That Georgia Biologist

Well hey there everyone! I'd just like to add a disclaimer, if you will, to this blog...I'm pretty sure the majority of the content on here will be turning into "this week at the botanical gardens", and less of what I'm actually up to. But so be it! :D This week was good. I went through almost eight hours of orientation by the UGA Graduate School, and now I feel properly oriented ;) I'm very impressed with the culture of respect, integrity, and academic excellence - stuff I can definitely get behind. Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly and I feel super grateful and excited to be here. I even have my own desk!! :D Had my first three days of class, and I'm happy to report that they went well. I'm taking two honestly pretty fascinating classes - one on how to clearly communicate your science to laypeople, and the other on generally how to be a good graduate student. Both are going to be a really good investment of my time, I can tell al...

After the last several weeks of hard cranking on my thesis, and five more to go, I decided today that I needed a much-deserved 'mental health break' - i.e., take a walk out in nature! It was a beautiful day, I grabbed one of my friends from church, and we headed on out to Galien River County Park. I had never been before; but had heard good things. The place certainly did not disappoint!! Free admission (always nice) - really new and nicely kept up. Great trails in the woods, and boardwalks that went onto the river. One went down at river, and the other rose to the canopy as to provide a bird's-eye-view. Even in the middle of the afternoon, the birdlife was quite present, and I can only imagine what it must be like in early morning! I saw several Canada geese, red-winged blackbirds, and even a couple barn swallows. I also found several nice wildflowers! All in all, a really, really nice little park that would be well worth a repeat visit. I'm really happy I came,...