Arriving...

This is my first post in a blog to keep friends and colleagues abreast of my activities as I spend 9 months away from my work at Scottish Natural Heritage, taking up a Bullard fellowship at Harvard University.

The view from my kitchen window

I'm based not in the main campus in Boston, but 70 miles west at the Harvard Forest, a research institute and experimental forest a few miles from the town of Atholl. Our nearest neighbours include an alpaca farm, a monastery, and thousands of hectares of woodland. Lots more about that later.

The first week was a blur of organising administrative things, including buying a car - yes, that flash-looking beast in the picture - and tedious things like bank accounts and ID cards. I'm learning to love American bureaucracy. Take a ticket from the armed guard, go past the sign noting that it's a Federal offense to 'Kill, maim, injure, kidnap...' their employees, and wait. After some more waiting for your number, you eventually meet a charming person who, endearingly, because it's Fall/Halloween, has a tiny pumpkin on her counter. She solves your problems (for a fee), and after a serious 'Homeland Security' glare from the guard, you're released back into the wild.

I've also been settling into my apartment, which is one of 4 carved out of the original 1763 farmhouse. Some of the floorboards are almost 50cm wide, cut from the original old growth cleared for farming - and also so warped that they resemble traffic-calming measures. It's rather rustic, but perfectly livable...

But I've also found time to put my bike together, with the reward of a great ride at the weekend, exploring the local roads and fall colours.

Navigational problems - this is a road on my map...