Tomorrow my wife Deb and I will be taking the wings of the morning and settling at the farthest limits of the sea…
This trip to Australia has been in the works for a long time. On my first trip to China in 2010 I met Leslie Weston, a research scientist at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia. We were part of an academic exchange whereby we got to travel the countryside in Yunnan Province in China, see some fearsome weeds including mile-a-minute and advise our hosts on what to do about these weeds.
In the course of our travels, Leslie said to me “You know, Australia is a good place for a sabbatical.” So as of tomorrow, her excellent suggestion is going to become a reality as we take the wings of the morning.
The fact of the matter is that 7 years later, we still don’t know what to do about mile-a-minute, although our Chinese hosts have made considerable progress in researching management methods. However, one part of the puzzle missing is the genetic piece. So over the next 4 months I’m going to be working with Leslie’s lab to analyze samples of mile-a-minute from all over the world (including China).
To go to Australia though — that is mind-boggling for Deb and I. It is not a simple undertaking to settle at the farthest limits of the sea, and leave behind our four sons, including the two youngest who will be manning the house while we are away. We had our last family get-together this afternoon at Luke’s place – good times! We had done Christmas at Thanksgiving already (“Thanksmus”) but today we shared some good times doing Christmas Madlibs. We also got to hang with our new grandpuppy, Seymour, a blue-eyed husky.
And so we go to that faraway island in the sea…full of many uncertainties about where we are heading and leaving our sons and their families behind here in Canada. Yet…
“If I take the wings of the morning,
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.”
Psalm 139:9-10