Tales from the Microbial Laboratory

~kinda busy~

 

It was over Father's Day weekend that I took a photo of this white oak located on Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport property, once again on my way out of town and back to South Carolina.  Good intentions... and late is better than never, right?

I'm kinda busy right now.

Packing.  Weed-whacking.  A visit to the eye doc to stock up on contact lenses today (and to find out my vision is 30% improved).  Trips to Goodwill.  Plus a million other things.

But tonight I went and visited my favorite camellia gardener.  When I drove down the road to the farm, I came across him in a plot of potted camellias, taking cuttings.  Next to the plot was his golf cart.  I had brought us eclairs that I purchased from Earthfare, and after the cuttings were safely tucked away in Skip's sand-filled rooting bed, we toasted with our eclairs and talked about life in the big city and how we think the whole planet is going to pot and about lightning strikes.  I ended up staying for about three hours - longer than I intended, but I found myself not wanting to leave.  Have you ever had one of those places where from the first moment you saw the place, you felt at home there?  Well that's how I feel at Skip's place.  Folks that view the world in a way that I embrace live there - and their views seep through the soil, dancing around in the camellia groves, and can be smelled in the breeze floating over Church Creek.

I'll visit Skip again in October, when I return - a nice (albeit exhausting) part of this new position is that I'll be able to return to the Lowcountry every 5-6 weeks to keep my lab here going (and, of course, to work in my own garden).  When I do return, I'll take my potted satsuma, lemon and kumquats (and perhaps another plant or two) to Skip's greenhouse so that they have a safe place to overwinter.  It'll feel good, knowing that he is watching over them.

One week from tonight the U-haul.  My mental to-do list is a long one, but at least my visit to see Skip is something I can check off the list now.

~Church Creek, Johns Island~

~~~~~

Some past images of the White Oak:

15 April 2011

5 July 2010

8 June 2010

25 March 2010

27 December 2009

27 December 2007

~breaking camp~

Today I packed up much of the Airstream - that is, the things that have made the Airstream my home for the past two years (yes, TWO YEARS).  Tomorrow I drive up to Virginia, and this week I'll check out the home I've rented in McLean - and stay there for a few days while I participate in a grant panel.  The house is just over 1200 square feet, small to most - but for me, who has adapted to living in 216 sq. ft., I truly can't imagine needing that much space, and I envision the dogs and cat and I in a huddle in one room, accustomed to the closeness.

I'll return to the Airstream next weekend - and then in two weeks I'll head back up to Northern Virginia for a one-year visiting scientist thing, with my possessions from a storage unit crammed into a U-Haul - dogs and cat in the car.  I'll enjoy a real kitchen, and walls for the paintings I've collected over the years.  There will be bookshelves... filled with books.  I'll be returning to Charleston and the Airstream every six weeks or so - for a full week - but then it'll be more like camping for a week, transient weeks where I'm guessing I'll live on take out and peanut butter... and huge gulps of salt air.

So... I suppose you could say that I'm breaking camp tonight, a camp that lasted for two years - one that kept me dry, warm (at least most of the time), cool (love the AC in this thing) and above all, it allowed me to weather this difficult period of unemployment with something resembling a home.  For these things, I am grateful.

~a coneflower, starting to open~

Michele Bachmann and Bat Boy... related?

I'm kinda busy procrastinating all of the things that I need to do over the next few weeks - but I wanted to share this with you guys.  Regardless of your political affiliation - you've gotta admit this is hilarious.  It's from my friend over at 3Dsound. 

 

  Separated at birth? Michele Bachmann and Bat Boy

 

Happy 4th Everybody...

Marvin Gaye, Tiger Stadium in Detroit - Game 4 of the 1968 World Series (October 6).

 

José Felicianos - his controversial version of "The Star Sprangled Banner" - Game 5 of the 1968 World Series, Detroit, Tiger Stadium.

 

Jimi Hendrix, Woodstock, 1969.

 

 

Marvin Gaye, 1983, NBA All Star Game.