Well, folks, I survived my Rangeland Ecology class! One week in beautiful McCall, Idaho, learning about weeds (whoops--plants!), range animals, how to survey the land, and more. (I was AMAZED by how many plants are poisonious, and my creative mind, of course, was turning with clever things my characters could DO with those plants. I also knew I had to tell my husband to stop picking plants' stems and gnawing on them like he does--it's apparently a good way to wind up dead.) Oooh, which brings me to a funny side-note...
At one point, we were documenting the various plants in a 30-meter tract and we were supposed to collect and press any plants we couldn't identify. A couple of us had taken one plant and jammed sprigs of it into the holes in our ball caps and we were all giddy, scurrying around. One of our professors strolled into our sect of the meadow and we asked her what a few plants were. Hrmmm. Yeah, we had POISON HEMLOCK in our hats (it's what was used to murder Socrates, ya know...) and we were packing SKUNK CABBAGE (which the Native Americans used as a "suicide" plant and to euthanize their horses when they suffered a broken leg). Of course we were tossing the hemlock, wildly, from our hats and my breathing became all shallow and I said I thought I was dying. The professor said we'd probably behave a bit "weirder than usual," (we both wondered what, exactly, USUAL meant, lol) and that we might feel a bit happy. She added that we shouldn't touch our eyes or we could go blind (YIKES!) and that we'd better wash up before lunch. Riiiight. We DID feel a bit silly, and the entire time I was thinking about how I could use this important information in a novel. Hemlock, anyone?
The late-night campfires proved to be fun, although there were a couple of nights when only two or three of us stayed up. (Some people are just so borrring.) I adore meeting new people and having the opportunity to learn about their lives, interests, fears, and so forth. It's almost like we get to know ourselves and our friends so well that we don't realize how quirky they are. I'm reminded of my quirks when I hang out with new friends because they aren't always afraid to point those things out. It really fuels the writer in me. The fires were also a time of ultimate relaxation--one professor sang and played her guitar late into the night--and I was able to just soak up the song and the flame and the night. No worries, no fears, just pure AHHHHHHH. It doesn't get any better than that.
Back here in the REAL WORLD, I'm still suffering from computer woes. Currently, I'm without modem, so I'm not sure when I can journal again....SIGH. On a brighter note, I'll just run away from my problems (tee-hee) and beat tracks out of town. Yup! I'm off on a road-trip next week--off to explore CANADA with a girlfriend. No itinerary, no reservations, just some gas in the tank, snacks in our bags, and the desire to explore. I love traveling! JOY!!! And you can bet, we WILL have a campfire or two!
I'll report more when I can. For now, it's time to hit the road, babe.
Cheers!
Kory