Finally Gettin' Outiside!!.. and Then Rushing Back in to Stay Cool!

Even though it's only been two days since my last post, I have a whole week to catch up on!  So, over this last weekend I decided to head back to Panorama Park, at my baby's suggestion ;) and do some more exploring and just get some exercise!  So I rode the bike that Denis is letting me borrow, just up River Road (past a graveyard.. bleh); it's only about a 7 minute ride.  I biked back and forth along the path for a while, up above the river, then parked the ol' gal and hiked down to the river where there is another set of trails.  I saw some wild rabbits, but they were too elusive to photograph.  On the river, there was a dam but I think it was just for water control, I didn't see any signs of hydroelectric harvesting.
It was a really clear day in terms of being able to see the Sierras, and it was so nice and warm and sunny!!  People were flying kites and riding bikes and pushing babies in strollers, it was nice.  I hiked up back up to the top and found my John Muir (A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf) book and spent some time reading before heading home.  It was just the recommendation that I needed, thanks love!  And I am still recovering from some strained muscles in my foot so it was good to do a hike/bike combo, as opposed to just walking a lot and getting my foot all worked up!

The Sierras, the oil fields and the Kern River

Then, back to work!  So this work week, I was out in the field for three of the five days, which made me so happy!  Finally productivity!!  Or so I thought. lol  I got out to the Carrizo on Tuesday with Denis and Kathleen, he was going to show us how he wanted us to collect data from transects.  First we looked around at some of the vernal pools for signs of life, in the form of ferry shrimp, after the rains we got last weekend, but alas, there were none.

Yellow flower:  gold fields (Lasthenia)

Then we got to the field we were supposed to be monitoring, bringing all our gear and instruments.  But when we got out there, he wasn't quite sure how we should collect the data (what method), what the data was going to be used for and what the end result was that he wanted from collecting this data (how it could be used in the future to make better decisions).  So we literally just sat there in the field for two hours, talking to him about all these things, kind of trying to get information out of him to help him make a decision lol  Denis is a great guy, if you met him on the street, you'd want to go grab a beer with him after talking to him for 5 minutes.  And he's a smart guy too - he can tell you anything you want to know about plants.  But he is very, very scatterbrained, very unplanned, very seat-of-the-pants.  And for those of you who know me lol.. I don't do well with that type of mindset!  I am very planned and organized and productive; so this was very hard for me.  Anyway, we left the field not having done any transect work, but finally having come up with a plan for how we're going to do it.  So Kathleen and I came back out for the next two days (Weds and Thurs) and got all five of our transects done.
So basically, we were looking at the success of native grasses that were seeded (along with some native flowers) in this field the previous year.  Our procedure consisted of laying out 100 meters of tape (~330 feet), and setting up a 1x.5 meter plot, every 5 meters, along the tape.  Within this plot, we were looking for rows planted, as well as percent cover of native grasses, non-native grasses, bare ground, leaf litter and 'other'.  This can equal 100% or more (but not less!!), up to about 120% (that was our cutoff anyway).

one of our plots

A row of native bunch grasses (Nassella) right by the yard stick!

This cute little thing is a native called Tidy Tips, or Layia

So over the two days, we finished these 5 transects (100 sample plots) in what I thought was a very efficient manner :)  It was in the mid 80s both days, and I was decked out in so many layers of sunscreen, that it eventually just started peeling off because it wouldn't stick to itself anymore lol  But the weather was so nice, it's so great finally having a job that let's me be outside.  :)  

pretty much all the grass you see right now is a non-native oat grass,  Avena

Before wrapping this up, I would just like to fully share with you my new botanical obsession, the thistle sage.  I posted a pic of this flower in my second post, but I felt so guilty because that first photo really didn't do this beautiful flower justice!  So, here are two more of this simply gorgeous plant, that I will no doubt be obsessed with for the rest of the summer.  It's a very dainty, frilly flower with a fuzzy little head, no not fuzzy, more like cotton-y.  You have pull out little tufts of what seem like cotton, to get to the seeds.  It's just a wonderful find :)

thistle sage (Salvia carduacea)

Friday was very uneventful; I only had to work two hours to put myself at 40, so I just did a few things around the office.  Saturday included a horrible migraine which has yet to go away, after 36 hours, but I took some ibuprofen to keep it at bay until my body equilibrates.  Yesterday was 94 and today (Sunday) was 97!!!,  so Kathleen and I went to Dewar's Ice Cream and Candy Shop, for some cool down time!!  Maple Nut ice cream?  Yes please!!  I definitely recommend checking it out if you're in the area, it's really old-fashioned and family owned and local, they make their own cream on site, etc.  Really cute little place :)

Other things of importance:  I bought my ticket for a visit to Oklahoma at the end of next month!!  I am sooooo happy!!!  :)  Also, I'm going to Nevada (Las Vegas and Red Rocks) Monday through Thursday of this week for seed collecting and restoration training... Road trip!  I am stoked and will be sure to post all about it!!  

Ok, this entry has been long enough, but at least I'm all caught up now.  Hope you have a great week; thanks, as always for reading!!

Love & velvet, 

Rach