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luzulaJune 13
I and SSG (Senior Scientist Guy) fly up by helicopter. I like SSG, and he is pretty cool--he's in the IPCC, and has gone by ship through the Northwest Passage. Spring is early, and a lot of the snow is already gone. Quite a contrast from last year. We go around noting all the flowers that are in bloom. Sunny; clear blue sky.
June 14
It clouds over in the morning; drizzle most of the day. Despite the rain, I manage to do "snapshot phenology" on the Dryas and Ranunculus sites. This is a project where we monitor the stages of flowering of various chosen species, and compare little open-topped chambers (OTC:s) with control plots. The goal is to predict how the greenhouse effect will influence plant phenology. Big Bang progress: 350 words.
June 15
Foggy and chilly until noon, then it clears up a little. I do snapshot phenology in the Cassiope and Eriophorum sites. Three of the OTC:s have been blown apart in some winter storm, and I patch them up with cable ties. I see a long-tailed skua hanging around, even though there are basically no lemmings for them to eat this year. They are so elegant--one of my favorite birds. Big Bang progress: 400 words.
June 16
We prepare for a new experiment involving "snölegor", or patches of snow that stay long into the summer, in the same place each year (I'm sure there's an English name for these, but I don't know it). I go on a moss-sampling spree from the area around these--lots of difficult hepatophytes that I will no doubt be swearing over this winter. We also hike downvalley to a small shallow lake that drained out a couple of years ago when the permafrost melted out from under it. Later, I climb up to Telephone Rock, where there's cell phone coverage, to phone home. Big Bang progress: 400 words.
June 17
It rains most of the day, a steady and sure nimbostratus rain with occasional mixed-in snow. I bake bread, record podfic, organize and clean the cabin, edit podfic, read, do physical therapy exercises, cook, and write. In the evening the rain lets up, but there's a cold wind and it's about two degrees above freezing. I hike upslope to get out for a while, and to set out some insect traps on one of the higher snow patches. Big Bang progress: 600 words. Yay, I'm over 10,000 words!
June 18
Wow, unexpected drama. During a hike upslope, SSG falls and hits his head on a rock. There's a wide gash down to the bone, and there's blood everywhere, but luckily he doesn't lose consciousness or anything. I take off my undershirt and tie it over his head to try to hold the wound closed, which seems to be successful. We manage to get back to the station with blood all over his head and my hands, and I re-bandage his head with a really smart head-bandage from the first-aid kit, which is like a stretchy cylindrical net to hold a bandage in place. Then I call the emergency number. But they decide it's not serious enough to require an ambulance helicopter because he's conscious and clear-headed, so I arrange other helicopter transport to the closest hospital. Aaand then the police call, and the main research station down in Abisko calls, and then the university calls to ask if I'm feeling traumatized. Which, no? Apparently I handle stuff like this well. There was an initial flailing when I was trying to decide which piece of clothing would work best for bandaging, but otherwise I was feeling calm and focused throughout, and I'm still fine. But I really hope he'll be okay.
June 19
In the morning, SSG calls and says he's okay, and I am relieved to hear it. Then I get a phone call that I'll have a job interview by phone in a week! Eeek. Weather is fine, so I hike downvalley and then up to Telephone Rock to call home, getting several newly flowering plants for the phenology list. It occurs to me that yesterday I spent half an hour with blood all over my hands, and I also had several small cuts on my hands. I should probably check with SSG if he has any communicable diseases. Hmm. Big Bang progress: 200 words.
June 20
SSG flies back up in the morning. He's had ten stitches and is supposed to take it easy for a while. I've been feeling some nagging guilt that I probably underestimated the size of the wound when I called the emergency number, and it turns out that I did (I said maybe 5 cm, and it was more like 10 cm). But it was really hard! I only saw the wound briefly before I bandaged it up, and there was lots of blood and it was really not easy to see how big it was. I was feeling guilty about this because if I'd got the size right, maybe they might've decided to fetch him with the ambulance helicopter? But he's all right now, and that's the main thing. Anyway, the day is rainy and I spend most of it inside. In the evening I go out to check for new flowering plants, and collect some bryophytes. Big Bang progress: 400 words.
June 21
Midsummer; fine weather. I hike downvalley, and also walk around on various snow patches with snow shoes, monitoring the snow depth with an avalanche probe. In the evening SSG lights up the grill, which he always does on Midsummer Eve, and we eat sausage and grilled vegetables. Big Bang progress: 400 words.
June 22
I had just gone out and begun to chart cushions of Diapensia lapponica when it started to rain, and it kept on for hours. *sigh* But hey, SSG asked if I wanted to be co-author on a paper about the Diapensia! Cool! \o/ Apparently the paper needs some math stuff, though I can't imagine it would need very complicated math. In the evening, we get the sauna hot and take a sauna bath and wash some clothes, as well as jump in the lake, which is just above the freezing point and still half-covered in ice. Big Bang progress: 350 words.
June 23
Foggy and drizzly; no wind whatsoever. The mosquitoes are coming out of the woodwork--normally we don't have any up here since it's above the treeline and nearly always windy. I spend the day inside, since the paper would get wet if I tried to make field notes. SSG and I have a farewell dinner of the "chili con reindeer" that he always makes up here. Big Bang progress: 300 words.
June 24
A helicopter comes for SSG in the morning. He leaves me all his expensive camera equipment to play with if I want to, which is sweet of him. Oof, lots of work today. There's the snapshot phenology in Dryas and Ranunculus as well as the measurements of snow depth. Mostly sunny, though with occasional showers that drive me inside. A plotbunny bites me hard, and unfolds in my head while I work. I love when a narrative voice comes to you really strongly. Since I'm me, of course it's in a really rare fandom that maybe five people are into. *rolls eyes* Although hey, the source is based on Greek mythology, so it might have a bit of an audience. I write 650 words of it in the evening. Big Bang progress: 400 words.
June 25
Another busy day. There's snapshot phenology at the Eriophorum and Cassiope sites, and I also change the insect traps, since they're filling up with water with all the rain. A large reindeer herd passes at noon. Mostly warm and sunny today, but with weird weather in the afternoon: cumulus congestus clouds that have been blowing past overhead suddenly ooze down into the head of the valley and make almost a 180 turn and start coming right at me, so that I face a wall of cloud and then fog rushing past with a cold wind. WTF? In the evening I make chocolate cake and finish watching the BBC Shackleton miniseries. It's good, but I got a lot more out of Shackleton's actual book. Writing progress: new fic 500 words, Big Bang 450 words.
June 26
Job interview today, and I climb up to Telephone Rock for it. OMG, nervous! I think it goes okay, though? I do want this job, but gah, change is hard, and I drive myself nuts thinking about all the possibilities. I try to forget about it for now. I empty out some more insect traps, but otherwise mostly take it easy today. The new fic is shaping up to be Eurydice/Persephone. Please tell me someone else wants to read that? Writing progress: new fic 250 words, Big Bang 550 words.
June 27
Various odd jobs today: measuring snow depth, charting Diapensia cushions, taking in seed traps that are emptied once a year, etc. I play around with my camera. SSG is offering to sell me his old macro lens, and I do really want a macro lens for plant photos, but unfortunately it will only work on manual. *sigh* My trial runs all come out too dark or overexposed. I mean, I know the basic theory of aperture size/shutter speed, but fuck if I know how to choose them right in a particular case. I also hike downvalley for a bit. Weather fine. Writing progress: new fic 350 words, Big Bang 350 words.
June 28
I'd planned to climb Latnjacohka (one of the mountains flanking the valley) today if the weather was fine, but it's not. Ah well. I do some indoors work instead. In the afternoon I see the first hikers I've seen so far; they're volunteers who are doing a bird inventory. Then I hike up to Telephone Rock, and OH MY GOD I HAVE A TEXT MESSAGE SAYING I GOT THE JOB. *hyperventilates a little* This is the first job I get in my life that isn't temporary, and it'll bring about some pretty big changes in my life since it's in another city. More about it in some other post. Writing progress: new fic 200 words, Big Bang 200 words.
June 29
I climb Latnjacohka. Weather cloudy and a bit windy, but only a few drops of rain. While I'm up there I do some photo-documentation of a couple of small lakes up there, which SSG asked me to do. On the way down I slide down some snowfields on a plastic bag! That was fun--I must've lost at least 100 m of altitude that way. *g* Sauna in the evening. Writing progress: new fic 250 words, Big Bang 250 words.
June 30
I do some Diapensia charting, snow depth measurements, etc. The second group of hikers of the year pass by, with an adorable one-year-old German shepherd dog. Awww, those big sensitive ears and brown eyes. *melts* No writing today. But hey, in total I've written almost 8000 words while up here! That's pretty good, for me.
July 1
I do various odds and ends that I need to do before the next person comes up to replace me. In the evening, I watch Papillon. Wow, that is so good! *flails* Steve McQueen: totally hot. And fuck, that is one of the slashiest things I have ever seen--there's, like, tender hugging while one of them kisses the other on the neck, and heartbroken looks, and loyalty in the face of insurmountable odds. Gah, it made me cry. If there's no slash between the Steve McQueen character and the Dustin Hoffman character on the AO3 I shall be very disappointed. *rewatches the hugging moments and also ponders future Yuletide request*
July 2
I write up instructions for my replacement, make sure all the field notes are in order, clean the cabin, pack my stuff, etc. But the weather is too dirty to fly in, so I have to wait until tomorrow morning. /o\ I'd been looking forward to a nice long evening catching up with the internet, damn it! I eat chocolate to compensate. Writing progress: new fic 350 words. Am somewhat stuck on an action scene in the Big Bang fic.
July 3
I'm back, yay!
I and SSG (Senior Scientist Guy) fly up by helicopter. I like SSG, and he is pretty cool--he's in the IPCC, and has gone by ship through the Northwest Passage. Spring is early, and a lot of the snow is already gone. Quite a contrast from last year. We go around noting all the flowers that are in bloom. Sunny; clear blue sky.
June 14
It clouds over in the morning; drizzle most of the day. Despite the rain, I manage to do "snapshot phenology" on the Dryas and Ranunculus sites. This is a project where we monitor the stages of flowering of various chosen species, and compare little open-topped chambers (OTC:s) with control plots. The goal is to predict how the greenhouse effect will influence plant phenology. Big Bang progress: 350 words.
June 15
Foggy and chilly until noon, then it clears up a little. I do snapshot phenology in the Cassiope and Eriophorum sites. Three of the OTC:s have been blown apart in some winter storm, and I patch them up with cable ties. I see a long-tailed skua hanging around, even though there are basically no lemmings for them to eat this year. They are so elegant--one of my favorite birds. Big Bang progress: 400 words.
June 16
We prepare for a new experiment involving "snölegor", or patches of snow that stay long into the summer, in the same place each year (I'm sure there's an English name for these, but I don't know it). I go on a moss-sampling spree from the area around these--lots of difficult hepatophytes that I will no doubt be swearing over this winter. We also hike downvalley to a small shallow lake that drained out a couple of years ago when the permafrost melted out from under it. Later, I climb up to Telephone Rock, where there's cell phone coverage, to phone home. Big Bang progress: 400 words.
June 17
It rains most of the day, a steady and sure nimbostratus rain with occasional mixed-in snow. I bake bread, record podfic, organize and clean the cabin, edit podfic, read, do physical therapy exercises, cook, and write. In the evening the rain lets up, but there's a cold wind and it's about two degrees above freezing. I hike upslope to get out for a while, and to set out some insect traps on one of the higher snow patches. Big Bang progress: 600 words. Yay, I'm over 10,000 words!
June 18
Wow, unexpected drama. During a hike upslope, SSG falls and hits his head on a rock. There's a wide gash down to the bone, and there's blood everywhere, but luckily he doesn't lose consciousness or anything. I take off my undershirt and tie it over his head to try to hold the wound closed, which seems to be successful. We manage to get back to the station with blood all over his head and my hands, and I re-bandage his head with a really smart head-bandage from the first-aid kit, which is like a stretchy cylindrical net to hold a bandage in place. Then I call the emergency number. But they decide it's not serious enough to require an ambulance helicopter because he's conscious and clear-headed, so I arrange other helicopter transport to the closest hospital. Aaand then the police call, and the main research station down in Abisko calls, and then the university calls to ask if I'm feeling traumatized. Which, no? Apparently I handle stuff like this well. There was an initial flailing when I was trying to decide which piece of clothing would work best for bandaging, but otherwise I was feeling calm and focused throughout, and I'm still fine. But I really hope he'll be okay.
June 19
In the morning, SSG calls and says he's okay, and I am relieved to hear it. Then I get a phone call that I'll have a job interview by phone in a week! Eeek. Weather is fine, so I hike downvalley and then up to Telephone Rock to call home, getting several newly flowering plants for the phenology list. It occurs to me that yesterday I spent half an hour with blood all over my hands, and I also had several small cuts on my hands. I should probably check with SSG if he has any communicable diseases. Hmm. Big Bang progress: 200 words.
June 20
SSG flies back up in the morning. He's had ten stitches and is supposed to take it easy for a while. I've been feeling some nagging guilt that I probably underestimated the size of the wound when I called the emergency number, and it turns out that I did (I said maybe 5 cm, and it was more like 10 cm). But it was really hard! I only saw the wound briefly before I bandaged it up, and there was lots of blood and it was really not easy to see how big it was. I was feeling guilty about this because if I'd got the size right, maybe they might've decided to fetch him with the ambulance helicopter? But he's all right now, and that's the main thing. Anyway, the day is rainy and I spend most of it inside. In the evening I go out to check for new flowering plants, and collect some bryophytes. Big Bang progress: 400 words.
June 21
Midsummer; fine weather. I hike downvalley, and also walk around on various snow patches with snow shoes, monitoring the snow depth with an avalanche probe. In the evening SSG lights up the grill, which he always does on Midsummer Eve, and we eat sausage and grilled vegetables. Big Bang progress: 400 words.
June 22
I had just gone out and begun to chart cushions of Diapensia lapponica when it started to rain, and it kept on for hours. *sigh* But hey, SSG asked if I wanted to be co-author on a paper about the Diapensia! Cool! \o/ Apparently the paper needs some math stuff, though I can't imagine it would need very complicated math. In the evening, we get the sauna hot and take a sauna bath and wash some clothes, as well as jump in the lake, which is just above the freezing point and still half-covered in ice. Big Bang progress: 350 words.
June 23
Foggy and drizzly; no wind whatsoever. The mosquitoes are coming out of the woodwork--normally we don't have any up here since it's above the treeline and nearly always windy. I spend the day inside, since the paper would get wet if I tried to make field notes. SSG and I have a farewell dinner of the "chili con reindeer" that he always makes up here. Big Bang progress: 300 words.
June 24
A helicopter comes for SSG in the morning. He leaves me all his expensive camera equipment to play with if I want to, which is sweet of him. Oof, lots of work today. There's the snapshot phenology in Dryas and Ranunculus as well as the measurements of snow depth. Mostly sunny, though with occasional showers that drive me inside. A plotbunny bites me hard, and unfolds in my head while I work. I love when a narrative voice comes to you really strongly. Since I'm me, of course it's in a really rare fandom that maybe five people are into. *rolls eyes* Although hey, the source is based on Greek mythology, so it might have a bit of an audience. I write 650 words of it in the evening. Big Bang progress: 400 words.
June 25
Another busy day. There's snapshot phenology at the Eriophorum and Cassiope sites, and I also change the insect traps, since they're filling up with water with all the rain. A large reindeer herd passes at noon. Mostly warm and sunny today, but with weird weather in the afternoon: cumulus congestus clouds that have been blowing past overhead suddenly ooze down into the head of the valley and make almost a 180 turn and start coming right at me, so that I face a wall of cloud and then fog rushing past with a cold wind. WTF? In the evening I make chocolate cake and finish watching the BBC Shackleton miniseries. It's good, but I got a lot more out of Shackleton's actual book. Writing progress: new fic 500 words, Big Bang 450 words.
June 26
Job interview today, and I climb up to Telephone Rock for it. OMG, nervous! I think it goes okay, though? I do want this job, but gah, change is hard, and I drive myself nuts thinking about all the possibilities. I try to forget about it for now. I empty out some more insect traps, but otherwise mostly take it easy today. The new fic is shaping up to be Eurydice/Persephone. Please tell me someone else wants to read that? Writing progress: new fic 250 words, Big Bang 550 words.
June 27
Various odd jobs today: measuring snow depth, charting Diapensia cushions, taking in seed traps that are emptied once a year, etc. I play around with my camera. SSG is offering to sell me his old macro lens, and I do really want a macro lens for plant photos, but unfortunately it will only work on manual. *sigh* My trial runs all come out too dark or overexposed. I mean, I know the basic theory of aperture size/shutter speed, but fuck if I know how to choose them right in a particular case. I also hike downvalley for a bit. Weather fine. Writing progress: new fic 350 words, Big Bang 350 words.
June 28
I'd planned to climb Latnjacohka (one of the mountains flanking the valley) today if the weather was fine, but it's not. Ah well. I do some indoors work instead. In the afternoon I see the first hikers I've seen so far; they're volunteers who are doing a bird inventory. Then I hike up to Telephone Rock, and OH MY GOD I HAVE A TEXT MESSAGE SAYING I GOT THE JOB. *hyperventilates a little* This is the first job I get in my life that isn't temporary, and it'll bring about some pretty big changes in my life since it's in another city. More about it in some other post. Writing progress: new fic 200 words, Big Bang 200 words.
June 29
I climb Latnjacohka. Weather cloudy and a bit windy, but only a few drops of rain. While I'm up there I do some photo-documentation of a couple of small lakes up there, which SSG asked me to do. On the way down I slide down some snowfields on a plastic bag! That was fun--I must've lost at least 100 m of altitude that way. *g* Sauna in the evening. Writing progress: new fic 250 words, Big Bang 250 words.
June 30
I do some Diapensia charting, snow depth measurements, etc. The second group of hikers of the year pass by, with an adorable one-year-old German shepherd dog. Awww, those big sensitive ears and brown eyes. *melts* No writing today. But hey, in total I've written almost 8000 words while up here! That's pretty good, for me.
July 1
I do various odds and ends that I need to do before the next person comes up to replace me. In the evening, I watch Papillon. Wow, that is so good! *flails* Steve McQueen: totally hot. And fuck, that is one of the slashiest things I have ever seen--there's, like, tender hugging while one of them kisses the other on the neck, and heartbroken looks, and loyalty in the face of insurmountable odds. Gah, it made me cry. If there's no slash between the Steve McQueen character and the Dustin Hoffman character on the AO3 I shall be very disappointed. *rewatches the hugging moments and also ponders future Yuletide request*
July 2
I write up instructions for my replacement, make sure all the field notes are in order, clean the cabin, pack my stuff, etc. But the weather is too dirty to fly in, so I have to wait until tomorrow morning. /o\ I'd been looking forward to a nice long evening catching up with the internet, damn it! I eat chocolate to compensate. Writing progress: new fic 350 words. Am somewhat stuck on an action scene in the Big Bang fic.
July 3
I'm back, yay!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-03 03:17 pm (UTC)I would totally read Eurydice/Persephone.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-04 02:46 pm (UTC)I would totally read Eurydice/Persephone.
Yay! The actual inspiration for the fic is the Anais Mitchell album (or folk opera) "Hadestown", which I really recommend.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-03 03:19 pm (UTC)Oh my goodness, I'm glad SSG was okay! Very impressed with your calmness there.
Congrats on the new job! :D I hope it turns out well.
This write up was really interesting; thank you for sharing. :)
I HAVE TO WATCH PAPILLON. In fact, why have I not already?!
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-04 02:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-03 03:42 pm (UTC)And CONGRATULATIONS on the job! Exciting, though I totally hear you about change. Change is hard.
Welcome back!
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-04 02:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-03 05:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-04 02:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-03 11:38 pm (UTC)And I would read the hell out of a Perseophone/Eurydice fic. ♥_♥
The research sounds awesome (as always), and I can't wait to read your fic! =)
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-04 02:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-03 11:43 pm (UTC)As always, I love reading your tales from the Arctic. You really had an eventful time this year. Congratulations on the job. It's going to be great for you to have something you can count on.
I'd love to catch up. Skype on Sunday, maybe?
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-04 02:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-04 03:08 pm (UTC)Big congratulations on the new job, and I'm glad SSG is okay. Sounds like you're the person to have around in a crisis (like Shackleton :-)
I got your postcard yesterday! I would, as I'm sure you know, TOTALLY LOVE to come hiking in Sweden! Maybe in a year or two! And of course the reciprocal offer is open as well - you would so enjoy Colorado.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-05 11:46 am (UTC)Ha, comparing me to Shackleton is a bit much. *g* It's not like I hiked across the whole of South Georgia without a night's rest or something.
And I'm glad the postcard got to you. I'd love to take you hiking up here!
And yeah, I'd have loved to visit you when I've been over for BP, but Colorado is so far from Seattle. Having a steady job now, it won't be as easy to get away for month-long fangirl road trips. : ( OTOH, I know it's kind of silly of me feel getting a non-temporary job as a loss of freedom, because it's a very valuable thing to have, and I suppose I can still take time off if I plan ahead.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-04 05:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-05 11:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-05 07:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-04 11:50 pm (UTC)And yay new job! *hugs on you*
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-05 11:47 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-05 03:23 am (UTC)Looking forward to more fic from you.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-05 11:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-06 01:33 pm (UTC)And thanks for the postcard. My partner would like me to tell you that you "sound officially awesome". So there you go :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-06 08:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-03 08:33 pm (UTC)Sounds like you had a fantastic and eventful time up there. I got your postcard btw. Thank you! I might take you up on your suggestion to come visit. ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-05 10:22 am (UTC)And yes, you should come visit some time! And now that I'll be living in the south of Sweden, it would be much closer and easier if I want to come visit you, too--it'll be, like, half the distance.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-03 08:47 pm (UTC)And also: YAY JOB! \O/
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-05 10:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-03 10:18 pm (UTC)My knowledge of Steve McQueen is limited to the Great Escape (I'm convinced RayK's jumping-through-window-on-motorbike exploit is inspired by SMQ's motorbike scene in that film. You know it? He makes a huge epic leap to freedom on a motorbike!) Anyway, now I really want to see Papillon too!
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-05 11:01 am (UTC)I haven't seen The Great Escape yet, though it's on my to-watch list. And it seems like there's a lot of homage to various movies in dS? Like, the car chase scene in Heaven and Earth really ends a lot like the car chase scene in Bullitt.
And do watch Papillon and come squee with me about it afterwards!
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-06 08:29 am (UTC)Yes! I mean, I'm not nearly as big a movie buff as I'd like to be, but I keep thinking I recognise stuff too. Surely the start of MotB is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? (Another famous buddy movie. There's a classic scene where they're arguing about whether to jump off a cliff into a river or not.)
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-06 08:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-06 12:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-04 10:12 am (UTC)Also, congratulations on getting the job! That's wonderful news! I'm so happy for you.
And, in closing, I would totally like to read Eurydice/Persephone.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-05 11:01 am (UTC)