Week 2 is coming to a close, and I’m tired. I’m also excited, determined, and confident. My partner Jenny and I have gotten our project all mapped out and we are ready to start collecting our data! Let’s hope it doesn’t rain all next week…I’ve got some butternut research to do!

We will essentially be analyzing the effect, if any, that genetics have on butternut canker susceptibility. Of course, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but that’s the gist of it. The past week or so has involved a lot of reading and writing and my body misses the sunshine. So, I’m looking forward to the upcoming week when we will be collecting our data!

Besides developing our project, Jenny and I have been into some other shenanigans throughout the week. My favorite was watching Jenny climb a tree for the first time! She was a natural. Insert super cool photo of us channeling our inner squirrel here. ↓

We all gave presentations today and each group explained what they will be doing. Everyone’s ideas were so good! I’m excited to see the results everyone ends up with. We have groups researching habitat edge effects on bats, predation on Anurans, food availability in different habitats for birds, and lastly, how water quality is affected by human activities like agriculture and waste management. We’ve all been working very hard so far, so I know it will pay off!

I’m still struggling with statistics. I feel like I have to relearn the concepts every time I use them, and it stresses me out without fail. But hey, I’ll get through it; life is just a series of hurdles and overcoming them. Thankfully we have mentors and professors to help us with our obstacles.

I’m excited to finally get out in the field next week and get some fresh air in my lungs and sunshine on my face. Until next time.