unbroken streak

for something like the 477th trip in a row, today i reconfirmed that i should never be allowed in a nursery unchaperoned.

for over a month now, i have assiduously avoided forlorn flowerbeds of dying pansies, skeletal remains of last year's geraniums in hanging pots, and the overgrown scraggle that passes for my bushes. because i intend to move this summer, it would be silly and financially daft to invest time and money on their care.

the garden, on the other hand, was already planted and finally has been flourishing. therefore, it seemed only sensible to pick up two pepper plants and one tomato plant to round out everything i have been growing from seed. (not all my tomato sprouts have flourished as one would like.)

although i am not a mathematician by trade, even i can count to three. does this look like three plants to you?




sigh.

three hours and one bee sting later, instead of casting a sorrowful pall on everything in their vicinity, the flowerbeds and pots now complement the day lily bonanza:



and the 'back 40':



in the end, i'll take silly over decay any day.

ps. anyone need any lettuce?

ketchup

things have been busy and weird and hard and good and busy some more. i have been working ridiculous amounts of hours and haven't much time to write.

i reread a wonderful article called On the determinants of academic success as a clinician-scientist a couple months ago. it motivated me to revisit all my projects and To Do lists and seriously consider which exist for the right reasons (makes me happy, invigorates me, good for me). that, of course, led me to create new lists of "Things to close out as quickly as possible", "Things to continue" and "Things to start once headway has been made on list A." that generated a fierce and focused attack on List A, so i can get to doing what i want to do that also can be what is good for my career. since then i have been happily trucking along, making excellent progress on List A though profoundly exhausting myself in the process.

late April was the Knoxville Habitat for Humanity Multi-house blitz. i had taken the week off from work to, well, work. it was wicked taxing but incredibly fun and rewarding. i learned to lay out a floorplan (set up to frame in walls) and led installation of fiber cement siding, ductwork framing, and windows/doors. there are some great pix here (including a few of me) though the sheer number of photos may overwhelm...

after the Multi-House Blitz, i went to a BBQ at a friend's house. i learned two new games: Polish Horseshoes and Stump. we had a LOT of fun:



in other news, Trav and i have split up. although there are sad moments and have been a lot of unrelated challenges, i am already much happier than i had been in quite some time. i feel like i have emerged from a dark cave after a long storm to a bright and glorious day.

too little time to catch up and then off to Florida for a weeklong family vacation. huge challenges wrt the car that made for quite the adventure and the weather mostly groused, but we still managed to have an awesome time! we discovered a found art installation on the base that was quite fascinating and clever. we did our part - adding several found objects to the structure. [can you guess which they were?] i also had a cameo as waterfowl rescuer extraordinaire.



got back on Memorial Day and worked feverishly to wrap things up for ACVIM which was in Montreal this year. made my deadlines - albeit barely - and enjoyed catching up with dear friends. Montreal is fabulous and i cannot wait to go back for fun... well, i suppose that is all i have from here.

the maidens of spring's army

clouds and wind fight and cling to winter.


playful violets,


comic pansies


and seductive hyacinths heavy with fragrance


dance and whirl
in the riotous confetti
of falling cherry blossoms.


the clouds surrender to their joy.

wicked awesome hiking

life has been hopping here in lovely east Tennessee. since the move, it seems i continuously struggle to both do and document in limited time. at the end of the day, i have decided it is better to live life than write about it and the blog has obviously suffered greatly.

the birds call outside and offset the otherwise gloomy dawn of the day, as i snuggle down under a new blanket and nurse my coffee. it seems the perfect time to write to you, my tolerant friend, though i hope you bear with my brevity as the pain in my arms burns fiercely from work and service rigors.

as one wakes from a cold suddenly better, i woke this January less fettered to that great 1950s American work ethic. i looked at my To Do list, estimated my maximal waking hours and recognized that 'caught up' is unachievable in academia. although this gut level realization carried with it melancholy, it also brought with it a degree of freedom. if 'under control' is an unachievable fantasy, then it only makes sense to find new successes, does it not?

to whit, my new philosophy:

you will never ever ever ever ever be caught up again... go hiking!

so i did. twice thus far.

January 31st, Trav and i took Bear for a 12.6 mile hike at Big South Fork.



the park remained festooned with winter decorations - icicles cascading from almost every surface, mosses bulging out into the sunshine and fallen leaves carpeting our path. it was beautiful and quiet, except for the occasional gunshot report as hunters and wild hogs faced off elsewhere in the park.

February 22nd, it was off to Frozen Head State Park for an 11.5 mile slog up to Chimney Top.



lazy snowflakes drizzled on our heads as wonderful and peculiar shapes and images curved into view. deer startled as they discovered us upon their path.

since then, work for Habitat for Humanity has pretty much monopolized the weekends. each build brings more fun than the last, as i become more knowledgeable and physically adept. it is exciting to catch problems before they occur and learn ways to compensate for my lesser upper body strength (compared to a man). the latter will be particularly important when time comes for the Women's build.

there is so much more to share, but the house now stirs and my chores list beckons. it will have to wait for another stolen morning.

Fwd: A warning!

things have been crazy busy here in K-ville and i owe some serious postage, but in the interim i thought i would share this little gem.

---

I dislike people who post too many warning as much as anyone, but this one is important!

If someone comes to your door saying they are conducting a survey on deer ticks and asks you to take off all your clothes and dance around to shake off the ticks, Do not do it!





It is a SCAM; they only want to see you naked!




I wish I had gotten this yesterday.


I feel so stupid.

snowy Knoxville

just a little eye candy from Knoxville February 3rd. 

yup. that is snow there on the ground right here in East Tennessee. it was a wonderful day!

my cup runneth over

it has been a strange time since last i wrote. much has changed and much remains in flux yet some things stand constant.

Christmas still fills my heart with heady joy, wonder and an almost maudlin tenderness for my brethen. there is something profound and humbling about the way humans rise above themselves at this time of year to care for those around them and honor those who have gone before them.

over the years, decorating the tree has become more meditative and almost prayerful for me. i find myself savouring the precious gifts life has afforded me and honoring lives lived while still embracing all the living and lives to come. as i finished dressing the tree with my late grandmother and great grandmother's ornaments this year, i could not shake an impression of emptiness, lonesomeness, to the tree. finally, i realized this would be the first year in the history of my particular tree that Mr. Head did not spend beneath it. when the feeling did not pass after a couple days, i decided to take matters into my own hands...

i am sure he is much happier now.




With a heart full of love, joy, peace and thanks, I wish you all a safe, full and meaningful holiday season!