I've been tagged!

How cool! I've been tagged by Velocibadgergirl for her five-post meme. Thanks! I won't be able to get to it today... I'm having a pretty crappy day, so I don't have the heart for it... but I will get to it on Monday (just a reminder - I have no internet access at home). So - thank you! That gives me something to look forward to. ******************* The crappiness has to do, once again, with my significant other. I won't get into details, but suffice to say things are very ugly between us. And I don't really know what to do about it. This close to finals (which are a week and a half away), such meltdowns really, really suck. They suck regardless, but it's worse when I know that this has the potential causing me to fail, and I'm not exaggerating. I am just so tired of the drama, the emotional rollercoaster, the frightening depths of this relationship. So very, very tired. On that note, bye. I hope you have better weekends than I suspect I will.

Need I say it? More photos. That's where my heart is right now, apparently.

White oak leaf, among others

Up the lane

The last dandelion!

Red oak leaves

Cherry branches and sky

Birch and sky

*******************

That's all for right now. Presently, I'm trying to think of some reason not to go to class. I do this every week. I never find a reason not to go. I'm very tired of school, and I'm very tired of having these long, long days. Buck up, right? If I pass, I have three more semesters of this!

Anyhow, ta for now. I'm tired. Wish me well.

Wonderful...

...wonderful website: http://www.blindhorsesings.com/blog/ This is the blog of the director (and angel) of the Catskill Animal Sanctuary, where I volunteered for two and a half years, before my knee crapped out on me. I have been remiss in not posting a link to it sooner. You can also visit the Sanctuary's website here: http://www.casanctuary.org/ This organization is dear to my heart. All I'm asking for for Christmas, in lieu of gifts, is that donations be made to it. It's worth so much more than any sweater or book or bauble. Over and out until later! Ta.

Just because I feel like writing...

The Lab, already pictured on 9 November

I was looking at this photo, thinking how much I love the view. It's so pretty, and it's not even as good as the view from way up on the hill. This photo doesn't really give you a good perspective on how steep the drive is from which I took this shot. Anyhow, I was looking at it, and thinking about how fortunate I was to land here. I know, I know - blah blah blah, lucky, yay, Anne loves her job... but still... I do. I mow that entire lawn, of which you see only a tiny portion; the part closest up I only mowed once because it's so steep and I had to use the deck mower behind the Gator, and I wasn't very good at it. That roof? I climbed up on top of it to rescue a crow from the chimney, using an 18 foot bamboo pole with an insect net duct-taped to the end of it. He survived, and his name was Sooty, for all the friggin creosote he had all over his feathers. He was a skinny little bag of feathers when I got him out of there (in the midst of a pouring rain, no less). The pointy and/or square shrubbery? I did that! I had never handled an electric hedge trimmer before in my life. Not a big deal, but still - it was fun for me, and it didn't turn out half bad. I was constantly afraid that I would somehow level them all to the ground by accident, or, conversely, trim off 0.1 mm from each and have a jungle growing out the next week. Or perhaps I would carve them into odd shapes. One worries. What else can I say? That guardrail running down the middle of the road? Under that, right in front of the building, was where I ran out and picked up Mac, the kitty who got hit by a car (and ended up with a fractured femur and of course road rash and multiple contusions). He ended up right there, somehow, and so avoided being hit again. He is now alive and happy and living with a couple a bit north of here. So many, many times I've gone down that drive, the steep one, in my beloved Gator.

I guess that's it for now. Reminiscing. It's nice to have the chance to do that from my current perspective.

Best to you all.

Ta for now.

So.

Look! Mold!

My shoes.

Glassware.

**************

All kinds of thrilling, eh? I just wanted my head and so forth off the top of the page. It was dark outside, so I was forced to come up with something indoors. Behold.

How were your Thanksgivings? Mine was kind of... meh. That's really all I'm going to say right now. The food was good, I loved the people.... and that's all.

Nothing more to report. Doing lots of studying, lots of extraneous reading that has nothing to do with school, and apparently avoiding getting back into shape. I am an amorphous blob right now. I do intend to change that, don't worry.

That's all for now. Until the morrow, ta.

The author. Prepare to be horrified.

Hi. I'm really serious all the time.

And I always press my lips together this way.

I am SO TIRED. But I'm trying to look awake here. I still appear to be horribly underslept and also very serious for this shot. Or worried. All of those things are true, so maybe this is a good photo of me.

Gratuitous cleavage shot, just because. This is actually what I'm like. Dorkness, eating a tree. ******************* Happy Thanksgiving, my dears.

Good weekends to you

Bittersweet

Yep - one more maple!

I look exactly how I feel - tired, blurry, and old. Sigh. Bonus points for the hairstyle! I got it from working outside, moving trees into the greenhouse.

Good weekends to everyone - be safe and take care.

Ok, so maybe I'm all about the pictures these days.

Blurry leaves... hadda leave the image because I love the color

Foxtail grass against deer fence post, outside the orchard Maple leaf against canopy

Let it never be said that one can have too many photos of maple leaves.

Down the corridor outside the deer fence - if you look very closely, you might see the herd of turkeys at the end of my view (click to see a little more closely). I stalked them for awhile, but I'm not particularly stealthy, and they were wise to me from the start. It was a hen with this year's brood. I got to hear them talking to each other as I passed by where they'd darted into the brush! Turkeys are funny.

********************

I'm no artist, but I do appreciate beauty. As I have said before, this is the sort of stuff that lights up my heart and soul. I've always loved trees and plants and critters... and I do wish I could do them more justice, but this is ok for now. I'm a little frustrated because so many of my shots come out blurry (apparently the hand isn't always as steady as the eye), and I don't understand yet how to do good close-ups. I took a bunch of pictures on my little afternoon walk, but only the above shots turned out semi-ok. Disappointing... but it was still very good to get outside. I'll eventually learn more about how to take good photos.

Ta again, for now.

Photo of the day

Phragmites field

Another shot I somehow forgot to publish. Yes, it's through a fence, but I still think it's pretty. As you might have noticed, I love me some Phragmites.

I need to point you in the direction of this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samiam9610 - the wonderful Sam has made my favorite bladder campion photo vividly gorgeous - crystal clear, and stunning with the color. You should peruse her photographs - she takes fantastic pictures, better than I ever could. Thank you, Sam, for the loveliness!

Clinical was tres fun last night. Without going into a lot of detail (because I haven't the time or patience at the moment), we got to care for "patients" in our Sim Lab (instead of going to the hospital) - the mannequins there have vital signs, including lung and bowel sounds, and are largely anatomically correct (e.g. I had to catheterize my patient last night to obtain a urine sample). They also have microphones, and the people running the lab had a lot of fun with that - we had something of a comedian in the control booth. The Sim Lab is just a terrific resource - we are so fortunate to have it. I learned a lot last night, most especially about the things I am not proficient in yet. Thrown into such a situation, we all made ridiculous mistakes, elementary ones. I think frequently you tend to learn more from the mistakes you make than the things you do right. Since we made mistakes in abundance, I'm sure we all learned a lot! At any rate, we laughed through much of the evening, even as we got a ton of work done. It was very nice.

Let's see... anything else? Well, I'm tired. That pretty much sums things up for me.

Per usual, I have things I'd like to talk about, but I am time-restricted. What a boring old excuse. One thing that's on my mind: I need to get in shape. Badly. I think that's the next thing that bears discussion, once I decide to have time to write about it. Yes, more boringness, but that's just the way it goes!

Until later, ta.

Picture for the day

Bladder campion

Can't believe I didn't post this one yet - it's one of my favorites. It reminds me of a bunch of balloons or something - I just like it. I laid on my belly out in the orchard to get the shot. I love recording the beauty all around me - it's somehow very satisfying.

I don't have much time to write today - or any day, it seems. I have clinical tonight, and naturally I still have prep work to do for it. I had an exam last night that I didn't do well on, so that's a bummer. I couldn't sleep last night thinking about all the stupid mistakes I had made. Simply spending an extra hour or two studying would have made all the difference in the world. It wasn't a difficult test by any means, so I'm pretty annoyed with myself. I have a high B in the class presently, but it's likely I got a C on this test, so down goes the grade. The final is worth 40%, so if I kick ass on that one, I should be fine. Enough about that.

Let's see... anything else worth reporting? Not really. Not that I have time to discuss at any rate. I may check back in later.

Ta for now.

Apropos of nothing...

...but man, do I love driving. It's raining now, and dark, and there are big trucks on the road. I love this kind of driving - fast and challenging and dark and with loud music. I will give you this caveat (which is unnecessary, given that anyone who reads knows I have no children) - I have no kids. And so I won't be lost to kids if I die with my driving lust. M. would be sad, but at least he would get my share of the house and whatever sort of money I might leave behind. I'm not trying to sound like an idiot, though I probably do... it's just that I really, really love driving. And I'm good at it. I once knew a guy who told me I was better than him at it, and that was something I was never supposed to share with the world. So long as I don't say his name, I think I can say what he said without terribly dire repercussions. I'm on my way home from class, stopped at work. The above occurred to me as I was driving next to a semi, in the darky rain, with music blasting (smashing pumpkins, some kind of beaty, screamy sort of anthem) (clearly I'm no music-o-phile). And I could have done it for hours. Like I said, apropos of nothing. Let's see. What else? I had lab tonight, and then I had to go and complete a CD thingie about fractures and traction. And then I practiced stuff. Yep. Anything else? Let's see. My hands are all dried out because I've been working with soil all day. They look cracked and raw, which is always sexy. Why someone would go into a mud bath on purpose, I have no idea. I guess that's it. More on the morrow, when I'll be panicking about the exam I have tomorrow night.

News blackout.

I don't have television, and for that I am glad. I don't need extra crap pouring into my eyes and ears, other than what already goes there via living in the world. The news tires me (I specify the news because I have no idea what's on television these days, and mostly I'm glad. Yes, I love House, but that's really all I know about. And I'm glad.). I do what I think I can to affect what goes on, especially in the US. I'm so tired of people being jackasses, and I'm also tired of what people feel is reasonable to report. The headline that set me off? "'Human error' likely caused oil spill" Likely? Huh. Let's think about this, just for a moment. Ok. DUH. OF COURSE human error caused the f-ing oil spill! What the bloody hell is "likely" supposed to mean? Titmice took control? Golden retrievers were running amuck onboard, upending some tank that shouldn't have been upended? And then... Tigers, lion down to skin and bones at house - I hate people. I hate them. The fact that I also love them and want to help them is... not exactly problematic, but... ok. YOU try not to have issues with humans when they're this jerkish. --------------- That is all. For now. No more news, not for a week.

Blue Jay!

At the feeder! First time I've seen this season. It's exciting because they're beautiful and full of character, and also WAY too big for the feeder, so they look ridiculous. They also announce themselves loudly before coming in. I'm trying to figure out how I could get pictures of them - any of them - without scaring said them. Haven't worked it out yet. Ok, enough. The pH project is coming along nicely. Thank you for asking.

HI!

Hi there. No pictures today, as I have forgotten to charge my camera batteries. Drat. I probably won't be checking in a ton this week. I didn't study like I should have over the weekend, and I have a test tomorrow night. Also, I had homework I didn't do. I wasn't feeling well - draggy and exhausted and just out of it. Which are, of course, excuses. True, but still excuses. That means no sleep for Anne for the next three days, as I scramble to catch up. I started the morning off with puffy, barely visible eyes - something that will apparently be setting the theme for the week. Ah, well. Who am I trying to impress? NO ONE, that's who! Anyway. Moving on. The bird feeder is back up on the office window again, and being raided regularly by titmice, chickadees, and (of course) house sparrows. I can't recall if I already told you this or not. I'm pleased to be watching them again, and look forward to the cardinals, jays, and flickers rediscovering this food source. I just love watching them. I've got nothing more right now. Oh, the hideous boringness! I may check in later to give you scintillating details of a soil pH project I'm doing right now. Very sexy stuff. Ta for now.

Two more pictures.

These got left out somehow yesterday. Just wanted to get them posted before I delete them from my computer.

Needle nose shovel, trowel, and apples. Oh, and dirt.

Which I was sampling. We're creating a pH profile of the soil in one of our orchard blocks.

The Lab, where I am lucky enough to be employed for another year. Love it, love it, love it.

*******************

Not much more to say today. Got a weekend full of studying ahead, maybe a dinner out one night, and a fervent desire to get back to my workout schedule before I complete my apparent journey to Giant Sized Annehood. Hopefully I'll be lifting weights and then swimming laps round about this time tomorrow.

Until later, ta.

Millet and other things

Hi there. More pictures! I don't have much to put into words at the moment, for various reasons... so let the pictures do my talking. Yes, that's a cheap way out of writing, but so be it.

******************

Casey, my parents' golden. She is a doll, and she's getting old. I hate that.

My wonderful, beloved Dad, and Casey. Love the upraised paw!

This and the above photo were taken by my mom.

***********************

Hillside across from the orchard Another hillside shot. These were taken by a coworker. He was trying to capture a patch of sunshine on the hill, but the clouds weren't cooperating. Still pretty, though. *********************** These following shots were taken by me. Henbit, in the mint family. I laugh about these "weeds" I photograph (I love them, but I guess they are weeds, given where they are living) because they are growing in the herbicide strip in the tree rows. Herbicide, meaning - death to plants that aren't the trees -and it can damage the trees too. I love that some of these guys don't care. I would have a different attitude, I'm sure, if my livelihood depended on the crop. For that reason, I do not mind pesticides at all. A conversation for a different day, I suppose.

Flowers and fruit.

Another dramatic November sky. Beautiful.

Gold and blue.

****************************

And now? Millet, the series. First, an explanation. I feed birds from a small feeder attached to my office window. I am lucky enough to have a boss who, though he doesn't really love it, lets me get away with doing this. I am very grateful. For two summers now, we have had a lovely crop of sunflowers all across the front of the lab - thanks to my bird feeding ways. I think they actually added to the look of our lab, so I don't feel too bad about them. This year, my feeder spawned a crop of millet. It's only under my office window (whereas the sunflower seeds had been carried away, so were more dispersed across the front of the building), and it makes me laugh because... well, it's just so striking. I think it's pretty. You can look for yourself and see what you think.

Right under my office window.

An off-center close-up.

Another close-up.

...and the last close-up.

I think they're pretty.

**************

That's all for now. Much work to do. My advice for the day? Get outside. It's lovely, and it's real.

Until later, ta.

Late night entry

I am hungry, so I present you with out of focus food photos. Which are also in the wrong order, but I'm too lazy to go back and switch them around. These are zucchini cakes. They are very, very yummy. I have decided that anything in cake form that is fried is probably a good thing, so long as it's savory and not sweet. I cannot abide the sweetness that so many humans seem to crave. I understand it, but I don't really get it. Kind of like some forms of art. It takes a certain sort of appreciation to really get, say... Jackson Pollack. I don't, much like I don't get chocolate or Pop Tarts.

Anyhow, moving on.

I'm on the way home from school. I popped in to put some soil samples in an oven so I can work with them tomorrow right off the bat. Because I'm practically a new hire here! And I need to impress my boss! Ahem. Seriously, I did need to do this. And I also needed to blog, apparently. I had a very good night in clinical. I think I really want to work in the ER, eventually. I loved the pace, I loved the knowledge flying around, I loved the need to know things fast and on your feet, and I loved seeing all different sorts of cases. It was awesome, and as usual the nurses were just great. I wouldn't want to go there right after graduation, but I am very attracted to that particular specialty. Note: I didn't see major trauma because the other area hospital is the draw for that, so I still haven't seen the kinds of things in humans that I've seen in animals, so I shouldn't be so quick to say this is what I want to do... but still, I liked what I saw.

Alrighty then. Time to close up shop and go home for a few hours.

More later.

Ta.

More beauty, of sorts

Another image-heavy, content-light post. First, I want to direct anyone who comes here to read a wonderful tribute, written by Shannon for her lovely grandma Muriel. See here: http://westeringhills.weblogged.net/?p=329 Pictures now.... (click on them for better detail)

Maple in the hedgerow, orchard.

Again, but different maple. Blurry random shot of flowers and apples, orchard (0f course!)

Poplar leaf

Pokeweed plantling in the herbicide strip. (laughs)

Another maple in the hedgerow.

Evening sky in the "north forty"

Random asters, again in the herbicide strip.

Shelby, sneaked into a pile of outdoorsy photos. And yes, those are my dirty socks there on the floor. Niiiice. Still, though - cute kitty.

My other baby - my beloved Gator. I wish it was mine, anyway. Such fun!

You guessed it - more maples. They're just so pretty.

Cameos, still on the tree in November. And they don't taste half bad!

Apples on the ground next to a soil sampling site.

********************

That's pretty much it for now. I'm tired, somewhat frustrated and probably very disgruntled and annoyed - and none of that makes for good reading. Endlessly thankful, though, that I get to work outside as much as I do. I love it.

On that note, I'm off to prep about fifty gazillion soil samples for pH testing... and then I go to clinicals. Tonight I am observing in the ER - I'm cautiously excited.

More later.

Ta.