Tales from the Microbial Laboratory

~gardenias in late November~

~gardenias...in the wild~

~~~~~

On 6 June 2009, I uploaded this image here, gave it a caption - and never returned to finish whatever train of thought I had...and here I am, nearly two and a half years later - at my Father's for Thanksgiving, thinking that I'd like to post something here, since this space has been neglected for a long time - and what do I find?

Gardenias.

A photograph of gardenias taken in my garden on a warm South Carolina day.

As much as I'm trying to be all grown-up about it (since I am a grown-up after all) - I'm homesick for my southern garden.  I'm thankful for my position in northern Virginia, and truly, experiencing a real Autumn was pretty spectacular - I had forgotten how everything changes and, literally, glows.  But it's obvious that my muse for these pages was my garden - and last Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, I looked out into my rental home's yard, and there wasn't a bloom to be found.

How sad is that?

But I have decided that in a small strip of soil, adjacent to a brick wall by the drive, that this spring I will plant flowers (perhaps all from seed) and I will plant, interspersed in the bed, vegetables.  Lettuces, squashes, peppers.

(The deer are one complication - here I find myself, inside the beltway around DC, and there are deer that come out at night and eat just about everything).

But on this unusually warm late November evening, instead of worrying about deer, or missing my garden, or longing for the sweet fragrance of a gardenia, I'll think about a little temporary garden that will feed me in ways that I desperately need.

(And, I think I need to start writing more here too). 

Happy Thanksgiving - to any of you that still happen to drop by.  Hope it was a good one.

GPS-Love

 

This week I purchased a Garmin GPS - and can I just say that it will probably be the best purchase I make while living in northern Virginia?  I purchased it through Amazon, and it was delivered yesterday - and this evening I used it for the first time, when I headed to a small italian restaurant in Arlington, Il Radicchio, to meet a cousin and her husband's family for dinner.  The place was only about 7 miles from my house - but as it so happened, today was 'Clarendon Day' so Clarendon was partially closed for the ocassion - and this whole GPS 'recalculating' thing is just the best.

My new GPS makes me think that I might actually be able to get around up here, and that's a good thing.

~contrasting images~

~a field of sunflowers in Hampstead, MD~

~~~~~

Unfortunately I didn't come across these sunflowers myself while wandering rural Maryland - but instead this is an image that my college roommate took with her iPhone and sent to me.  She is a horticulturalist, and travels quite a bit, networking with growers.  Now that I'm living in northern Virginia for a bit, I'm in her territory so she used my place as 'base camp' for Sunday and Monday night.  It was alot of fun having her visit - and last night we enjoyed one of Washingtonian Magazine's "100 Cheap Eats" - a restaurant called Guajillo Grill where we had yummy chicken enchiladas with an even yummier mole.

I keep thinking that I'll take some pics of my new work world and post them - but it's so different (my office is on the sixth floor of a 12-story building) that I'm not finding a place to even start (this, compared to a coastal estuarine research reserve).  I'm busy - and my days are quite intense - overall I'd say the change has been good (as change often is) although I'm definitely homesick for my garden and salt air.  My first visit back to coastal South Carolina will be around mid-October, and I'll be able to stay for a full week.  I can't wait.

But until then, I have challenging work, and manuscripts from the lab that are rolling along (this week:  proofs, an acceptance pending minor revisions, and a draft of a new manuscript) - yes, you might say that I now have two jobs now, two homes.  Oh, and not to forget:  a paycheck.  I have that now too.

 

~looking into Guajillo Grill~

~Dad's 78th~

~abandoned chicken farm, Greene County, Virginia~

~~~~~

I drove down to my Father's this morning - a short, two-hour drive through beautiful countryside - and I must say that it was a relief to visit him without spending 8 hours, most of which was on I-95.  I left the basement of my rental home with about an inch or more of water - down from the 8 inches that accumulated as a result of the remanants of Lee.  They're saying we had 10-12 inches of rain, and I'd believe it - it felt like it would never stop.  For the past few days there was a narrow band of rain running almost straight through the DC area and Philadelphia - heading north.  So, now I can add flooding to 'earthquake, tropical storm' as my list of hazards since I relocated to the DC area.  Oh yeah, 'terror threat' too.  Can't forget that one.

After I realized that the basement was flooding, I called around - and already every place I called was out of sump pumps.  So after I arrived at Dad's today, and after his healthcare person left - he and I took off and had lunch at a new little italian place, and then stopped by a Lowe's nearby and I purchased a small sump pump.  When I go back tomorrow I'll try and get the rest of the water out, that is - what hasn't drained out.  There is a drain in the basement floor - but if I had to guess, the pipes are long deteriorated, and nothing will drain out until the soil starts to dry out a bit.  Fortunately I didn't have much downstairs - I had my salvaged longleaf pine up pretty high (the bottom board did get wet), and some of the boxes I was saving got wet - plus, I couldn't get to the washer/dryer - hopefully they'll be fine (they came with the house, and thankfully weren't mine).

My experience in Lowe's with my Dad was interesting.  It was probably one of the first times when I was out with him, that I was pretty sure that people we encountered were aware that I was taking someone out shopping who had dementia.  Everyone was quite kind - but often looked at me and smiled a knowing smile - a smile that translated into 'I understand'.  We were heading towards the checkout lanes, only 10 or so feet away, and he would stop whomever walked by and ask them where the checkout lanes were.  He would sometimes be looking straight at them.  I will say that dementia or no - he is as friendly as ever, perhaps even more friendly.  He talked to just about everyone in the store.

Now we're home - and I just got layers for a yellow cake out of the oven.  This week is Dad's birthday, so I'm making him a birthday cake that we will take to his brother's tomorrow for lunch.  It'll be an early celebration - but I'm glad that I could be here to do this.  I was thinking today about last year at this time - when I stayed with Dad for almost two weeks - and I made him a different cake (a more elaborate one) for his birthday.  While I'm in the kitchen, he is watching westerns on TV, often ones he's seen a dozen or more times already, but each time they are new to him.

When we were driving back from the Lowe's today, we went a back road and I couldn't resist stopping and taking a photo with my Blackberry camera of this abandoned chicken farm.  I put the flashers on and jumped out really quickly.  When I got back in the car, my Dad said that he bet I couldn't remember the last time I went somewhere without taking a photo of something.  He was right.

~~~~~

~the short version~

~my new back (rental) yard~

~~~~~

this is a bit like the end first

the backyard...  tall oaks, a crepe myrtle, azaleas, redbuds, camellias

all covered in vines

now enclosed by a 6' fence to keep the Pointer Sisters in

(black farm/mesh fencing - it disappears nicely)

(still not confident that it will keep THE DAN in)

the place is on about .8 acres (inside the beltway!)

heard foxes last night

hunting out back

~~~~~

 ~~~~~

so, the move

packed up the Airstream, most everything

(I'll be returning frequently though)

packed up (and emptied out) the storage unit

packed up the falling-down house

(mostly large furniture, weird stuff in there)

(image taken through a fogged-up lens... oops)

 ~~~~~

 ~~~~~

the u-haul, backed into the drive

the furniture from the falling-down house was added first

after everything was packed in, two just-delivered mattresses were stufffed in

(and when I say 'everything was packed in', that includes the ~500 board feet of longleaf pine which, during transport, jammed against the door making it difficult to open the back of the u-haul)

(yes, it's stored safely in the basement of the rental house)

thank god for friends

and friends who bring water and gatorade (it was hot) and delicious snacks

(it takes a village)

~~~~~

 ~~~~~

hated saying goodbye, for now, to my garden

especially the side garden, where shaded out perennials had been divided and moved over the past year into the sun

they're just getting started

thankfully there has been more rain in August than we had most of the rest of the summer

weeds are probably taking over

but hopefully, it will manage

anyway... only the strong survive

right?

~~~~~

 ~~~~~

katherine

the lab's poet-laureate in-exile

scientist and humanitarian

was more than gracious and drove the u-haul up to virginia

(she kindly dealt with my cranky and exhausted self)

there are no sufficient words of thanks

(i think, secretly, that she now wants to be a trucker and i think she'd be a good one)

~~~~~

~front of the new place, the morning after the move~

~~~~~

the house was built in 1949

it was the house that belonged to a farm that used to be

the original 'farmhouse' on a large track of land that is now developed

not in great shape

but dog friendly

the grass is now mowed

and my generous and hard-working aunt and uncle from Richmond

have visited several times already

and my aunt attacked the vines covering the holly in the front

(yes, there is a holly under there)

there's now a cinnamon ginger in a large pot on the front porch

(one of the few plants that i brought with me)

and I purchased a few flowers for a narrow bed

(a bed that is along a brick wall alongside the drive)

and yes, they are planted and happy

~~~~~

 

~view from the shuttle bus to the Narita Airport, Tokyo~

~~~~~

and then, a few days after the u-haul was unloaded

i flew to japan

for three days

(pics to come)

it was a work trip

there were two small tremors while i was there

hardly noticeable

that occurred during our meetings

and then i came back to northern virginia

and experienced the 5.9 quake in my new home

(thought it was the washer out of balance in the basement, then thought it was a gas pipeline explosion in my neighborhood, then I thought... until I realized it was an earthquake, as my little home seemed to want to rock off it's foundation and walk away)

when it was over, i walked outside

and the neighbor across the street had his hands up in the air

and he shouted 'WTF'

a few days later Irene strolled by the south carolina coast

(keeping her distance)

and i felt relieved that the airstream and the lab and my friends were safe

and then tropical storm warnings popped up for my new place

and there was rain and wind and the electricity went off

and my neighbor across the street turned on a crazy-loud generator

but, thankfully, only for a few hours

(i was okay with the electricity being off, but the generator noise was driving me crazy)

~~~~~

my new job starts tomorrow

~~~~~

~the dolphin is flying once again~

~~~~~

The flying dolphin moved to the new lab, although for months now it's been sitting on top of boxes, looking rather dejected.  Today (my last day at the lab for a few months) I decided that the last thing I would do was to get help (aka a tall person) to help me hang up the dolphin.  Of course I haven't filed everything away yet, there is much I haven't done - but the dolphin is flying, and that feels good.

I also packed up file folders with some articles that I would need in order to work on a few manuscripts, and I transferred files onto an external hard drive.

(And yes, this is the dolphin that starred in the lab's first film short... definitely a must see!)

~a clean Airstream~

~~~~~

What about that shine!

Today a friend came over, and helped me wash the Airstream and it's awning - and together we rolled the awning up to keep it safe while I'm gone.  Leaves from the live oaks collect (and decay) on the top - and only about once a year do I remember to get my little ladder and clean off the top.  It's nice to know that after I leave, it'll be sitting there, shiny and clean - and without the awning out, vulnerable to wind.  Waiting patiently, of course, for my return.

We also took apart my two beds (in the old house) and worked on the shed a bit so it's more level - now I'll be able to lock it when I'm gone.  The shed has my washer and dryer in it - fortunately the rental home has a washer and dryer, so these can stay here and be used during my somewhat frequent visits.

Yesterday, the last day of July, was the second anniversary of my moving into the Airstream.  I've lived in an Airstream for two years.  I've liked living in such a small space more than I ever thought I would - and truthfully, I'm proud that I made it work.  I've learned that I don't need much, that I'm resourceful - one sauce pan, a fry pan, a pot for a homemade soup - one burner, a small microwave, a toaster and a toaster oven.  A crockpot.  Just a few utensils.  A few books, a good computer, good blankets on the bed.  Frankly, I don't remember everything that I packed up two plus years ago, and while I'm sure it'll feel like Christmas unpacking next week at my rental place in Northern Virginia, I think it'll take awhile to not feel a bit crowded, and overwhelmed surrounded by so much stuff. 

Enough dinnerware to serve 10?  What a strange thought that is.

Decorations for a Christmas tree?  Now that's just crazy talk.

The U-Haul gets loaded up on Friday.

~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.

computer crashes... and a daylily.

 
So... my office computer got a virus.  Within seconds everything went crazy.  Work IT guru retrieved my files, the hard drive was wiped, and reformated.  The day after it crashed, my yahoo email account was compromised.  Resolved everything with yahoo on the phone, then my Blackberry froze - the IT guru had transferred ~5,000 emails into my INBOX (the ones he had successfully retrieved) at once, and my Blackberry went into shock.  Off to the Verizon store, and after an hour of waiting and an hour of fiddling with my phone, it worked again.  The next morning my home computer - within a period of about two minutes - crashed.  The blue screen of death appeared.  Had it diagnosed - bad mother board, not worth replacing.  Thankfully, all files were again retrieved.

Computer crashes are life-altering events.

The daylilies are still blooming.

The garden is parched and unhappy - about a half inch of rain last night at least moved the dust around.  Less than one inch of recorded precipitation since 22 April - we are in a drought.

Off to Virginia tomorrow to visit my Dad for Father's Day.