Special focus…

Special focus… I have been in my new studio for 3 weeks now and been productive for 2 weeks with a few throwing sessions. Getting into a new groove has not been without it's challenges. This space is quite intimidating and a challenge to make an impact on.
I thought about creating work flow spaces and economy of effort and for that very reason have placed my throwing station close to shelvage and wedging room which at the mo is the floor…

Down the track kilns will be wired and plumbed but for now I'm transporting wares to be fired, which also means driving like a granny ;) … my raku kiln will get cranked this week weather permitting and hopefully I'll stream that. stay in touch on periscope @angwalford, twitter @angwalford and instagram @angelawalford

shino noodle

I'm concentrating on a few wares like shino noodle bowls and servers and shortly the white range will get started again.  With the next few firings planned and exhibition works get finalised, there's a lovely project called the cup collaboration which I'm so looking forward to see what everyone has come up with! And the big clay day out is the end of this month too! So looking forward to that @ Flaxley this year sat 26 september midday til dark and no doubt a media production will happen too!

Anyhoo here's a small gallery of images from this week… happy days ;)

lil birdie

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LTER All Scientists Meeting

It has been a busy summer! Two weeks after ESA we are headed to Estes Park, CO for the LTER- All Scientists Meeting.

We will have 3 more posters (totally different than our ESA posters!??!?!) at the LTER-ASM:

Physiological and functional traits of dune building grasses influence topographic structure

Cross-island comparison of temporal variations in woody-grassland bistability at the Virginia Coast Reserve

Cross-scale analysis of alternate stable states associated with woody encroachment at the Virginia Coast Reserve

Science is happening at CPEL!

Stay tuned for photos and updates from the Rocky Mountains.

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All the essentials are in...

After a few trips to my new studio all the essentials are in.

Big thanks to Kevin for his assistance and being general lifter and mover! So Tuesday was the first throwing session just to get into a groove in the new space and a mad minute at the end of the day… if you're on instagram no doubt you have already seen it ;)

Also fired my gas kiln on Monday and yet again burner issues but kept going and after 14 hours finally got to cone 10 with 1 main burner down. On inspection of the cooler atmosphere in my kiln it was a very even firing. A lot of these pieces were twice fired and no doubt this added to the glaze surface, very happy with this lot!

And if you are heading out to Seppeltsfield for this Barossa Gourmet Wkd drop by and say hi!

Turn off at Greenock off ramp off the A20, then right at the intersection directly to seppeltsfield.

Had some lovely results firing my rocket kiln for SALA all these raku bottles are at The Terrace on Glen Osmond Rd Eastwood.

A small amount of tweaking the firebox gave much faster firing responses, it reduces like mad, woohoo!!

Anyhoo hope to see you this wkd in the Barossa…

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ESA100

This was a great year for CPEL at ESA!  We had 9 students (2 undergrad, 4 master's, and 3 PhD) in attendance along with 1 junior ecologist (our 1 1/2 year old).  In addition to our own talks and posters(photos below), we saw a lot of great research from students of Nathan Kraft, Debra Peters, Steve Archer, Mendy Smith, and many, many others. 

One workshop that was particularly of interest was "Women in Ecology" organized by Andrea Thorpe.  It was very apparent that while there are many great resources for women available, many women are falling through the cracks and in need of support.  I have experienced this myself and seen it happen in other women in ecology.  There is a resource (which I have had difficulty accessing) in the Earth Science Women's Network.  However, we left the workshop with the idea of organizing a network through ESA.  In the meantime, I will be teaching a topic seminar on Women in Ecology and will have weekly blog posts highlighting the challenges and amazing research from a diverse group of women. 

Some memorable quotes from the workshop:
"We can help other women and provide resources by creating a network of women in ecology"

"This is not a male vs. female thing, it's an inclusive thing"

"We don't have a female version of a beard to make us more respected as young female ecologists"

"You don't need to change who you are to be a scientist"

"Have the confidence to represent yourself and what you bring to the table"

"There is no one way; there is no right way; there is what is best for you" (This one has been turned into a haiku from our twitter feed!)

In the short-term, @cpelvcu has created a women in ecology list.  Send us a tweet if you would like to be added.  Hopefully, there will be more to come. 

I almost forgot: our week started off with a unique synergism of ecology and my little pony.  CPEL embraced this and interacted with the Bronies. And now - lots of photos from the conference! 

April explains the functional traits of dune building grasses

Ashley with her poster on functional types and overwash disturbance

Audrey is engaged on the effect of salinity and drought in coastal grasses

Ben explains bistability in barrier islands

Endangered species condoms - don't ask

Joe is ready for the poster session

Swag!

Our usual suspects

Young ecologist in training

CPEL-BronyCon Synergism

Why not?

CPEL group photo

 Hog Island - VCR

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Visit us at ESA

If you are attending the Ecological Society of America meeting, come by and visit us  (if you are not, I encourage you to come):
  

Talks:

 

Physiological filters to vegetation establishment on contaminated soil

Tuesday, August 11, 2015: 11:10 AM

347, Baltimore Convention Center

Stephen Via, Julie Zinnert, and Donald Young

 

Linking vines to woody hosts: Untangling the biotic influences in a physically dominated environment

Tuesday, August 11, 2015: 2:50 PM

322, Baltimore Convention Center

Spencer Bissett, Julie Zinnert, and Donald Young

 

Posters:

Grassland species vary in tolerance to stressors associated with climate change

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Audrey Kirschner and Julie Zinnert

PS 23-22

 

Functional traits explain ecosystem engineering in dune building grasses

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Julie Zinnert, Joseph Brown, April Harris, Joseph Thompson, and Donald Young

PS 26-52

 

Shrub encroachment and persistence: A case of biofeedback leading to stability after state change

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Benjamin Dows, Julie Zinnert, and Donald Young

PS 26-66

 

Functional type changes over a disturbance gradient of overwash sites on a Virginia barrier island

Friday, August 14, 2015

Ashley Moulton and Julie Zinnert

PS 88-89

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Challenges for young ecologists - upcoming Ecological Society of America meeting

One of the most important steps in the professional development of young ecologists is attending ecological meetings, presenting their own research, and most important, developing a network of colleagues. This is important for professional growth and collaborations that lead to synthetic research projects. However, one of the biggest challenges for many young ecologists is the ability to participate in meetings fully. Let me explain.


Graduate students, post-docs, and assistant professors represent the next generation of ecology, but are among the lowest in annual income in the ecological society. Many young ecologists are at the point in their personal life where they are starting families.  With the increase in gender equality and representation of women in the Ecological Society of America (ESA) over the last decade, it is very common to see people (both male and female) with children in tow at the meetings. This has been very inspiring.  Personally, I have taken my children to all but 1 ESA meeting (where I was able to arrange other care with family).


But an overlooked cost of meetings (which are often subsidized by grants and university funds) is child care.  For example, this year a half day of child care at ESA is $45 to $49.50 (depending on time of day).  4 half days of child care at ESA will cost between $180 and $198. 4 full days is $378 (more than I spent on registration).  Due to this high personal cost, many people are faced with different choices: 1) not attending the meeting, 2) couples alternate when they go to meetings, or 3) couples bring their children and make decisions about which session they will attend (this has been our strategy recently).


Fortunately, this topic is receiving increased attention and  some institutions are offering financial support for child care.  The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has new regulations allowing scientists to use federal funds for child care costs. NSF does not allow for reimbursement of child care associated with conferences directly from grants, but the awardee institution may reimburse costs with indirect funds (in the process of finding out VCU's policy). This may help PIs, but likely will not translate to post-docs and graduate students. One possible solution is a modest increase in registration fees to help defray the costs of child care. (I do not know if fees currently are used in this manner).


However, even with financial support, one issue remains; child care is not available when the dinners and discussions that move ecology forward and facilitate networking take place. This requires a change in our attitude about the presence of children in different situations. 

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Cucumber Gardening Tips: Care, Feeding, Trellising and Transplants!

Cucumber Gardening Tips: Care, Feeding, 

Trellising and Transplants!

Come mid July from heat, bugs, diseases or all three... your cucumbers can get beat up. A lot of time, here in Maryland Zone 7, I get great production from my cucumbers from late June until the end of July. But then the plants just get beat down. That leads me to my first and most under utilized tip.

TIP ONE: Start some new cucumber transplants mid July. Select a fast maturing variety and start the seeds outdoors in 8 ounce cups. Replace your old beat up plants with 2 week old transplants come the end of July. They should be up producing by the end of August.

Your cucumbers might be a bit weathered and worn. You can use Epsom Salt as a way to green them up and it is probably a good idea to give the a nice large liquid feeding with a balanced liquid fertilizer that covers N-P-K and micro-nutrients. This is true for both container and ground planted cucumbers. If you are growing cucumbers in containers, you should be feeding them at least 2x's a month when they are producing.


TIP TWO: Give them some Epsom Salt and a liquid fertilizer that is well balanced.

Sometimes you get lots of flowers and little cucumbers that seem to turn brown and die after growing. That is because the female flower with the tiny cucumber wasn't fertilized. You can actually hand pollinate cucumbers to increase production.

TIP THREE: Learn the difference between male and female cucumber flowers and try your hand at hand pollination. This will help you get more mature cucumbers.

Cucumbers can take up a lot of space in the garden. Trellising cucumbers is a great way to save space and better manage pests and disease. It is a lot easy to spray cucumbers that are growing vertically. You are able to get both sides of the leaves much more easily.

TIP FOUR: Grow your cucumbers vertically. It makes care much easier!

Cucumbers are often attacked by cucumber beetles and other insects for that I use Neem Oil and soap to make a spray. They also can get powdery mildew. For that I use a baking soda spray. Spraying before problems arise is key. Know when problems show up in your garden. Write down the dates and start spraying 2 weeks before they arrive. AND.... ALWAYS test spray anytime you make a spray, it is important to test a few leaves with the spray and wait 48 hours to see if any damage occurs.

TIP FIVE: Start spraying 2 weeks before problems arise in your garden. I use Neem Oil for insects and baking soda at times as an anti-fungal.

Good Luck with Your Garden, Gary (The Rusted Garden)

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