As we are writing this, Stanton is
chasing a dog off the porch because it smells worse than the horses
we rode today. He was probably put off by the fact that it had a
taste of horse poop as an afternoon snack. Brynn and Caroline are
sitting on the porch shivering because it cools off here at night.
Anyway, here is a recap of Day 4.
Today, it rained a lot. “A lot” is
probably an understatement to describe the amount of rainfall. Jake,
Tyler, Sam, Camille, Annie and Brynn woke up early to return to the
colony, but were not able to find the fungus garden. Breakfast was
delicious as always. After breakfast we met with Dr. Pinto and
cultivated fungus from the gardens we extracted from the previous
day. We also collected leaves to feed the colonies in the lab. The
research groups started brainstorming and began writing their
individual research questions. Most groups are devising experiments
to keep the leaf cutter ants from destroying cash crops. During
lunch it rained once again. We were beginning to see a pattern.
After lunch we got a quick horseback riding lesson from Pablo before
we left on a trail ride. We rode to the location of their future
research facility. Caroline got her wish and saw a toucan! Overall,
the trip was full of trotting, grass eating and mud. In fact,
Sarah's horse insisted on carrying a mouth-full of grass for the
duration of the trip without actually eating it. Once we returned to
Finca, we spent an hour of free time recovering from our sore legs
and preparing for more science fun! A group of us went into town for
treats at the general store. Afterwards, we returned to the lab and
made presentation boards for our experiments. After sending some
group members to search for trees to use for our experiments, we had
dinner. During our meal, it started down-pouring; so much that we
could hardly hear each other speak. Later, all the research groups,
including second years, presented their experiments to each other.
We shared our ideas and got feedback from our peers and teachers.
Now that we are all done stressing over our presentations, we can all
get a good night's sleep in preparation for more adventures tomorrow!
Love from Costa Rica,
~Brynn and Caroline
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