[ this is a re-post of an original post over at Phase Portrait ]
In this case, hopefully being startled twice by the Ring's chime is enough to encourage it to move on!
Monday, December 2, 2019
Woodpeckers can ring and run too
In this case, hopefully being startled twice by the Ring's chime is enough to encourage it to move on!
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Fritz is like my child...
I saw the comic below on Pinterest recently, and it resonated with me. I'm sure other dog lovers out there or people that know Ted and me will also appreciate it.
Did I mention that I took some pretty cute pictures of Fritz and the squeaky tennis ball that he is obsessed with?
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
When life gives you bees, eat honey!
There are many benefits associated with working with the largest social insect research group in the country if not the world such as having an endless supply of colleagues and friends ready to “nerd out” over an insect or other invertebrate at any time during the day. There’s also no shortage of people willing to go on a night hike at a moment’s notice to look for scorpions, beetles, ants, and any other critter we happen upon during the adventure. Yes we still get excited about macrofauna such a bears, coyotes, and great horned owls when we see them, but you’ll notice that many of us will have our head lamps on with our eyes on the ground (this posture also helps avoid unwanted rattlesnake encounters). Needless to say, Ted and I love it here! Ted even got close enough to a bark scorpion to photograph it during our most recent nocturnal adventure with my mom and grandma.
I recently discovered a perk of working with a large group of social insect researchers that I hadn’t anticipated. If you visit our building at ASU you’ll have the opportunity to see many species of ants, some cockroach, giant beetles, and other random invertebrates that show up from time to time. We also have a lovely balcony on our floor that is reserved for a couple of honey bee colonies. These honey bees are used for research on the floor and can often be found inside of the building trying to get back out. They also contain colored number tags on the dorsal side of the thorax, which can be amusing for students who come upon expired marked bees when unlocking their bikes from the bike rack bellow the balcony. I enjoy watching the bees, but my interaction with them normally ends there especially after my failed attempt to rescue a worker that found her way inside. The rescue attempt took a turn for the worst when she stung me resulting in her demise Contrary to what you may be thinking, I didn’t hurt her. Honey bees die when they lose their sting. However, I recently had a new interaction with the bees. Well, it was actually an interaction with their honey!
I arrived at work recently to find a 5 gallon bucket sitting on the sink in the break room. I assumed that someone was getting some water and left their research supplies there, which isn’t uncommon. I was quickly set straight by a friend of mine that works with our building bee colonies. The colonies had recently had their honey harvested and it was up for grabs, and so I along with many of my colleagues partook in native raw honey. Because the honey was a surprise, a scramble for containers to put it in ensued. I decided on my travel coffee mug, but others used tupperware and empty coffee containers. When collecting the honey from the bucket, you lift a hinged lever at the bottom of the bucket and let it flow out while the impurities rise to the top of the bucket. The result of this adventure was local honey that tastes fantastic although quite different from honey you buy in the store. It’s less sweet and is reminiscent of agave nectar while being thinner making it flow easily. All in all, it’s a pretty good perk of the job!
I recently discovered a perk of working with a large group of social insect researchers that I hadn’t anticipated. If you visit our building at ASU you’ll have the opportunity to see many species of ants, some cockroach, giant beetles, and other random invertebrates that show up from time to time. We also have a lovely balcony on our floor that is reserved for a couple of honey bee colonies. These honey bees are used for research on the floor and can often be found inside of the building trying to get back out. They also contain colored number tags on the dorsal side of the thorax, which can be amusing for students who come upon expired marked bees when unlocking their bikes from the bike rack bellow the balcony. I enjoy watching the bees, but my interaction with them normally ends there especially after my failed attempt to rescue a worker that found her way inside. The rescue attempt took a turn for the worst when she stung me resulting in her demise Contrary to what you may be thinking, I didn’t hurt her. Honey bees die when they lose their sting. However, I recently had a new interaction with the bees. Well, it was actually an interaction with their honey!
I arrived at work recently to find a 5 gallon bucket sitting on the sink in the break room. I assumed that someone was getting some water and left their research supplies there, which isn’t uncommon. I was quickly set straight by a friend of mine that works with our building bee colonies. The colonies had recently had their honey harvested and it was up for grabs, and so I along with many of my colleagues partook in native raw honey. Because the honey was a surprise, a scramble for containers to put it in ensued. I decided on my travel coffee mug, but others used tupperware and empty coffee containers. When collecting the honey from the bucket, you lift a hinged lever at the bottom of the bucket and let it flow out while the impurities rise to the top of the bucket. The result of this adventure was local honey that tastes fantastic although quite different from honey you buy in the store. It’s less sweet and is reminiscent of agave nectar while being thinner making it flow easily. All in all, it’s a pretty good perk of the job!
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Tried out a Spring training game today
Seats at a Spring training game are much better than you would get during the normal season... And these were pretty cheap!
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Texas-shaped waffles in Amarillo
We made a long road trip back to Ohio in December to see our families (and to bring the dog!). On our way back to Tempe, we stopped in Amarillo to sleep one night. We woke up and found that the Super 8 we were staying at included a Texas-shaped waffle iron in its hot-breakfast setup. Of course, we couldn't resist...
Texas shaped, but certainly not Texas sized. :)
[ Ohio and Texas don't look too different, but you don't see a lot of Ohio-shaped things. I guess you do see a lot of Block O's though... ]
Texas shaped, but certainly not Texas sized. :)
[ Ohio and Texas don't look too different, but you don't see a lot of Ohio-shaped things. I guess you do see a lot of Block O's though... ]
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Friends, Graduate School, and a Spoiled Dog
Friends and Graduate School
I love graduate school! It's intellectually stimulating, fosters creativity and problem solving, and provides platform for me to express my love of arthropods! In addition to these positive attributes, I get to do it all around other people who are equally excited about research and arthropods (these traits are hard to come by outside of a biology department). Someone I met recently said that being in an academic environment is great because people talk about ideas not about people. This statement struck a chord with me. I have definitely worked in other environments where the main topic of discussion during lunch revolved around co-workers or other people and their lives. There's nothing wrong with this. After all, most people I know enjoy a good snippet of gossip now and then. However, I feel lucky to be able to discuss various cool insects, hiking trips, and the latest discoveries in science during lunch or social events after work. Graduate provides the ideal environment for my neediness to shine and be embraced by all of the other nerds surrounding me. What more could a girl ask for?!
As with any career, there are pros and cons to a career in academia. One of my least favorite things is the transient lifestyle that most of my colleagues are required to undertake. In fact, the transient lifestyle of academia was the inspiration for our blog address! Most master's students take 2--3 years to finish their degree and most doctoral students take 5-6 years (this is all assuming they don't encounter any lab or field catastrophes along the way). After a doctoral degree, most people continuing on the academic path will embark on one or more postdoctoral fellowship positions, which last at least one year and can last more. Following completion of the postdoctoral phase, lucky individuals can hope to get a tenure-track faculty position. I have made friends in all of these stages of academia and watched them move on to the next phase. Ted and I attended a going away party last weekend for a friend that finished his PhD and is moving on to a postdoc. It was bittersweet as it always is. He's going to be starting a great postdoc, and we'll most likely see each other at meetings in the future. However, we probably won't roam the same halls again. I've stayed in touch with some of the closer friends I've made in grad school and lost touch with others. It's always sad when someone from our nerdy little community moves on to a new place. The upside of this situation is that someone new is always wandering in, and I hope that one day I'll have tenure and remain a permanent fixture in the halls of a building serving as home to a bunch of enthusiastic scientists.
Spoiled Dog
As many of you know, Fritz is the equivalent of our child. This isn't unusual among dog lovers. We spoil him much more than we probably should, and it's debatable as to who is really in charge around our house. As a result of our affection for Fritz, our parents have also adopted this view of him. He receives Christmas gifts from them (wrapped of course) and other surprise gifts from time to time. When Ted's parents visited in the spring, they brought him a stuffed lamb chop. Fritz carried it everywhere with him! He used it as pillow while also removing all of its stuffing and squeakers. It had reached the point where there was nothing left but the outer shell. The largest of the five squeakers was still inside and giving Fritz a bit of trouble. When we mentioned this to Eileen (Ted's mom), she purchased a replacement for Fritz and mailed it to us here in Arizona. Fritz has taken to the new lamb chop and has already removed one of the squeakers. Below are pictures and video of Fritz opening his new gift. Yes, our pup unwraps his own gifts. He'll even help unwrap yours if you let him!
This photo doesn't include lamb chop,
but I love Fritz's expression and wanted to share!
Watch Fritz open his new toy!
The lamb chop on the left is the old one. The new one is on the right.
I love graduate school! It's intellectually stimulating, fosters creativity and problem solving, and provides platform for me to express my love of arthropods! In addition to these positive attributes, I get to do it all around other people who are equally excited about research and arthropods (these traits are hard to come by outside of a biology department). Someone I met recently said that being in an academic environment is great because people talk about ideas not about people. This statement struck a chord with me. I have definitely worked in other environments where the main topic of discussion during lunch revolved around co-workers or other people and their lives. There's nothing wrong with this. After all, most people I know enjoy a good snippet of gossip now and then. However, I feel lucky to be able to discuss various cool insects, hiking trips, and the latest discoveries in science during lunch or social events after work. Graduate provides the ideal environment for my neediness to shine and be embraced by all of the other nerds surrounding me. What more could a girl ask for?!
As with any career, there are pros and cons to a career in academia. One of my least favorite things is the transient lifestyle that most of my colleagues are required to undertake. In fact, the transient lifestyle of academia was the inspiration for our blog address! Most master's students take 2--3 years to finish their degree and most doctoral students take 5-6 years (this is all assuming they don't encounter any lab or field catastrophes along the way). After a doctoral degree, most people continuing on the academic path will embark on one or more postdoctoral fellowship positions, which last at least one year and can last more. Following completion of the postdoctoral phase, lucky individuals can hope to get a tenure-track faculty position. I have made friends in all of these stages of academia and watched them move on to the next phase. Ted and I attended a going away party last weekend for a friend that finished his PhD and is moving on to a postdoc. It was bittersweet as it always is. He's going to be starting a great postdoc, and we'll most likely see each other at meetings in the future. However, we probably won't roam the same halls again. I've stayed in touch with some of the closer friends I've made in grad school and lost touch with others. It's always sad when someone from our nerdy little community moves on to a new place. The upside of this situation is that someone new is always wandering in, and I hope that one day I'll have tenure and remain a permanent fixture in the halls of a building serving as home to a bunch of enthusiastic scientists.
Spoiled Dog
As many of you know, Fritz is the equivalent of our child. This isn't unusual among dog lovers. We spoil him much more than we probably should, and it's debatable as to who is really in charge around our house. As a result of our affection for Fritz, our parents have also adopted this view of him. He receives Christmas gifts from them (wrapped of course) and other surprise gifts from time to time. When Ted's parents visited in the spring, they brought him a stuffed lamb chop. Fritz carried it everywhere with him! He used it as pillow while also removing all of its stuffing and squeakers. It had reached the point where there was nothing left but the outer shell. The largest of the five squeakers was still inside and giving Fritz a bit of trouble. When we mentioned this to Eileen (Ted's mom), she purchased a replacement for Fritz and mailed it to us here in Arizona. Fritz has taken to the new lamb chop and has already removed one of the squeakers. Below are pictures and video of Fritz opening his new gift. Yes, our pup unwraps his own gifts. He'll even help unwrap yours if you let him!
This photo doesn't include lamb chop,
but I love Fritz's expression and wanted to share!
Watch Fritz open his new toy!
The lamb chop on the left is the old one. The new one is on the right.
Fritz likes to use lamb chop as a pillow.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Animal Behavior and Life in Tempe
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| Standing by my poster at the ABS meeting |
Unfortunately, the meeting kept us pretty busy, and so we didn't really get to explore Boulder. It's a pretty small city with a hippie/outdoorsy vibe to it. I'm glad I got to visit, but I'm not sure I'd add it to my list of places to vacation or live. However, it is surrounded by some gorgeous mountains, which are known for their amazing hiking and rock climbing opportunities.
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| Fritz likes to help Ted while he's working at home. |
We've been having a few overcast and rainy days in Tempe, which I am finally coming to appreciate. Initially I loved that every day was sunny here and disliked the occasional grey sky. However, once in awhile it is nice to walk around outside without feeling like some giant being is holding a large magnifying glass above you and directing a beam of sunlight straight at you. After living here, I'll be sure to encourage all children to avoid partaking in this activity which many of us did with ants when we were young.
Because Ted and I haven't posted on our blog for a couple of years, I thought a longer post was needed. I'll try to update it more often so that friends and family living far from us can keep abreast of our adventures. To start this off, I thought I'd post some photos of the ants I work with. Enjoy!
Below are pictures of the Environmental Growth Chamber that many of our ant colonies live in.
Here are photos of two of the species of ants I work with.
Camponotus festinatus
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| This is a typical nest box made of dental plaster. has a nest area and foraging area. |
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| This is a close up of the nest area. |
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| These are some workers (both majors and minors) and brood. |
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| This is a C. festinatus queen. |
Aphaenogaster cockerelli
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| Aphaenogaster cockerelli queen |
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| Workers and brood in the nest area |
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| This is a typical nest box for Aphaenogaster cockerelli. Here is a video of the Aphaenogaster queen in the nest. Note the egg stuck to her gaster (i.e., her butt). :) |
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