trail

This blog is a little bit late, but I guess it is better late than never.

A week or so ago, our colloquium class went on a lovely tour around campus. We looked at bird boxes, the air chiller plant, and the landscaping of the man-made ponds. Then we made our way to the nature trail. It was a little bit muddy but not a big deal. I think it was actually good that it was muddy, because it allowed us to see some pretty awesome animal paw prints in the mud. As we wandered through the trail, we came to a portion that was flooded. So off came our shoes and along we went. I also didn't think this was a big deal, but quite adventurous. Most of the class, however, were greatly upset at this endeavor. We continued wading through the flooded trail, tripping on water-covered branches and painfully stepping on cypress stumps. After awhile, there was one last curve and we would have been out of the flooded trail and onto dry land. The paved road was even in sight. This is when the class processions stopped. There was a water moccasin blocking the trail; our exit. Poisonous snakes are possibly one of my greatest fears. After finding an alternate path through the trees, we made it out. Fortunately, no one got hurt. It was quite the school tour.

CREW

This past weekend, the majority of my colloquium class participated in the C.R.E.W. cleanup. For a few hours, we pulled up a weed called cedar weed (I believe), but we called it duck feet, and picked up garbage along the road. We picked up bags and bags of garbage, a couple tires, and even a vacuum cleaner. Along our walk along the road, we came across several dead carcasses, including an armadillo, a deer, and a baby raccoon. It was a very nice day outside and we all got the last 5 hours of community service that we needed for the class.

Hawaii

The weather was beautiful out today. Not too warm, but also not cold. This is the weather I like. I hope it stays like this for more than a few days, but knowing Florida's erratic weather pattern, it probably won't. I wonder if the weather is like this in Hawaii. My parents just flew to Hawaii yesterday to be in a wedding. Luckily, they spent the day 4-wheeling through the rainforest, on a trail that led to a waterfall in which they could go swimming in. I would love to have spent the day like that. It wasn't a very environmentally friendly excursion however. Makes me wonder what the limit should be between adventuring to experience something new and impacting a necessary part of the natural world. I don't know.

ideas

I have been trying to think of what to write my colloquium paper on for the last few days. I have thought of several ideas that I am interested in, but still not sure. As soon as I think I found the topic to write on, I come up with a new one. Hopefully I will figure it out tomorrow and knock it out. Doubtful, but I can try. Until this paper is turned it, my mind will be turning.

Only a few more weeks of class.