Mount Dickerman
Three weeks ago we hiked Mt Dickerman- about 8 miles round trip and 4500' elevation gain. There were still plenty of mountain blueberries to pick and eat, and we saw a bear on the way down! I also shot a great picture of an unknown person enjoying a truly solitary moment on a nearby peak.
I love my work!
Since November 2007 I have been employed at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, or SBRI. A quick (20 min or so) bus ride takes me downtown- I work on the best block in Seattle. Tesla Motors just put in a new dealership only seconds away! And the Jones Soda Co. headquarters (more on them later) is across the street.
My two favorite tasks at this job are salvary gland and midgut dissections. Every Thursday I dissect 100 mosquitoes from 10 cages to check for the overall percentage of malaria infection in their midguts (stomachs). The following Monday I dissect 150 mosquitoes from the same cages to check for how many sporozoites of malaria can be expected from each mosquito in subsequent feeds. I basically provide information that can only be obtained through delicate work under a microscope- the rest of the time I'm just a mosquito farmer. Here is my crop:
Hiking class!
I've been enjoying my hiking class this term. Every Saturday I crawl out of bed at 5am (ugh) to join 10 other people for a long but fun day. We have breakfast in a small-town diner, do a strenuous hike up some the most beautiful peaks in the Cascades, then finish up with burgers and a quiet ride home.
This past weekend was Granite Peak. Here are my fav photos. Enjoy :-)
p.s. be sure to spot the ranger tower at the peak, visible in the 5th photo.
This past weekend was Granite Peak. Here are my fav photos. Enjoy :-)
p.s. be sure to spot the ranger tower at the peak, visible in the 5th photo.
New Photoblog!
I started a new photoblog today:
tewellman2.blogspot.com
New pics are there, check out the "Oregon Coast" album to see what I was up to yesterday!
tewellman2.blogspot.com
New pics are there, check out the "Oregon Coast" album to see what I was up to yesterday!
Photo Hunt!
Dad and I roamed around Portland today to find some good shots. We visited the Portland Saturday Market, International Rose Test Garden, and Japanese Garden. Here are my best pictures, although Dad got some great ones as well:
Time with Family
We drove over to Richland this last weekend, our best opportunity to spend time with the Swishers before responsibilities take over. Kiana is getting big! We played Mexican train, ate cookies, and shared photos. What a great time!
And, being a casual photographer, I couldn't help but show off my two very similar widescreen shots:
And, being a casual photographer, I couldn't help but show off my two very similar widescreen shots:
Belize Arthropods
Arachnids
Brachypelma vagans - Red-rumped tarantula. We all took turns holding this large, gentle spider that was caught roaming across the grass in Bermudian Landing. We were very sad to discover that only half an hour later it was killed by a lawnmower!
Centruroides gracilis - Brown bark scorpion. This little one was scurrying across the bathroom with a dead cockroach, but earlier I had found one crawling halfway up to my knee while I was drying off in the shower! They were everywhere at Las Cuevas.
Brachypelma vagans - Red-rumped tarantula. We all took turns holding this large, gentle spider that was caught roaming across the grass in Bermudian Landing. We were very sad to discover that only half an hour later it was killed by a lawnmower!
Centruroides gracilis - Brown bark scorpion. This little one was scurrying across the bathroom with a dead cockroach, but earlier I had found one crawling halfway up to my knee while I was drying off in the shower! They were everywhere at Las Cuevas.Insects
Tropidacris collaris - fairly common at Cockscomb, these huge grasshoppers have bright pink wings and appear to be a bird when seen in flight. One pooped while it was hanging out on my shoulder- I wouldn't have thought an insect could poop the size of a kidney bean. Everyone insisted on taking a round of pictures before they helped me wipe it off.
Tropidacris cristata - The funniest moment of the entire trip was at Saint Margaret's when this giant lubber grasshopper jumped and latched on to Jeff's lips! He was terrified but couldn't cry out- just hop up and down silently while trying to pry it off.
Pelidnota virescens - Golden jewel scarab, Las Cuevas. A beautiful and surprising by-catch of our moth light.
Megasoma actaeon - Rhinoceros scarab, Las Cuevas. This is the largest insect I found in Belize- the size of a computer mouse! Unfortunately it was a female, so it didn't have the huge horn-like projection which gives this species its common name- but the girls screamed at it anyway.
Tropidacris collaris - fairly common at Cockscomb, these huge grasshoppers have bright pink wings and appear to be a bird when seen in flight. One pooped while it was hanging out on my shoulder- I wouldn't have thought an insect could poop the size of a kidney bean. Everyone insisted on taking a round of pictures before they helped me wipe it off.
Tropidacris cristata - The funniest moment of the entire trip was at Saint Margaret's when this giant lubber grasshopper jumped and latched on to Jeff's lips! He was terrified but couldn't cry out- just hop up and down silently while trying to pry it off.
Pelidnota virescens - Golden jewel scarab, Las Cuevas. A beautiful and surprising by-catch of our moth light.
Megasoma actaeon - Rhinoceros scarab, Las Cuevas. This is the largest insect I found in Belize- the size of a computer mouse! Unfortunately it was a female, so it didn't have the huge horn-like projection which gives this species its common name- but the girls screamed at it anyway.