A Great Day for Mammals!!
Another great day, today. We trapped some red backed voles, surveyed for hare and deer (more poop counts), and observed beaver and muskrat in a pond. During the hare pellet collecting, the other teacher from Bemidji, Kris VanWilgen-Hammitt, removed leaves from what she thought was a tree root. She sure was surprised to find out that the tree root was actually a very large, lethargic snake! We think it is a rat snake, which are very rare here in Nova Scotia. At the beaver pond we saw beaver, a muskrat and some mergansers. On the way back, we saw a porcupine and some white tailed deer. Nothing really new for Minnesotans, but it is very interesting to see the reactions of people who haven't seen them before. One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was the strange bird we saw. As we were leaving the trapping site, we saw a pheasant walking through the woods, right toward our researchers' tethered dog. Once the dog lunged, the pheasant flew up into a white pine. We think it probably escaped from some private individual as they are not found in the wild.
It was great skyping with some of my students today. I miss being in the classroom, but I'm enjoying this opportunity. Here are some answers to student questions:
1.) How much free time have you got while you have been there and what all of you done with it? Not much free time at all. We usually leave by 8:30 and are back around 6:00 (8:30 tonight). We will have some free time in Halifax on Saturday and will have a chance to do laundry in town tomorrow night.
2.) have you adjusted to the time change? I think so. I've been getting to bed by 12:00 and am up by 7:00 or earlier. Some days I take a quick walk down to the ocean.
3.) What is your biggest goal for the trip? My biggest goals are to assist in gathering data, learning new things that I can bring back to my students and meeting new people that help me get better ideas for teaching.
4.) Will you come to school for one day with your beard? Stay tuned!
Nova Scotia fact of the day: the provincial flower is the Mayflower, the tree is the red spruce and the bird is the osprey.
posted by Kurt Long Voelkner @ 8:12 PM
3 Comments:
Hope that everything is going well in the land to the north! Here are a few questions from second hour.
1.) How big was the snake that was found?
2.) Are you having a good time?
3.) Is there something you have found or can find in Nova Scotia that you can't find in Minnesota?
4.) What all do you see while you are by the ocean?
Thanks, and have a great day!
Second Hour
Beautiful day from Bemidji! Sunny and 58 with a high today of 63. Third hour has some good questions for you.
1.) What kind of food have you been eating? Anything different?
2.) Are you going to be able to bring anything back for Zeta Pod?
3.) Does Nova Scotia have a favorite sport, if so what is it? Do they play any different sports than in MN?
Thanks for keeping us informed,
Third Hour
Here are some questions from fifth hour:
1.) Have have your like and dislikes been from the trip?
2.) Do you hope to see any bears while you are there?
3.) Has there been any accidents with the studies?
Thank you
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