Cooking, birding, and skiing in Homer, AK

January 29-February 4

This week's blog is coupled with a vlog. Please watch my latest YouTube video linked at the end of the blog!

The temperatures this week continued to be extraordinarily cold. I believe that the best way to combat the cold temps and long nights is to keep yourself warm by staying active in every way possible and doing fun things. Instead of huddling inside, I choose to ski or do other activities that bring me joy and inner “warmth” instead of just physical warmth found in the cabin.

Anyway, I had another great week. On Monday, the sky dumped a fresh pile of snow, which was very welcome because the ski trails were getting icy. The professor who teaches my Monday classes, Dr. Goldman, is a huge deadhead. He went to Dead 99 shows! Anyone who knows me well will know how excited I am to learn ecology from a fellow deadhead.

Tuesday and Wednesday are my designated internship days. The GIS work started very slowly as I gained an understanding of the tools necessary to perform the analyses required. This week, we made steady progress in tackling the project goals. I started by adding drainage inlets into the work area in Homer; I did this by georeferencing the inlets onto the DEM from a PNG. I then used other tools to connect the drainage pipes and drainage inlets. Next, I verified that ArcMap acknowledged that the drainage inlets were inlets by creating sinks for each inlet.

I always end my internship days by either going to the gym or going for a long ski, which is much needed after working at the computer all day.

Thursday and Friday were spent in class learning about how to communicate science and in the field, where I visited my research site for my project. For my ecology research project, I will be doing work similar to an environmental consultant’s work. There is a site on the beachfront that is designated for the construction of a new hotel. Many people oppose the construction because it is a marsh where many shorebirds are found. I’m not sure exactly what I will be researching or what questions to ask, however this is the problem I want to tackle.

Saturday brought with it a lovely snowstorm. At first sight, I decided I didn’t want to leave the cabin, so I made bread. But after some time, I couldn’t help but drive to the harbor and spend the rest of the day looking for birds and taking pictures.

My Sunday ritual was continued this week, birding with Grace and Lee. We had a great time and discovered a few new species: the Common Loon, Bufflehead, and Song Sparrow. I also saw an America Goshawk earlier in the week.

Some of my favorite meals I made this week were the sockeye salmon my neighbors kindly gave me, halibut ceviche, shakshuka, and a tuna poke bowl.

A common phrase said by my classmates is, “Being in Homer has turned us into old people”. Honestly, I couldn’t agree more. Besides classes, I choose to fill my time with cooking/baking, birding, and XC skiing, all activities that are enjoyed primarily by my “older” friends. All I can say about that is I’m having a splendid time.