Ah, yes -- everyone should have the grand opportunity of that most humble of Master Naturalist activities --- water monitoring a community stream. I say humble because it is humbling that people who don't know a darned thing about chemistry and like, like myself, are entrusted with the activity of measuring such things as dissolved oxygen and PH levels in a stream not 10 minutes from home. What do these terms mean? Not too much to a novice in water science like myself-- I am better at identifying trees and wildflowers and certain butterflies -- but I "said" I would get naturalist volunteer hours doing this.
So I went this time with my newly arrived son, who'd come in from the West coast, from job hunting that was not going very well. And he helped. It was a good thing. As soon as we got on the property, the owner's dogs were out in full force, barking and pawing the car -- nice. I don't like big dogs on the loose, who for some reason like to give me a hard time. Maybe they smell my dog and get angry. Who knows? I can't read their minds. Luckily, the owner and his daughter soon arrived on the scene and corralled the dang dogs away.
So son helped with measuring turbidity (the murkiness factor) and gathering some water to be tested for PH ( 6-9 being the best, and this water was at 8, so not bad) and man, was it cold, when I had to get the water samples for the dissolved oxygen. We measured the water temp. at 52 oF (brrrrrrrrrr) and my hands got icy getting those little bottles filled with water with no air bubbles. That is a trick.
But it actually got to 70 oF out, which I'd say is warm for November. Any Master Naturalists out there who've had their share of fun water monitoring?
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Fall, Leaves, Indians, Cold
Fall is not the most pleasant time of the year -- once the leaves come down, along with the
temperatures. The past few days the temperatures have fallen dramatically, as though January
were now intruding itself upon the day. When the average temp. is closer to 40 oF than than 60, it's time to head in -- to your neighborhood rec center.
I am lucky in that mine is only a few blocks away and is free if you are a local resident. I don't know if that is the situation everywhere, but this is town maintained -- it's not a club like the YMCA. For being a local you get to use various weights, have access to a walking track that goes above and around the basketball court, the opportunity to do aerobics, or relax with a game room that even has the old fashioned pin ball machines and pool tables. It's a good deal. And the last time I was there I also drank in a 180 degree view of the surrounding woods -- a rather drab red and orange, as the leaves were stubborn and never fully peaked. It was warm in early October and I guess the trees were not stressed enough to all get together in unison and produce bright colors. Even on campus, where I took my students on a "leaf collecting" expedition, many trees by the third week of October had barely changed color at all.
Early in October we went to a Native American Festival, and did get some sunshine, and some warmth from exercise. The dancers, the main attraction of the festival, invited onlookers to also
do the Indian two step in their outdoor circle, so the spouse and I did that. That up and down movement I'm sure was good for my immune system (jumping is supposed to activate your lymph nodes, according to doctors in the Somers' book). I only did it for 10 minutes but wow, what a workout!
temperatures. The past few days the temperatures have fallen dramatically, as though January
were now intruding itself upon the day. When the average temp. is closer to 40 oF than than 60, it's time to head in -- to your neighborhood rec center.
I am lucky in that mine is only a few blocks away and is free if you are a local resident. I don't know if that is the situation everywhere, but this is town maintained -- it's not a club like the YMCA. For being a local you get to use various weights, have access to a walking track that goes above and around the basketball court, the opportunity to do aerobics, or relax with a game room that even has the old fashioned pin ball machines and pool tables. It's a good deal. And the last time I was there I also drank in a 180 degree view of the surrounding woods -- a rather drab red and orange, as the leaves were stubborn and never fully peaked. It was warm in early October and I guess the trees were not stressed enough to all get together in unison and produce bright colors. Even on campus, where I took my students on a "leaf collecting" expedition, many trees by the third week of October had barely changed color at all.
Early in October we went to a Native American Festival, and did get some sunshine, and some warmth from exercise. The dancers, the main attraction of the festival, invited onlookers to also
do the Indian two step in their outdoor circle, so the spouse and I did that. That up and down movement I'm sure was good for my immune system (jumping is supposed to activate your lymph nodes, according to doctors in the Somers' book). I only did it for 10 minutes but wow, what a workout!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Doctors, Options, Health after Cancer
I guess I'm not any bigger a fan of going to the doctor than anybody else. But sometimes it's necessary. After you've had an operation, after you've had some
serious health problems (from broken bones to cancer), you have to do followup.And followups aren't the worse thing in the world, especially if you come prepared in advance with some questions.
So I went to my doctor, oncologist to be specific, to do a "followup" and talk about ideas I had for different options. And for some reason a storm fell on the town, tossing old pine needles all over the parking lot. The lady who came in just after me was all worried about her just washed car. I'd had mine washed the other day and somehow didn't see the problem with the big trees beyond her parking space. But in a few minutes the wind whipped up hundreds of yellowing pine needles, splattering them unexpectedly on her car and mine.
Was this a sign of things to come? I was already a bit anxious about this visit as I was going to propose something different: alternative therapy. Those two words are an anathema to some doctors, who believe a patient wanting other options in treatment is some nutty crackpot. But I'd done a fair amount of research since learning I had breast cancer and done the "traditional" treatments, treatments that put me in the hospital and made me want to quit the whole dang business.
But you can't trade bodies (at one point I said this to my spouse) and ignore health problems. You have to address them at some point or other, whether you like it or not. So I told the doc I had a wonderful assortment of side effects from taking this pill, Femara, and wanted to see about alternative therapy. His response was that Somers' book Knockout was basically anecdotal and that his research on women surviving cancer on "his pill" was backed up by studies. True, but at the cost of making me as
old inside as my mother, giving me her immune system and ultimately making me
vulnerable?
Well -- surprisingly, he said we should do a bone density scan (back soreness being one of my complaints) and actually look into alternate therapies. What a surprise!
serious health problems (from broken bones to cancer), you have to do followup.And followups aren't the worse thing in the world, especially if you come prepared in advance with some questions.
So I went to my doctor, oncologist to be specific, to do a "followup" and talk about ideas I had for different options. And for some reason a storm fell on the town, tossing old pine needles all over the parking lot. The lady who came in just after me was all worried about her just washed car. I'd had mine washed the other day and somehow didn't see the problem with the big trees beyond her parking space. But in a few minutes the wind whipped up hundreds of yellowing pine needles, splattering them unexpectedly on her car and mine.
Was this a sign of things to come? I was already a bit anxious about this visit as I was going to propose something different: alternative therapy. Those two words are an anathema to some doctors, who believe a patient wanting other options in treatment is some nutty crackpot. But I'd done a fair amount of research since learning I had breast cancer and done the "traditional" treatments, treatments that put me in the hospital and made me want to quit the whole dang business.
But you can't trade bodies (at one point I said this to my spouse) and ignore health problems. You have to address them at some point or other, whether you like it or not. So I told the doc I had a wonderful assortment of side effects from taking this pill, Femara, and wanted to see about alternative therapy. His response was that Somers' book Knockout was basically anecdotal and that his research on women surviving cancer on "his pill" was backed up by studies. True, but at the cost of making me as
old inside as my mother, giving me her immune system and ultimately making me
vulnerable?
Well -- surprisingly, he said we should do a bone density scan (back soreness being one of my complaints) and actually look into alternate therapies. What a surprise!
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