Time to think

Even though this Villa I Tatti fellowship is a really big deal, Seth really hasn't had the pleasure of being able to get excited and bask in its glory. We still need to hear what will be happening to the music department at Uni this next year before he can accept or decline the position. Oh politics...

This past week I had a meeting at Framingham State University with an academic adviser to discuss their Coordinated Program in Dietetics (CPD). This would be a few years of course work followed by a year of internships, which would make me eligible to take the exam to become a Registered Dietitian (RD). The only university in Massachusetts that offers the CDP is FSU, which, thank goodness, is only a 30min drive away, and is a public school--this means I wouldn't have to move, and I wouldn't have to doll out $35,000 per year to study. Unfortunately, FSU isn't exactly a top tier university, though all schools that offer the CPD are regulated and certified by the American Dietetics Association, so theoretically it is the same education where ever you go. When it comes down to it, luckily, FSU's pass rate for the RD exam of 83%, which is higher than the national average. The hardest part will be, I think, having to take so many courses. Even as a bio major/chem minor, I only fulfilled a handful of prerequisite classes, and the courses I will have to take are those that I avoided as an undergraduate, like microbiology and biochemistry... I really hate chemistry... I really hope this is something I really want to do!

Yesterday Seth spent the day at school--Brandeis hosted the annual New England American Musicological Society conference--so I had a rare afternoon to myself. In fact, I think it was the first weekend afternoon I had at home and to myself since we moved here--usually we spend Saturdays and Sundays working at the public library, unless we have some plans with Chrissy or Mark. So, after going to the gym, grocery shopping, and yoga, I spent the rest of the day at home, working on a long overdue project: I baked a pumpkin pie, from a FRESH PUMPKIN. Not terribly fresh, however--this was actually the small sugar pumpkin we picked with Mark and Gina back in October (aka Lorenzo's pumpkin). I decided we really ought to do something with it when we noticed one of the two big pumpkins we picked had started to rot. Besides, it is February... we picked it in October... it was time.

I cooked it down, scooped out the flesh, and pureed it. Thankfully it made exactly two pie's worth of glop (4 cups), so I was able to freeze half of it for later. I roasted the seeds and also made my own crust. Neither Seth nor I are big fans of crust, but I figured I would take the opportunity to go all out and practice making a nice, flaky one. It is a good thing it was a practice run because it turned out a little tough. I didn't over-work the dough so I think it was because I used butter instead of shortening; butter has a higher moisture content. (After working on Dr. Hayes's 30 page review paper on interesterefied fats I am a bit turned off of using Crisco). Regardless, the pie turned out very nice. However, since I really can't tell the difference between using the fresh pumpkin and canned, I will probably save myself the trouble in the future and go back to using canned. At least now I know how to do it in case the need ever arises!

Lorenzo's pumpkin (before)

Lorenzo's pumpkin pie (after)

For dinner I also made Brunswick Stew (actually, the slow cooker made the stew) and cornbread. I even threw in some meat! I figured one shredded chicken breast would be a fair compromise, considering the recipe I used called for five pounds of meat from three different animals.

Two calls, one from, the other to, Europe

This morning (after all the excitement with the armed robber, who apparently is still on the loose...), I had a phone interview for a field position in Switzerland. It would be for the spring, mostly unpaid (though accommodation would be provided), and consist of many long hours researching Great Tits. He said he would let me know of his decision by the end of the week. However, I made up my own decision based on the call Seth received immediately after I hung up the phone.

Seth was called by Harvard to inform him that he won the prestigious one year fellowship to study at the Villa I Tatti in Florence next year. This would mean he could do his own research, with the advantage of being surrounded by brilliant resources, and free from the distractions of teaching and administration, for a full academic year. (This would also mean I will need to put some long hours into learning Italian). The representative told him that his application was so wonderfully well received that there was no discussion about whether or not to take him; only 15 people internationally are accepted each year, and this includes ALL humanities that have anything to do with the Renaissance--art, music, literature, history, etc. I'm so proud of my Smarty Pants! :o)

What a rush...

Adventure on the Hill

Ok, so I think I jinxed myself when I wrote about how wonderful it is to run in the snow--yesterday we set a record high at 58 degrees, AND it poured heavy, warm rain all day long. Needless to say, most of the snow is now gone, leaving in its place lots of slush and flooded, swampy bits.

During this wet and wild run, we kept getting distracted by a helicopter circling Prospect Hill. Perhaps it was surveying the storm damage from yesterday, or checking out the traffic along I95 which runs along the eastern side of the park. Seth was getting a bit nervous of this helicopter and wanted to leave the park. We stopped for a moment to take a good look at it while it was overhead, and besides being blue and white there were no other distinguishing characteristics about it. I figured that if there were something wrong, someone would let us know (there are megaphones in those helicopters, right?).

We noticed a pair of dog walkers pull up at the main entrance, which made me feel better, so I said we ought to finish up our last loop (up until then we hadn't seen a single person, maybe because the trails were so wet and nasty?). As we headed back, the dog walkers shouted to call us over. Turns out they were walking a large German Shepherd, wearing bullet proof vests and carrying a super-sized rifle. The police officers said there was an armed home invasion last night on Jacqueline Road, and the suspect, a "large black male" with a gun, was last seen near the old ski slopes on the north side of the park. It is safe to say that that put an end to our run in Prospect Hill this morning. Pretty freaky.

The story in the Daily News Tribune

The article

Here is a link to Clutch variation and egg rejection in three hosts of the pallid cuckoo, Cuculus pallidus

Winter wildlife

The blanket of snow up on Prospect Hill has allowed for really excellent running. In fact, I have been able to run almost every day since returning to Waltham a couple weeks ago. Each day, however, is incredibly unpredictable--the slightest shift in temperature/precipitation/pedestrian activity drastically changes the running conditions, so we never know what to expect.

The best thing is that the snow greatly reduces impact, so my shins have not felt a single tinge of pressure or pain. Also, since I have not had to go to the gym, I have been able to save lots of time AND my knees are also spared (I think the repetitive motion of the Elliptical aggravates my knees a little). As the icing on the cake, the snow is dazzling! Sometimes if it sleets a little then snows, the next morning the low purple/peach sunlight will make the ice and snow glisten and sparkle off the branches of the trees.

The hard part about trudging in snow is that it wipes you out--not only is it very slow going, is often frustrating, and does some damage to your shoes, but when footprints make the path choppy and uneven, it then also takes its toll on ankles, hips, and sometimes your back. Overall, however, the snow is really something to be glad for!

Yesterday when Seth was out by one of the lookouts on Prospect Hill he said he saw some big, extremely fluffy gray cat. It was making some strange sounds as it ran off. When we looked up some images last night he said it looked just like a bobcat or a lynx--I don't thing lynx live so far south as MA, but bobcats have been expanding their range throughout the state in the past couple years. I wish I could have seen that!!!



This is like the bobcat Seth said he saw. Definitely not my picture. ODNR.

I did, however, see my own amazing creature last month--an eastern screech owl (rufous morph). The red owls are uncommon but apparently have been increasing in numbers because of global warming... Anyways, I had a great long look at the little guy (he was perched only a few meters away), and in daylight. In real life, he was even more amazing as the one here:

Eastern screech owl (red), like the one down the road. Wish it were my picture! SDB.



However, the most spectacular critter has got to be our own little Western Pigmy Possum, identified by the card sent from some friends in Australia (Stephen and Kim). This picture was actually very hard to take because every time I tried to take one the camera's focus would make a beep sound and it would scare the dickens out of him--he would zip into his box, not to be seen for a long time after. He must think the sound was a predator or some alarm call... poor guy :o( (I eventually had to focus the camera in a different room so he couldn't hear it).

How Shameful, Massachusetts!

>:o

Clutch variation and egg rejection in three hosts of the pallid cuckoo, Cuculus pallidus

We arrived back in Waltham Wednesday night and waiting for me in my emails was the PDF for my paper! It was accepted in July 2009 and will (I think) be printed in the February issue of the journal Behaviour. Better late than never!

I will try to figure out a way to post a link to it...

Landstrom, M. T., Heinsohn, R., & Langmore, N. E. 2010. Clutch variation and egg rejection in three hosts of the pallid cuckoo, Cuculus pallidus. Behaviour 147, 19–36.