Ashley

The end of the quarter is wrapping up quickly, yet there are so many things left to do. It is currently February 26th, and in 15 days I leave for china. In those 15 days there is a lot to accomplish. I shall list it all here:

Two tests
- Evolutionary Biology
- Linguistics
Final Paper
- Four more pages to go!
Two seminar books to read
- also two papers on these books to write

and finally, a presentation on cuttlefish communication, which I will be giving the day before I leave. Talk about hectic! Oh and also have to write my self eval and pack for china!

Holy cow… although these next few weeks are going to be insane, I try not to complain because I realize that I actually have the opportunity to be in school, when so many don’t. So, I guess I will look forward to keeping busy, and look forward to being done as well!

Posted by Ashley at 06:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Could it be possible that spring has actually come to Olympia? Although it is still about a week and a half away, I am seeing signs everywhere. This weekend I took a drive and found that even though it was 45 degrees out, it was sunny and every car I passed had their window rolled down. This is a perfect example of North Westerners come spring time. People on campus have started wearing shorts and flipflops, and have been seen laying out on the wet, cold grass on blankets, and standing, facing the sun to soak up the vitamin D. It’s really quite the site, but I love it and I appreciate it’s uniqueness.

Also, this weekend I went down town for lunch, and afterwards walked along the inlet boardwalk. There were so many people out with their children and walking their dogs and just enjoying the weather. It was beautiful!

Here are some pictures I took of crocus, boats and the inlet on my springish outing.

Crocus!

The Capitol and some boats

Artsy pictures of boats at the marina

An picture of the inlet with a fancy sailboat and mountains…it was a little smoggy out that day [This isn’t typical!].

Another picture of the inlet, more mountains! I think this is the Olympic Mountain range, but it could also be the Cascades.

Posted by Ashley at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

About this time every year I get excited for spring. I am aware that it is mid February, however occasionally we will get these warm breezes, that smell and feel like spring time. Winter time in Olympia can sometimes be tough. Everywhere the sun starts to set earlier and the rain clouds come rolling in. That’s why on days like today where the sun is shining and the weather is warm, I reminisce about spring time in Olympia; even if it is premature.
Spring time in Olympia is amazingly beautiful! There are hundreds of cherry trees in our city that bloom every year with brilliant whites and pink blossoms. Although their blooms don’t last very long, the petals seem to stick around for the summer. After the blossoms fade, it’s onto the wildflowers. Oranges, reds, yellows and purples fill the city and the Evergreen Parkway. And finally, the leaves on the trees come back and the pacific tree frogs start to sing.


Spring also brings a variety of festivals and parades to the city. Just to name a few:

Procession of the species- a belated earth day parade, where Olympians dress as animals and flowers and parade downtown to welcome the spring. Some of the costumes are quite elaborate (as you see below)

http://www.procession.org/

Arts Walk- Local artists display their art downtown in the cafés and coffee shops.

The Dragon Boat festival:
Boat races in Capitol Lake, downtown Oly.

Additionally, spring time brings the re-opening of farmers market downtown, where you can buy local produce, eat local baked goods (so good) and visit and make friends with other Olympians!

Posted by Ashley at 02:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week has been hectic! Yet somehow, in the midst of it all I managed to find time to lose 11 inches of hair. No, I didn’t pull out (amazingly enough), I had someone chop it off! I have been growing out my hair for the past few years and finally I decided enough was enough. So, I went to a really nice salon downtown and had a man named Randy with delicate hands and a fine sense of humor, remove the mess of curls and knots that had inhabiting my head.

However, although this was a healthy move for me (I’m not sure how much longer I could have taken it, curls are hard to keep tame in this humid environment), it was also something that will help someone else. I donated the rest of my hair to locks of love, an organization that collects donated hair to make wigs for those (primarily children), who are either going through chemo treatment for cancer, or who have alopecia, a disease that impedes hair growth.

The hair I sent in will be washed, probably dyed and fashioned into a nice wig for a person who deserves my hair much more than I did, because I treated it like crap. It feels good to be free, but alternatively feels even better to give!

Below: Some before & after pics!

Before: Straightened; not such a mess

After: Voila!

Posted by Ashley at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you are a fan of wildlife and the outdoors, Olympia and the South Puget Sound in general is a great place to live. From Olympia you are only about half an hour-three hours away from the coast (depending on which part you want to go to),

minutes away from the Bud and Eld inlets where you can see all kind of sea invertebrate and vertebrate life, about an hour away from great hiking in the Olympics,

two hours from the Cascades and about three hours to the North Cascade mountain range
.
Additionally, this area is full of amazing wildlife including pacific tree frogs, a variety of salamanders and newts, marine wildlife (seals, otters, etc.) and amazing birds. Here is a picture of a Northern Flicker I took the other day—he was just outside my window digging around in the dirt.

I really love living in this area because of all the outdoor adventures available to me, just to name a few: Hiking, Biking, Kayaking, Birding, Skiing, Camping…the list is almost endless. Right now I am awaiting the spring to get out again, but when it comes I plan to visit the Hoh Rainforest (possibly the most amaing place on the planet—only 3 hours away)

and return to the ocean in a Kayak (which you can rent downtown or at Boston Harbor for about 15 an hour)
.

Posted by Ashley at 09:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)