I like to think of STS as a Science Lifestyle Blog, or basically a mash-up of my two favorite types of blogs to read. This is a slice of life, outdoor travel essay. If you enjoy seeing this sort of content on the blog, please let us know!
The end of spring is always a busy travel time for me. The bulk of my dry season field work is done in July and August, so I often find myself traveling home or to fun destinations (thanks wedding season!) to celebrate and visit with friends and family in late May or early June. This year has proved no exception, as my husband and I spent two weeks traveling for various family events, squeezing in visits with friends and working on projects remotely along the way. If you’re interested in the full escapade, you can check the highlights on my Instagram. We are both on the introverted side of the scale, and after nearly two weeks of almost constant social interaction, even though it was tons of fun, we decided a break to recharge our batteries was in order. What better way to do that than to escape into the great outdoors?
We had originally planned to take our first couple’s backpacking trip, as D has never been backpacking and we have plans to go during part of our honeymoon next summer. However, by the time the end of our two week trip actually arrived, we were trashed tired. We also decided we really needed to be adults and get home a day earlier than we had originally planned due to work concerns. That left us only one night and a day. In the end, we opted to visit Yosemite National Park. D had never been, and I was itching to see the look on his face the first time we entered Yosemite Valley. Continue reading “National Park in a Day: Yosemite”
trying to prioritize work life balance a bit during this busy season. Having said that, I have to admit I sort of hate the buzz wordy-ness of the phrase ‘work life balance’ for a couple reasons. First, because balance somehow implies equality between multiple values or goals. It’s probably more accurate to call them ‘work life trade-offs,’ a phrase I think I got from my masters adviser. Second, I feel like, particularly in academia, people absolutely love to talk about balance, then keep right on working 12 hours a day or whatever. If you need some encouragement to choose to have a life sometimes, here’s a story. I recently co-organized a panel on non-academic careers in conservation (It was so, so great! Want to know more?), and 
I don’t know about everyone else, but I could not be more excited and ready for #AcademicSummer 2016. Quals (take three!) are once more (SUCCESSFULLY) behind me and now I can finally relax into my favorite time of year. My advisor and his co-PI were gracious enough to fund my research for the summer (most Statistics students teach or grade for their funding) and I have left my days of classes, grading, and studying behind for coding and, to be real, actually living my life. I chose to write about this book, My Family and Other Animals, because it was such a lovely find last summer when I was living and studying in Seattle. I found this book in the mini library at Zeitgeist Coffee and was able to read it in spurts during transit and downtime. I love the idea of books that belong to The People and I’m hoping to pass along the interest in this one especially since I’ve taken so long to finish it.
ldlife Park was the first zoo to house only endangered breeding species, and has been one of the pioneers in the field of captive breeding. His book provides a delightful peek into the beginnings of this impressive career and lifelong love for conservation. 
Sweet Tea, Science 