5 years ago, hoping I would have a place for it someday), in the thorn bush pasture. I think I'll hang my binoculars on the tree, so I can observe the flying city above my hammock. And I thought I grew up with a lot of birds in Trinidad! Whew. In the evening, it sounds like a bird subway at rush hour around here.

Here are images from the first week of May. I hope you are enjoying your spring, as well. Send me pictures if you can, especially if you are in Humboldt County. Though it is lovely here, I miss the particular greens of home. Especially the new green tips on the evergreens, the olive-y green of redwoods, and the silvery-green of alders and willows.

Horses in far pasture. Cropped short like a golf course.

View of far pasture, from thorn bush pasture.

This is the hay field next door. Alfalfa and grass mix. If the pirce is decent, I may be buying by hay from my neighbor. How cool is that, to watch your hay grow?

More Georgia wading. She prefers to follow in my footsteps.

Arcy playing "aligator" in the grass.

Eagle Island Park. Quite different from January!

Yellow bee on yellow flower, at Eagle Island Park.

The swimming hole at Eagle Island Park.

Giovanna. Idaho's been good to the mare.

4 Down, 9 to Go

2009-05-06T09:57:00.005-06:00

Cherry Tree in my "back" yard, just starting to bloom. It's a buzzing cacophony of honey bees right now, and a halo of white flowers.

Just a quick post to say I am officially done with my first semester! Pretty cool. I look back to January 1st, and can't believe it has only been four months, because it seems like a lifetime ago. The title of this blog refers to the 13 core classes needed for this doctorate. Thanks everyone for helping me along through the last four months. Couldn't have done it without your support, truly. :)

The first of the tulips I brought from home, blooming. The rest are starting to pop up buds, too.

I'm working on posting links to my papers here, especially the one on Multiple Intelligences, which I think many of you will be interested in. Soon I will start tackling the mountain of reading for my summer classes, and working on the book I'm writing on the McNair study. But for the immediate future, I'm taking a couple days "off" to do some much needed organizing and cleaning and setting up of my house here. Need to take pictures of the beautifully greening trees and the girls running through the foot-high grass in the thorn bush pasture, and the horses who are shedded out and starting to look fit with all their work. But that can wait a bit...

Picture from rose bed, back home.

Picture of Azalea bloom, from back home.

Look Who's Six!!!!

2009-04-24T15:25:00.007-06:00

I am breaking my blog silence to wish my dear Berhwood happy birthday! He's come a long way... Here's a brief scan through his life since he met me. Hopefully he's pleased with how it worked out.

Here he is today:

Here's the photo from Dreamhorse that sent me looking for him. My horse friend thought I was nuts. I'm not sure if she's ever forgiven me for getting him...

When I arrived at the stable in Oregon, this is what I saw. A sad looking long-yearling with terrible feet. But I was smitten.

This is supposed to be his mom. I can see him in her, but boy, she has a nice shoulder. My afore mentioned friend said, "Get that mare!" when she saw the pictures.

So he arrived, with the name of "Will." He and Red were instant buddies- Red had lived alone for many years. Call Will my gift to my old horse.

He quickly filled out. About as quickly as his name changed from Will to Wilbur to Berhwood. Sorry for the name, buddy...

I actually thought he started to look a bit, dare I say, elegant? Nah. Cute, though.

We went to the beach, and checked out the foam. Notice that belly. Doesn't ever seem to go away, does it?

Quite a different looking horse than the scrawny long-yearling. Here he is at 3.

At 4. I really love this horse.

Somewhere between 3 and 4, learning about saddles and such.

Looking like a draft horse. I still wonder who his supposed "warmblood" dad was. I'm thinking one of those American Warmbloods. The half draft ones? So he'd be 1/4 draft horse.

One of the handsomest 5-year-old noses on the planet, in my unbiased opinion!

He is a real goober sometimes. He's now 5.

Settling in, Idaho.

A Measure of Ten Years

2009-04-23T10:21:00.000-06:00

This week, temperatures soared into the 90's. It's the end of April. This Redwoods and fog girl is wilting! A couple days ago, I dug out my Clark sandals. Put 'em on, and set out for my day in the blistering heat. Walking across the parking lot towards the post office, I stumbled. This wasn't a geeky Emily stumble, this was a shoe falling apart stumble. Half of the bottom of my left sandal fell off. Stopping, I pulled off my sandal and looked at the bottom. Disintegrating would be the best word for its condition, and the right was in a similar stage of deterioration.

After taking care of my business at the post office (letter 3 to DMV, trying to get a replacement title before my registration needs to be renewed the end of May!Been working on this since January 10th, no less.), I headed to Famous Footwear to get replacements. Which got me to thinking about the history of those sandals. In 1999, I was working at Burnt Ranch School, out in the hot river valley, and I purchased two pairs of sandals for the sunny days out there. Ten years ago. These sandals are the measure of ten years. With them, I walked through a second BA in Psychology, a Master's degree in Education, a tutoring business, envisioning and creating my school (Blue Heron Middle School), thinking about going somewhere to earn my doctorate, visits to Moscow, Idaho; Austin, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona, and Boise, ID to look at schools, a trip to Mexico, a trip to Virginia on Amtrak to take a class on differentiated instruction, numerous trips back and forth to Boise... Lot of miles in these sandals.

It seems fitting that these sandals, which were there with me at the beginning of my quest to better understand schools, learning, and kids, should fall apart now, while I begin my studies at BSU. There are metaphors, analogies, and soliloquies in there, I just know it. But they will have to wait until I'm finished with the three papers due in two weeks! If you have any, please feel free to post them here. :)

The trees are visibly greener each day, and the grass is clearly longer, as well. Amazing how quickly everything changes. I have been getting up early in the morning to work with my horses, before the heat hits. Trying to work with them in the late afternoon/early evening wasn't working; they seemed tired from the heat, and I was, too. I am having a great time with them. Will post pictures soon. Perhaps when Stuart comes up again the end of May, we can get some videos again. The dogs are beginning to adjust to the heat, after adjusting to the freezing cold. I think the heat is harder on them than the cold. I'm working on setting up an umbrella and mister system on the back deck so we have a cool place to hang out during the days, though the house stays surprisingly cool. I make a gallon of "sun tea" every other day, and I am having no difficulty meeting my "8 glasses a day" of liquids, now. My biggest worry recently was tracking down my shorts and other hot weather clothes. Was coming to the conclusion that I had tossed them, or left them in storage back home. Well, lo and behold, I found them in a trunk, where I had put them when I unpacked my clothes in the middle of the snow storm. I thought, "I won't need these until summer, so I'll put them here." So glad I remembered!

A Test of One's Mettle

2009-04-03T11:40:00.004-06:00

The trees are beginning to wake up. They look, from a distance, like their bare branches have been dipped in green paint. Or yellow paint, for the weeping willows. Clouds of bare, green or yellow twigs. I'll try to get pictures, but can't promise any.

So you don't worry or wonder, this will probably my last blog post until the semester ends in May. The title of this post refers to the work I need to do between now and then. I feel like this is a test of my true belief in what I am doing. Why am I here? What did I want to get out of this experience? Am I really cut out for doctoral level work? Am I willing to direct every ounce of effort in my being towards this endeavor? I guess we will know in five weeks. :) Right now I have two massive papers, 25 McNair scholars echoing in my head from transcriptions, several books to read, and two projects to complete. I think the day after my last class, I am going to just sleep all day. Or pack a great lunch and go hike in the mountains. Just disappear and not think. Ah, something to look forward to...

A dog's life....sleeping the day away.

Until then, I leave you with Georgia. She has a knack for causing me to stop in my tracks and take a momentary pause. I am thankful of my dependents, for that reason. Otherwise, I'd probably work until I dropped. They bring a little sanity to my day. Except this morning when they escaped from the house and ran across to the neighbor's yard! As my friend said, having deaf dogs is like having toddlers. With Arcy and Georgia, I can't call them because they can't hear me, and if they see me they don't come, they just wag their tails and go about their business. It's like they learned how to say, "No."

"Mother Theresa" costume.

Oh, and here's the corrected link to the other horse and dog videos on Stuart's web page:
Video Link

Something about tan under-ears is so...adorable.

Spring Break- Humboldt Side

2009-03-27T12:29:00.005-06:00

Close-up of Trinidad Head

Looking North down Hwy 101. Misty Layers.

North towards Trinidad Head and Clam Beach

Clam Beach

I spend three lovely days back home. Well, okay, it really did rain for most of the time I was there. I had forgotten the squishy feel of wet socks in wet shoes! That's one thing I definitely didn't miss. However, my skin and hair are still happy with the moisture fest.

I slept outside, on the porch of my childhood home in Trinidad. Don't worry, it is enclosed in Plexiglas. Frogs chorused as I went to sleep, and birds sang as I woke up. What more could one ask for?

One highlight of my trip was seeing a couple of my students at their current school. I walked in the door, and there they were. We sat and talked and shared for over half an hour. Just made my teacher self so happy to see them, to know they were happy to see me, and to see how well they are doing in both school and life. Lot of See's in that sentence. lol.

Another highlight was seeing my Whitmire home. It looks great; the renters are taking excellent care of it. Phew. What a relief. The hard part was taking a tour of the yard, and seeing all the bulbs starting to come up, and the fruit trees budding... To know I won't see them bloom and fruit and grow was a little sad for me. I was able to find my new fry pan and some books and things I needed from storage, and picked up my house plants (Christmas Cactus, all). Funny thing--the girls are not there to mow the asparagus, yet the asparagus is not growing... Perhaps it has just been too cold, and it will come up later. Wondering if we blamed the girls wrongly for being asparagus muchers?

I spent a good chunk of time visiting with friends, and it was great to catch up with my horse-people friends--shopping at Great Western for halters and lead ropes and lunge whips was a hoot. I stopped by to see my younger brother, visited with professors at HSU, and checked in on a "grandma" I care about. Spent time with my animal friends, at the pasture and at RA. Seeing Bobby run across the pasture when he heard my car was a real treat, and I was overwhelmed by how beautiful Cami was. Had forgotten how striking she is in real life. Top is handsomer than when I last saw him, having added some needed pounds as well as a lot of muscle. He only has eyes for Vandy, though...

The best part of the trip was getting to just DO stuff, without having to think too much. After all my studies and reading and writing, I didn't want to do anything that required cognitive overload. So I helped my friend with a bunch of chores at her house- put in a new dining room lamp, put together book shelves, installed a new faucet/drain. To me, that was perfect. A sense of accomplishment and purpose, without a grade attached to it! lol. We drove up to Crescent City to shop at Home Depot, which was probably my favorite part of my vacation. I love that road, and it was good time to catch up. Also got a kick out of watching girls oogle at her son wherever we went. Yeeeesss, he's a girl magnet! Often oblivious to it, as many are. lol. Even in Denny's, they are there, watching, waiting, hoping.

A Barn that is slowly melting into the earth, just south of LakeView.

I left Tuesday morning, at 5 am, with a full heart, several good meals under my belt, and a trunk stuffed with horse blankets to repair. The drive home was as clear and pleasant as the trip down. When I arrived home, Stuart caught me up on the goings on at Boise home, and we were able to hang out for a couple days before he left. Coolest thing: I now have a desk and a nice office chair. No more sitting on the floor to do my school work! Stuart installed an automatic water-er, which Ber thinks is pretty cool, and he also hung my clothes line. Dried a load of towels in an hour yesterday. Yes!

View of Mount Shasta from the South-East

Mt. Shasta in line with Cinder Cone

When I started to lay out my school work and get going with the reading again yesterday, I felt like taking a break may not have been such a swift idea. Was incredibly hard to get started. But today, I'm beginning to hit my stride again, and feeling like I can do this. Maybe the break WAS a good idea. Six weeks to go... And the trees are beginning to show signs of spring. Yeah, I can do this.

Here is a link to Stuart's videos of horses rampaging around, Georgia dreaming, and other assorted animal antics. http://www.sgibson.com/emily/

Spring Break- Boise Pictures

2009-03-26T09:20:00.010-06:00

Giovanna- Posing as a Farside Horse

Stuart and the Girls- They are worrying, he's leaving...

How tall is Giovanna? How high IS her hind end?

Georgia and Stuart headed out Corn Road

Georgia and Stuart coming back on Corn Road. Yes, brutal wind!

Georgia, fresh out of her first bath in over three months. Check out the stool...New fabric!

Giovanna watching Berhwood start his workout.

Greening pasture, under big sky...

More Big Sky

Horses loving new water trough location.

Stuart and Girls hanging at the house while Emily's gone.

Berhwood and Emily. Giovanna's lost interest.

Sleeping Arcy.

Ah, the sweet bliss of good people and good times....

My spring break started with my first visitor to my house since the whirlwind move in January: my brother, Stuart. He put up with the work I still had to do- classes, interviews, reading, writing- until I was finally finished. Then he took a crash course in taking care of all the animals before I left at 5 am on Friday to drive back home. Yeah, I've been living here for three months, but Humboldt County is still "home."

The drive down was beautiful. Clear roads, clear skies, and a clear head. Listened to thirteen episodes of "This American Life." Each episode is an hour long. So, it took me 13 hours. None of this two-day trip because of the snow and ice stuff. Yay! The drive was a blast. I'll share pictures of home, and my brief adventures, in the next post.

Meanwhile, here is a link to a montage of videos Stuart took. You'll see Giovanna lunging, (we were having a tough day), and Berhwood being ridden, and the dogs. Great opening section of Georgia running with the Flying Nun ears! Priceless. Boise Movie Montage

Spring Break.... Thought It'd Never Get Here!

2009-03-19T14:48:00.006-06:00

Near and Far: Giovanna and Berhwood enjoying the slight hint of green on the ground...

Just finished with my last assignments before spring break. Turned in a draft of a huge paper last night, have completed 12 interviews for the McNair study, and am otherwise pretty well spent. Not a free neuron to speak of! I can't tell you how good it feels to not have a pile of reading and transcribing hanging over my head. It will be there next Wednesday, but right now, I can just breathe a little.

My brother, Stuart is here, and the girls are thrilled to have some other, more entertaining, company. I tend to be pretty boring, outside of our daily walks, because I always have my eyes on a book, or my hands on a computer keyboard. He's the doting uncle, so they get pretty spoiled. As in "Hey, do they have any treats, so when they get depressed after you leave, I can give them treats?" So I went to Pet Smart and got bags of treats and a new "meaty" log for their pills.

Yes, I am leaving on a quick break. Soak up the green of home, let my hair drink in the moisture in the air, see the ocean, spend time with people I care about. I have many things to do, including finding my new saute pan, grabbing my house plants, and retrieving some hoses and other garden tools I need. Stuart kindly offered to house and pet sit for me. I think he just wants to spend time with his horse, Giovanna... Needless to say, I appreciate his gift of time. Tremendously.

When I get back to Idaho, there will be pictures, and I'm hoping to put up videos of Giovanna and Berhwood, if I can. I won't have much access to the Internet while I'm gone, so don't be surprised if you don't hear from me.

Adios!

Spring is On its Way!

2009-03-10T22:46:00.003-06:00

In the rare moments I get outside, I have noticed a change...There is actually green on the ground, little shoots coming up.

Giovanna's Sheep have all had lambs. There's about 30 lambs over in that field, now, and to see them all gamboling up and down their hill is a hoot.

The bulbs on my deck are poking up their tips, and I need to water them. Despite being covered in snow, the pots are quite dry.

Berhwood's bumps are much better. I am not going to say he is out of the woods, yet, as far as his allergic reaction goes. But I think I may have found what he was reacting to. Still some experimenting to do, but I'm kind of reluctant to introduce it back in, as you can imagine.

Numerous flocks of quail live in and around the property. The other day, while I was working, I could see a group outside my window. I say, they are the fattest, plumpest, roundest quail I have ever seen! Obviously a serious lack of predators in this area. I can't wait to see the flocks of baby quails, fluffing along like little pom-poms on the ground, scattering like a handful of marbles on tile when startled.

Yes, it was snowing the day I saw the quail. I have BasicISP internet service, and they have a weather report on their home page. Usually it says the normal weather information, like snow, or rain, or partly sunny. Well, that day, the report read, "Wintery Stuff." Now, I'd like to know who wrote that! Just cracked me up. Wintery stuff, indeed.

As for school, I'm up to my eyeballs in work, which is why I haven't had much time to update the blog. The work is exciting and extremely stimulating. I sent a quote to my adviser from one of the texts I am reading, and told him that I thought it might be a possible topic for my research and dissertation. The quote was talking about the need for more research on children's experiences by having them write about their lives, especially children from poverty and urban areas. There was a lot more to it than that. Suffice it to say, it combined several things I feel strongly about, and I wrote at the top of the page, "Dissertation?"

Told my adviser that the quote and idea made my heart pound, it resonated so deeply with me. My adviser wrote back: "You will have lots of things that get your heart pounding - that is how you are wired and that is what makes it so fun to work with you. We will have to monitor all of these passion flashes and in about two semsters figure out which one is the right topic for you."

Yeah, that's me. Enthusaism kind of drives my engine, I think. So, I've been nailed. And now I have a list on my wall of all the things that get my heart hopping, research wise, and I know that I don't have to pick something NOW. Now is my time to delved and explore and experience. Read and write and talk and listen. I'd say I'm as happy as a clam, as far as my PhD program goes. :)

Horse Expo and Studies

2009-02-26T10:22:00.005-07:00

Last weekend I went to the "Horse Experience" which was a horse expo, on a small scale. Was nice to get out and be in horse world for a while. There was an evening performance called "The Power of the Horse," with different exhibitors performing. My favorite was a dressage horse named Rolex who performed upper level movements with a pretty good rider.

The Dressage Rider and Rolex

My second favorite, just because it was so hilarious, was a guy dressed in a cave man outfit, riding a horse dressed in an elephant outfit! He did reining moves- loping, spinning, rollbacks. All the while, this long nose attached to the horse's nose was flailing around. The horse was a saint. couldn't tell if they guy was riding with flapping arms as part of the act, or not.

The Cave Man on his Elephant...

There was a guy who had a near perfect seat, riding a reining horse, who did various movements, then reached down and took his horse's bridle off, repeating the movements with just the reins low on the horse's neck, for cues. Now that I think about it, everyone I saw riding had a great seat. Don't ask about legs and hands...

The Reining Horse

The NAGS were a group of women who ride sidesaddle and give exhibitions. I thought the matched pair of appaloosa mules were cute, especially the spots on their legs.

The NAGS. Can you see the spots on the Appy Mule's legs?

The exhibition on vaulting made me want to go offer my services. Gah. I love vaulting. This was pretty poorly done, in my opinion. I just felt bad for the main horse, and the way several of the riders crashed down on his back. Maybe it was just the event, and they actually do much better at home.

Vaulting

Weather has been interesting here. In the 50's, temperature wise, with beautiful clear days. Like early summer, back home! And these strong winds, but they are a tad warm, so it isn't unpleasant to be out in them. Today, however, the sky is black, and is is actually raining!

Blue Skies and Sunny Days. Still no green, though.

With the nicer weather, I have been able to mess with the horses more. After a few sessions of "review" ground work, we got back to lunging, and I actually rode Ber for the first time since we moved. He was solid and confident under me. We just walked and trotted, with transitions and changing directions. Nothing big, just seeing how he was in the new arena. Can't wait to get on again!

The girls love going for walks. We have a walk routine, before I leave the house to go to school. They trot along, as if they own the world, smelling everything. There are several spots where grouse and pheasants like to hide, and the girls are starting to anticipate these places, looking for the birds.

School is going like gangbusters. I am really, really enjoying my studies and work. Things I learn in one class overlap with things from other classes and the research I'm working on for Scott. He keeps saying the purpose of this program is to get me to THINK. Well, I'm a thinking, real hard! My mind just doesn't seem to stop. One of the benefits of doing this program, full time, is the brain space I can dedicate. Without a head filled with kids, there's a lot more room in there!

I finished reading Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson, which I highly recommend. It tells the story of a man, and a cluster of people supporting him, building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan to educate girls. Just phenomenal. Also read I Won't Learn from You, by Herbert Kohl, and 36 Children, also by Herbert. I want to go work with Herbert, or at least go talk to him, someday. Lives in Point Arena. I am trying to find an email or mail address for him. Now I am reading The Challenge to Care in Schools by Nel Noddings, and A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne. This is on top of all my reading for my classes, and my research.

My reading buddies...

What I am trying to do is build up my knowledge base for my dissertation. I need to be well read in the area, before I start focusing my review of the literature and selecting the focus of my research for my dissertation. I figure I need to put in a year of background reading. Looks like I'll be able to create independent study courses in which I will read lots of books, selected with the help of my advising committee. I also want to do some internships in programs around here (like the Literacy Lab I found out about, last week) that work with children coming from poverty. Again, I can get credit for doing the internships. As part of the doctoral program, we need to do 17-20 units of a specialization (cognate), so the reading and internships would be part of those units.

Am also working on getting some of my credits from my MA degree to count for my doctorate work. You can carry over a maximum of 15 credits. That will help, as 66 total credits are required for the EdD. Granted, 9-12 of those credits are dissertation work, so it's not all coursework- just 54. To give an idea of how long it will take to do 54 credits, I am taking 11 this semester, which is a full load. I can only fit 6, or maybe 8 units in during the summer, so I'm looking at 28-30 per year between the fall, spring, and summer semesters.

I want to say, my work at Humboldt in the master's program really did prepare me for my work here. Need to get the word to my professors back home. I don't think my professors here expected me to come with so much research experience, writing ability, or confidence. Pretty cool.

Alright, don't want to bore everyone with details about school. If you want to know more, email me, or call me. I would love to talk about what I'm doing!

Arcy the RCA Puppy

2009-02-21T10:32:00.003-07:00

Stealing Georgia's bed for a quick nap. Arcy looks good in Yellow.

Arcy was the cutest 10-week-old McNab cross puppy. She came from the Humane Society, like Georgia, after wooing Pat with her charm. But she preceded Georgia by a year and a half, and she is the older of the two. As a little puppy, she looked like a photo-negative of the little RCA dog in the old ads. So, the name Arcy, for RCA, stuck.

At 11 weeks, she was in the vet hospital, attached to tubes, fighting for her life. Sick, sick puppy, with kennel cough and huge parasite load and infections. Obviously, she made it. But when I held that sweet puppy in my lap, waiting to get her into the vet's, I wasn't sure.

Now the sheer force of will that got her through that ordeal is common knowledge. She likes to control things, be in charge, and direct traffic. Growing up Arcy was not a task for the faint of heart. First there was the challenge of socializing her. At 6 months, she went to a doggie day care. Imagine my horror when I showed up to pick her up, and she had a shock collar on! Turns out she had been ordering all the other dogs around, including the massive Rottweiler and German shepherd. lol. She went many more times, but never got over her bristling control issues. That's when Georgia came on the scene. Terrier tenacity meets herd dog mentality. Guess who won, really?

Ah, the pleasure of being "owned" by a herd dog.

At home, the issues were digging holes. Arcy did not dig holes just for the pleasure. No, she had a purpose. She dug grand-canyons in pursuit of gophers. She dug whole swaths of the garden up for carrots.

Arcy had a cat, Rico, who she liked to herd. The other cat, Carbon, abandoned the back yard once Arcy moved in. But Rico liked her back yard, so she developed a tolerance, of some sort.

Paws on quilt. An artistic shot. Told you she looked good in yellow...

Balls were what Arcy lived for. Or any toy that could be hurled through the air so she could chase it. Favorite was ball and bat, but she also liked frisbees and this sling-shot ball that had an elastic band attached. Unfortunately, Arcy can't smell real well, so she was always losing her toys in the garden jungle. She'd stand outside of where she thought it was, wagging and barking, until someone found it for her. Or you'd just see this little black tail with a white tip, attached to a wiggling butt, sticking out of a bush as she searched futilely for her ball.

Bookend puppies.
A brief moment in the middle of moving chaos.

It is stressful being in charge of everything- just ask Arcy. Now she's an elderly girl, and she really hates having her senses compromised. Can't hear, so things keep sneaking up on her. But she still carries herself with great pride, and finds things that she enjoys. The majority of her time, however, is spent sleeping. Something she rarely did as a youngster.

One of Arcy's favorite things to do is push back my blankets and sleep ON the sheets. OH, there's that yellow thing, again...

As I was putting this together, I realized Arcy does not have as many pictures as Georgia. Something about the cuteness factor, I think. No, Arcy is not cute. But she's beautiful, to me. I'll rustle up some more pics. Most of the ones I have also have a particular kid in them, so I need to get permission before posting them....

Georgia Jean, the Jelly Bean

2009-02-19T09:58:00.005-07:00

Georgia Jean

Notice how purposefully Arcy is ignoring Georgia's presence on the couch? Can you hear her saying, "What is she doing up here? This is MY couch." Georgia really doesn't care. She wanted to sit on the couch. So there.

Georgia trying out her new bed from Costco. Ended up being way too fluffy. It expelled her onto the floor, hence we turned in around backwards as it is here. Finally gave it to the "small" husky that moved into our house.

Georgia Jean, the terrier cross from the Humane Society. At 14, she is what people might call "senior" but she prefers to use the term "experienced." She's a wise one, doesn't get to worried about things, and watches Arcy with scorn as she goes about her manic ways.

Georgia modelling her new coat for Boise, before leaving. She thought it was high time she had clothes.

Suffering, in the midst of moving chaos.

Georgia has perfected the concerned look and raised eyebrow. If you have seen any of the Wallace and Grommet movies, she is Grommet. My brother, Stuart, says that she suffers quietly and uses guilt to her advantage. Deep sighs, insistence on staying in an uncomfortable position or refusing comfort, ignoring your words. Gets her a lot of attention, especially by extended family and guests. In all honesty, she does have health issues that keep her feeling down, now, but even when she was young, she'd play the suffering victim.

Supervising while I put the flooring back in place.

Luckily she is also a happy, happy puppy at times, running around gleefully, yodelling for her dinner, and begging for a walk. When we go for a walk, she trots along, all business and seriousness, like she's on a mission. It is that purposeful trot that caught my eye when I met her at the Humane Society. That, and she yodeled at me when I asked her who's dog she was...

OMG cute. You should see those ears flap when she runs.

Here she is, the flying nun, practicing her winter survival skills back home, before leaving for Boise! Thanks Stuart, for finding the photo. :)

As a youngster, she had the job of playing straight-man to Arcy's insanity. Arcy had a gazillion toys, and was quite possessive of them. Being a herd dog, it was Arcy's herd, I guess. We would watch as Georgia would quietly, surreptitiously, trot over, take one of Arcy's toys, and trot off with it, head held high like a mighty hunter. Arcy wouldn't know what to do. She ran in circles around Georgia, barking. Georgia ignored her. She ran to get another toy, and blitzed past Georgia, trying to tempt her away. Georgia ignored her. Arcy lay down next to Georgia, staring at the toy. Georgia got up and trotted off to another area.

Despite Arcy's controlling nature, it was actually the stubborn terrier who had the real power. lol.

Thank goodness her rug came when we moved.

Georgia was also the sneaky instigator in many escapades. We thought the foraging on the asparagus bed was Arcy's doing, but who did we catch in the box, under the netting? Yep. Georgia. Who stole potatoes out of the garden? Who convinced Arcy that there were gophers in the carrot bed, so she'd dig up carrots for them to eat? We figure the mastermind behind most of the daring doggie deeds was the little dog with the busy eyebrows.

Georgia has a penchant for blankies. Loves to be wrapped up, cozied up. Her uncle, Stuart, loves to wrap her up. they make a good pair.

I am very glad Georgia has been able to join me on this Boise venture. She is exploring a whole new world, and it has brought a bit of a spring back into her step, which had been missing back home.

Georgia likes to have "capes" too, which are just blankies that she walks around with. Arcy thought she'd try one. Kept tripping over it. Georgia says it takes practice to have such style and charm.

Reading, Reading, Reading...

2009-02-15T09:22:00.003-07:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know I'm alive and kicking. Sorry, no pictures. Hoo Boy. I had no idea how much reading there would be. A suspicion, a glimpse, a glimmer. But, truly, no idea. My eye doctor did, because she prescribed a pair of reading glasses for me. It is time to get them, I think.

Last week, my professor that I have the graduate assistantship with said, "Are you cursing me for pushing that fourth class, now?" He was laughing. He said he had no doubt I could do it, but admitted it was a lot. Between the research I'm doing for McNair, and the four classes, and my beginnings of literature review for my dissertation focus...the reading never ends. Can't remember if I said anything, but my current focus for my dissertation is poverty and equity in education. That is a vast morass of a field, and I will need to narrow it down, but it is a place to start building my base of knowledge.

The good news about the pile of reading is that it is interesting, fascinating, inspiring, and overwhelming. Interesting, in that I am learning every day, and broadening my understanding of teaching and the system of public education. Fascinating, because I had no idea of much of the history behind the public school system. I knew that schools were an institution that had an agenda. No clue how deep that agenda went, nor how hidden it is. Inspiring, because I believe that when I'm done with this experience, I will be able to go on and do things that will resonate with me and give purpose to my work. I look forward to finding out what that will be, though I am confident it will be a great ride. Overwhelming because we have so many students who are not getting an adequate education. Just devastatingly sad, the waste of human potential.

I started working with my mentee this week. In one of my classes, our big assignment is to spend 80 hours making a difference in the life of one child who is in danger of falling through the cracks (and onto the street...). Though many of my classmates are grumbling about this assignment (I can't blame them. They teach full time. Where are those 80 hours going to come from, in nine weeks? It is a big load. BUT we only meet for class every three or four weeks, and the reading load is very light. So... ) I love the assignment. The kid I am working with...I already like her and look forward to working with her. Can't really say anything about her, for confidentiality, but it is a good investment of my time.

The animals are good. Ber has gotten over his bumps, thanks to the steroids. Going to start riding him as soon as the weather cooperates. They are both getting a bit bored with not doing anything. The girls are pretty happy in their routine. Absolutely love their walks. This morning, Arcy came in from their yard and grabbed one of their leashes and started running around the house with it. Lordy, I haven't seen her play like that for a while. Too funny.

Had too much work to do this weekend to go anywhere except a coffee house for wifi and a mocha. lol. But next weekend there is a horse exposition, here, and I plan to go to as much as I can. Will be a real treat to be around horse people, and start networking. Maybe I can find someone to take some riding lessons with, and someone who can help me with Ber. Still hoping I can convince my trainer to come up here and help me get Giovanna started this summer. Not sure I want to trust anyone else with my sweet mare.

Hope you all are doing well, enjoying your days. I love hearing from you, when you have time.

Special Olympics and More

2009-02-08T15:48:00.006-07:00

The Torch

Been a busy week! The time not taken up by reading and preparing for my classes has been spent on the research for my first project, affectionately called "The McNair Project." My first step was to read everything I could find on the McNair program, everything I could find about college students who were first-generation, low-income, or underrepresented in graduate school, and everything I could find about undergraduate research programs, mentoring, and internships. The next step, which I finished last night, was to write a 5 page literature review, summarizing the current body of research. It came in at 5.75 pages, so there's room to cut it down with editing. I have a list of questions to think about, for my research, including, "McNair scholars are incredibly successful in undergraduate work, graduating with bachelor's degrees at higher rates than any other sub group of university students and enrolling in graduate programs (Master's and Doctorate) at higher rates, as well. However, this success is not translating into similar success in graduate school, especially doctoral programs. Why?"

After meeting with my professor Monday or Tuesday, I'll begin working on my research design and any instruments (such as surveys or interview questions) I'll need. At this point, I am approaching it like it is a thesis, but it is supposed to end up being a 10-20 page paper, published in a scholarly journal. Yes, I'll be sending everyone copies, even if you aren't interested in reading the article. My name, in print! Wow.

Have not been able to do much with the horses, due to the frozen ground, and then due to Berhwood's allergic reaction. He broke out in bumps, everywhere. Hard to find a spot on his body that didn't have bumps. They are beginning to go down, now, so I think he's over the worst of it. They both started running up and down and playing yesterday, so that's a good sign. Giovanna is doing well, and working her in the sand arena is a pleasure. Her canter is becoming something to write home about.

Inside Qwest Arena. Looks like the Olympics, to me!

Boise is hosting the 2009 Winter World Special Olympics. I went to the Qwest Arena to watch the compulsory level of figure skating and ice dancing. I have marked my schedule for the final level competition in these events, as it should be pretty interesting. The joy these athletes take in competing is contagious. I can't imagine that the real Olympics are this much pure fun.

The lady on the left, from USA, was such a careful skater, like she was holding eggs in her hands. The skater on the right was from Canada, and she was like a buterfly, dancing on ice. Beautiful.

Outside of the Qwest Arena was an entertainment venue. I first watched this Dragon Extreme Martial Arts exhibition. Flashy, active, lots of jumping and leaping kids, accompanied by heavy base-loaded, pump-it-up music clips. No pictures, couldn't get close enough!

The 1,000 Good Deeds gang.

Next was the special olympics delegate from up in northern Idaho, presenting their 1,000 good deeds to the Japanese delegate to take to the Peace Garden in Japan. I choked up when the teacher/coach was talking about it. She said that rather than making a thousand cranes (because she would have ended up making the thousand cranes, which would have missed the point), she challenged her students to do 1,000 good deeds. And they did, in three years. The deeds are all written on little slips of paper and put in a tube. Pretty cool.

The High Tops dance group. How they put the flag together was really neat.

On stage after the good deeds group were the High Tops, a dance troupe from the Los Angeles area. The dancers come from a private school for intellectual disabilities. They were all young adults to middle-aged adults, and they, for the most part, really enjoyed their dancing.

After the dance troupe, a cowboy came on stage to do some roping tricks. He had a pony named Little Dan who did tricks, like counting his age, shaking his hand, nodding yes, and pushing his cowboy over whenever he bent over. But then the cowboy made Little Dan lie down. And he stood on Little Dan, did a little dance on top of him, and made him roll onto his back and sat on him like that for a while. He said that if Little Dan didn't like him doing it, he figured Little Dan wouldn't lay down for him anymore. Yeesh. I left before his routine was over, and went to see the ice dancing. Felt pretty bad for Little Dan. Jumping up and down on his barrel like that. Ugh.

Thought this was really just too much.

Standing in a field on the south side of Lake Hazel, looking north.

I'll close with a picture of my house from the field where I like to walk the girls. Yes, it is definitely still winter, despite the "heat wave" of low 40's we've been having.

I was able to find enough interesting dried grasses and things to make a nice bouquet, so I could use the vase and flower frog that a friend gave me. Had never seen a glass flower frog before. Sure makes arranging the plants easier.

Last but not least, this morning I had frozen fog horses again, though not nearly as dramatic as the last time. Giovanna's ears were quite cute.

Fog + Freeze = Fureeze

2009-02-01T08:44:00.003-07:00

Went out to feed this morning, and found frosted horses. Looked like they had been dipped in liquid nitrogen. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves... There was a moment when I wished I hadn't put blankets on them last night, because the image of a fuzzy, frosted horse, from head to toe, would have been delightful. However, I wouldn't want them to sacrifice warmth just for the sake of art. :)

Just the tips of her eyelashes, frosted. Max-Faxtor, eat your heart out!

He kind of looks like a porcupine on his jaw, there, doesn't he?

Premature gray?

Bald Eagle Day

2009-01-31T19:04:00.005-07:00

Today was Bald Eagle Day. Held at the Shakespeare Festival Park east of Boise, on the Boise Rive. East-Boise is a very nice area. Very nice. There are hike/bike paths everywhere, and it has a southwestern feel to it, like outside of Phoenix. You're close enough to the foothills to touch them, and it seemed like it was a tad warmer there, compared to out on the flats in Meridian. It is a quick jaunt to school. I now understand why so many staff and faculty at the university live out there, or in the foothills.

The colors and textures in the landscape were my favorite part.

I loved the branches, looking like they were crawling out of the fog. Really, they were stuck in the ice. I also noticed how the red bushes were reflected in the part of the pond that wasn't frozen, while the frozen part acted like frosted glass.

Then I came around a corner, and found OWLS!

Can you see the owl's shadow in the glass behind it?

It was day time, so they were sleepy and quiet. Oh my, so pretty. The big one is a great horned owl, but I didn't learn the smaller owls breed. If anyone recognizes it, let me know. I also got to see a great horned owl in the wild, in a tree, way across the river, through a telescope. The only way I knew it was an owl was the yellow eyes. Right when I was staring at it, through the lens, it blinked! As soon as its eyes closed again, it was gone. Camouflaged indeed.

Around the corner from the two captive owls was a captive Bald Eagle. I found out she is about 30 years old, and she lives in captivity because she was shot, and her wing was broken. She can fly a little, but not enough to survive in the wild. She lives full time with the person who is holding her in the picture. Imagine having the responsibility for caring for that bird!

The Dependents

2009-01-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

Boy, it's been a week! Thought I'd do a couple blogs, so none of them were too long. This is the animal blog. Next comes the school blog, and then the week's event: Bald Eagle Day! Hope you enjoy.

First off, it has continued to be cold. One night, it actually got down to 10 degees. Horses have been wondering what's up. They go into their barn, get a drink of water, and instantly have a beard of icicles. The nice part is they actually have water to drink, instead of a frozen cube to lick. The ground is so hard, it is like cement, but instead of being flat, it's got all the bumps from when it was soft and squishy. Quite rough ground. Atleast the last few days it has been warm enough (above 30 degrees) for them to take off their winter blankets and enjoy the light on their bodies. Giovanna has a propensity for finding the muckiest, wettest spot in the pasture, and rolling until she has mud in all the right places. I've taken to bringing a curry comb with me when I go out to feed in the evening, so I can clean her up a bit before putting her blanket on. Was looking at pictures of her back in McKinleyville, and marveled at how clean and pretty she was. lol We just won't tell anyone around here who her mom and dad are. Wouldn't want to embarass them.

Berhwood is having trouble with his legs/joints/feet. Going to have vet out next week for routine shots and dental exams, and will have him look at Ber's soundness. I believe it is the very, very hard ground, but I want to be sure. When he was in at Redwood Acres last winter, he had the same problem, and he was on rock hard ground, 24-7. As it thaws a bit, and the ground gets a bit softer, I see him moving with less tentativeness. Giovanna is descented from tough Arabians running over the hot deserts--she doesn't care what the footing is, apparently. Which is good.

The girls are getting used to the cold. They actually go out and hang out in their yard a bit, sniffing and checking things out. We go for walks in the field across from the house because it is quiet and there's lots of interesting things for them to notice. I keep hoping to get a photo of the pair of ring-neck-pheasants that live in the field next to the house. Whenever I see them in flight, or running across the ground, I'm nowhere near my camera. When they run, they remind me of roadrunners. Are they related?

One big adventure this week was waking up to no heat. The furnace had issues. We fired up the pellet stove to keep warm, while we waited for "Mike" the furnace guy to come out. He was able to fix it, and it actually seems to be working better. Another adventure was Arcy going back into the vet's because her anxiety and stress levels were climbing. She was worrying about things, jumpy, scratching at nothing, licking at nothing, sneezing, etc. So she is on some antihistamine, to curtail any alergies she might have, and on an anti-anxiety medication. So far, so good. Unfortunately, she picked up fleas at the vets, so have had to treat for that, too. Poor girls! Arcy still trembles a lot, but no one is sure why. I'm also trying to find an alternative to Hill's Science Prescription diet for heart issues. The girls have been eating it, and it comes out to $6 a day. A Day!! That's more than it costs to feed me! Took me all week to track down a local supplier of Pedigree Plus Healthy Heart, but finally did today. It has better ingredients than the Hill's (no ground corn!) and it will end up being half the cost. We'll see how they like it. For anyone out there thinking of getting a dog, remember: the senior years are the most expensive and most labor intensive. No, really, the puppy years have got nothing on the senior years.

One Weather Extreme to Another

2009-01-25T16:40:00.004-07:00

7 am, out the front door.

Georgia's foot prints, with the cutest toenail imprints in Idaho!

This is what the day started out like. Snow, overcast, and cold. Sideways snow.

The horses are modeling their new, higher neck blankets. Better for wind and sideways blowing snow. Not as heavy a blanket as their others, so they should be more comfortable--were getting a bit too warm in the others, now that they are more used to the weather here.

Notice the horse tails. Can you tell where the wind is coming from?!

The Neighbor Horses, hanging around, talking over the fence.

This is what the day ended like. SUN!!!!! Some blue sky and real clouds. All the snow is melting and creating icicles. Horses playing in the snow. However, the wind is bitter cold. As back home, the price to be paid for sun is often wind.

4:30 pm, mare's tails clouds.

Seems like Giovanna is always in the lead, doesn't it?

Luckily, Berhwood is a great sport.

Studying is Where it's At!

2009-01-24T18:31:00.006-07:00

Yes, the fog is still here. I have heard this is the worst "inversion layer" they've had in years. I have forgotten what the sun looks and feels like!

I feel like I've done nothing but read, search for information on the internet, write, and read some more, since Tuesday! I have a feeling that this is just how it is going to be, for the next two years. And I'm okay with that. Studying is where it is at.

Something which will especially interest anyone who is associated with Morris School, is that Cathy Beals is in two of my classes. She is continuing her work on her EdD. It just floored me, to see someone I knew. Will be fun to re-connect with her this semester.

A correction: I have learned why I couldn't find much information about Albert Rim for a previous post. Thank you, Mark, for letting me know that it is the Abert rim. No "L". I guess a lot of folks insert the l all the time. If you want to know more about the rim and lake, search under Abert. Works like a charm!

My routine is gradually establishing itself. Now I know why I went through all the bother to find a place where I could have my animals: I work for three hours, take the dogs for a walk, work for a couple hours, go out and mess with the horses, and work for a few hours. Having them forces me to take breaks, I get outside, and I clear my head. I have classes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. I have work to do for my GA, but I can do it at home or there. Tuesday is tough, because I have classes from 4 to 10, and that's a long stretch for the girls to be home alone.

Unless I need to be at the university, I like to stay home and work here. For example, today, Saturday, I got up at 6 (5 coastal time) and was on reading/studying for statistics by 7 am; after three hours on that, I took a dog break and then came back inside and worked on an online class I need to pass in order to conduct research at the university. At noon, I took a pasture cleaning break, and went back to the online class at one, working until 4. Then I took a much longer dog and horse break (brushed both horses, cleaned stable, threw down hay for the week, took dogs for longer walk...). It's almost 7 now, and I'll be headed back to the online class after I finish this post.

This is my tentative schedule:
Monday, work at university from 1 to 4, class from 4-6.
Tuesday, class from 4 to 10.
Wednesday, work at university from 1 to 4, class from 4-6:40.
Thursday, work at home.
Friday, work at university from 10-2.
All other time is spent studying and working unless something else needs to be done, like the dishes, or laundry. :)

One of the things I like to do on my "outside" breaks is to look at nature. If I have the camera, you get to see what I find. Today, while picking up manure and cow pies in the far pasture, I found this:

I just couldn't believe it. There are Bird's Nest Cup Fungi in Boise! If ever there was a moment when I wished I could talk to my mom, it was today. She would have been as thrilled as I was. A little bit of home, way out here. Finding these fungi was always a moment to celebrate when I was growing up... I know, it is on a clod of old, dry manure. lol. Not sure if you can see the little "seeds" in the cups. Water splashes into the cups and makes the "seeds" pop out, landing elsewhere and starting to grow. I say "seeds" because fungi don't have seeds but they sure look like them.

While taking the dogs for a quick break at 4, I heard a cacophony of birds. I'm thinking, it isn't really time for birds to be gathering, is it? Quick, I take the girls inside and head out to the pasture, where the birds are gathering in the tree tops. Hundreds of them. They rise up and swarm about, then land again. They were quite upset with me, thought I was quite the disturbance, and after I snapped my pictures, they left. What were they gathering for? Where were they going? I'll leave you with the pictures. Shades of a car in an empty parking lot in Austin, Texas, covered in birds...

Definitely Worth It

2009-01-20T14:02:00.005-07:00

After two days of classes and working on campus, I just have this to say: This is so completely worth it. Words just can't express how grateful and appreciative and delighted I am. Thank you, everyone who has encouraged this venture, from way back when I started working on my Master's, up through yesterday. I am glad I took this leap of faith, glad I kept working on making this happen all these years. Glad you pushed me and believed in me, when I needed it.

I have four classes, tons of reading, a research project lined up for this semester--with a goal of having an article accepted for publication by the end of the semester, projects, papers... Did I mention I have an amazing office? I'll send pictures when I get it set up.

I have so much work to do, it is hard work, and I am having a delightful time doing it. So I'm going to go. I'll leave you with pictures from yesterday, of the animals, before I went to school.

Giovanna's Sheep

The two black spots waaaay out there are the horses, enjoying their acreage.

Arcy's on a mission. Who sharpened her ears?

The girls exploring the thorn tree pen.

Horses coming to check out what's happening in the thorn tree pen.

Berhwood walking free and easy.

All four in one shot...

First Day

2009-01-20T12:10:00.004-07:00

Well, here it is, the first day of school. I feel excited and nervous at the same time. Am I going to be overwhelmed by the work, or will I take to it like a duck to water? Am I going to stick out like I don't belong, or will I fit right in? I'm already feeling pretty anxious about the work I did on the statistics for the grants, and feeling like I could have done so much better. Augh. It will be fine, right? lol. Hey, I've got nothing on Obama. He's probably way more excited and nervous than I am, right now!

Here's my beautiful red leather computer briefcase, which I bought almost a year ago for grad school. Have my two fancy purple pens, three sharpened pencils, pencil sharpener, notebooks, and post-its packed. Have my books packed and I read the first chapters last night. I know where my classes are, and have my calendar/planner for writing down important dates. Believe me, at 9 am this morning, when I couldn't find my planner, I started worrying. Then I said to myself, "If you don't find it, you get another one at the dollar store on your way in. You didn't have any dates written down yet. Chill." Thirty minutes later I came across it while I was looking for tape for a completely unrelated task! It's all good. My parking pass is on my back window, I know where to park, the fuel tank is full, and all my lights work. Important considerations since my last class gets out at 10 pm.

Now, what to wear for my first day of school? Want to look nice, but not like I tried too hard...Professional, but comfortable. Like I am a big fish from a little pond who is now a little fish in a big pond, but I'm comfortable with who I am... Good thing I still have three hours until I leave so I can try on everything in my closet! I'm kidding. An hour ought to be plenty. :)

My only concern at this point is leaving the girls inside from 3 pm until 10:30 pm. This is similar to night time, so they should be okay, but this is the longest I've left them alone for a while.

What am I worried about? They'll just sleep on the couch!

I'm also not sure if I should leave the horses out, and put them up when I get back, or put them up before I go. They are used to going into their stalls/pens to get grain and dinner around 6:30-7 pm. Now that they are free to roam the entire 3 acres, they tend to stay out later. It's pretty cute, when I go out to get them, and I stand at the gate to the far pasture. They look up immediately and start walking or trotting or cantering over to me. Once they arrive at the gate, we walk to the barn together, in a line: me, Berhwood, and Giovanna. They go stand at the gates to their own paddocks and wait to go in to eat grain. So proud of them.

Okay, I'm off to do manure and spend time with the horses and dogs before I get cleaned up to go. I'll try to get some pictures of the birds, since they are all out in force, and I will definitely post again tonight, to tell you all about my classes!