Research Update

I've been the busiest unemployed person lately. I've been focusing a lot on my research, as well as my etsy shop (check out my shop updates!). Here's a little update of my research, dear internet land. Last month I presented a poster of my research at the Northern California Botanical Society. This was a nice little botanical meeting with lots of interesting science talks (and some boring ones as well). Overall, it's really great hearing what people are discovering in the plant world.

Any way, it was good practice to introduce my research to fellow science-minded people, and discuss possible advances in my study.

My research currently focuses on a pollen grain morphology study within the plant genus, Linanthus. I'm looking at pollen grains from all 24 species of Linanthus through a scanning electron microscope. In my poster I matched the pollen grain with it's flower. The purpose of this study is to identify pollen groups within the plant genus to provide another source of taxonomic information to better identify the species. The pollen data will be mapped onto a molecular phylogeny of the genus to examine character evolution trends, and result in an increasingly thorough view of species relationships and evolutionary history in Linanthus.


That is a very simplified description of my study, and I'm sorry to use some scientific words, but sometimes you just can't get around it. Please contact me if you want to hear more! I'm excited about my research, and being able to use a scanning electron microscope is pretty nifty. My next step is to present my in-progress research at the California Botanical Society Centennial Symposium. I'm really nervous for this, but it will be a good experience.

A Favorite Place

These are photos from this past thanksgiving break, which was luckily a warm and sunny weekend. A family friend of ours has some property out in the Santa Cruz mountains, a place they call Fern Meadow. This is really one of my favorite places! The weather was nice enough for us to go out for a barefoot walk around the property, and up to the 'sky deck' for a view. 

Mendocino in the Rain

Back in November I went on a trip to Mendocino for a Mycology trip. We were looking for some good edibles to cook up (namely chanterelles), but we were a bit early for them. It ended up being a downpour in the forest with not many mushrooms, but it was a fun adventure anyway.

I'm turning out to be a pretty lousy blogger, but that's ok. I don't always feel like having a blog, so I'll just post when I'm feeling up to it. The past couple of months have been fairly difficult as well. I had to put down my beloved kitty, and I've had mixed feelings about continuing grad school. But, I think I'm gonna stick it out! I love plants, and I love studying them, so I might as well further my knowledge and get that Master's degree.

Conservatory of Flowers

A couple weeks ago, I spent some time at the conservatory of flowers. It's so beautiful in there! I couldn't stop taking photos. And I'm really happy with how these film shots turned out. How cute are those little mustached orchids? They look like a little barber shop quartet (er trio in this case...)

Tumblr

Did you know I'm on tumblr? It's where I post pretty pictures I find on the internet. Mostly of flowers, outfits I like, and vintage goodies. When it's slow around here, I'll usually still be posting on my tumblr account, so check it out! I occasionally post about I song I like too. Like this one. I can't seem to stop dancing to this.

Sources: Unknown-La Luna Creciente-Toronto Street Fashion-CalPhotos-Vanessa Jackman-Tiny Forest-Street Peeper-Brian Henry-Street Style Aesthetic

So Long, Summer!

The warmth in these photos are so nice! We're only just getting into the cold weather and short days here in SF, but I'm already missing these long summer days. Back in September, we'd had a little family get together for my Grandpa's 80th in Monterey. On our time away from the family celebration, my sister and I took in some serious sun-rays by swimming in the ocean and playing with some kitty cats near our home in Santa Cruz.

That first photo is so dreamy; I'd love to be floating atop a wave in the sunshine and getting salt-watery hair!

Yipes!

Clearly, I've been busy! Here's an idea of what I've mostly been busy with: school, plants, and bumping into giant pumpkins. I have a roll of film going, so I'll soon have some non-iphone photos to share. Mostly whats been distracting me lately are thoughts of big life decisions. Still thinking away, oh golly!

Have you guys seen the new instagram web profiles? Here's mine: instagram.com/leannefeely