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I am so guilty of looking out the window, seeing a dark cloud and making the decision to not do anything outside that day. I recently stood glaring out a window toward the west as a wall of clouds quickly began covering the blue sky. My partner in crime was headed off to work and said cheerily, “Have a great day!” to which I replied, “Yeah right, my entire morning is ruined with this rain.” I truly felt as if all of my plans for the morning were ruined, and that I had no choice but to break out of what has become my morning routine and completely change gears. I was not impressed.

And then I remembered that in 2 months I am moving to the Pacific Northwest. Where it rains A LOT. According to a quick internet search there are on average 162 days with precipitation where I will be living year round. And when I compared it to where I live in Colorado, which sees on average 90 days of precipitation, I knew I needed to change my perspective in a hurry.

I did some training this Spring to help prepare myself for more indoor time than I am accustomed to. For example, I took up indoor hobbies that I had not considered doing before. I learned how to knit and I took a writing course to help improve and motivate my writing. I began to read books again and tried my hand at creating digital art using my photographs. I found myself not dreading the rainy days of May and instead welcomed them as they gave me an excuse to get back to my new projects.

I needed to apply this positive attitude to going outside because my body craves physical activity. I remembered a friend saying that her son just puts on rain gear and goes out to do the usual stuff, like ride his bike. I have rain gear that rarely gets used, so why not just put it on and go? What is the worst that could happen – I could get wet, cold feet and have to come home to get out of shoes. Really, this is not at all a big deal as I don’t have to venture far from the house to be in natural outdoor spaces. Besides, people all over the world endure precipitation as they pursue things outdoors, and they are not ending up depressed and feeling stuck inside. My excuses were starting to sound pathetic to me.

It was time for my daily outdoor activity and I decided it wasn’t raining too hard out yet. I could grab the rain coat and be out in the wide open or choose a trail that had quite a bit of tree cover and maybe not need the rain gear. I chose the latter and headed out the door. 

As I wandered the paved trail following the river, I delighted in trying to keep dry. I used the wetness of the pavement to determine how wet I would get and hugged the vegetation when necessary. As the rain intensified, I was forced off the main trail and onto footpaths created by river-loving folks that led me to and alongside the river. In over 10 years of taking the main trail, I had never ventured onto a single side path. In fact, I had barely noticed them! I found myself winding along the river’s edge beneath cottonwood and willow trees, discovering wildflowers and startling multiple bird species.

I discovered a rope swing hidden from the main trail. I came face to face with a buck who rather than startle and run, walked toward me with curiosity until I felt uncomfortably close and chose to move. After some time I decided I needed to head back and the main trail would be the fastest route. I dragged my feet as I neared the pavement, disappointed that my mini adventure had come to an end.

On my way back, the buck reappeared about 15 feet off the trail. We exchanged glances, each taking a few steps toward each other as if seeing a friend. Further down the trail I encountered a very young bunny who scampered off when I spoke to it, offering advice to stay in the taller grasses where it would be safe from bicycle tires. A Great egret flapped its large white wings in slow methodical strokes as it flew overhead and off into the distance. Soon I was back at the car, my shoes slightly damp. I turned on the windshield wipers to be able to see ahead of me, and it was only then that I realized it had been raining on me the entire walk back.

52 Years Later, 2022

“Because there was no EPA, no Clean Air Act, no Clean Water Act. There were no legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment. In spring 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to force this issue onto the national agenda.” – EPA

Prior to 1970, corporations could emit or dump anything they wanted out into the air, water, and soil. It seems there was no one thinking about what harm was being done to the environment. Thankfully, in 1970 awareness of environmental issues as they relate to human health were raised when Earth Day was born. The federal government established agencies to help regulate emissions, waste dumping, and other things harmful to the environment.

In the 1995 EPA Journal, then Administrator of the EPA Carol Browning wrote of environmental accomplishments over the past 25 years, but also of what still needed to be done. In her final paragraph, she stressed –

It is the job of government to protect the public. But government cannot do the job alone. We need every American to help ensure strong public health and environmental protections. Joining together is not a matter of choice – it is a necessity. We all breathe the same air, drink the same water, and work and play in the same environment. Source

As I reflect this morning on the 52nd Earth Day, I cannot express how disappointed I am in humans’ lack of care and respect for this entire planet. Yes, we have those federal agencies still trying to do what they were designed to do initially. However, in the recent years when politicians discredited science and rolled back regulations in the name of greed, a giant step back was taken. Climate science is not trusted even though the data is sound, we are living through the extreme events that were predicted, and we are feeling the impacts on our daily lives. Yet, we charge on as if our actions make no difference.

Humans are part of and have the biggest impact on the environment whether we want to believe it or not. What I cannot begin to comprehend is that we do not care enough about our environment to do the things that will keep it habitable, for ourselves!

I have spent my lifetime learning about the Earth and how it works – plants, animals, air, water, rock and soil. As I watch the shortgrass prairie near where I live be torn up and turned into paved roads and subdivisions interspersed with fracking and natural gas extraction, I am sick to my stomach. The pace of the destruction is mind-blowing. One day a beautiful field of grassland with songbirds and hawks, rabbits and other small mammals, coyotes, and insects all doing what they are meant to do is there. By the time I see the same location 24 hours later, all of that has been scraped and pushed away by land-moving equipment. What terror the animals must feel as they are killed by machinery they cannot possibly fight off!

Removing vegetation that produces oxygen and holds carbon in soil, removing animal habitat so that species will go extinct and biodiversity is decreased, and then replacing it with manmade structures and infrastructure that cause urban heat effect, pollution to air, water, and soil, and encourages the burning of fossil fuels – it makes no sense at all to me. How is this helping to create a healthy environment for humans? The answer is simply, it’s not.

Earth Day is great and I am glad that it exists so that we can have a day each year to think about why our environment is important. But it isn’t enough. How do we make people care that their kids, grandkids, and beyond can eat, drink and breathe? Every day is Earth Day. Every day we need to think about our actions, our choices, and what we are doing to help the planet be a place that life in all forms can exist. And then we need to actually act. Make different choices and follow through. Support sustainability efforts by getting involved in some way whether that is financial or by giving your time. Have conversations in your household, your community, at public events and make plans to do something. It’s not as time consuming or difficult as you might think it is. But it may be the most important thing you do in your lifetime.

I’ve recently realized that I prefer songs that tell a story that I can follow. Brandi Carlisle and Judy Collins come to mind. The listener is able to follow the story and image it unfolding visually as its being told. What is the purpose of a song? Is it to tell a story?

Around 7:00am I heard a familiar song coming from outside of the house. I paused. This is mid-January in northern Colorado. There is snow on the ground and it is 20F outside. There should not be singing. But on it went…

Huh.

A quick peek at the Google led me to an answer I was not expecting. See, birds tend to sing to attract mates and while I am watching Red-tailed hawks and Bald Eagles pair up all over the Front Range right now, it doesn’t seem that it’s time for Black-capped Chickadees to be wooing their mates this early in the year. And they are not. Instead, chickadees are using song as they travel in flocks during winter to establish territories. I wonder if my yard bird feeders have been claimed and the birds are telling others to stay away.

This all got me thinking about how song is used by people and if it is used to court a potential mate. While there is no recorded evidence that in primitive human song was used to establish territory, it has definitely been a factor in romantic relationships. I recall a conversation with a friend years ago who said something along the lines of, “If she can sing, I’ll give her anything she wants” when referring to the qualities of a good match for him. Who isn’t attracted to a lovely voice that can carry a tune? Song writers express their affection through song intended to be heard by the one they love all the time. Perhaps you have fallen for a performer in a musical after hearing them sing.

Song is made up of a series of sounds and many animals on Earth sing for various reasons. We humans use songs for a variety of reasons many which are tied to our emotions and how we are feeling. Animals may also use or respond to song for similar reasons, If you are interested in learning more about this, click here.

Three years ago I changed school districts which doubled my commute but also has me headed east five days a week as the sun rises above the horizon. In winter months, after the autumnal “fall back” of time change, I wake up to cold, dark mornings where I fumble around the house for coffee and breakfast not ready to greet the artificial light I could turn on. This is something I have realized I need to do to start my day off on the right foot – not turn on the lights. Letting the natural progression of light slowly fill the indoor spaces is a kinder, more gentle way to start the day.

On work days, I leave the house when the first color appears in the sky above the horizon. It is a mad dash for me to get outside of town for the best full view of the radiant color that greets me. Away from the streetlights, stoplights, and lights flickering on inside homes as the city wakes up. Out I go to the grassland where trees won’t block my view and I can see across this vast flat land called the shortgrass prairie. As I slow my pace, I take in the changing colors of the landscape before me. Pale colors morph into bold and brilliant colors, fading back into pastels that brush the grassland around me, and lie like a curtain on the continuous chain of mountains behind me.

Occasionally I will head toward small ponds or lakes in an effort to capture the color in flat or rippled water. This tests my patience as most days this effort falls short and I return to the indoors unsatisfied. However, on the occasion that I do experience the color from above and below, it’s as if magic has happened! I sit in awe of the light surrounding me – amazed that particles of dust, ice crystals, and pollution are responsible for creating THIS!

There is something about the early morning light changing from the cool shades of blue into the warm colors of yellow, oranges, and reds, and finally morphing into pinks and purples before the sky becomes its consistent and reliable blue. Experiencing this sets up my day very unlike days I don’t catch the sunrise. On a sunrise day, I feel refreshed, hopeful, energized and optimistic. I feel as if I have absorbed some of the energy put out by the light show that surrounded me, and have that energy to release back out into the world that day.

I’ve been thinking about how to keep using The Outside Within to cover more than just my photography and house older blogs about my outdoor experiences.  As I reflect on the past few years, the majority of my spring and summer outdoor time has been spent gardening. I think constantly about how growing my own food has made me healthier and happier. Not only do I get to watch my food grow right before me eyes, I get to enjoy tastes that no grocery store produce gives me! I have learned how to grow almost anything here in Colorado. I’d like to share these successes and failures and a few recipes I’ve come to love that can be made with fresh produce.

Gardening is most definitely one of those things you can do in life (outdoors) that impacts your well-being (within).  Check out the IN THE GARDEN TODAY tab for these posts.  Cheers!

It’s 2017 and time to get serious about a few projects I’ve dabbled in here and there over the past few years.  Life’s gotten busier, and as I find myself glued to screens 7 days a week, I need more now than ever to return to what I love and what motivates me – being outdoors, writing, and photography!

Today’s efforts involve learning how to post photos on this site so that a) you may enjoy the world through my eyes, and b) you may purchase these photos if you so desire.

I’ve just gotten started and it’s going to take me a few weeks to get everything up and ready, so check back in around Valentine’s Day.

I’ll keep you posted!

This morning we hooked up with the Zona Research Lab crew here at the Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation (UIC). This is one of MANY research groups here in the Barrow and the North Slope Borough. This land is leased by the UIC from the CH2M Polar Services for scientific research. Since the 1970s, scientists have been coming to Barrow to study all aspects of the coastal tundra ecosystem.

Today, a handful of miles north of the town of Barrow one can easily see metal towers dotting the seemingly flat landscape along the coast of the Arctic Ocean.  These towers collect data on current atmospheric conditions. This is where we meet with a NOAA researcher who gives us the tour of his site.  We enter into a small 4 room building and climb a set of stairs to the roof where a few of the data-gathering instruments are located. A very tall tower stands to the east. It is explained that these towers collect gas samples and the amount of gas in the atmosphere a certain distance away is measured. Gases such as carbon dioxide*, methane, and various greenhouse gases are measured as the air passes by the instruments’ sensors. Measurements are taken 10 times per second, resulting in huge amounts of data. Albedo (reflection) is also measured.

Back inside, we enter a very warm room filled with laptops all connected to the instruments outside by a maze of wires. Screens show the raw data coming in, and at the same time, the data is stored on various hard drives and in programs that will be used to analyze and interpret these data.

A short walk to the south across the tundra, we arrive at the Zona Lab group’s tower. Here they measure CH4 and CO2 flux emissions which will add to knowledge about terrestrial contributions of this ecosystem to climate change. This tower is small and wires run into what looks like a giant blue cooler that houses the computer collections and recording the data. From the computer living in this box, the data is transmitted to a computer back at the main laboratory a few miles away.  Here, graduate students and post docs receive the data on their computers and work on it right away.

We are shown raw data and we are shown graphs that are produced from the data. As science educators, we are thinking of ways to use what we have learned, and brainstorm with the Zona Lab group about what data would be usable in K-12 classrooms. They are excited to work with us and be involved in educating youth with real data. We part with happy thoughts and good feelings about future communications through which we will work to engage students in the study of atmospheric and climate sciences.

*In case you were curious, the CO2 readings while we visited were hovering at 392 ppm which is the lowest they have had this summer. They have recently started to drop because primary plant production has stopped (in other words, plants are no longer growing and respiring as much as the season turns to fall).

Food in Costa Rica deserves its own blog post.

We eat 3 meals a day in the commodore (a semi-outdoor dining hall).  There is ALWAYS rice and beans at each meal, prepared differently some times, but mostly it is just plain rice and beans.  There is a rotation of red and black beans, whole and mashed beans.  The rice is white or brown, occasionally made into fried rice with cauliflower, onions, and carrots.  Only 2 meals so far have been without beans but there is always rice.  I love rice and beans so much that I eat them about 3 times a week at home, but 3 times a day is a bit much and I have to say I am pretty tired of seeing them.

One thing I remembered very fondly from my visit to Costa Rica 6 years ago was all of the fresh fruit.  It is just a bit sweeter and more flavorful here, most likely because it is grown locally and cut up within a day.  Breakfast is the best time for fruit and there is always fresh mango, papaya, watermelon, pineapple, and bananas.  It is so refreshing when the rest of breakfast is heavy foods like eggs, various meats and sausages, pancakes, french toast, and rice and beans.

Coffee is goooood in Costa Rica!  Of course, it grows here on plantations.  It is dark and rich and smooth, and lacks the acidity of coffees we buy in the United States. So far I have bought 6 bags of it to take back to Colorado. I’m sure I will pick up more one I start traveling on the west side of the country.

Another favorite Costa Rica made food is the Lizano Salsa.  It is made in San Jose and is a vegetable puree with a tang.  One bottle is enough for me to take home but I have already found a place online I can buy it.

I don’t do large meals well but I do well snacking throughout the day.  The food at meals is typically a meat (fish, pork, chicken), cooked squashes, broccoli, and cauliflower, and various vegetable salads. It is all prepared in fairly healthy manor and typically lacking in spices and sweetness.  Even the daily fresh fruit juices are not sweet because they are diluted with water.  So, the first time I had the chance to go to the Supermercado, I stocked up on a Costa Rican cookie, Chiky, which my aunt and uncle introduced me to 6 years ago.  They are also not as sweet as any cookie in the United States but it gives me just enough when I crave it.

 

We are definitely well fed here at La Selva but I think all of us are anxious for a change in food in coming days!

 

When the work is done for the day, we like to play!

Our first excursion was a boat trip up the Sarapiqui River.  We taxied to the boat launch in town and then onto a tour boat with just one other family on board.  For two hours we travelled slowly up the swollen river, stopping to look at any and all wildlife we could see.  It was relaxing and exciting at the same time.  I was able to take seem good shots of birds, caiman, Howler monkeys, and a Two-toed Sloth.

Despite the constant rain, we have gone on a few night hikes in hopes of discovering snakes, spiders, and mammals.  It hasn’t been great and we mostly see spiders.  During the rainy season it seems that at night the animals hide away and are not out feeding as much.  There is still plenty to see during the day so it’s been satisfying.

 

One particular day after lunch we were able to go with one of the La Selva staff to the towers.  We hiked out into the rainforest and climbed one tower, crossed a bridge, and climbed higher still on a second tower.  We ended up at about 46 meters and just at the tops of the trees.  The view was incredible, looking out over trees extending as far away as the mountains to the northeast.  The towers would sway in the wind, reminding me of being a child climbing as high as I could go in trees so that I too could sway in the wind.

 

When you are working indoors in a lab all day it is necessary to get out and do something to keep you sane.  These types of things are exactly what was needed to keep us motivated and happy.