Jumping Into Leaf Piles...

Hey there Brothers and Sisters! Fall is here, and cold temperatures are on the way. I was greeted this past weekend to the smell of burning leaves, one of the greatest smells in the world. This is one of my favorite times of year, but also a some what hectic time as well. Yet, I thought I would take a moment to make a little confession here...

Growing up I always leaned heavy in the direction of the Natural Sciences. Lucky for me I have a job where I get to experience science everyday. I have recently taken to Instagram, which you can find my page here, where I will attempt to add a photo daily of the fun and interesting things I witness on a daily basis. This is not a college endorsed project, so please do not blame them for pictures of yucky bugs and other interesting specimens I may post.

Red Oak (Quercus rubra) fall leaves.

I often have people stop me and ask for advice, such as "What is wrong with my tree?" or "My plant is doing this, what's wrong?" Often, these people are surprised I don't have an answer right there on the spot. I believe this is because many of my blog posts are very authoritative and factual, but what no one sees is the "behind the scenes process" of my blog posts.

Usually my blog posts are something that I find interesting,  which usually means I find many resources on the subject and research and learn all I can about the issue/specimen at hand. So the blog post you read here is usually just as much a learning process for me as it is for the you. That's right, we are learning these things together! I also feel that even in my experience and knowledge, a significant amount of research should be done to ensure all the things I post are as factual as possible, and meet current scientific findings. (Yes, even in the green industry, many things change, and in science things change at such a fast pace, it is nearly impossible to keep up.)

Some heavy mileage books on my shelf...

One of my favorite things about my working environment is that I am surrounded by students, faculty, and amazing staff that are very philomathic (Yep, just learned that word researching some plant species names that have recently reclassified...) So its nice to have so many resources and interesting people around to support each other, and know nothing we do here is "cheapened."

So until next posting, thanks for reading and I'll see you outside!