Category Archives: natural resources

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Just about right

The last few days, I’ve been relating a little too much to the subject of the report I’ve been editing:

Many salmon populations are severely depressed.

I thought Omega 3′s were supposed to be good for that.

Today, I worked through my little to-do list, and was just thinking to myself that I’d run out of things to do and probably no one was going to call me back today anyway, when the boss called.

“Don’t you think you should get out of there a little early today?” he asked.

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.

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And the stars realign

We saw a deer on our walk this morning. And a bunny rabbit. Not a single vicious unleashed canine.

I think Isis and I sensed the deer at the same moment. My first instinct when I saw the movement on the trail ahead was, “Oh crap, a dog without an owner.” And then it turned and made eye contact. It took my synapses a second to run through the list of creatures I’d seen before on this trail (Short list: human, canine and rabbit), and then I probably breathed, “Ohh. It’s a deer.”

It actually took a few steps toward us and watched us, before stepping carefully into the woods and watching us through the trees as we passed by. Isis, of course, wanted to go for a run with the deer, as she did when Rob and I were at Disneyworld and she took off after one, causing Rob’s mom to chase her down in a car, calling out to every person she saw, “Did you see a German shepherd this way run?”

Anyway, it was a beautiful moment. The bunny rabbit a little while later was just icing on the cake.

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Fish are friends, not food

OK. So I’ve been eating salmon. It’s served at all my work functions, and just seemed like the thing to do. My intent was only to eat work-related salmon, but now my acupuncturist tells me that I’m not eating enough protein.

Guess that doesn’t come as a great shock, as I consider a baked potato to be a perfectly balanced dinner, but I didn’t realize it could affect my body’s ability to heal a sore neck. So I’m reintroducing other kinds of seafood, such as shrimp and tuna. Have to say, it did improve my ability to eat well while at Disney World. For instance, my lunch options one day were ice cream or a tuna sandwich.

I wasn’t too disturbed by eating fish. I don’t really mind watching a salmon be chucked into a boat and thrash around for breath. Unlike the decapitated elk I recently watched being butchered.

But then I saw the fish farm on the “Living with the Land” ride at Epcot. Where they quote “There is no governing nature except by obeying her.” Oh yeah, so why are you trying to grow hydroponic tomatoes on trees?

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So outdoorsy

When did this transformation happen?

Having determined that $99 is the best price for the Mystic Peak hiking boots, I returned to Joe’s to buy them. And had to buy a T-shirt, socks and a soccer ball (for the dog) while I was at it. I impulse shop at a sporting goods store.

The weird part is that every time I looked at the pictures of the boots online, I really, really wanted them. Maybe it was the lavender trim, or the embossed pine cones.

I tried to comparison shop at the new Sportsman’s Warehouse yesterday, but was put off by the dead animal heads on display above the footwear.

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Since I last posted

I waded waist-deep in a fast moving river, wearing cotton pants and someone else’s felt-soled boots because I never have the right outfit on. When I discovered that catching fish for their eggs did not involve a boat, I felt like an idiot. A complete idiot. The professionals wore a uniform of polypropylene long-johns under synthetic shorts. I totally have that outfit! But I was wearing khakis. I spent several long minutes going through my entire wardrobe, mentally assembling outfits that would have been better suited for the occasion and wondering why I thought the khakis would be OK.

Then I saw that several of the dozen volunteers were wearing jeans and tennis shoes. And I didn’t feel so bad. Those guys wound up swimming fully dressed in the river by day’s end.

Unlike some of my outdoor excursions in recent years, this one actually became more fun as it went on. I only was waist-deep in the water for a brief time (although that did mean I was wet for the entire day) and managed to stay knee-deep for much of it. I didn’t drop my camera in the river and only fell on my butt once. Love my job.

Also since my last post, I saw “The Bourne Ultimatum” and got stung by a bee. Unrelated events.

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Do bears eat rice?

Note: The following is back-dated, as our campsite didn’t have wifi.

Lessons from the road:

  • Eating an entire box of Triscuits (or Wheat Thins) is more effective than caffeine at keeping one alert at the wheel. Substituting sliced bell peppers doesn’t work.
  • Windy roads with beautiful ocean views get old when they make the trip twice as long.
  • Rob prefers dusty I-5 to the scenic coast because it’s direct.
  • Dogs can get carsick.

We rolled into our Mount Shasta campsite after dark, after passing the unlit sign and driving 5 miles too far on the mountain road, without reservations because you need to stay two nights in order to make a weekend reservation. Some places I called last week said they were totally booked, so it was a relief that our off-the-beaten-path site had a few tent spaces left.

The chick was quick to say, “They’re in full sun with no privacy from your neighbors.” The full sun part might have been a problem if we planned to stay past noon, because it’s 100-bajillion degrees, even in the mountains apparently. The big concern about neighbors would have been Isis barking, but as it turned out, we got a pretty private site, close to the restroom. I only noticed this morning as I walked around in my flip-flops with Isis how close the next tents were.

One of my concerns about camping was that nearly every site I looked up in California warned of bears. I’m not usually afraid of such things, but I don’t think Isis is big enough to fend off a bear attack, and actually, neither am I.

Despite the bear crossing signs on the freeway, I wasn’t overly concerned, just cautious. It’s a pretty big campground, bears probably stayed away. Still, we diligently put all the dog food, crackers and sushi containers back in the car before bed. I worried a little about the rice that fell on the ground, though. And maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to stuff one of Isis’ chew toys with meaty snacks for her to work on all night, but how else were we supposed to keep her occupied?

It wasn’t until this morning when I saw the sign on the restroom that said, “Bears have been known to pass through looking for food…”

I don’t think Isis barked once after we got here. Unlike some of the other campground dogs. Such a well-behaved traveler. Oops, spoke too soon. I had her loose in our little area, with her 20-ft lead trailing behind her. She just took off after another dog. When I caught up, I said to the guy on the other end of the leash, “She’s just curious.” And let her sniff for a minute until she lifted her upper lip and snarled. What the hell?

I do wonder what goes through her mind sometimes. She got along quite well with her Aunt Millie and Great-aunt Chancey, but every once in a while, there’d be some growling and/or barking. Chancey, like Cousin Zoe, had the tendency to turn around and bite Isis as she walked by. To assert dominance?

It’s 7:40 and it’s getting warm already.

I saw several shooting stars last night. Rob drank several beers.