July 20, 2014

When I sat down to try to summarize what I have been up to, I considered just writing a single sentence entry (see title). It’s a little bit overwhelming trying to think back on everything that has made 2014 special. I am going do my best by presenting the three main themes of what I have been up to since my last update at the end of 2013.

My first theme is science. 2014 has marked a bit of a turning point for me. I finally feel like I might have figured out how to be a productive AND mentally balanced scientist. I participated in numerous conferences this year, which have allowed me to travel to exotic places like Florida, Calgary, and Hawaii (more on these trips below). I am also finally beginning to reap the benefits of projects I started when I first came to Cincinnati. I feel like I went through a publishing frenzy that is just beginning to let up. Among my diverse projects, which are now available for the world to read about, is one that I conducted with my recently graduated undergrad, Eric. We explored the foraging ecology of now extinct mammoths and mastodons in the Cincinnati region. If you would like to know more about this project, check out this little article that was written about us (http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=20119). I also now have a couple of papers examining how different preparation and analytical techniques might result in isotopic variability among labs. While this topic probably sounds boring to most of you (actually, it sounds kind of boring to me), I think that these contributions will both be rather important to my field. And finally, I have the honor of being included on a paper with a group of international colleagues who I have never met. As the summer wraps up, the next wave of projects is in the works. I have also got to get some funding!

Aside from my own research, my lab has been bustling with activity. I saw my two of first graduate students through successfully completing a masters thesis and passing a PhD candidacy exam. This was a lot of work for everybody and I am pleased that both of these events are now behind me. I am proud of both of my students. My lab has diminished in size with recent graduations, but I am looking forward to having things be a little bit calmer this fall. I think I took on too much last year.

I developed yet another new class in the spring and really put my heart and soul into it (that’s two for two during the 2013-2014 academic year). I designed this introductory course, which I call “Ice Age Mammals”, to introduce a diverse assortment of students to a broad array of scientific principles including geologic time, comparative skeletal osteology, fossil preservation, mammal taxonomy, and conservation biology. The course challenged me more than any to date because (1) it turns out I knew very little about mammal evolution in North America, and (2) I had no time to prepare for the course prior to the start of the term. What fun! Luckily I survived and it seems like the students got a lot out of the course. Lectures were the hardest part for me (because I generally had to learn what I was going to talk about the night before each class period). So… I tried to make the course as interactive as possible. We had debates and town hearings and lots of group discussions, and as many hands on lab-type activities as possible. Next time I teach this class, it will be much, much easier. Although I enjoyed the topic and most of my students, I was very, very happy when the term ended. It turns out that the summer is a mandatory term for recuperating one’s brain and body. I don’t think I would last long in my job without it.

And last, but not least, I headed an interdisciplinary team in the design and eventual installation of a permanent exhibit on climate and climate change for the Cincinnati Museum Center. If you would like to know more about the exhibit, check out this little story that was written up about it (http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=19969). I would also be happy to give you a personal tour. Our exhibit is small but I am exceedingly proud of it. Seeing the final product is very, very rewarding.

My second theme is travel. The conferences that I mentioned above provided me with an opportunity to see a lot of old friends and also visit parts of the world that are new to me or that I haven’t seen in years. My Florida conference happened to fall in February, which was perfectly timed. Like many places across the US, this winter was rough in Cincinnati. I learned all about how poorly insulated our house is and how much fun it is to try to teach a class when school is continuously cancelled due to inclement weather. (In fact, both the last day of fall semester AND the first two days of spring semester were cancelled thanks to snow and cold!) Balmy Florida raised my spirits considerably. After co-chairing a symposium and delivering my own talk, I took a long walk in the sunshine and felt 100% happy and alive. This trip also gave me the opportunity to visit Homosassa Springs, where I saw many, many manatees (which look remarkably like giant turds floating in the water). Returning to Cincinnati crushed me a little bit, but I didn’t have too long to worry about the weather because I was already preparing to go to sunny (but decidedly less balmy) Alberta Canada. Actually, the weather there was comparable to Cincinnati. Matt accompanied me on this trip, and after co-chairing another symposium and presenting a poster, we explored the city. There are lots of good cowboys in Calgary (and of course we had to get some cowboy boots). There was also much better beer than we ever experienced in Ontario. We ended our trip with a very enjoyable curling event. I do not understand why this sport hasn’t caught on more in the US. Once one gets the hang of it, it is quite delightful.

After the spring semester ended, Matt and I headed to Wisconsin for a Weirauch Family reunion. I got to meet many family members who were previously only known by name. We stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast right on a little lake and I had very high hopes of going out in a rowboat. But… alas, the weather was wet and remarkably cold considering it was mid May. Instead we passed the time by visiting the Circus Museum (which is pretty amazing) and the New Glarus Brewery, which is also pretty darn amazing.

Following our Wisconsin trip we had some down time. Spring and early summer were particularly lovely this year in Cincinnati. After the ground thawed and things began to bloom, Matt and I enjoyed exploring the city a bit. There are a lot of little hidden wonders even within our own neighborhood. Then, in mid June, Matt and I took a real vacation (i.e. an extended period away from home that is unrelated to work). We took mom up to northern Michigan for a few days at an old resort on Lake Leelanau. Unlike Wisconsin, the weather was mostly remarkably beautiful. And we rejoiced. We hiked about on sand dunes and kayaked and even got to tour the old State Hospital in Traverse City (which is now in the process of being 100% renovated into boutique shopping, restaurants and condominiums). We headed north to Harbor Springs, where we caught up with mom’s old childhood friend Jane. We consumed lunch at an institution called Legs Inn, which is an excellent polish restaurant that boasts one of the most intriguing restaurant interiors I have ever seen. Imagine an old wooden lodge with a checkered linoleum floor filled with bizarre sculptures. I am afraid that description doesn’t really do it justice. Matt and I then parted ways with mom and headed to Mackinac Island for several days. We hiked and biked all over the island and had an utterly splendid time. We even tried out navigating some trails by horse. This is definitely a special place. From Mackinac we headed up to the northern part of the Upper Peninsula, where we had anticipated camping along the coast of Lake Superior. We enjoyed a glorious picnic lunch along the northern coast of Lake Michigan, but the mosquitoes were horrific on the other coast. So we just kept driving and driving until we reached Marquette, home of Black Rock Brewery and giant iron ore docks that look like something out of a dystopian world. We landed ourselves at the historic Landmark Inn for a night and then the weather turned foul. Rather than continue to try to enjoy a soggy and mosquito-filled UP, we drove south until we left the storm. We drove all the way to the port town of Charlevoix (which is just south of Petoskey) before the weather cleared. We spent our last two nights ensconced along the harbor, taking in the boats and the tranquility of no rain or mosquitos. Summary of our trip – Michigan is great and I imagine that we will go back frequently. The miles of coastline calm the spirit in a way that Cincinnati cannot.

Returning from Michigan, we had a week to madly work before heading to Hawaii. The purpose of the trip was a conference on Island Biology in Oahu followed by a week revisiting some of my favorite haunts on the Big Island. Aside from the conference, which introduced me to a number of new colleagues and research ideas, we filled our time with a little bit of exploration. I don’t know Oahu well and spent some time trying to find good things to do. In the end, we hiked along a rocky shoreline and saw many bird burrows filled with little shearwater chicks (which were super cute) and one monk seal with a face encrusted in algae. We visited a lovely arboretum, hiked to a nice (but overly crowded) waterfall, and attempted to complete the world’s largest maze at the Dole Plantation (we would have completed our mission but we had to catch our flight to the Big Island). And of course we also got in a couple of nice snorkels. Evenings were spent in the Waikiki area. It took us awhile to figure out how to navigate this area. Attempting to find the beach from the land is a little bit like trying to penetrate a man-made fortress. But we persevered and subsequently enjoyed several lovely sunsets on the water.

I am pleased to report that the Big Island is much as I remembered it. I had feared it would have changed dramatically in the 12 years since my last visit. Thankfully this fear was not realized. The place was remarkably familiar. Matt and I had a marvelous time touring the island in a counterclockwise direction. Around Volcano National Park, we were hit by a tropical storm that drenched us for several days. This was unfortunate as neither of us likes hiking in the rain too much and it reduced the normally glorious panoramic vistas down to roughly 50 feet. But it made us that much more appreciative when the rain cleared. And thanks to the rain, we were able to see some really spectacular waterfalls. Whenever possible, I was in the water. I had to try to quench my thirst for the ocean before returning to the middle of the continental US. Coastal ocean life seems pretty healthy on the islands. We saw oodles of big, colorful fish, but, somewhat disappointingly, no sharks or octopus. It makes me more than a little sad to think that coral reefs might largely disappear within my lifetime. I guess I’ll have to try to get back to Hawaii as soon as possible! On our last full day on the Big Island we were rewarded with glorious weather. We hiked up on top of a massive cinder cone called Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a, which boasts an impressive 360 degree view of the western half of the island, and then drove to the northern tip of the the Kohala mountains where we enjoyed a Hawaiian themed dinner and stayed in a quaint little hotel. We even got in a lovely last morning snorkel (which was potentially one of the best snorkel spots I have seen) before departing for the mainland. All in all a fantastic (and much needed trip). Thank you Hawaii!

And finally, my third theme is…beer. Thanks to all of our travel, I have been able to visit some truly fantastic breweries this year including Swamp Head (Gainesville), New Glarus (Wisconsin), Bells, Founders, Shorts and Black Rock (Michigan), and the Kona Brewery and Big Island Brewhaus (Hawaii). We also enjoyed a Cincinnati beer tour in March that took us to several of the new (and increasingly impressive) breweries in Cincinnati. If you like beer, please consider visiting us in Cincinnati (in case you needed an extra reason).

So that’s all I have to report for now. I sure am grateful for how well this year has treated me. Thank you to all of you who have helped make it special. Now I have one month to buckle down again and try to get everything together before the fall term starts. You might not hear from me again for awhile but do not fear. I will be back again with new exciting things to report as soon as I can.