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TAB!

Saw Tab last night. Hannah Marie of Hannah Marie Photography took this great photo!

Weather Report Suite

"Winter gray and falling rain, well see summer come again,
Darkness falls and seasons change, gonna happen every time.
Same old friends the wind and rain, summers fade and roses die,
You'll see summer come again, like a song thats born to soar the sky."

I had an excellent fall and winter, but am anxiously looking forward to spring. Here is photo rundown of some of the ways I was spending my time. Enjoy!

Working Man Blues

 I decided to share a few photos from the field to let everyone know I'm doing okay. Below you will find  pictures detailing a normal days work. Most of the photos will be of me, hard at work, quantifying nature. But also included are photos of some of the more interesting hydrologic features we are trying gather data on. Work's real tough, but it's a living. I hope you enjoy! 

Here is a photo of my crew leader and me investigating a washed out road. A seep in the hill slope was the culprit!

Here's a great photo of some nasty weather rolling in on a fine, early summer day

. This is an exciting photo of coworker Dylan and myself taking notes on a particularly large water bar at the entrance of a forest road.

In this photo my crew leader and coworker are measuring captured sediment from a given section of road during a given section of use. The science we do is serious.

Here is a more detailed shot of the sediment trap.

 Here I am at a crossroads - geographically, not symbolically.

Here I am standing on top of a fabricated water bar. This one is interesting in that it extends out over the cutslope presenting a drop before the water falls out of the influence of man and returns to its natural flow path! 

Here I am contemplating flow diversions, ephemeral runoff events, and tan lines. Life in the field never slows down for a minute! 

Still snow in the high country, even in July. 

My bread and butter - the ditch relief culvert.

Working.

Waiting for satellite reception.

Thanks for the new pack, Mom & Kate! 

Classifying attribute data.

Excellent. 

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

A few days ago, someone posed the seemingly simple question, "Do you actually enjoy running?" And it got me thinking.Often times with the turbulent tides of our current day and age and the need to stay afloat, I think people forget to stop and think whether or not they actually value what they are doing or whether they are just going through the motions.

I raced XC and track in high school and that was the extent of my competitive running career. I continued to run for fun post high school and college, and still run to this day. I haven't ran a marathon yet, and am not sure if I ever will. I compete in races infrequently and don't really stick to a strict training schedule anymore. For the most part I run alone. I still get down on myself for for missing a day, and I still run tempos and the occasional workout. For what reason, I'm not sure. Additionally, I still wear a watch on my runs and know the mile markers on my most frequented routes.I think I am what most would consider a hobby jogger, albeit at the quicker end of the spectrum.

Sometimes I have a difficult time motivating myself to get out the door, but usually five or ten minutes into the run the endorphins start to flow and I am glad I am putting forth the effort to get outside moving. I think the thing I enjoy most about running is being healthy and fit, being fast, being outside, and the post workout glow. But there are many other means to reach the same end.

Trail running is great. Running off road is something i really enjoy. Running through fields of flowers and along single track up a ridge is a real rush, however in that environment I usually rather be riding a mountain bike. I have enjoyed the peace and quiet of a snowy run many times, but almost always rather be nordic skiing or snowboarding if it's cold enough for there to be snow on the ground. Sometimes I run to clear my head, but listening to the monotonous rush and hypnotic burble of water while casting to a rising trout is a more effective, and sometimes more fulfilling, means of peace of mind.

On a psychological level, I think I view being healthy, fast, and fit as a measure of one component of self worth and running as a means of self improvement. The minimal gear required to participate in the sport as well as the nominal impact to the environment both sit very well with my mindset and are aspects I truly value in running.

All that being said, biking/skiing/boarding/fishing are all such gear-centric and expensive hobbies, both in terms of money and time. It is very hard to argue against the simplicity and utility of running. As an environmentally minded individual, it is also difficult to look past the 'green' aspect and ease of simply being able to walk out your front door in order to practice the sport.

So short answer, yes. I like running. But I like many other things, too.

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No way....

I took my Sister to see Trey Anastasio and the Atlanta Symphonic Orchestra! I think there were 61 musicians on the stage all at the same time! Pretty cool. And I met Trey.

No way, you say? YES WAY!!!!