Update!

What a busy few months it has been!

Diego's parents arrived for a 2.5 month visit that was kicked off with Diego's convocation. That was a proud day. They loved Halifax in the summer and my parents got to come out and visit with all of us twice! It was a lovely visit. We even took them backcountry camping in Kejimkujik National Park. It was their first ever canoe adventure and we had to paddle two hours to get to our campsite. The site was glorious and the water even better. I spent most of my time swimming...and eating of course! Another highlight was tidal bore rafting along the Shubenacadie river...such fun for the whole family!

This is the wave as it approaches...

Here is is filling the boat up after dousing us in warm sandy water! All we did was laugh the whole time...except of course when the wave hit...even though it looks like it...it doesn't taste like chocolate milk! Highly recommended!

I also got to spend some time doing field work in Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick last week for a Masters student I am co-supervising! We were island hoping for 4 days to sample different rockweed beds. The beds there are enormous because of the huge tidal range! (see below) The weather was a mixture of fog, blazing sun and heat and torrential downpour. Mostly it was glorious sun.

Interspersed with all of this I have been working hard to get my thesis done. I finished the last two publishable chapters since February for a total of 4. I have the first of 2 oral exams next Friday! The second one, my thesis defence will be in December. This will give me lots of time to make address any comments from my committee, submit my last 2 chapters for publication and write the bookends (general introduction and discussion) for the actual thesis. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! For now, it is back to getting ready for my exam!

Amazing Salsa!

Music that is!!! Last night we went to the Latin night at the Atlantic Jazz Festival and the headlining band was la-33 from Bogota, Columbia. They were AMAZING!

They put on a great show and the music...Diego and I danced the whole time!

Metallica ROCKS Citadel Hill!

Ok, so I am not a HUGE metal fan but Metallica was one of my favorite bands in high school. Needless to say they are no longer on the top of my playlist but I do listen to them on occasion. However, when I heard they were coming to town, I jumped at the opportunity to see them live. The last time I had the chance I was 14 and to my great disappointment, there was no way my parents were letting me go to a Metallica and Guns & Roses concert... so it was time. Although, I was not ready to pay the $150+ to actually be in the audience. Luckily, it was an outdoor concert and if you place yourself just right on the hill you can actually see one of the screens (albeit far away) but you can hear the music very clearly. So at 8:30 pm last night we dressed in our rain gear and headed to the hill. By some miracle, it stopped raining as the band came on and held off for the whole 2 hour concert. My favorite part of the show was when they played One (see video).

From our vantage point we also got to see some gate crashers...literally! The fences keeping us out were held together by cable ties. Police and security would patrol every once in a while but they got pretty complacent about half way through the show and a group of kids pushed down part of the fence and bolted for the crowd. Security was way too late to catch them but they did step up patrol after that! We decided to leave during the encore so we wouldn't be stuck in a huge crowd trying to walk home. We passed behind the stage and I was glad we were 500 m away on the hill, the music was so loud I would have had to wear earplugs if I had been in the audience...am I showing my age or what! ?!

All in all, it was a good time, I am glad we went and now I can finally say that I went to see them but I think I had my fix for the year. Tonight we will head to the Jazz Festival to see a Columbian band with some friends. This is more our style and we will dance the night away! This will be worth paying for! :)

Birthday Mushrooms!

It was my birthday last Sunday and in the usual fashion we had a party on Saturday...and guess who forgot to take even one photo? Both me and Diego! Regardless, it was a GREAT party with about 30 people and the weather was perfect to be outside! As usual we cooked too much Mexican food (it was DELICIOUS!) but enjoyed it all week! I also want to say THANK YOU to all that came and for the AMAZING gifts! One of the gifts from Diego was a lovely walk around the neighbourhood (I LOVE walks!) that ended at this tree behind the Oceanography Department.
As you all know that with my new job came an in depth learning of terrestrial ecosystems and a deep fascination with mushrooms. But really aren't they gorgeous?!?!
They were large, soft, rubbery and BRIGHT yellow and orange with beautiful ruffled edges. They are called sulphur shelf (Laetiporus sulphureus) and young specimens are edible (with caution) but they were too beautiful to even contemplate eating!
I took about 20 photos, then we sat quietly under the tree and enjoyed their beauty and the cool shade of the huge tree in the hot afternoon. This was a perfect moment to top off a wonderful birthday weekend.I continued to look at the mushrooms every day this week, but even on Monday, just one day after we went to see them they had already started to fade. You can even see the top one in the photo below starting to loose its brightness.Now they are a mess of whitish yellow at the base of the tree. It's like they kept their splendor just for my birthday. I hope they remember for next year! :)

Awning!

So far this summer has been a scorcher! If you weren't convinced climate change is happening, it must be hard to be a skeptic these days!So with all this heat and clear blue skies, our south facing completely unshaded deck was like a grill. We couldn't go and sit outside until at least 6 pm or we would burn our feet on the hot wood and our skin in the unforgiving sun! Our umbrella just wasn't cutting it.

Photo from :http://www.aquasuperstore.com/outdoor-living-and-deck-accessories.aspx

It is very similar to the one pictured above and the shade provided was only enough to barely cover us sitting at our bistro set. So we bit the bullet and bought the awning we have been talking about for years. When we went to the store to check it out, the dimensions were a perfect fit for our deck...it was meant to be!

It is about 5pm in this photo so the sun is lower in the sky and starting to be shaded by trees.

We installed it ourselves on Sunday which in and of itself was an adventure! It took us a while to find the roof rafters, 3 hours to be exact. They decided to put aluminum siding over the cedar shingles, likely in the 1950s which meant they had to put another faceboard (with a small gap behind) to make it flush. So imagine our confusion when everywhere we drilled (4 holes) we found rafters...which was in fact the other faceboard. Lucky for us, Diego figured it out. So with a longer drill bit in hand we did in fact find the rafters and properly secured our awning!

Our celebratory beer after a long day of hard work in the hot sun!

We love it! Now we can use our patio in the rain too and not get a drop of water on us! I love sitting out in the rain! It also helps to keep our kitchen cool since it shades the window and door which is definitely a bonus in helping to keep our fishies below 30C!

Celebration!

Yesterday was my 31st birthday and to celebrate Diego planned a nice big party for me! It wasn't a surprise party but nonetheless I was very happy with the idea!

So we invited about 40 people including kids. Although only half could make it we had GREAT time! We ate Mexican Carnitas (which means "little meat"), salsas, guacamole, frijoles charros (cowboys style beans) among other goodies that everyone brought! As usual we ate our fill an have a tonne left...it is my mom in me coming out! ;)

Although, we told people not to bring gifts that just coming to the party was gift enough, I did receive some wonderful gifts!!
This wonderful bead set and instructional manual will set me up for making jewelry...which I wear a lot of...Diego thinks I was a crow in a past life! And a gift certificate from the GAP...the gift that keeps on giving! Not only do I get the surprise of opening it but to go shopping for a gift!!!
This soap dispenser was from Lisa and Andrew...they knew just what I needed to beautifully display my homemade liquid hand soap! Not to mention it is made in Canada and GLASS! Thanks!! :) The pottery in the photo was handmade by a very good friend and I am delighted to have a piece of her art in my kitchen! I will use it often!
Last but definitely not least was the gift Diego gave me. He bought me a gorgeous set of Labradorite (my new favorite stone!) jewelry (ring, earrings and a pendent)...the photo of the ring does NOT do the stone's beauty justice! Labradorite is a type of feldspar mineral in the plagioclase family that are a major constituent of the Earth's crust but this particular type of crystal is only found near Nain in Labrador, Canada.

The party lasted well into the night (3:30 am to be exact!) and we drank lots of tequila, laughed, told stories and played guitar. We were so happy that Hurricane Bill did not arrive as predicted at midnight! In anticipation for the hurricane, just before bed Diego and I raided the tomato plants for fear that we would lose them to the winds!
Now that the high winds and rain are almost over and our headaches are almost gone it will be time to get to the cleaning! Luckily, we had enough foresight and help from the troopers who stayed until the end to most of the cleaning last night!

Than you ALL for a wonderful birthday! It was the best b-day party in a long time!

A Wonderful Sunny Day!

So, here I was thinking of working on my thesis chapter all weekend. It was supposed to rain and besides I NEED to get it DONE! However, I awoke Sunday morning to a beautiful sunny day that I just couldn't resist...I mean who could with an average of 5-6 days of rain a week since May!So I got up early and made Sherrie's (at Twenty-Two Pleasant) best bread ever (get recipe here) which need to cool off before eating...so what better way to let the bread cool than to go for a hike!!!
We went to Polly Cove, which is near Peggy's Cove, which for those of you not from NS is along the Atlantic Coast about 30 min drive Southwest of Halifax. It is quite a unique place. The landscape is called barrens. This is because it is really rocky with low lying shrubs in the areas where a very thin layer of soil has accumulated. There are a few trees but they are generally stunted due to the low amount of soil and large amounts of salt in the air from all the storms! The photo above is along the path in to the Cove.
This is the view of the Cove which is somewhat sheltered and had more trees. This was our view over our delicious lunch of hummus, pita, cheese and fruit. Check out the more exposed island on the right side of the photo...not a tree in sight.
This is the view of the very exposed peninsula we hiked to. The plants that do live there are quite interesting indeed. In the low lying areas where some soil accumulates it is quite boggy and nutrient poor so we have this carnivorous plant called the Pitcher Plant.
The leaves form a tube (redish) where water accumulates inside and the plant secretes digestive enzymes to make it a toxic mix for any unsuspecting insects that may happen to fall inside. How does it get insects inside you ask? Well some do just fly in for shelter BUT if you look closely at the green inner lip of the entrance there are fine downward pointing hairs (click on photo to enlarge and you will see this), so anything that lands on this part actually slips and falls in. This is how the plant supplements the nutrients it cannot get from the soil. Pretty cool eh?
It also happened that they were blooming and have really cool flowers!
The rocks were also covered in lichens. These are considered fungus but in reality are a mutually beneficial relationship between algae and fungus. The algae cell lives inside the fungus and photosynthesizes giving the fungus some of the sugars produced from harvesting sunlight in exchange for other essential elements and nutrients. The diversity of lichens is astounding...
The only bits of rock you see in this photo are the little pinkish bits, everything else (black, grey, different greens) is different species of lichens!

Once we finished our hike we headed back to town with a short stop at Chocolate lake (named so for the Chocolate factory that used to be on its shores) to take a refreshing dip. It was unusually hot at Polly Cove. Typically the South wind off the 12 degree Celcius water keeps the coast cool, but no breeze on that day!
We headed down to an outdoor concert and while listening to the music I noticed a huge fog bank just waiting to envelop us once the land got cool enough. So we headed down to the waterfront to get our ice cream before the chilly fog moved in....headed home and munched on some delicious bread while watching season 6 of The X-Files.

Have an excellent Friday! :)

Delicious Sunny Lunch (with a side of rant)!

Friday was one of the first days that we had sun here in Halifax!! We have been almost an entire month of rain, cloudy skies and fog. I really like the cool weather, my fish tanks and most of our gardens especially appreciated it, but our petunias did not.

So to celebrate Friday's Sun, I made myself a delicious lunch to enjoy on our patio. Here is what I made.Can you see the cherries in the salad?? It was delicious!!So if you are wondering what is all in my lunch... The lettuce is this beautiful purple romaine that I got in my organic food box this week. I just added some cherries (quartered), pecans and unripened goat cheese. For the dressing I sprinkled on a little salt, drizzled some olive oil and Fig Balsamic vinaigrette (President's Choice). Simple and delicious. The wine was Banrock Station Unwooded Chardonnay.

Up until this point everything was perfect! I had just found out that some repairs to my car would only cost $200 rather than the $2000 the dealership originally estimated (always get a second opinion!) so I was ready to bask in the long awaited sunshine when the neighbour started up his lawnmower!!!!!!
So here comes the rant! I just have to say lawnmowers are the bane of my existence. This is the BIGGEST reason I do not like living in a city. At any point during the day, every day of the week you can hear the wh+ine of a lawnmower or weed whacker and there is always a chorus when we are about to sit down to eat. I wrote my Maters thesis at home 4 summers ago and even during the day there was always the sound of lawnmowers...I think people secretly came home on their breaks to mow their lawns!!!

I often think we should have a lawnmowing bylaw, where people have allotted times during the week where they can cut their grass so that MOST of the time you are FREE of having to listen to these sounds. Everyone complains about the parties the students in the neighbourhood have BUT they have them like once every couple of weeks, nothing compared to the drone of the lawn tools!!!

I think the by-law is a good idea but really, why do we even have to have lawns??? Many people in the neighbourhood have turned their front and backyards into low maintenance perennial gardens. They flower, look beautiful and there is no need to have a gas powered noise maker to trim it back. Plus is adds diversity to the landscape, which is WAY more interesting to look at. It provides pollen for the bees and homes and food for a variety of animals and insects. It really is just WONDERDUL!!
Alternatively, let the grass grow!
This is what we are doing while we are slowly converting out minuscule lawns into perennial gardens. The grass is filled with clover and other native flowers and ground covers that are great food and habitat for so many organisms and are massacred when you keep it so short. Plus, Kentucky blue grass (the typical lawn species) needs so much water and fertilizer, which wastes so much water and pollutes our coastal ecosystems with excess nutrients from the fertilizers leading to all kind of problems. For example, algal blooms that lead to decreased oxygen in the water that can kill fish and really make the water stink like rotten eggs!!! This can lead to things like the "dead zone" at the mouth of the Mississipi river.

The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone: blue is oxygen rich and red is oxygen starved.

This area is so starved of oxygen that NOTHING can live there. Granted this dead zone if from intensive large scale agriculture BUT any fertilizer contributes to the problem (think about the number of lawns out there!!!). Check out this link to NASA and this other link for more information about the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone and dead zones in general. The impacts of nutrients in coastal ecosystems is what I study and we are dumping so many nutrients that we are changing the food webs and jeopardizing the ability of these ecosystems to store carbon (bad for climate change), cycle nutrients and provide habitat for organisms of commercial and non-commercial value. This is all VERY bad news for US, not just THEM.

So I say down with lawns (and lawnmowers, associated greenhouse gases and impacts of fertilizers...I haven't even mentioned pesticides...but I won't go there today)!!!

As I sit here and reflect on my post I realize this might offend those who love their lawns and I am sorry for that, I hope you will forgive me! I would love to hear about your thoughts on lawns, what they mean to you and why you love, hate or are indifferent about them.