Ciao summer

I'm finally home from my crazy month of traveling. These are actual pictures that I took in Fairbanks in September. SEPTEMBER. They weren't kidding about the short summers. At least a friendly face greets me in the window here. All three dogs are playing every day until they drop from exhaustion. Bob is out doing field work on the Seward Peninsula again, but I'm sure he will post more dog pictures when he's back. I've posted links to his and my other friends' blogs.

This is my first week with my new studded tires. I don't know how I got this far in life without studded tires, but Fairbanksians assure me that I can't live without them here. Though I have to wonder about those people driving 20 year old Novas or little Caprices...I mean, surely those aren't just their summer cars? Maybe they take the bus in winter. Or get by somehow, as many people seem to do here.

The aurora have been amazing this fall. Bob and watched them tear through the sky a few nights ago. Strong green waves flowing quickly across the black sky. I don't have a camera that can capture them, and Bob didn't have his with him...so we were stuck just watching the light, awestruck.

Capturing life's science

After returning from British rambling, I headed to NYC to build some new sensors for my field station north of town. My collaborator Allan was kind enough to give me some workspace at CUNY on the Upper Eastside, near good coffee and expensive food. And the worlds poshest Home Depot, let me tell you.







I didn't envision my visit to NYC would be spent locked in a small room on the roof of a highrise, soldering 120 thermistors onto telephone wires, but such is the adventurous life of science.

I did manage to see many friends and then head to Boston to give a couple more talks. The weather was pleasantly warm and it was great to see my brother and his wife in Boston.

Merry Ol'

In late August, I headed to England to give a talk at a meeting in Cambridge. It was a real triumph, as the ol' beans would say. After a week of feeling very old skool at the Scott Polar Research Inst and seeing friends (Alex, Misha, Katia, Todd) in town, I headed down to Reading for the weekend. There I visited my friends Andrew, Cristina, and Judith, who showed me around London and the countryside. So great to see everyone! Great to see England! I heart tea!!






The weather was a delightful change from the snow we'd had at Toolik the week before. My favorite thing we did was go for a couple of rambles across the countryside. Walking through fields and past churches and vast estates. And when got tired, we just stopped for tea, of course!