Several colleagues teased me this week about my sabbatical being over now that the semester has ended. Fortunately though, I can continue my research activities until August. I started this blog to chronical my sabbatical and I had the intention of writing a post about once a week. I maintained that frequency through March, but the time between posts has gotten longer as my personal and professional lives have gotten busier. On the personal front, I have just become a first-time homeowner! I can’t imagine going through this process while teaching full time, so I am thankful that my sabbatical has coincided with this big life step. I am now moved in, and I know where most of my stuff is, even if it is still mostly in boxes.
I will write about writing this week. I am on sabbatical and finding plenty of time to “write.” I put that word in quotes because not all writing is actual writing. Obviously, I write with the aid of a computer, and for me, the amount of text on the screen at the end of the day may not be much more than what was there in the beginning. Writing is a slow process. I can type a lot faster than I can write! Confused? If so, maybe I should re-write this paragraph to make it clearer. But that will take too long. Like I said: slow.
Topics: Sabbatical, Jim Kellam, Woodpeckers, Swimming
I really like the first week of classes because the energy and excitement is high among the students. What interesting things will we learn? What exciting things will we do? I am on sabbatical this semester, so I am not getting questions like that from students, but the questions are still worth asking of myself. I will surely learn a lot during these months, and there will be plenty of excitement. So far though, I’ve simply been staring at a computer screen and just beginning to formulate a strategy for finishing my paper on Downy Woodpecker home range size.
That’s right. I am about to write a paper about the amount of acreage individual woodpeckers use as they go about their lives finding food, finding mates and playing musical instruments. (I have no evidence for the latter, but who’s really to know? Not many people study these birds.)
Topics: Sabbatical, Jim Kellam, Woodpeckers