George Gets Some Berries

6°C
9°C
Sunrise: 7:04

Sunset : 19:11

Hello once again. First of all I want to just address my students. You guys are AWSOME!! Today I got 140 comments. Most of them were right on track. Remember, I try to give you enough work to keep you busy, don’t get overwhelmed. The scientists up here love the Cudahy kids. They love that you are doing all that research. Good Job!! I understand you don’t want too much homework, but I am learning so much that I just want you all to experience the same. We wake up at 7am for breakfast and lecture and then we go into the field until lunch. We then go back out after lunch until dinner. After dinner we have lecture and data entry until 9pm. So, after 9pm is when I can answer questions and do my blog. I typically stay up until midnight. LONG DAY!! I am getting your messages about your day in science class. I understand, but can’t do much about it from here. Hang in there and if you stay focused on your work the other stuff shouldn’t bother you. Today we did so much research in the field. We started doing “Point Center Quadrants”. This is where you stand at one point and make a four quadrant grid. I can show you more when I get back. OR ask Mrs. Reedy to show you a four quadrant graph. But basically, you look at each quadrant and search for particular species of plants. Remember, some of the plants we are looking for are only like ½ to 1 inch. Watch the video, it is of Doug and he is looking for plants. You can see how time consuming this can be. The cold weather really slows down the growth. Mrs. Schmitt’s class asked how tall a 40 yr old tree would get. Well, we looked at a tree that was 20-25 feet tall and it is estimated to be 100yrs old. The vegetation we are looking for are the following: White Spruce, Bog Birch, Larch Tamarack, and Shepherdia. I have included pictures of most of the plants, see if you can identify them after looking them up. When you look up these words, just write down some interesting information about the bush or tree. We will discuss them when I get back. Some of the fun shrubs to look at were the Dry Ground Cranberry and the Crowberry. They were fun because we can EAT them!! We were told that MOST of the berries and fungi are edible (can eat). Look, even Curious George is taking a break and eating the berries. They said it is the earth’s way of providing for the people. The picture to the side is also of a Pinguicula. Look up that word and tell me why this is a really cool plant. (hint: wouldn’t want to be a bug!) Well, there is so much I can talk about. To answer some questions: No, we haven't seen a polar bear yet, we are eating three times a day, I can't come back right now, my roomate is Adam Hoovey, it was raining and cold today, and THEY DO NOT HAVE PENGUINS HERE, and yes, I am having a great time, but it is 90% work. Ok, have to go and get done as much research as you can. Let me know what you find. ALSO, don't forget to look at yesterdays comments to hear some of my answers. HAVE FUN!!!! Cudahy Students: Look up the bold words. Don't just give me the definition of the plants, give me some interesting information. Tell me why the pinguicula is a cool plant. And finally, look up "The Wreck of The Ithaca" It is a ship that we can see on the shore here. Try to find out the story. One of the scientists wants to know what you find because there are many tales of this ship.

P.S. The picture of the girl with the gun is Carly. She takes care of us in the field so no bears eat us. Hope she shoots straight. Have Fun and BEHAVE!!!