Early in the week I spent time working on my model for my thesis. Its a lot more challenging then I first realized. Similar to learning a foreign language, I am piecing each step together through research and understanding what each code means and if it will display the correct relationship that I'm trying to demonstrate.
On Wednesday we flagged over at Kiptopeke and were able to see a boat go over the tunnel again. It was a good realization that I need a better camera, but the bridge itself still amazes me.
At Kiptopeke the foliage is absolutely beautiful, especially the flower bed designed to be a butterfly garden.
One of my favorite photos from the day, the butterflies and bees are rather entertaining to watch, at least from a biologist mindset.
The day wasn't just spent smelling flowers, we are lucky enough to be in the midst of larval season for ticks. Below you can see the loveliness of a tick larval mass. Not much of a mass, typically the larvae are in a 'glob' so when you brush against it with your flag we have about 15 sec to take tape and remove them before they spread all over. They are about the size of pepper and are a pain in the 'butt' to get off your flag.
All the specs below are tick larvae
Kiptopeke is always fun because we meet a lot of the park visitors. There is always a tick story to be heard, questions to be asked that we answer as well as we can, and a lot of funny looks when we are all dressed up in tick gear next to the kids running through in shorts and tank tops. Not that I'm saying everyone should go to the beach in a hazmat suit, but definitely be aware. Do tick checks regularly and dress appropriately.
After Kiptopeke on Wednesday, I flew back to Maine for an extended weekend to be the Maid of Honor in my cousin's wedding. The weather was absolutely beautiful with limited humidity compared to the craziness of Norfolk. But I arrived back in Virginia on Sunday and left for Tennessee yesterday. We stopped about half way, went through the Great Smokey Mountains this morning, and I'm in Knoxville now for a week.
Why Knoxville?
What a lovely question. I am attending the Society for Mathematical Biology's annual meeting and conference. I'm very excited to see the new world of math and biology, prepared to be overwhelmed, and ready to network a bit and meet new people with similar research interests.
For a small town girl who hardly ever left Maine, I'd say I'm doing alright.
-Lexi
No comments:
Post a Comment