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...
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