20 | June | 2012 | Let's just sit back and watch the plots grow...

Sorry it has been so long since my last post! Things have been very busy here and I didn’t want to keep posting random nonsense since not much exciting has been going on… well, other than Tim’s 21st birthday!

We had a surprise 21st birthday celebration for Tim on Monday night (his birthday was Tuesday, but 8PM Alaska time is 12AM in Michigan, so we thought it was appropriate to celebrate at that time). While a few of the UTEP-ers distracted Tim, Jenny and I decorated the hut with a “blue” theme (as it is the color that Tim always wears), made dinner, and baked a cake. The hut was complete with blue streamers, blue window coverings (fancy for “tarp”), blue table covers (wrapping paper), blue balloons, a chocolate cake with blue decorations and blue candles, and of course a playlist of songs that include the word “blue” (courtesy of Jenny Liebig). It was a fantastic night! Some other researchers joined us playing a special game of Jenga, which was probably the most hilarious game of Jenga I have ever played. So, happy birthday (again) Tim! Hope you had a good time.

On Monday before the birthday party, we got to meet with some new researchers up here on the north slope. The group is called NGEE (Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments). They are starting a new project in Barrow which integrates many fields of science, and includes some vegetation assessment as well. Part of the group met with Jenny and I last year to learn some of the vegetation and look at our sites. This year, we went out to see their set up and review some of the plants with them. Their work is very interesting, and I look forward to helping them out and hearing more about their project. If you are interested in what they are doing, check out this website: http://ngee.ornl.gov/. You may recognize me and Jenny in a couple of pictures from last summer. 🙂

Half of the team departed for Atqasuk today, leaving me and Tim to hold down the fort in Barrow. Today we went out to do a flower count at the Barrow dry site, and boy was it a CHALLENGE, for a couple of reasons:
1) WIND. It was a very, very windy day here today in Barrow. I even got blown off the boardwalk when I was trying to walk a couple of times. The wind not only makes your eyes water like crazy and makes you lose focus, but also makes it practically impossible to keep your databook on the correct page. I caught myself just laughing at the situation, picturing how pathetic I would have looked to some outsider watching me struggle not only just to stand, but to turn pages and not have any of my supplies blow away.
2) ATTACK OF CASSIOPE AND SALIX. The plots are going crazy with Cassiope tetragona and Salix rotundifloia beginning to bud and flower, some totaling over 500 inflorescences (and more to come) just between these two species! Then we still have to count the rest of the species in the plot. It makes for a long day and sore thumbs. Not that I’m complaining… I quite enjoy the challenge.

Cassiope tetragona

Salix rotundifolia (female)

Salix rotundifolia (male)

Other than plants, I got to see something else interesting in the field today… a snowy owl! I have never been able to get a very close up picture of one (partly due to a not so great camera, but also because they fly away before you can get the chance to get close). But, today I was actually able to get an okay picture of the owl that has been hanging out around our sites.

We tend to see a lot of birds around here. Sometimes they even like to build nests right underneath our boardwalk. Last year we had snow buntings right next to where we work. This year, it is a nest of baby sparrows right below the boardwalk that I sit on to do my measurements.

The mother bird is not very happy while we are working. As I was climbing onto the boardwalk the other day, she flew out from underneath and almost hit me right in the face. She usually just flies in very fast circles around the area where we work, waiting for us to leave.

I was going to save these pictures for a later post, but I decided I will just post them as I get them. One of my favorite things about Barrow is the dumpsters. Yes, the dumpsters. Some of them are painted with sayings or inspirational messages. My goal this year is to get pictures of as many as possible with a member of the team by them. So, here’s what we have so far: