Sleep is a Beautiful Thing

Good morning my beautifuls! Do you wake up and remind yourself that 'human life is precious and meaningful'? It's a great way to start the day! Instead of waking up stressed about what you have to do during the day, give yourself a moment to observe the peacefulness of just waking up. Gently wake yourself, smile softly at the world, and remind yourself that you had enough good karma to have another day on this beautiful planet (not everyone is this lucky you know!) Feel better? I thought so.

We are interdependent not independent.

 Since I'm on a roll here, I'm going to continue with honorable/right intentions. It's something I have been practicing but it is extremely hard!! I guess I can add patience/not getting angry which people love to test! A perfect example is my research. I wake up at 4:45a (the birds aren't evening awake yet!) so I'm out of the house by  5:15a. I'm getting really good at multi-tasking like making my lunch while brushing my teeth while trying to wiggle into my field boots. Or like making coffee and staring at the machine wishing it would just hurry up already.Then I hop in my car to go pick up my research truck. By the way, I feel invincible in that baby! A big F350-Super Duty Trition V10 dually. You wouldn't believe the looks I get :) So now here comes the patience/right intentions/patience/not angry stuff. I'm pretty much on only 3 roads to get me to Plymouth, NC but traffic at 5:30a is slow moving. I'm wanting to put the cruise at 77 and get out there as quickly as possible with nobody getting in my way. As you can guess, that never happens. I try merging onto 40 and everyone is being a butt-head and won't let me in when I'm in an exit only lane. So I practice my not-angry mindset because anger only hurts yourself. The drivers next to me have no idea I'm angry! I also practice right intentions - I tell myself that they may be in a bigger rush than me and that their life is just as important as mine and I let them not let me because I don't want them to be late. BUT.... I am driving a huge truck so if I just slightly merge over, they clear out of the way pretty darn quickly. Another way I practice this is when I'm in the passing lane and someone is stuff behind a slow-moving semi and is trying to change lanes. I slow down enough to let them in (because I know nobody else will and I'm trying to minimize the suffering in their life) so they can go on their merry way. Yes, I'm not booking along at 77 anymore but guess what? I still make it to Plymouth, I'm still alive and breathing, and I'm fortunate enough that I am able to use a vehicle free of charge and not pay $100/day in gas.

Holding hands is the most open display of affection.

So here's a cool story. After 20 hours of hand-harvesting my plots, I am finally finished. Why did it take so long? Because I way busy dodging rain and trying to keep my harvested ears dry so they won't rot before I can do my data analysis. So last week Friday, it was miraculously not raining, although it was a beautiful scorcher at 97 and no clouds. Naturally, my sunscreen didn't work and I was every shade of red you can imagine. Never fear, I had vinegar and it healed pretty quickly! So I managed to harvest all of my Bt trial and part of the fungicide trial on Friday. On Monday, I stopped at my fields to see if I could finish the harvesting. I managed to finish the fungicide trials before it started to rain like it was trying to drown me. So I packed up the truck and drove out to Plymouth to start processing my harvested ears. Tuesday decided it didn't feel like letting me harvest, so I took a drive out to Plymouth again. But Wednesday was nice. Wednesday let me finish harvesting my biocontrol timing x rate plots. I was going to harvest my labmate Megan's plots for her but her field had standing water in it :(  That made me sad because I was out there ready to harvest her plots to save her some time since she is insanely busy in the lab. 

Okay, it's obvious I feel very connected to elephants. We feel big and mighty but compared to an elephant we are tiny and weak. Elephants may be large in size by they are graceful and gentle. We may be small in size but we are harsh and destructive. To me, elephants represent wisdom, kindness, a gentle strength, and respect. I want to incorporate those qualities into my life every second, every opportunity I get. Elephants are a beautiful form of life.

Lesson learned this week: sleep is a beautiful thing. After getting a total of 9 hours of sleep in 3 nights time, I think I'm ready for a good night's rest. But did that happen? Nope. I was up at 4:45 ready to go. I somehow convinced my body it would be a splendid idea if we could get another REM cycle in and it happend! WOOOOOO! As much as it sucks to get very little sleep and then work 18 hours straight...I wouldn't change it for the world. I love my project. I love spending time in my field alone (even though it's pretty creepy out there in the dark)! I love touching plants. I love being outside. I love hopping in my work truck and getting in touch with my inner farmer. I love putting on jeans with a button-down top and some sturdy boots. I love getting sweaty, having corn silks and husks in my hair, grasshoppers and little critters buzzing around my head, and hand harvesting. I love filling up my truck with my harvest. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I look at how much I've done during a day's work in the field. I know there's always more to do and my job is never done, but one day's work beating the rain is something special. I love my advisor Dr. Ron Heiniger and his field tech Leah Boerema. Agronomists and Crop Scientists are great people and I am fortunate enough to be working with two of the most amazing people I could ask for. 

I love how they are both kneeling towards each other as if they both have so much to learn from the other one. I love how they both look so peaceful as if there are no tragedies in the world. I love how they are both beautiful. 

Oh don't get me wrong. Some days I just want to cry in a corner and yell 'I quit' over and over but then I remember why I love my job so much and why I want to continue it in the future. I want to see growers smile after him/her and I figure out what is going on and solve the problem. I want to see growers be successful and harvest a bountiful crop. I want to see growers get excited about what they do and listen to their stories. That is what I want. And if that means working 100 hours a week, getting stuck in traffic, getting sunburned and getting a mouthful gnats, I'm in. You won't ever see me in a bad mood after a day in the field. I mean, how can I be when I'm living my dream? I know for some of you living the dream is winning the lottery and never having to work a day in your life as you sip on mimosas on the beach where the weather is a perfect sunny and 75 everyday. But for me? Winning the lottery is being in the fields, connecting with growers, being in touch with nature, solving the puzzle of how to reduce this pathogen and its toxins. All I need is some climbing and mountains and I'm the richest woman to ever walk this planet.

By the waaaaaaaaaay, Mom and Cheryl will be here in 5 hours. Don't worry the weather is being nice! Just a comfortable 91 and humid :)