Sorry for the delay in posting for the past week. I've been out to Junction Tx at the Texas Tech University field station ( http://www.depts.ttu.edu/hillcountry/junction/) for the annual Organization of Biological Field Station Conference http://www.obfs.org

Click the TTU link above and then the photo gallery to see what the area looked like. The facility too, was amazing, plenty of room for 60+ participants, a dining hall, pavilion, technology classrooms, great rope challenge course, housing for 100-200, and of course, after the workshops and meetings, Shiner Boch draft beer! Although I don't miss the heat, fire ants, or cockle-burrs I encountered while living in Galveston, TX for 10 years and that I was quickly reintroduced to, I was happy to see all that open land,  herds of deer, river rapids, rolling hills, cactus, tons of different birds, and west TX geology. If you are ever in the area, I also highly recommend going to Fredricksburg.

The Nantucket Field Station has been a member of OBFS for many years, but this is the first year I have been able to attend as the OBFS meetings tend to be the same time of year as our Open House. I was thrilled to meet my colleagues from around the country and a few international stations. Program officers from the National Science Foundation and the Ecological Society of America were also there to give tips and conduct workshops on field station funding and educational programs. I'll give more details about the conference in my next entry. In the meantime, check out my friend Linda Sonnonstine's blog at http://nantucketwashashorejournal.blogspot.com/