First day of spring!

yesterday was the first day of spring! I am excited because I will have material for my blog.
here is a quick list of plant photos I took in the past week. Lets start with our state flower...
I think this flower was a Dichelostemma or Brodiaea species. I am not sure. I forgot to grab a sample.
Spring is my favorite time of the year. The sun begins to shine, the temperature is warmer and the days are longer. Also fields of wildflowers.
everywhere you go
I love Magnoliaceae.

Ferguson, if you wanted to do a cutting of this... no pressure. I don't even know if it is possible.
Tulips! nothing says spring like tulips!
as stated above, I did not identify one of the plants. I promise this will never happen again. I have a new book in my arsenal. The book is more portable than the Jepson Manual and will help me to learn the flora in the bay area. I am excited. stay tuned.

Weed Class...

Today I was lucky enough to go to an invasive plant workshop to learn about weeds and weed management. Wow! I know, I know, you are so jealous. It was so exciting. We got to listen to talks about weed management, grazing, pesticide use and other things. So fun.

The best part of the day, besides the awesome BBQ chicken lunch, was the live specimens room. Chalk full of information like this sheet below.

There were also fresh samples to look at.
fresh and pressed specimens.
My favorite part was the wall of fame. Many of the weeds found in the bay area were pressed and hung on a wall. So pretty.
I hope Betsy will let me decorate our house with pressed weeds. That would be so sweet.

RADIO LAB is back!!!

My favorite podcast is back for their forth season. Radio Lab! I love this program. Apparently they have been back for a while. Oops. They only do a hand full of shows a season and their podcast is last on my list in itunes so I only discovered new podcasts today!! YES!

you should check out this podcast/show for these following reasons:

1) using science and technology to explain complex ideas like time, memory, or why we laugh in an easy to understand way.
2) hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich's witty banter
3) great use of sound to tell their stories
and
4) the show is entertaining.

Go to your podcast section of your itunes or the WNYC website and download a few now. You will not be disappointed. Seriously.

DO it now!

dummy...

Yes! another online quiz from Cindy!

TV Reviews

it looks like I need to quit dumbing down my blog. Sorry about that readers. Get ready for more science!

Sunset = 7:12pm!!!

I love the sun. I miss the sun. I also love when the sun stays out later in the day. Thank you DST! thank you.

graph contest!!!

I have been making great progress on my thesis lately. I am almost done. I know I have said this before, but I mean it this time. Seriously, I have reorganized and reanalyzed my data and my argument is stronger with all this work. One-way, two-way ANOVA's.... ok so I lost you. That tends to happen.

So I thought it would be fun to have a little contest. All 6 of my readers listen up! Below is a graph that pretty much sums up all my research. Your assignment is to write me a description of what you think is going on. The best answer wins a prize! Good luck!