Burns Night

Well, it's the 25th of January and that means Robert Burns and haggis to many people. Whilst Rabbie may now be most famous for his association with the 'great cheiftain o' the puddin-race!' and New Year's eve renditions of Auld Lang Syne he also included many references to the natural world in his work. Having started out as a farmer before he gained recognition as a poet, he clearly spent a lot of time outside and drew inspiration from observations of the world around him.

As it's most definitely still winter here on the Isle of Man, the first stanza of Winter: A Dirge has a certain resonance at the moment:

The wintry west extends his blast,

And hail and rain does blaw:

Or, the stormy north sends driving forth

The blinding sleet and snaw:

While tumbling brown, the burn comes down,

And roars frae bank to brae;

And bird and beast in covert rest,

And pass the heartless day.

Certainly a fairly bleak picture, but Burns clearly had quite a strong connection to nature, and used it to reflect on man's place in the world as seen in the second stanza from To a Mouse:

Turning up a mouse in her nest with the Plough Nov 1785

I'm truly sorry man's dominion

Has broken nature's social union,

An' justifies that ill opinion,

Which makes thee startle

At me, thy poor earth-born companion,

An' fellow-mortal!

A sentiment which is surely now more true than ever, those first two lines really capture the state of nature today... and written 230 years ago!

So, enjoy your haggis, neeps, and tatties tonight, and perhaps a wee dram too, and reflect that whoever and wherever you are you can draw inspiration from the natural world around you. Slàinte!

Rock 'n' Roll lifestyle

When you tell people you're a marine biologist studying cetaceans, you usually get a pretty positive response - 'That must be so cool!'

Well, yes, it is very cool, but the dark side of science rears its head in the cold winter months when you can't be out surveying. The dreaded data analysis! Now really, I love this aspect of my work almost as much as the field work. Getting down to the nitty-gritty of why the data was collected to begin with and what it tells you. But whilst interesting, it certainly isn't glamorous. It requires long hours on your own in front of the computer, and many, many cups of tea to get you through. The outside isn't too appealing today though, with gale force winds putting on a show, so sometimes it's nice to be confined to the desk.

Lots to do

So, for the next few weeks, this will be what I'm up to as I finish of the analysis of my C-POD project and report writing for People's Trust for Endangered Species. Then a few days after the report deadline I will be giving a talk at the Edward Forbes Bicentenary Marine Science and Conservation Conference about the results of my project.

So whilst beautiful sunny days, on flat calm seas, may be a distant memory there is still plenty to be getting on with during the winter months.