Tomorrow, I give a practice exit seminar. The anxiety is ramping up.

I’m lucky that I already gave 2 chapter’s worth of this talk for my interview, and that I have the added confidence of getting a job out of it! That really helps to feel like the content and organization is good, and also like I’ve run through this before in a high-pressure setting. It was […]

Oh, how I wish I could chase…an American three-toed woodpecker was spotted today near Littlefork, MN. I was able to talk to the birder that found it and unless I misunderstood, there is evidence of it breeding there! This is south of the typical range, though within the winter “irruption” range. It would be interesting […]

I met with Volker and got lots of comments on my 3rd chapter, too many to incorporate today (and he acknowledged that). Then, a landmark, sort of: I sent my dissertation to my committee in anticipation of my defense! Unless I get any replies ahead of time, I won’t look at again until I get revisions […]

Now it’s the last push: I’ll get my dissertation to my committee no later than tomorrow.

Now it’s getting real: I have the pieces in the right places, referenced table of contents, etc.! Wow, this is finally getting close. It finally is feeling like a cohesive work. I still have yet to write Acknowledgments but I’ll do that last probably.

A former member of our lab generously made a template for dissertations, but my lack of prowess with Word and refusal to learn is catching up with me. I could launch into a whole commentary about open source and why it’s better, but I’ll refrain for now. I need outside help on this one, probably! […]

We tried, unfortunately in vain tonight, to listen for yellow rails. We got to the area around dusk, and made our way to the pump house by dark. We listened until after midnight, and visited a few promising looking spots thereabouts, but no luck!

Today we saw 3 states: Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine! We’re in town for a wedding, and today was our only full day to explore a new region of the country, so we went all out. It’s the farthest north on the Atlantic coast we’ve ever been, and Paul’s first visit to an Atlantic coast […]

Featured photo: Calliope hummingbird by Sparky Stensaas While I dread winter dragging into what I know as spring, I remember a big reason I’m very excited to move north: rarity central! It’s far enough north to give access to northern MN, and to attract some cool rare birds moving over Lake Superior. In that respect, it’s […]