This weekend I'm going to a 2-day conference. I won't be able to use my Sunday as a day of rest and worship but since the conference is on Horticulture Therapy, it will probably bring both, anyways. I have known about the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association for a few years now but for some reason, I never went out and got my membership. About a month ago I saw that there is an annual conference that is going to be in Guelph this year. Finally, I sent in my registration and $$$. Yeah! One more step closer to my dreams. I'm hoping for lots of connections and collaberating. I hope to learn some new things and be inspired by other peoples lives and projects. I'm looking forward to it but it still feels a little surreal. I hope that I will finally get over another bump and keep moving forward.
Oh, and I reworked my resume, built a cover letter and applied for a new job closer to the area we both want to settle down it. I'm not counting on getting the job and if I do I'm not sure what I'll do since it's still quite a drive but it seems like a smart thing to do right now. Phew, another bump.
Showing posts with label Horticulture Therapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Horticulture Therapy. Show all posts
Friday, 29 March 2013
Friday, 28 December 2012
The next few weeks, months etc.
I'm mixed with lots of different feelings about the future right now. Really, I should just stick with not thinking about the future and have fun right now.
Dan and I are moving out next week. This should be an exciting thing but except for the part where we get to set up a brand new house and unpack all our things, I'm not really looking forward to it at all. I'll be living in a quiet clean new house with no one around when Dan is gone (which has been a lot this summer). I'll cook for myself and Dan (who appreciates it but isn't near as verbal about that as mom and dad are) and that's it. I'll have to walk the dog everyday, which is a good thing, but won't have the reassurance that Caleb is out playing with her everyday too. I'll really miss the company and humor of this place and just thinking about it is putting me down so I'm going to switch directions now.
I'll have my own computer set up with my favorites, I'll have neighbors, I'll have lots of time available to get on the phone with my long lost sisters and friends. I'll get into more of a routine and schedule with housework and cleaning. I'll have a new house to set up with my own things and own styles.
Two weeks later I'm going to B.C. This is the best thing coming up in my schedule. Sarah and Peter are getting married and my sisters and I are going out there for 2 weeks of straight celebrating... hilo style! The guys are coming a week after us (the day before the wedding) and we're all going to travel around for the next week touring the island and wherever else we want.
I'm hoping that Frank and Alisha will be coming out with Gavin soon so that will be something else in the schedule and before you know it, it'll be Christmas.
I'm looking forward to some changes at work. If the posting ever comes up I'm looking to jump on that job advancement and my second job is looking promising in terms of career development.
I'm going to a seminar on Sat. (the first of five) on Horticulture Therapy. This is a big step for me in developing myself academically that I have wanted to do for a while now so that's pretty exciting for me too.
I have my own car now. Dan bought a truck so there's none of the carpooling juggling that we had to do last winter.
So, except for this moving business, life seems pretty exciting for the next little while.
Dan and I are moving out next week. This should be an exciting thing but except for the part where we get to set up a brand new house and unpack all our things, I'm not really looking forward to it at all. I'll be living in a quiet clean new house with no one around when Dan is gone (which has been a lot this summer). I'll cook for myself and Dan (who appreciates it but isn't near as verbal about that as mom and dad are) and that's it. I'll have to walk the dog everyday, which is a good thing, but won't have the reassurance that Caleb is out playing with her everyday too. I'll really miss the company and humor of this place and just thinking about it is putting me down so I'm going to switch directions now.
I'll have my own computer set up with my favorites, I'll have neighbors, I'll have lots of time available to get on the phone with my long lost sisters and friends. I'll get into more of a routine and schedule with housework and cleaning. I'll have a new house to set up with my own things and own styles.
Two weeks later I'm going to B.C. This is the best thing coming up in my schedule. Sarah and Peter are getting married and my sisters and I are going out there for 2 weeks of straight celebrating... hilo style! The guys are coming a week after us (the day before the wedding) and we're all going to travel around for the next week touring the island and wherever else we want.
I'm hoping that Frank and Alisha will be coming out with Gavin soon so that will be something else in the schedule and before you know it, it'll be Christmas.
I'm looking forward to some changes at work. If the posting ever comes up I'm looking to jump on that job advancement and my second job is looking promising in terms of career development.
I'm going to a seminar on Sat. (the first of five) on Horticulture Therapy. This is a big step for me in developing myself academically that I have wanted to do for a while now so that's pretty exciting for me too.
I have my own car now. Dan bought a truck so there's none of the carpooling juggling that we had to do last winter.
So, except for this moving business, life seems pretty exciting for the next little while.
Thursday, 11 October 2012
The American Chestnut Tree
I've found a new hobby/love of mine. I've been talking about it with my family for quite a while and I seem to be pretty passionate about it so I'm surprised I haven't written anything about it on my blog yet.
Part of my Horticulture Therapy course for this saturday is to bring a project. Since the chestnut is what I'm excited about I wrote up a blurb about it. Since most of it isn't really important for this post I just copy and pasted the part that might seem interested. If you click on the link and follow it to other links, you might get excited about it too. check it out.
History of the American Chestnut
Seventy years ago the American Chestnut made up 25% of our trees in our woods and forests from south Georgia up to southern Ontario. The wood was used for furniture and the nuts were used as food. The American Chestnut has a sweeter taste than the chestnuts we know today and the nut harvest could be depended on since the tree was quite drought resistant.
A blight believed to be introduced by the Chinese chestnut tree was introduced in the 1940's and rapidly ran through our forests destroying almost all of the trees. VERY few trees are left standing and because of the nature of cross pollination, these trees are left standing alone with little capability of producing further nuts for more trees. Some tree roots are left from fallen chestnut trees and these send up shoots once in a while but the shoots generally are killed off by the blight. In 1986 the World Wildlife Fund declared the tree a threatened species.
There is research and teams of people interested in ensuring the trees survival. The research involves attempts at cross pollinating with the Chinese Chestnut to produce a version of the American Chestnut that is blight resistance. Other research includes using a virus to kill the bacteria that causes the chestnut blight.
Most people of my generation do not even know what an American Chestnut looks like. People are needed to go out in their own neighborhoods, back yards and woods to find chestnut trees, help the pollination so that we can collect the precious few nuts, plant them, and then, if they die keep planting more.
More information on the American Chestnut can be found at: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~chestnut/
Part of my Horticulture Therapy course for this saturday is to bring a project. Since the chestnut is what I'm excited about I wrote up a blurb about it. Since most of it isn't really important for this post I just copy and pasted the part that might seem interested. If you click on the link and follow it to other links, you might get excited about it too. check it out.
History of the American Chestnut
Seventy years ago the American Chestnut made up 25% of our trees in our woods and forests from south Georgia up to southern Ontario. The wood was used for furniture and the nuts were used as food. The American Chestnut has a sweeter taste than the chestnuts we know today and the nut harvest could be depended on since the tree was quite drought resistant.
A blight believed to be introduced by the Chinese chestnut tree was introduced in the 1940's and rapidly ran through our forests destroying almost all of the trees. VERY few trees are left standing and because of the nature of cross pollination, these trees are left standing alone with little capability of producing further nuts for more trees. Some tree roots are left from fallen chestnut trees and these send up shoots once in a while but the shoots generally are killed off by the blight. In 1986 the World Wildlife Fund declared the tree a threatened species.
There is research and teams of people interested in ensuring the trees survival. The research involves attempts at cross pollinating with the Chinese Chestnut to produce a version of the American Chestnut that is blight resistance. Other research includes using a virus to kill the bacteria that causes the chestnut blight.
Most people of my generation do not even know what an American Chestnut looks like. People are needed to go out in their own neighborhoods, back yards and woods to find chestnut trees, help the pollination so that we can collect the precious few nuts, plant them, and then, if they die keep planting more.
More information on the American Chestnut can be found at: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~chestnut/
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