Preikestolen - Pulpit Rock, Norway

I was so busy in August, I neglected to point out my first clip in Odyssey magazine.   "Guardians of the Forest" was published in the September issue.  I was really pleased with how the editors and designers set up the first page and printed the names of the animals under their photographs.  Also, I was happy to find my article, "Flippin' Out Over School,"  republished in the September issue of Fun for Kidz, which is now in color.

On September 3rd, we hiked to Pulpit Rock and boy does this hike rock!  I LOVED this hike.  On a scale of 1 to 10, this was a 20!  To get to the hike, we took a ferry to Tau, then a bus to
Preikestolen.

This was a pleasant change after hiking up high stone steps.

They say this hike takes about two hours each way.  We were so excited we hiked fast up stone steps and along wooden paths.  We passed everyone except the swift Norwegian hikers.  According to Alltrails, we got to the top in 1 hour and 13 minutes!  The weather was perfect and the view phenomenal.  Although my compact Olympus binoculars (8x21) added extra weight to my pack, I never regretted bringing them anywhere in Europe.

  At the top, young fearless Norwegian girls dangled their legs off the edge, like they were sitting on a fence.  They set an example of bravery--or maybe it was insanity.

Although it looks like I'm about to commit suicide, I'm really on a trail.

That dude on the right with his legs dangling--that's Walt.

That was close enough for me.

Then we hiked higher, away from the crowd.  I sang "I'm on the edge, the edge of Glory" over and over again.  All day long, we savored the stunning vista, etching it into our memories.  I did not want to leave, but the bus and ferry had a schedule to keep and we didn't want to miss the last one.  I wrote in my journal, "I have hiked many mountains to reach panoramas, but none could compare to this."
 

Breathtaking!

The Laurel Marsh Trail, Manchester

Black-capped chickadee

I have been insanely busy in April trying to meet a too-short deadline.  There's nothing quite like chewing up half the month going in one direction, only to realize it's not the right direction.  Then came the frantic scramble to come up with something unique, something creative and something really exciting.  Done!  When someone asked, "what institution?"  Why is it that "mental" was the first word out of my mouth?   I thought it was funny, but there was no laughter on the other end.  LOL.

We watched a large crow polish off a mouse while it was atop a transmission tower.

We've started something new in our critique sessions.  We now deconstruct PB narratives by writing them up and analyzing them.  It's a bit time consuming, but it has been a really helpful exercise in many ways.

Downy woodpecker

LLBean held a free birding event at the Laurel Marsh Trail.  I would definitely do one of their walks again.  We spotted a number of birds and seeing them will help me identify them in the future.  I also downloaded, but have not yet used, Merlin, Cornell Lab's excellent bird ID iphone app.  The guy pointed out these spongy seed pods, but he didn't know what plant produced them.  I still have one in my coat pocket.  I did an image search and found this fascinating Pinterest board called textures and structures.  I have more birding photos, so I'll save them for next post.

Seed pods of a mystery plant? (a chestnut perhaps)

   

Old Furnace State Park, Killingly

I climbed this cliff--twice! (shakes head in major disbelief)

I was a little daredevil last weekend at a beginner rock climbing class at Old Furnace State Park.  Every single participant had climbed before, some in indoor climbing areas.  I had zero experience.  I tried to equate my numerous climbs up Tuckerman's Ravine to a class III climb, but nope, they disagreed.   Thus I went from a class II (scrambling) hike of Tuckermans to a class V scaling of this cliff, skipping all steps in between.  This is typical of something I would do.

This is Cliff, rappelling off the cliff.

During the first class, I thought I was going to learn how to tie knots and procedural things, but oh no.  Not only did I learn the ropes, I used them too.  First I rappelled to the bottom of the smallest cliff seen in the top photo.  Then I climbed up using the rope on the left.  I got about 25 percent of the way up and told one of the many instructors that I thought they could bring me down.  I said that at least three times, but he didn't cave in.  Instead he encouraged me and pointed out footholds.  I eventually made it to the top, but admittedly, I was scared.  On the second trip up they were shouting encouragement as I hoisted myself to higher ledges in a much quicker manner.  Let me tell you, there was a world of difference between their definition of "ledge" and mine.  The following day, I found out that rock climbing uses a lot of muscles that don't see action otherwise.  My muscles (or lack thereof) were quite sore.  Note:  This post has been filed under the label "asylum"--no reason :).

The rock at the top juts out so this climber is dangling in midair.

From past experience, I can't expect all my plans to go smoothly (understatement of the year).  Plan B has bombed, so I'm now working on Plan A along with a couple of other things.  This is the first time I'm writing about research that has not yet been published.

Dolly Garland, Founder & Journaling Ninja at Kaizen Journaling, asked me this question, "How has reading/literature contributed to reaching higher towards your individual potential?"  My answer as well as 42 others can be found at Kaizen Reading.

I'm all set for Sunday's Earth Day Festival in Hartford.  I love it when I come up with clever ideas.  The CT Science Center is nearby and they are reopening their rooftop garden this coming weekend, so I'm hoping that draws in some visitors. 

This post goes along with my last one....... Last night I had a dream I was waking up slowly from a fog, looking around the room bewildered. The shapes of high tech equipment became clearer. Where was I? How did I get here? Well, I hate to say it, but I was in an insane asylum. And this wasn't one of those places where the people have "issues." This was a home for the totally out of touch wacked out cuckoo kind. Welcome to the world of writing! It can make you crazy.

I used to think of myself as normal, but I've stepped so far into science writing, that I'm really beginning to wonder. My accomplishments this past weekend are a little odd. First off, I glued poppy seeds to paper in a circle. Sounds impressive doesn't it? Then I had more fun. I created a 154 inch long piece of expandable portable DNA. Now that's something everyone can use. The DNA came out fantastic! It's colorful, professional and long enough to stretch across a room. What more could I ask for? Surely this is the kind of stuff other people do, but no one else admits. Yes, that's it.