More than Words Can Say

I have completely lost track of the passage of time these days. The sun rises around 6am if not sooner and sets after 11pm.  Not only that, but there is a flexibility in our studies which comes from working so closely with the locals. For that reason we were never given a day-to-day schedule.

This worked out incredibility well when one morning we were visiting a some nomadic herdsmen in their Ger and were then invited to a festival which turned out to be a precursor to the annual event Naadaam. What we got to see was a children's horserace (where they walked into the Steppe one km then raced back), and the wrestling competition for adults. The outfits were colorful and traditional yet very goofy looking to the outside eye. And the winners of each round would grab a handful of cheese from the judges and throw into the audience. Such a cultural experience!

That threw off the schedule that I was never tracking with anyway, and we found ourselves going at the speed of light… lessons, presentations, adventures, all blended into an amazing experience which concluded with making and flying kites with the kids from our Ecospot Radio Workshop and then a huge traditional barbecue. There was dancing and singing from everyone though the Mongolian typically sounded much better.

In losing track of time, I have been told this is our last day out in the middle of nowhere. So I chanced turning on the phone to type out this blog (no electricity for charging). Tonight we should be back in the capital, Ulanbaatar. After a short time there, myself and two others will begin our Gobi Desert Adventure! Note sure what to expect, but when have I ever known what to expect on this trip. I am just here for the ride!

Aren't we tired of the B-word......?

I know I am tired of it.  It controls my life sometimes... you know the one; B-U-S-Y.

Yep, that one.  I am so tired of losing the only resource we cannot gain back in our lives.  Especially when I am losing it in a season where I am spending the majority of time doing things I don't even want to do.

BUT, (my favorite B-word), but I am coming up on a time that I will enjoy, very soon.  I have my field study for graduate school coming up.  This field study just happens to be in Mongolia, and I just so happen to get a few days before hand in Korea (yes the Asian nation that stole my heart).

So I will enjoy great food, lounge in jjimjilbangs, meet up with friends, and get to enjoy two services with my church. I haven't planned a lot about it, but I am going to be in Seoul and Busan.  And I am going to be so happy.

Other updates:

• The woodpeckers have fledged and after much chasing with lenses we were able to spot one of our banded ones in the wild.
• Burn season will close in the next few weeks, bringing our increasingly smaller team down to 2 people which means more fun scienc-y land management will be in my workdays.
• I am hoping to meet my dad, stepmom, and dog down in Savannah just before heading off to my field study.  I am beyond joyful about that too!

Waste Not Want Not...

When I first got back to the States, I made a habit of indulgence.  I would eat something I hadn't had for a while, because "I deserved it" and the same for every comfort of home.

Though I have been back in America for months now, I still am so excited and thankful for my hot showers. And when seemed that the length of the shower had been increasing over those first few months, I knew something needed to change. Long showers are not good because of the gas used to heat the water but also because of the water consumption itself. According the US Geological Service, old showers use up to 5 gallons of water per minute. With my personal average shower estimated at 15 minutes these days I am using 75 gallons of water per shower. If I only shower every other day, I will be using 300 gallons of water a week on showers alone. This isn't even considering water use in other places, such as laundry, dishes, drinking, flushing (4 gallons a flush, by the way), washing face or hands, and pets (USGS, 2015).

So when my Issues in Biodiversity Class challenged me to a lifestyle change for the betterment of nature, I chose the shower.  I started out by timing my first two weeks of showers just to see what my average truly was. The average shower time was lower than expected at 11.82 minutes per shower.  The next two weeks of the project marked my first action phase.  I calculated half of the average of the first two weeks, and set a timer to alarm me during my showers.  Half of the average made 5.91 so I just set the alarm for 6 minutes each time.

When I aware of the passage of 6 minutes it seemed that my shower time decreased.  The average for the next two weeks was actually calculated to 8 minutes exactly.  One again half was calculated and the alarm was set for 4 minutes for the next two weeks.  Though I am not down with this current two week segment I am looking at an average of 5.48 minutes.

Total reduction to date is 6.34 minutes or a reduction of 31.7 gallons of water per shower. Which reduces the estimated water used per week on showering down to 126.8 gallons instead of 300.  That is over a 50% decrease in water use all due to an alarm being set.

I think my little experiment is going quite well, and I don't plan to stop until the time naturally levels out.  And hopefully by then, I will not even need and alarm anymore.

So, what to do with this info?  Think about it, is there a small change that you feel you can make in your life?  Something that won't be a big or difficult thing but over time will add up?  Why not give it a shot?

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USGS (2015, December 21). Per capita water use: How much water do you use in your home? Retrieved January 31, 2016, from http://water.usgs.gov/edu/activity-percapita.php