A couple of weeks ago, one of my co-workers and I spent a few days down on the Guadalupe District of the Lincoln National Forest.Here are a couple of shots from that trip… enjoy!

Yesterday, Katherine and I were walking the dogs and saw four of these guys in our of our plum trees. There were too cute to resist, so I snapped of a few. Amazing how they remind me of the kits I shot in Fort Collins a couple of years back. Guess cuteness transcends species…

Last Friday, I was invited out to survey for Mexican spotted owls (Strix occidentalis lucida) with Todd Rawlinson of Rocky Mtn. Research Station. I was a great morning, and I think I got some really nice shots. A couple of weeks back, my nikon telephoto lens died on me (expired warranty, of course) so I brought along my sigma telephoto and I had to manually focus to get these shots. It’s a great lens and Dad got it for 25 bucks! Most of my shots were junk, but some turned out nice. I’m thinking I need a new camera body, one with a motor in the body (unlike my D60). Maybe if I save for a year…

Like I said, it was a great day. We basically left at 6:00am form Cloudcroft and went to the general area. Todd started calling, and I heard the young respond right off the bat. We then followed their calls to where the two juveniles were perched in an old Douglas-fir, and set out “bait”. They didn’t come in, but a few minutes later, Mom showed up and took the the free meal (hence the closer shots). Unlike most owls, Mexican spotted owls have dark eyes, which was the first thing I noticed. They really are beautiful. They are an ashy-chestnut brown color with white and brown spots on their abdomen, back and head – but in most of my pictures they’re soaking wet and really dark. Todd assured me that they are usually light in color. These three were between 18-20 inches tall and typically females are larger than males.

I’m looking forward to getting out and seeing some owls in more hospitable weather, and with a better camera.

Katherine and I met the In-Laws up on the Res Sunday for the final day of the Mescalaro Rodeo. It was a lot of fun and really enjoyable to watch. Surprisingly, we didn’t get any rain making for some nice, mud free shots. I’ve also added in a couple of shots from around the house and from the fireworks show in Alamogordo. I didn’t carry the tripod up, so there was only one fireworks shot in focus.

Yesterday, I participated in a wonderful going away event (she moving elsewhere within the agency) for a fellow worker, the Annual Dog Canyon Hike. The weather was perfect, the views were amazing, and the company was excellent. Here are the pictures form the trip… I certainly hope this event continues and look forward to doing it each year! Thanks to Mickey for putting it together…

In the past few weeks, I’ve been asked to participate in numerous local educational opportunities. Now I’m the last person to advocate trading the computer for a field guide and a backpack (hell, my job lets me take my computer to the woods!), but I have to admit that I’ve enjoyed these experiences of late. The big government agency that I work for has taken a position of putting an end to childhood obesity and promoting healthy, active lifestyles by encouraging kids to get off the couch and go outside.

Earth Day

Kows, Kids, and More

The “More Kids in the Woods” challenge, leveraged funds with in-kind services from partners, seems to be a pretty good idea. It not only promotes physical activity, it fosters environmental awareness and stewardship among young people as we face critical environmental challenges, such as the effects of climate change. “More Kids in the Woods” helps kids make the connection between healthy forests, healthy communities and their own healthy lifestyles, and how bad can that be?

Yesterday, my Co-PI’s and I received a message informing us that our Joint Fire Science Proposal (“Characterizing Crown Biomass and Crown Density Profiles in Conifer Forests of the Interior Northwest”) has been selected for funding!

Boo-Ya… that put me at 3 for 7! Believe it or not… that pretty good.

So how does this relate to my previous posts you may ask? Well, the proposal has a heavy terrestrial lidar component (which the reviewers loved) and I bet I can squeeze a small study in there comparing results of terrestrial lidar-derived point clouds to those derived form structure form motion. In my opinion, an end-game type study for the merits of computer vision technology in forest science. The beginning of this project is some time off… but it’s got me excited in this endeavor once again…

This morning I received a message from the Editor-in-Chief at Forest Ecology and Management, with a favorable review for the last manuscript from my dissertation. It was submitted as part of special issue on lessons learned from experimental forest and still needs substantial revisions, but it was well received – and that’s what matters.
Oddly enough, I’m a bit saddened by this, as it signifies the (apparent) end of my dissertation work. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got more spatial ecology/silviculture projects in the works and have been on numerous grant proposals, but if this paper continues on it’s current path the previous chapter of my life will officially be over. I have nothing but fond memories of my time in Flagstaff and of the “Woolsey plots”, but I do not get back often enough (physically – I talk with collaborators regularly) and miss it.
I know know many of my cohorts and collaborators frequent here, and was wondering if you find yourslef feeling this way?

Yesterday afternoon I finished my allotted tasks and decided and spend some time at Arlington National Cemetary. I took the Metro over, spent three hours walking around and paying my respects (the placement of over 16,000 wreaths by volunteers was especially touching), and then headed back to D.C. proper. Given I was close, I decided to walk back via the Arlington Memorial Bridge and the western part of Potomac Park (i.e., Lincoln, Vietnam Veterans and WWIIMemorials). Even though my feet were killing me (6.2 miles in dress shoes!), yesterday was the most memorable day here in D.C. While in Arlington, I couldn’t help keep being reminded of its expanse, and the the number laid to rest there…