Spring Break- Humboldt Side

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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.