Paper Route

~ Highlight of the Day: Feeding the chickens with my adorable four year old cousin :) ~

 

Update on packing - Ehhhhgrumphfffeh. I don't like packing.

 

So on to happier things!

 

I helped my siblings with their paper route today - It's the one I had in high school and passed on to them when I left for college. It's a pretty sweet route because you get paid per paper delivered and it covers an apartment complex which you can get it done in pretty good time.

 

So it was fun to do that again :)

 

Last Day of Work :'(

~Highlight of the Day: Discovering I forgot yesterday's barely eaten lunch at work after forgetting today's lunch at home! ~

My last day of work was today. . . very bittersweet. I could have stayed here a year, easy. I feel like I'm missing out on the most exciting times of the year - the Mum Festival and Christmas. Of course, the fact that I'm not here for it all this year practically guarantees I'm going to come back at some point. It may not be for several years, but I'll be back!

What's hardest about leaving is seeing all the potential in the relationships I've built up for the last 3 months, and knowing that that potential will never be fully realized. But then, that's a pretty accurate description of life, isn't it? We're always passing in and out of people's lives, and there's not much we can do but make the best of the time we've got.

Ug. Can't stand sentimental stuff.

 K. My family will be here in less than 24 hours, I've not really started packing yet, and I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning (at least a little bit :).

Livin' Off the Land

~ Highlight of the Day: learning about bad bugs and the good ones that eat them! ~

I got to hang out with the IPM people today! I always thought I'd hate an IPM class, and that it'd only be difficult and gross. But I found it to be absolutely fascinating and so very useful.

And having not photographed any mealy bug or mealy bug destroyer (it's like a super hero bug :), I will now go on at length about that most fascinating topic: dinner.

 I'm actually rather proud of what I made tonight - everything was from my garden except the oil, noodles, salt, and cheese. I used quite a bit of produce, which is excellent because I need to finish it all in less than a week! Produce used in dinner included: four different colors of peppers, chives, basil, zucchini, and a ton of tomatoes.

I have discovered that I will eat just about anything if I grow it in my garden. If you had told me a few years ago that I would eventually be choosing to put chives and peppers in my meals I would have laughed. But this summer I grew peppers, so eat them I will! There's just something different about eating things you've grown in the garden. So I'm thinking there will be personal gardens for my kids who don't like their veggies :)

The red ones are hot, which I suspected but did not think to confirm until after I cut one up.

Yep. And back to the book. I'm so close to being done, but I'm not sure I'll be able to finish in the next week. . . keep your fingers crossed, because if I don't finish it now it will be at least 4 months before I can!

Of Algae and Dark Tunnels

~Highlight of the Day: Wading with the tadpoles and lilies :) ~

 

 

I love algae cleanup. You get to put on waders (doesn't mean you stay dry. . . you just don't get soaking wet), catch frogs and tadpoles, and talk with a group of new faces. Today was particularly exciting due to a mysterious beast causing large disturbances in the water by the Love Temple. We were all in a fairly small, concentrated area of algae, skimming the lovely green stuff by the bucketful, when just to my right there was a large "shloup!" like something big had jumped in . . . or out. Everyone thought I was crazy until about twenty minutes later when the same something jumped out of the water towards the arborist guys, who were then just as freaked out as I was (for at least a split second :) I think we decided it was a fish, though the garbage compressor scene from Star Wars kept playing in the back of my mind. . .

I'd take pictures during algae cleanup. . . but my
poor camera's already been through True Blue.
I doubt it could survive an algae episode.

After work a few of us lucky people got to go on a tour of the tunnels that run under the whole conservatory. It was quite exciting, and did not lend itself well to pictures. It's so odd how perception of area differs depending on what's filling it. Some spaces in the tunnels seemed much more spacious than their elevated counterparts, though in general the low ceilings and big bulky pipes made things seem much smaller.

 

 

There were definitely some Indiana Jones moments. I think it's the last one, about the holy grail, when they're wading through rat infested sewers to find some ancient tomb. . . (though there were no rats, and the water we were wading through was only from watering)

Essays. . . or "S-A's" ?

~Highlight of the Day: Having sourdough french toast for dinner. Mmmmm. . . ~

I'm currently writing an essay in order to get school credit for this internship. . . I've never really liked essays, and I truly lucked out in picking a profession where no one really wants you to write essays anyway. But I do have to write one or two, occasionally, for those who aren't blessed to work with plants all day and have not yet realized there may be more to life than reading what other people didn't want to write. 

Part of the prompt I'm going off of went something like this:


" What were your expectations for the internship going into it, and how were those expectations realized half way through?"

Based on today I would write:

"Before starting my internship I was convinced I was going to get an awesome [farmers] tan, because I'd be in the sun all day, every day. Then I got here and spent all my time at a potting bench or under shade cloth. Halfway through the summer I was still not tan. This week though I've been at the nursery, and am relieved to say my tan is coming along. So not to worry, Longwood's internship program is still exceeding expectations."

I may actually be a bit more red than tan today. It's what I get for having a 7 hour conversation with the sun. I also had the privilege of listening to this lovely song while my zune was on shuffle. I really had to try hard not to sing it at the top of my lungs in the middle of the mum field :)

Short (ish) and Sweet

~ Highlight of the day: Taking a freezing cold shower. An as-cold-as-it-can-get shower ~

Today:

Tied peppers

Picked grass

Ran three miles

There is no picture of me after running three miles, you're welcome :)  

What I pondered most today: Could certain aspects of Doctor Who be considered 'steampunk-ish'? Like in that one Tardis-eating planet episode? Hmmm. . .

Mum's the Word

~ Highlight of the Day: Finding out I didn't miss beekeeping for overtime because beekeeping got moved to tomorrow! Couldn't have planned it better :) ~

Um. . . Mums. That's all I did today. Woke up after hitting snooze (that is a funny word. . . ) three or four times, made it to work on time (barely), took cuttings of mums for 3 hours, ate lunch, and potted mums for 5 hours.

This is what I look at all day - a potting bench, soil, fiber pots, and mums. This variety pictured here is called Honey Glow, I believe. I only remember because it was a cool neon green instead of the plain regular green. We went through something like 4 or 5 yards of soil mix too (not yard as in 3'X3', yard as in how much of something it takes to fill the back of your pickup truck to nearly overflowing). It was a lot of soil, for a lot of mums.

After looking at mums all day I was excited to do something different - I got to help take some of one of Bruce Monroe's exhibits out. All of the pieces we're showcasing here are centered around light, and all but one of them are nighttime exhibits. The only daytime one is a whole lot of 'lily pads' set afloat in the large lake. They are essentially neoprene discs covered in Cd's, and when the sun shines on them you get a rainbow of reflection across the lake. It is way cool. They've been out there all summer though, and time has taken it's toll. Today we removed the most damaged ones. It was hot, and sticky, and stinky, but it was not mums, and I was happy :)

Mums, Music, and Star Wars

~Highlight of the Day: Watching it rain for nearly 30 minutes like Noah was on his way ~

I was recruited for potting and cutting mums (chrysanthemums) down in the lower production greenhouses today. So I looked at mums for eight hours. . . the 'Seaton Ruby' cultivar to be exact (not that you can tell mums apart when they're small green twigs with a few leaves anyway).

To clear my head of mums when I got home I delved into some bands I've recently discovered:

The Asteroid Galaxy Tour

and

We Were Evergreen

By recently I mean yesterday and today. And I wouldn't be surprised if everybody else has heard/listened to them before - I tend to be at least half a decade behind when it comes to these things. . . Anyway, both a little different from each other, and both a little (maybe a lot in the Asteroid Galaxy Tour's case) odd/unique. I really like them both though.

And of course the only way to properly wrap up such a Friday is to watch Star Wars:  A New Hope. I slept through the climax of course - saw everything up to the moment before Luke blows up the Death Star, and then woke up in time for Han to be flirting with Princess Leia during whatever ceremony they've got at the end of the movie. May I just say, Harrison Ford is probably the single most attractive actor that ever was or will be. I mean, this is the man who made Han Solo and Indiana Jones the ultimate manly adventurers they are! And we can watch as much of him as we want - we should all take a moment and appreciate just how lucky we all are :)

Homesick. . . Sort Of

~Highlight of the Day: Getting to sit in the Scott Amphitheater and finding my phone ~

I started off this beautiful, relatively cool day with slipping on the good ol' size 9 waders (it's the smallest size they've got) and taking a nice refreshing dip in the lake :) The algae wasn't that bad, but it still took us all morning because it's in little pieces that the pitchforks can't really pick up efficiently. If you ask me it's because we're selecting for small clumping algae, and it's reproducing fast enough for us to see the evolution ;) If you ask the lovely IPM Rachel* (She's in charge of us algae skimmers ) it's because we're doing our job well and the problem's being minimized.

Then it was off to the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College. You may recognize this picture if you've ever flipped through a landscape design book:

I must say, I was beyond impressed with the campus and it's grounds. The whole place is beautiful and stunning and well thought out. Every space is different, but commands respect in it's simplicity and purposefulness. I absolutely loved it. If you get a chance to go, take it.

And on top of the breathtaking public garden spaces they have green roofs on the dorms! You can't see much of them unless you actually go up onto the roof, but they are so cool.

I don't think I'd mind dabbling in green roofs a bit. . . I do hope and expect that the demand for them (and therefore experience with them) will continue to grow. If I don't end up working with them as part of a career I'll definitely keep it in mind for any future house planning I may have :)

By the way, did I mention campus was gorgeous? Apparently the buildings are made of a local stone called Wissahickon schist. . . I think Wissahickon is a nearby river. Anyway, being on a campus made me totally homesick for BYU. I know I'm going to think I was delusional to say so, right around finals week in a semester or two, but I can't help but feeling a sort of longing for classes and classmates and . . . and. . . even homework. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for that last bit there. Maybe the heat is getting to me :)

Oh yes, and I harvested my first zucchini today, and made my favorite totally-changed-and-not-even-healthier-plotsky out of it. That didn't even use a fourth of it though, and I've got two more out in the garden on the way. . . I'm going to be eating a lot of zucchini!

I'd like to thank my fabulous roommate for
offering to take a picture of me and my zucchini :)

* There are so many Rachel's out here. There are four in our area of Longwood - IPM (integrated pest management) Rachel, Research Rachel, Rachel the Seasonal (or R Squared), and me. At church there's at least 3 or 4 more. . . On the Row they call me Ukulele Rachel, which I am totally ok with :)

Checking Out Our Government's Greenhouses!

~Highlight of the Day: Finding my presumed long lost black ear-thingy for my skull candy earphones (it was the last medium sized one. . . only the medium ones fit my ears!) ~

So I could write a ton of juicy details on the operations of the Smithsonian greenhouses and the U.S. Botanical Garden greenhouses, and then go on to list off a bunch of Latin names and what not. Or. . . I could just post a few pictures, only explain the really interesting ones, and get to bed at a semi-decent time :)  

Gotta be green - the yellow flats are made of corn,
and the pots are made out of wheat. I guess
 if anybody gets hungry before lunch they're set :)

spiderweb begonia!

How great is this? I thought it odd that Longwood has random topiary animals stashed away in dusty corners (like the life sized elephants in the barn at the nursery. . . ) but apparently it's something everybody does!

Now can you imagine my surprise when I, who just yesterday was
wondering about this flower, found it casually hanging out next to
 some cold frames back behind the US Botanic Garden greenhouses,
with a label!

I've decided I really like cacti and succulents. I think I may have to start a collection when I stop moving every three or four months :)

Look at this! We totally used to have one of these
when I was little! I may have
been more excited about this than the plants. . .
maybe :)

Um. . . dreadlocks. That's all I can think of when I look at this.

Variegated Ginkgo biloba!?! How awesome is that?! I want one. . .

Ok, so I still ended up talking way too much and spouting off Latin names. . . but much less than I would have, let me assure you! Also, must Downton Abbey be sooooo incredibly sad and emotionally draining? I'm having some issues here. 

Something Green!

~Highlight of the Day: Hearing that it's supposed to get to 66 degrees tonight. So excited*. ~

Woohoo! I made massive poinsettia baskets today, for the Christmas display! It included lots of sphagnum moss, tons of small poinsettias, and the guts needed to get over my terrifyingly gripping fear of sporotrichosis :) Sporothrix schenckii is some fungus that resides in sphagnum moss. If it gets into an open cut it causes nasty painful blisters/lacerations. I made the mistake of looking up pictures once. Don't do it.

Here's some of the finished product. I wish I could be here to see them go up in December. . .

Aaaaand here's a mystery flower that's blooming in front of our porch. If I wasn't flying home I would totally be tempted to dig one up. . . :) It's just that cool. We (being my roommate, me, and whoever else was there when we were examining it) decided it's something between an iris and a crocosmia, with a leaf-to-stem relationship resembling gladiolus.

Also, I ate something like eight tomatos of three different varieties out of my garden today. It's starting to make me feel like weeding may actually be for something :)

I think I could feed the row with this baby. Make a whole stew and then some. When it's finally ripe I'm going
 to have to call, 'TIMBER!' and go at it with an axe or something. I guess it's kind of hard to see the scale of it in the picture. Well, it's big.

*This is not sarcasm. It is genuine excitement for a temperature under room temperature. I want to wake up cold and have to use my blanket!

Tilt Head To Right, Re-examine Picture.

~ Highlight of the Day: Having dinner at house 64, and polishing it off with avocado pie :) ~

Two for two now my waders have leaked. This time it wasn't as bad - I didn't have to pour the water out of my boots - but I did come out of them damp with nasty lake water. I learned though that fish eat frogs, that the algae growing in the lake is not slimy (just a little stinky), and that a cool summer morning can be quite enjoyable, despite leaky waders :)

And after all that valuable education I came home and eventually got around to weeding. I got so carried away with weeding, in fact, that it was nearly dark before I came in. So here's the garden plot at night, because, after using my watermelon scaffolding as a camera tripod I actually got a picture that wasn't too blurry. . .

The best part of this picture is how you
can't really see if I've actually weeded or not. . . :)

Fieldtrip!

~Hightlight of the Day: sending a picture of a weeping angle to my sister~

So what do a whole bunch of plant geeks do for fun? We go to the Morris Arboretum.

the Fernery

This is easily the biggest Katsura tree

 I've ever seen. Did you know at one point
 durring the year they smell like cotton candy?
So cool.

 They had a lot of cool places, like a giant bird's nest. While walking out I passed a mother and her little boy. The boy was saying excitedly, "those are big eggs. Those are dinosaur eggs!" It made me smile :)

Aaaaaand Mercury. The god, not the stuff.

After we had a chance to mosey around a bit we were off to the Laurel Hill Cemetary. I wasn't all too excited about it at first, but then we arrived :) It was a truly amazing cemetary - one of the oldest (if not the oldest) of it's kind. As a more knowledgable intern told me, it was the first to be designed as a place to go and spend time.

weeping angel!

There's just so much stone, everywere, and a lot them are obelisks or other tall structures. Altogether it creates this forest of stone amongst all the greenery, which is quite lovely.

There are also several streets/paved paths just lined with small houses (I'm sure there's a more technical term. . . ) so much so that it looks almost like a neighborhood. Of dead people, of course.

So that's what we do for fun! It was indeed a blast. And just for the record, I wore my chacos all day long, and I can just make out the beginings of a chaco tanline :)