Tales from the Microbial Laboratory

Furriness

I couldn't resist posting my friend Jeff's painting that was auctioned off at last Friday's A Furry Affair.  It went for a fine price to a deserving bidder - but no wonder - what a fine furry creature she is!

Jeff is also one of those Forrest Gump types, popping up everywhere, and so it was no surprise to see him mentioned in Bryce Donovan's P&C 'It Beat's Working' column recently about the event.  I'll quote the section:

As for mine, a man named Jeff Kopish paid $250 for it.  Then he set it on fire outside in the parking lot.  But let's not lose sight of the important issue here:  It still sold for more than Chard's ($225), Rucker's ($225), "Lowcountry Live" co-host Ryan Nelson's ($65, which was bought by her boyfriend, by the way) and Hall's ($60).

I know for a fact (well, because Jeff told me) that he didn't set Bryce's painting on fire in the parking lot - nope, instead, it is part of Jeff's eclectic collection of art that he's been snatching up for many years now.  Here it is, see for yourself...proving once again that art is in the eye of the beholder!  (Or the toilet bowl.  I'm sure we all have a few goldfish stories to contribute.)

As for my own furry affair, my dogs and the cat are enjoying that I'm home today - and not only that I'm home, but that I'm not doing too much.  They're not doing much either - sleeping, standing, sleeping again - and sometimes I catch them in positions that are too sweet for words.  Here's (Dog) Wood, looking as if she wants to get up, but she's unwilling to disturb the still-sleeping Ancient Wonder Beagle.  Such sweetness.

         

Ernesto, a Nap, and Treasured Time at My Very Own Hermitage

If the forecast was at all linked to my adrenalin level (which, gratefully, it is not), we'd all be taking naps and making pots of soup and looking forward to tomorrow like it's the snow day we all so desperately need and deserve.  Like I've said before - maybe there's no snow, but there will be wind and rain - hopefully just enough to water our gardens, provide good waves, and give us a day indoors to watch movies until the electricity starts to flicker - which only drives us to picking up that novel we've been wanting to finish (for me, it's Philip Roth's Everyman).

I brought plants in from the deck, and scoured the yard for stray rakes and shovels and hoes and trowels.  Outdoor chairs and tables are put away.  The boat is still under a live oak, but I think it will be fine for Ernesto - these are live oaks that weathered Hugo, and a dozen storms before that.  My neighbor did say that I could park my car under their house, which I did - my yard is filled with trees, trees of all sizes - it was nice of my neighbors.  But with the deck clear and the car tucked away - I did what seemed the only thing left to do:  take a nap.  I'm not typically a person who falls asleep at 6 pm in the evening, but it was decadent and more than two hours later I woke up, feeling groggy, relaxed - realizing that tomorrow I could legitimately stay in my very own hermitage (home), enjoying the wind, the rain - a perfect snow day in the making. 

I'm trusting that Ernesto won't strengthen too much - it won't sneak up on us like Gaston.  After that storm, I walked down to the marsh and the water had come up on the road - leaving a thin layer of water behind and a bunch of fish gasping...in the air.  I sat there with a friend in the neighborhood, picking up the small fish and throwing them back into the marsh.  Tomorrow, if the storm passes while it's still light, I'll wander down there again, and see if there are any fish that need rescuing.  It doesn't take a strong storm surge for my neighborhood to flood;  during Hurricane Hugo, we had a 21' tidal surge.  That's a whole lot of fish in need of rescuing.

For now, I'll put my homemade chicken and rice soup in the refrigerator, eat some oatmeal instead - and read for awhile.  Perhaps I'll even order a few 'Blue Muffin' Arrowood Viburnums (Viburnum dentatum 'Christom') - I saw them in the Wayside Gardens catalog, and I loved their blue berries, that supposedly birds love even more.  Maybe I'll see if any of the nurseries are carrying them locally first.  What better thing to do on a snow day, than dream of spring?      

A resilent garden...

Wandering the garden this morning, I couldn't help but feel a bit sad - hoping that the winds will be kind to the tall and lanky mexican sunflowers, the zinnias, and the tomatoes that are staked now at about 6 or more feet high.  The storm track is looking much better than it did yesterday (that is, it's not coming directly over my house!) - but as Imablog mentioned, much of the storm's activity seems to be on the left side of the storm, and if this holds over Florida and later tonight over the Atlantic, that will increase our chances of higher winds and rain on Thursday.

I worry about my garden during storms, although I recognize that the garden is far more resilent than it seems (as long as we don't get a bad tidal surge, which I'm not expecting).  Sometimes I laugh, realizing that the storm sometimes takes care of the pruning that I tend to neglect.  I'm definitely not fond of pruning.  During Tropical Storm (Hurricane) Gaston, I lost six trees - a large tulip poplar, a blue sapphire cypress, and four trees along the tidal creek - the latter of which served to protect my bald cypresses, evergreen magolia and decidious magnolias, taking the force of the winds that were clocking around in a wildly predictable manner.  I still have a greenspire cypress staked up - it's large, over 20' tall, and was my Christmas tree the first year I was in Charleston.   

This morning I noticed that my antique roses are bouncing back after a hot summer, as if they sensed the cooler days and had decided to rebloom in celebration.  The Souvenier de la Malmaison always puts on a beautiful late summer show, with clusters of flowers popping up all over the smallish shrub rose.  If you've ever wanted to try an antique rose, this is an excellent one to start with - there's also a climbing variety, but I haven't tried that one (yet).  Perhaps I'll fill a vase with them later today, and enjoy them during tomorrow's rain and wind.   

I hope everyone's gardens (and homes and families) do well.    

Front Door Light Moth Series, Part VI

It feels good to be home.  Even though Hurricane Ernesto looms, and the week might prove a bit hectic - it nonetheless felt good to let the dogs out this morning and find this small green moth by the front door light...yes, it's good to be home.

The garden needs attention - the grass needs mowing, it's time to start thinking about the fall garden (should I order different varieties of garlic this year?), and there are a number of perennials that need to be moved.  My beds are a mess - I fade during August, the heat pushes me indoors and I simply let things go.  Yes, the garden has been neglected.  But the most wonderful thing about the garden is redemption - it is a forgiving space, it gives you all the room you need to make mistakes, to discover the mistakes - and to make amends.  It accepts apologies quickly - and offers you a helping hand.  All it really needs to do is grow.

But today, I need to dig myself out of a work inbox that is a bit daunting - to discover "where I was" - but after a meeting that reminded me, once again, of why I love science - it will feel good to walk into the laboratory, to find out how Ben's experiment went last week, to see if Katherine likes the new DNA extraction kit, to talk to Nikole about DNA microarray samples, and to share with Maria some of what I learned in Vienna - and to await the arrival of a new postdoctoral fellow.  Yes, it's good to be home and I'm looking forward to heading to the laboratory.

I'll think about Hurricane Ernesto tomorrow.   

Two Churches In Lieu of Attendance (for Joan)

This fine Sunday morning, I couldn't resist helping Joan out a bit with her weekly 'Church in Lieu of Attendance' posts (which is always about as close as I get to attending Sunday morning services!). 

I'll start with an exterior view of St Stephen's Cathedral - which is located in the center of downtown Vienna.  It's impossible to miss!  It's an example of gothic architecture - and has been around (in one form or another) since the 12th century - since 1722 it has been the cathedral church of the archbishop.  After surviving, or at least partially surviving, numerous wars, it's biggest threat currently is atmospheric pollution - primarily sulfur dioxide (remember...acid rain?).   

We did manage to walk up 743 stairs - which got us as far as we could go up the 450 ft high spire that looks out over the city.  It was a narrow spiral stone staircase - and after making it down we all felt more than a bit dizzy!  There's currently quite a bit of work going on to preserve the tower - mostly cleaning of the tower surface.  The interior of the church was quite beautiful - as you can see from just one of the numerous alters located inside.

But my favorite church in Vienna was definitely St Michael's - it had a simply fascinating integration of both pagan and religious symbols - and made me wish that I was better able to interprete the symbology.  I must confess that our reason for heading to St Michael's initially was the "dead bodies" there - but unfortunately the crypts were closed due to repairs.  

Yes, I suppose you could say that a Sunday morning spent in church wouldn't hurt any of us - but shouldn't a lovely Wednesday afternoon spent admiring them count as well? 

Joan, I hope you have a nice Sunday!   

Early Mornings...

No liquids...among other things.  A week of "incidents" in the skies - overhearing conversations in the airport (at least those that I can understand) - glad that I can have my laptop with me.  My last afternoon in Vienna was as it should be - slow, taking the time to look at the details of each building, 'people-watching', drinking my last Edelweiss...and then another..and finally my last one, surrounded by colleagues from my past, as well as new ones, with everyone finally saying 'Farewell, and see you in Cairns', where the next meeting will be held.

Now I sit on the floor in the Vienna airport, waiting for my 8-hour plus flight.  Hopefully I will be able to sleep (four hours of sleep last night should help).   Thinking more now about home - my own bed - do I have any food in the refrigerator?  What will Sunday bring?  I've been glad to hear of rain - the garden will be happy - and I look forward to wandering it this evening with the Ancient Wonder Beagle at my side.  I'll get to laugh at my cat, who has taken to sleeping in the fireplace (on the wrought iron log holder).  Silly, silly cat.  Looking forward to my regular sized keyboard...but I'll miss not being rushed through dinner - with the check arriving with the first course.

I did fall in love with Vienna on this trip. 

The Sites

A day spent in Vienna...taking the stairs up the spiral, narrow, stone staircase (with 743 stairs) at St. Stephensplatz...and being rewarded by a wonderful view of the city (and sore calves this morning).  Wandering a palace whose occupants once 'owned' half of Europe - wandering the palace grounds that make me think that I can hardly call my one acre off the coast of the Atlantic a 'garden" (although I do believe that I like my better...'grand' is not exactly my style).  Walking, walking and more walking - St. Michaels Cathedral - some Mozart in the evening (his 'greatest hits') followed by Edelweiss (a white beer) with friends from graduate school.  A full day in Vienna...now two more days of meetings and a flight across the 'pond'.

The history here is just overwhelming - I wish I knew more.

I miss the Ancient Wonder Beagle though...but she is in good hands.

Microbiology...and Politics?

How can you escape it?

I'm at an international meeting - of scientists interested in microbial ecology, perhaps 2500 or so such scientists.  Outside of the convention center they have a row of flags - with each flag representing a country that has a scientist present at the meeting.

The company contracted to organize the meeting is Israeli.  They "forgot" to included the flag of Iran.  The Iranian scientists have noticed this, and a high level (very high level) scientist has gone to the organizing committee to complain.  A US scientist.  The individuals that organized the meeting are not scientists...the scientists (from what I've gathered this evening) are upset that a country's flag has been excluded.

Many people are now assuming the flag was not included - on purpose.  They haven't added a flag (but then, is it something you have on hand?  I wouldn't think so).

We just study things like how microorganisms cycle nitrogen and what diversity is present in a hot spring and how microorganisms obtain energy from growth from unusual and seemingly distasteful substrates...we're interested in microorganisms from Columbia and Croatia and the moon - it's definitely a group that's not about borders.  Your microorganism is my microorganism (well, after we've published it, that is).  We love our microorganisms.

It was unfortunate that this story was going around at the end of a fascinating day of science.

Vienna

Coffee.  Lots and lots of coffee.  Cranky wait-staff (no tips) - americans give them tips and then they smile.  Great transportation (the "U") - I've got my pass for the whole week for only $12.50 eruos.  For some reason, the wine tastes better...and the ice cream is mostly cream and just a little ice.  The hot chocolate isn't sweet.  Not enough vegetables.  Lots and lots of presentations:  Oculina is no longer susceptible to infection by Vibrio shilohi...big news!  Proposed that it's evolution-in-action from a microbial perspective.  Everybody is 454 (pyro) sequencing...or at least working on their own approaches to pyro-sequencing...want to sequence an entire microbial genome?  You can now do it in three-days with the right equipment!  Favorite phrase:  folks that are opposed to evidence for accelerated climate change are now called "flat earth" people...that one made me laugh (and the phrase was used by the former Director of the National Science Foundation).  Well - just a quick post from the land of the Blue Danube - I'm off to a wine tasting before a lecture by a man who claims to be sequencing microorganisms from the entire planet.  Big science!

Change

This evening, as I was walking the Ancient Wonder Beagle, we noticed  (she with her nose and me with my eyes) that the sky had a hint of autumn in it - the blue was a bit clearer, the clouds a bit sharper.  Even as I was mowing, I sensed the change in the season - surrounded by zinnias in full bloom, mexican sunflowers covered in swallowtails - the dependable yet subtle changes announcing a new season.  I know, there are many hot days ahead - it'll feel like a whole season of hot days I'm sure - but stop for a moment and sniff the change.

Tomorrow night, rather early Sunday morning, I'll be in the Vienna airport looking for a cab to my hotel.  There's nothing like arriving in a wonderful city at 2:40 am Charleston time - in time to catch a leisurely breakfast on the Danube.  I'm attending the International Society for Microbial Ecology meetings - and I'll have two poster presentations during the week, one on coral-associated microorganisms and the other on a fascinating biofilm of microorganisms coating the ceiling of a well-known sunken vessel.  I'll be surrounded all week by microbial ecologists - colleagues, friends from graduate school - and I'm looking forward to learning a bit.  Preparing for this meeting has been a bit stressful - lots going on - plus, I've had to spend some serious time in the garden so that my pet/housesitter won't be tackled by a snake as she walks through the tall grass or trip down the steps due to the jasmine and wisteria vines that were taking over the stairs.  As I write this, the grass is mowed, the stairways are clear and safe - and the Ancient Wonder Beagle received good news from the Vet today:  her blood work since her 'acute liver' incident looks pretty good, and it's possible that it was triggered by longterm use of her non-steroidal arthritis meds.  The world is a better place when the AWB has her appetite - and as I write this, she's desperately trying to get at the cat food.  (Dog)Wood's 'suspicious' area on her leg is nothing more than an insect bite gone wild.  All is well with the world.

While wandering the yard tonight, I thought about time - how my life has become divided into semesters, with each semester going by as fast as a day, often making me feel that I have just three long and busy days filling up each year.  That's not a good realization, and like the seasons of my garden - I crave the slow progression of a seed, growth that's rhythmic and that follows the sun - time controlled by the Earth's rotation instead of the academic school year.  I struggle constantly with slowing my life down, and I have no doubt that my obsession with my garden is that I crave to follow it's course.  The gourd growing on a door to nowhere, limited by water and full sun, but growing anyway.  A gourd not rushing to be somewhere else.

But tonight, I've got bags to pack and a house to clean and a garden to water - and for a week I'll be in the cool air - that is, when I'm not in a convention center listening to presentations.  But I've promised myself to find time - time to stroll along the Danube, time to perhaps take in an opera - time to enjoy a beautiful city.