Land of Enchantment
View of the Sandia Mountains on my morning walk
Hit the Ground Running
My flight home to New Mexico was smooth sailing, with a last glimpse of Mount Denali from the plane window, sparkling pink with the sun's setting rays.
Denali Mountain viewed from the window of the plane
School was already in session when I arrived to campus on Monday. My new students welcomed me and were eager to hear about my Alaskan adventure. In my absence this summer, the garden that I direct, has prospered in the capable hands of my garden manager and student employees. Vegetables, herbs and flowers are bountiful and the veggies are sold at the farmers market on campus as well as delivered to the school's dining hall for students to eat.
Karen Temple Beamish enjoys the beans that are growing in her school garden
Karen Temple Beamish's school garden has yielded abundant sunflowers this season
The Coming School Year
The desert soil as well as the subarctic system that I studied this summer will be the focus of my teaching this year. We have started by understanding what a system is, the parts and interactions and what makes a system sustainable. Next week they will build a model ecosystem and monitor it over the course of the semester. Students will integrate some of the protocols that I learned from the CiPEHR project.
My Mountains
I have travelled far in the last several months, hiking through some of the most spectacular mountains on the planet. However, the mountains in my back yard remind me that New Mexico is truly a land of enchantment, as our state license plate states! All in my first week back, I hiked in the Sandia Mountains and the San Pedro Parks Wilderness. I am very grateful for this country's Park system.
My Morning Walk in backyard, the Sandia Foothills
Karen Temple Beamish hiking in the San Pedro Parks Wilderness