Update

Only 4 days left in Alaska, here is a little of what I have been up to.

Inigok field camp

 Landing strip

 Prior to the installation of the white domes (see above), the kitchen and office spaces were wall tents draped over these frames. 

 The view from camp. At 10:00 pm.

 Caribou!

 Ikpikpuk river, from the helicopter.

 The Arctic Ocean.

 Tidal marshes of the Arctic Ocean. 

 Data collection to determine vegetation composition. 

 Measuring vegetation height.

 Average flora height is about 15 centimeters and most of the plant cover is non-vascular, such as the sphagnum moss pictured above. 

Thermokarst, or the sudden melting of the permafrost,  led to this exposed tussock wetland. Over time, the bare ground will re-vegetate, but melting of the permafrost is occurring at an ever increasing rate due to climate change.

Flights

Descent into Anchorage. 

Denali (left) and Mckinley (right). 

Descent into Fairbanks.

No, Seriously. It is my job.

I know it has been quiet around here. Life just calls for introversion sometimes, and I have quite enjoyed the private moments of creation and appreciation of my life here in Las Cruces. But now it is time for a new adventures, so I thought I would share that experience here.

I am sitting in the airport on my way to Alaska to do field work in the National Petroleum Reserve. So what exactly is it that I do?

I am part of an effort to standardize data collection on landscapes around the world. Standardized data collection (monitoring) results in common indicators* of ecosystem health which in turn provides us with meaningful information about how similar ecosystems (e.g., deserts) are changing throughout the world, what may be causing these changes, and how we can prevent dramatically altering the equilibrium of a system (think avoiding a second Dust Bowl). When we collect data in the same way around the world, we can lump and split later depending on the question at hand. As a result, a pastoralist in Kenya can garner information to enable sustainable grazing while a scientist in New Mexico can examine global trends on range lands in Kenya, Argentina, and the American west.

Data collection in Nevada

Specifically, my job focuses on enabling the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in this effort. My basic workload involves developing training materials to guide the standard data collection process, providing training to field crews (similar to the crews I have worked on in Nevada), sampling design for monitoring projects, and data analysis and interpretation. For most of our projects, I simply train crews prior to a 3-6 month data collection period. In Alaska, the field season is only a few weeks long, so the decision was made that I would work alongside the data collection crews and train in situ. I did not complain.

So here I go, off to the Arctic tundra, to preach the standard data collection gospel and explore a new ecosystem in an intimate way. Stay tuned!

*Common measurements and indicators include average plant height, amount of bare ground, the degree of soil stability, and average plant canopy cover. In Alaska we also add tundra active layer depth measurements to determine how much of the tundra melts during the summer. 

Playing in the Sand

Peter, Katie, and my parents came to visit this past weekend and we took a little trip out to White Sands National Monument for some site seeing and frolicking in the sand dunes. 

Ready to create

Hello. How are you? It has been a long month. More on that later. But for now, let us jump back into this creative endeavor called life.

For now, lets just say that I am doing a little sewing:

Stay tuned.

In the meantime, I am taking time to see the small beauties in the world. Right now they are the light coming through the blinds onto my lap and the programming on NPR.

Ruga-Roo

Here is the third installment of the rug crochet project. This was a very belated birthday gift for my sister. Originally I was going to arrange the circles to create an ombre effect, but we both agreed that the random circle effect packed a bigger punch. Zeb approves!

P.S.  I used three crochet stitches to join all of the circles at the end. After several failed attempts with a tapestry needles, this was the cleanest approach. Wouldn't this make a cute blanket or scarf?

In New Mexico

We made it to Las Cruces! Peter has most of the pictures of our trip, so I'll wait until I retrieve those from him to post about the trip.

It has been such a relief to arrive in New Mexico and begin the slow process of "re-potting". When I moved to Reno I did not even take a single day off to move and settle in. In contrast, having THREE FULL WEEKS to move, unpack, do Christmas and maybe even take a vacation has been simply heavenly. Two days in to my time in New Mexico I feel more settled than I did after a month in Reno And yes, I have already located several good thrift stores, coffee shops, and walks for Zebulon.

So without further ado, here is a brief snapshot of my life here.

Having plants in the house really makes the place look like home. 

Um, hello awesome Craigslist find. The guy lowered the price with every item I took, so I ended up with some great items...

Like this bookshelf, hand built but sturdy, which will serve as a dresser with my newly thrifted suitcases. 

...and this awesome chair. I think it'll make a great crochet corner. 

This is the kitchen. I'm not wild about the faux wood laminate, but it is a full sized kitchen with plenty of storage, so no complaints over here. 

Its really fancy dining over here at Chez Sarah. The table and chairs were also part of my Craigslist treasure trove. I LOVE the wood flooring and large windows.

Kolby--this is for you. Part of my granny chic aesthetic. 

Bedroom

 I can't have a bedroom picture without a shot of Zeb on the bed. He spends 90% of his days here.

Doorway between bedroom and living room. For some reason I really like the doorway.