Marshmellows flying and Genetics Test II

Selected Topics in Science is working on applying some laws of physics by building marshmellow catapults that will hit a target 12 feet away from one table to another (a bucket is the target .. 5 points inside, 3 points if it hits the bucket,  2 points for on top of the table and 1 point for hitting any part of the table that the bucket is sitting on ...)  Catapults must be built with a trigger and not just pulled back to launch. Lots of good problem solving ... competition tomorrow ... each team gets ten shots over a 5 minute period.

The Genetics class did a Spectrophotometer Lab ... generating their own lab to find how many drops of methylene blue was in three unknown samples.  The Avengers (Josh and Alex) did the best missing by only one drop over three samples.  Also Sandy and Aaron won our DNA Distraction  contest earlier in the week with liver cells and a great protocol! Tomorrow is our second test ... Chapters 4-6 and labs.

Checked several students programs today and will finish tomorrow.  Students worked hard on the graphics problems ... most are starting the famous Ol' McDonald Farm Scene problem, which has animation and music.

After school, we had softball practice ... we had a short scrimmage and of course did a little running. We have about twenty girls that are attending ... many over players are in fall or winter sports.

Our turnip green (with mustard and creasy) will be ready next week ... will include a recipe.  Below is one our cover crop fields ... deer continue to eat down the buckwheat leaving the hairy vetch and winter peas.

Computer Graphics underway!

In Genetics today, we worked on discussion questions in Chapters 6-7 ... some of my back row seemed pretty unprepared so will start with them tomorrow!  Also, we have our Spec Lab tomorrow ... did demonstrations today on how to use the spectrophotometer.    Test on Friday over Chapters 4-8 and labs.

Selected topics spent some time on their Catapult Lab today and we conducted simulations with PhET (University of Colorado)  software.  The two physics simulations we used were springs and masses ... calculating frequency and period, the role of friction and types of energy.  The second simulation was called Wave on a String ... used to study wavelength and amplitude. (electromagnetic spectrum and visible light).  Tomorrow we start to build our catapults.

Check out these simulations at the link below!

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/physics

Computer programming moved into graphics today.  I did some demos using the LINE and CIRCLE commands ... also, did a couple of sample programs with animation of objects.  Looks like everyone is excited about something different to do for awhile!

Softball practice tomorrow and our K-6 softball camp will be October 10, 11 and 13.

Headed home!

Food Lion DNA Extraction Lab with picts ...

In Genetics today, we conducted our Food Lion DNA Extraction Lab.  Only one student group brought in a sample for extraction (chicken liver) the rest just relying on me (onions)... lack of intellectual curiosity ... a red flag!  The lab is open ended and student driven ... most groups demonstrated some problem-solving promise.  We will see as the year goes by ...
Students had to think through how to get to the DNA in the nucleus ... disperse the cell membrane (a lipid problem) by using soap ... then free the DNA from proteins (meat tenderizer) ... pH and cell wall problems ... we will announce the final winner tomorrow.

Selected Topics took their Astronomy test today ... physics continues tomorrow ... Catapult lab on Thursday and Friday.

Introduction to Computer programming finished their array problems today.  I did a demonstration on using qBASIC medium resolution graphics and assigned the five problems we will do in the graphics and animation unit.  We will check single dimension array programs tomorrow.

Softball conditioning after school ... throwing, frisbee football and some running.  We had 20 players attending ... many others are playing volleyball, CC or basketball and will not be available until later.

Stayed afterwards to watch part of the middle school softball game.

Today, was dress like a teacher day leading up to Homecoming.  Four chose to dress as the oldest teacher in the building ... though I am still protesting a teacher dress code by wearing khakis and a white shirt nearly every day ... you know how I feel about dress codes  ... gosh, Steve Jobs should stop wearing those blue jeans, it is so unprofessional!  KP has the lanyards look!

Monday - Rain to sunshine and 4 days until Fall Break!

Starting to wrap up projects before Fall Break!

In Genetics, we reviewed for our test on Friday. Tomorrow is our Food Lion DNA Extraction Lab.

Selected Topics started our Physics Unit after reviewing for our Astronomy Test tomorrow.  Catapult Lab on Thursday and Friday.

Most students are finishing Problem 11 in qBASIC.  We will start checking problems tomorrow.  We will start graphics and animation before heading out to fall break.

After school, we ate an early supper with our son John.  Got home in time for a walk.  We still have a lot of wild flowers blooming but the wingstem and ironweed are finishing up.  Below are some wildflower picts from Sunday and this evening ... lots of small flower asters blooming and in the woods and borders of the woods, an abundance of White Snakeroot ... use be a seriously poisonous plant.

White Snakeroot I think ... or Late Thoroughwort ... above and below

Wikipedia-

White Snakeroot contains the toxin tremetol; when the plants are consumed by cattle, the meat and milk become contaminated with the toxin. When milk or meat containing the toxin is consumed, the poison is passed onto humans. If consumed in large enough quantities, it can cause tremetol poisoning in humans. The poisoning is also called milk sickness, as humans often ingested the toxin by drinking the milk of cows that had eaten snakeroot.

During the early 19th century, when large numbers of European Americans from the East, who were unfamiliar with snakeroot, began settling in the plant's habitat of the Midwest and Upper South, many thousands were killed by milk sickness. Notably, milk sickness was the cause of death in 1818 of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of Abraham Lincoln.

It was some decades before European Americans traced the cause to snakeroot; although today Dr. Anna Pierce Hobbs Bixby is credited with identifying the plant in the 1830s, legend has it that she was taught about the plant's properties by a Shawnee woman.^[3][4] The Shawnee woman's name is lost to history, but she and her people would have had deep knowledge of the herbs and plants in the area.

The plants are also poisonous to horses, goats, and sheep. Signs of poisoning in these animals include depression and lethargy, hind feet placed close together (horses, goats, cattle) or held far apart (sheep), nasal discharge, excessive salivation, arched body posture, and rapid or difficult breathing.

Burl's Big Turnip Patch will be ready next weekend with picts ...

Friday in Genetics, we worked through some review and discussion questions ... assigned Chapters 7-8 for next week.  We have two labs on the schedule for this coming week ... a DNA extraction lab on Tuesday and a lab using our spectrophotometers on Thursday.  We will have a unit test on Friday before taking off for fall break ... Chapters 4-8, linkage problems, Chi Square analysis and labs.  Our fruit flies should be in after fall break and we have a bacterial transformation lab and restriction enzyme electrophoresis lab shortly after starting our flies.

In Selected Topics Friday we worked on review questions  ... constellations of the day was Ursa Major (contains the Big Dipper) and Casseopeia  ... Unit Test on Astronomy will be Tuesday.  Tomorrow we will continue our review and practice ... our final constellation and some reading in class.

Computer Programming is still working on arrays ... finishing the Countries and Capitals problem ... we will start our graphics unit later next week.

This weekend, I bush-hogged until dark on Friday.  Most of Saturday I worked at getting a field ready to plant in a covercrop of hairy vetch, winter peas, annual rye grass and ladino clover.  I had to disk several times to get enough dirt up to plant ... today, I walked on the clover and rye grass then ran the cultipacker over the field.  Suppose to rain tonight and tomorrow.  Took some pictures of where I was working and turnip patch below ...

Sue and I went to see Moneyball this evening ... good movie and good story.

This field is close to the highway ... looking toward Long Creek ... far in the background are our stripped out blackberry patch ... down that way is lots of golden rod blooming.  My seeder is in the picture ... my Grandfather Roberts and I spent a lot of quality time spreading clover seed on wheat fields in the late winter ... usually after a snow ... when I was young it was not appreciated but now it is!

Back to work and softball 2012 starts

It was a sunny warm fall day in southern Kentucky today ... good bee day with lots of fall wildflowers blooming.

We met for the second time this week in Genetics after being out two mornings for the PLAN testing ... prepped up our two labs for next week.  A DNA extraction using common Food Lion products on Tuesday and on Thursday, we will be doing a lab using our spectrophotometers ... to determine the % light transmission through some given samples.  We use specs in the Spring and this lab gives us a chance to practice.  We went through about half of the Chapter 6 discussion questions and brainstormed a former free response question from AP Biology.

In Selected Topics we went outside to build our model of the solar system to scale using a softball as the sun.  Pluto (recently demoted from being a planet) was more than 350 meters from the softball and the size of a small period.

In computer science, we worked on or mailing label program using single dimension arrays.  We should finish this set of problems up on Friday or Monday ... then on to some low res graphics and animating objects.

We had our first conditioning session for our 2012 team was after school today ... about 20 players ... we met for a few minutes in my room then moved to the field to throw a little.  Finished up running on the track and did a 300 meter run for time.   We will work out again on Tuesday.

Came home and bush-hogged until dark. I have a couple of small area, less than six acres to plant with a cover crop within a week or so ... There was a lot of pollen ... looked like yellow smoke rolling out behind my bushhog.  I say lots of deer and when in the woods, lots of what appears to be thoroughwort ... and in the woods, white snakeroot ... will get some pictures this weekend.

rr

Plan Test over and Softball starts tomorrow ... turnip green update!

Our sophomores took the PLAN test today (ACT) while the juniors and freshmen took practice ACT tests.  Most of our seniors went to college day at WKU ... most colleges from KY and a few from TN.  Since I have juniors third block, I stayed with the 8 seniors that did not go to WKU.

We return to Genetics tomorrow ... Chapter 6 questions ... review and sample AP free response questions.

After taking a three hour test, I left my juniors off the hook and we watched the first half of Food Inc.  ... we have studied biochemistry and it is all about producing protein and carbohydrates in a big way ... I hope they will be aware that local produce and products are important to our community and important to the health of their family.

We continued to work on arrays in Computer Programming ... will be heading to graphics soon.  We are currently working on a program that will sort and generate a database of addresses using single dimension arrays.  It is actually a program that would produce mailing labels after sorting the address list by age of the resident.

Came home and treated the rest of our hives with Apiguard for mites on our bees ... I don't think it is a problem ... more preventive.  One thing I noticed, I removed the gallon plastic bags I had put in a couple of weeks ago to feed a sugar solution to our bees ... it is the first time I used this method of feeding and it seems to have worked well and easy.  Good numbers in all the hives I checked today.

The cover crop of buckwheat, hairy vetch, austrian peas and clover I planted before the four inch rain we received a couple of weeks ago is doing well ... about 6-8 inches high and it appears the buckwheat will bloom in a week or two.  Also, Burl's Big Turnip patch is coming along well ... plants are 2-3 inches across ... might be too thick and it will have a little grass problem.  We should be picking turnip and mustard greens by the first week in October.  Creasy (upland cress) looks good but is smaller.  I don't like greens but my in-laws live for turnip greens!

Softball conditioning starts tomorrow ... we have never started in September before but, there is change in the KHSAA rules for season limitations and we are now allowed not only to condition but, also to play.  So, tomorrow we will throw a little ... do a little running ... from 3:10 - 4:25.  Season 2012 begins.

Pre-Plan today Plan test tomorrow ... Farm Inc

No Genetics first block today ... Seniors were sent to the auditorium for breakfast, a prep up for their field trip to WKU for college day (well, sort of) and some kind of fund-raiser for "Up All Night" / after Graduation.  All underclassmen were preparing for the test tomorrow ... a version of the ACT.

We did have Selected Topics and after four days we have gotten everyone through the Earth Science test ... attendance remains a problem in this class.  Today we continued our Astronomy unit.  Our constellation of the day was Pegasus which is out now somewhere above the clouds.  Close by is M31 - Andromeda Galaxy 2.5 ... million light years away from earth, the closest galaxy to our Milky Way ... estimated 1 billion stars.  We also worked on star classification using an H-R diagram and continued to work on our Solar System Modeling lab.  Tomorrow's constellation is Cassiopeia ... the Astronomy unit only lasts 7 class days ... unfortunately!



Credit & Copyright: Robert Gendler (robgendlerastropixs.com)

In Computer Programming most students are finished with our gradebook program and we are on to writing a multiple choice program using countries and capitals.  Students will try to keep me from making an A when I test the program.

Other...

Watched Farm Inc this evening ... not eye-opening having been raised around farms and knowing about slaughter houses ... Cargill, Tyson and etc. ... unfortunately, we are back to Upton Sinclair's - The Jungle ... new immigrants same story by big business.  Add Monsanto with transgenic products and systemic pesticides to the mix and I am glad I am isolated out here in Holland ... actually Pioneer corn just over the hill ...

Continues to rain off and on today ...  my cover crop legume projects looks to be getting a good start this fall if, I can keep the deer away.

PLAN test prep tomorrow and test on Tuesday ...

Schedule change for tomorrow and Wednesday ... no Genetics until Thursday ... 3rd and 4th block not changed.

We tried to wrap up some loose ends today since we will not meet until Thursday in Genetics.  Finished the write up of our Osmosis Lab, finished discussion questions for Chapter 5 and assigned discussion questions for Chapter 6 (X and Y chromosomes,  SRY gene, X-linked conditions and more).  We finished the block with our review board game ... winners received a morning quiz score.  Several students did well answering the questions which acts as a review of vocabulary and concepts.

In Selected Topics we had several students finishing their Earth Science tests.  The rest of the class worked on their solar system model lab.  We also went over Hertzsprung - Russell diagrams for classifying stars (see below) and our constellation of the day was Orion (for me, THE constellation ... it has it all!)

In computer science, we continued our work on single dimension arrays.

Rained .5 inches today ... good for the annual rye, clover, buckwheat and hairy vetch I planted this weekend.




The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. 
http://jumk.de/astronomie/about-stars/main-sequence-stars.shtmlaphic: NASA

How much does a corn machine cost ... alot!

Kyle, my son-in-law, who I really like and admire had an interested question today from Champaign IL ... where corn is king! How much does a John Deere combine cost.

It must be a lot since I have had trouble tracking down the exact price on the internet.  I checked one of the biggest JD dealer in western KY, Roeder Implement in Hopkinsville.  Their website refers you to the JD website where you have to jump through some hoops to get a price ... so lets go used ...

A slightly used JD combine from Roeder ... a 9670 STS with 500 hours of use is listed 245,000 dollars without a grain table ...

http://www.roederimpl.com/index.cfm?show=10&mid=26


30' grain table for harvesting soybeans ... used ... add 30,000 dollars ... an another 30,000 for a corn head brings our used total to 300,000 dollars.

 http://www.ksgrains.com/kcc/talkingpts.html



I said on the phone at least a quarter of a million dollars, but for a new combine ... I am most certainly too low ... I better estimate would be 350,000 - 500,000 depending on the model and size of the grain table and corn head.  Makes me not want to get back into that kind of farming!  I am not sure where the pict above is from but I use to love combining wheat ... that was a long time ago and not with a 30' grain table.

However, corn is 7 dollars a bushel and around Champaign they are most certainly harvesting 200 bu / Acre corn ... for a gross amount of 1400 dollars an acre ... 1000 acres, a very small hobby farm there ... 1.4 million dollars less expenses ... fertilizer is high, fuel is high, Pioneer corn seed (transgenic - round-up ready and the BT gene ... another post later)  is high ... and equipment ... well,  a just a combine let alone is a lot but, add a couple of tractors, no-till planter, sprayer ... trucks, wagons and tillage equipment ... well, I said 1000 A. would be very small.

What is driving 7 dollar corn and 13 dollar soybeans ... I believe ethanol and alternative fuels mandates with weather problems, but, mostly ethanol ... don't worry about your corn flakes though ... according to the Kansas Corn Commission, the cost of the corn in your box of corn flakes is about 12 cents at $7/bu corn.  You could argue that the real problem is feeding cows, pigs and chicken.  Those farmers are feeling a squeeze even if they are using the bi-product from ethanol production for feed ... oh, I forgot ... we ship a lot of that to China ... figure! (Walmart boycott continues here!)  We could all do with less meat in our diet!  Certainly me!

I know sugar cane is much more efficient ... we study anaerobic respiration in detail! ... but, we don't raise sugar cane.  I am all for alternative fuels ... mandates included ... and you know why!  The sooner we are freed from foreign oil the sooner we get back to being the country I want to live in!

Thanks Kyle for the interesting question today ... I have not bought equipment for over 25 years ... besides my 10' bushhog ... and it cost enough!

Friday Football - Softball on the field ...

We conducted an osmosis lab in Genetics today using three different molar solutions of sucrose.  Then we tested throwback Mountain Dew, regular Mountain Dew and diet Mountain Dew for their sucrose molar equivalency.   Lots of talk about cells and some biochemistry.  We will finish the write up on this lab Monday ...

Selected Topics started their astronomy unit ... Life cycle of stars, Orion and started our model of the solar system lab.

It was check program day in Computer Science ... single dimension arrays starts on Monday.

After school, picked up some fertilizer at Southern States and spread it.  Went back in for the football game against Hop-town (we won 48-0, far cry from the Hop-town teams that state runners-up twice in the late 1990s ... 3A when they only had four classes) where they recognized our 2011 State Champion softball team at half-time.  That is why this Friday update is so late.

rr

Topics test and some picts

Genetics has a version of the AP Osmosis Diffusion Lab tomorrow.  Today we prepped the lab and looked at a Free Response from 2003 / Genetics and Chi Square calculation.

Selected Topics in Science had their Earth Science test today.  We start Astronomy tomorrow ... star life cycles, our solar system and the Milky Way / our galaxy.  We will be learning some constellations.

We are checking our second set of qBASIC problems tomorrow and beginning our programs that use arrays to store data.

Below is one of my students in Selected Topics.   We have JROTC for the first time this year.  It has given some students a reason to come to school and provided some needed discipline and focus on their futures.  Many like Jacob below are proud of their uniforms.

Rocky and Rex should finish up in the bottom shelling corn.  Took these two pictures on my to school the other morning.  We got about 3/4 inch of rain last night.  I finished spraying where I plan to plant wildflowers and clover this fall and next spring.  Disced the field in back of our house.  Hope to plant it in annual rye, clover and hairy vetch this weekend.  I will walk on some yellow sweet clover and lespedeza next February.

Club Day was busy ...

Today we had a faculty meeting after school to prepare for the PLAN test on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.  I have a senior homeroom so have less responsibility ... seniors to breakfast and the gym on Tuesday and to college day at WKU on Wednesday.  I get to stay at ACS on Wednesday since I have underclassmen third and fourth blocks.

Most of my class was gone first block so we treaded water.  We have a 2003 free response question to prepare for tomorrow ... we will finish our discussion questions for Chapter 5 and will wrap up some odds and ends for Mendelian genetics.

Selected Topics reviewed for their test tomorrow in Earth Science ... Astronomy starts on Friday.

In Computer Science, most students have finished their Little League stat program ... learning how to FOR/NEXT statements, TAB and SPC.  Tomorrow we will try one more stat program.

Faculty meeting after school ... mostly about the PLAN (ACT) test next week for sophomores.  Since I am a senior sponsor this year, my participation in the PLAN is limited.

Took a walk to Long Creek this evening.  Rocky and Rex still have some corn to shell and left their equipment in the bottom.  It is suppose to rain tonight.  Southern States limed two small fields where I plant to plant clover today.

rr

Club Schedule tomorrow ...

We are still working on linkage problems and Chi Square Analysis in Genetics ... tomorrow we have some Free Response questions from AP Bio to go over.

Selected Topics is winding down our Earth Science Unit ... review tomorrow.

We are working on using TAB and SPC in qBASIC ... how to format PRINT statements and using FOR/NEXT.  Little League Stat Problem is next.

After school I sprayed a couple of small fields with Roundup where I hope to plant in Lespedeza and clover.

Rocky and Rex got their combine fixed and continued shelling the corn in our bottom.  It appears to be yielding well.

Club Schedule tomorrow ... lots of students out of class.  I am having a softball signup tomorrow.

Shelling corn and meetings after school ...

Rocky and Rex started shelling the corn in the bottom today before their combine broke down.  The yield seems good and would have been better if every deer in the eastern part of Allen County hadn't been eating dinner there regularly.  Hope they will get going again tomorrow.

Sue Neal was not at school today because she took Granny to Nashville for a doctor's appointment.  Everything went well ...

At school today in Genetics, we worked on Chi Square Analysis.  More tomorrow with a linkage problem and finishing our discussion questions from Chapter 5.

Selected Topics worked on recording the weather conditions and map reading (Kentucky) ... ended with a few density problems.

We are checking our first qBASIC problems in computer programming and working on READ/DATA statements.

After school, this evening I had a softball booster club meeting.  After going over the schedule I told them I would not be coaching after this year.  This gives everyone time for the transition.

Stopped by the beekeepers meeting and talked to Gordon about mite control and softball ... his grand-daughter is a middle school player in Graves County.

Weekend over ...

On Saturday, had to make a run to Southern States and then on out to Joey and C's to check out their bees. The bees looked good ... good brood pattern and lots of bees.  Bush-hogged in the afternoon and was soon sneezing from the ragweed pollen.  Finished about dark and spent the night grabbing for tissues and gasping for breath ... reminded me of when I was young and how bad my fall allergies were then ... I had thought my immune system was weakening and my allergy problems were over, but that was not the case Saturday.

Went to Sunday School this morning ... led the song service since Jimmy was late getting there.  We sang "In the Garden" for one of the songs ... Grandma Helen Roberts' favorite hymn ... it made me miss her.  Later in the afternoon, mowed the lawn at the rent house by hand and later put flags on a couple of fields when Southern States is going to spread lime this week.

Back to school tomorrow ... lots of work to do as fall break is not far away.  4 1/2 week grade check tomorrow.  Hope everyone did well on the ACT on Saturday!

Friday ... beat Glasgow, CC runs at Keriakes (the fast course!)

A little sunshine today after a week of cloudy weather ... not complaining though ... we really needed the rain!  Long walk late this evening ... Long Creek, Goat Field, up to and through Holland and home ... got home in the dark. Lots of goldenrod blooming!

Wrapped up a lot of projects today ... Genetics finished their Logal simulation lab today. Chapter 5 discussion questions on Monday.

Selected Topics finished their Rock Lab.  We will continue our study of weather next week and start on plate tectonics / geologic time.

We finished our multiple choice program today using Microsoft qBASIC.  We will check our first set of qBASIC problems on Monday before starting another problem set of intermediate difficulty ... READ/DATA statements and more.

Rock Lab starts, Logal Simulations and qBASIC is difficult!

After going over our discussion questions in Chapter 4 (Mendelian Genetics), we broke out the old iBooks for Logal Simulations in Genetics.  These simulations generate offspring from a given cross unfamiliar to the students and the students then work backwards to discover the mode of inheritance.  The first simulation today was wing color of a species of butterfly and the mode of inheritance was sex-linked incomplete dominance.  We will work on linkage maps again tomorrow and finish our Logal Lab to wrap the four day week.

In Selected Topics after working on our weather study, we started the Rock Lab ... includes the rock cycle, rock from Allen County and density measurements using water displacement.  We will finish this lab tomorrow.

Most students are finished with the Microsoft qBASIC Guessing Game problem and moved on the Problem 6 ... writing a program that will ask multiple choice questions and keep score of correct responses.  We will start checking the first of the qBASIC problems tomorrow during class.

Visited with Granny and Uncle Glen in Holland after school and took my walk down the Long Creek and back.  Lots of wildlife and our bees were busy even though it was a cloudy day.  Lots of goldenrod blooming in the wildlife areas I did not bushhog.  Below is my best picture from my walk.

Rain ends and wildflower picts ...

Today in Genetics, we studied Indian corn ears produced with a kernal color gene (purple was dominate over yellow) and starchy (rounded kernel) was dominate over sugary (wrinkled) kernels.  We tallied the number of kernels exhibiting each of these phenotypic traits and assigned the Mendelian ratio for each.  Students then gave one parental cross that would have yielded each ear.  Tomorrow is Logal Genetics software on our old Mac laptops  ... continuing our study of modes of inheritance and our Chapter 4 discussion questions.

In Selected Topics we continued our study of weather (7 Days of Weather!) and began our study of the rock cycle, crinoid fossils, rock layers in Allen County and geologic time.

Our computer programming class worked on our Guessing Game problem in Microsoft qBASIC.

The rain ended today as Tropical Storm Lee moved to the northeast.  We ended up getting about 4 inches of rain over three days.  It was a great rain with no run off.  This evening I took a walk down to Long Creek.  Lots of wildflowers have already recovered from our dry August.  There are several acres of wingstem and ironweed for our bees to work.  I have one hive down by Long Creek in the bottom and there were bees coming into it this evening at a rate of about 100 per minute.  They are already back to work after the rain.  In the small valley behind our house were two wildflowers that I did not recognize and had to look up.
The first was a couple of Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) ... a beautiful blue flowering plant, a perennial.

Nearby are several Virginia Bugleweed (Lycopus virginicus) plants that are in the mint family and perennials.  I like the small white flowers at the base of the leaves.

Back to Work ...

Whoa ... Some students must have had a great Labor Day Weekend or maybe it was the grey and rainy day today but a few students look like the could use a nap.  However, we geared up for a four day week!

In Genetics we are going to study what happens when genes are linked on the same chromosome.  We did a linkage problem today to calculate how far apart three genes are on the X chromosome by calculating the number of cross-overs from a genetic cross.  Today was the famous Johnny Unitas problem where the football booster club try to improve their foodball team through some genetic manipulation but instead, helps all the girl teams.  One linkage problem down and one each day this week ... tomorrow the Tennessee Derby Linkage problem.  Our seniors finished their test today.  Tomorrow also, we are going to looking at some ears of Indian corn to determine the parental crosses.

Selected Topics continued our unit on earth science by starting 7 days of weather ... studying weather maps and forecasting using weather maps from noaa.org and weather.com. We did a little singing today with "DNA Baby" making a tour to selected classrooms.

Computer Programming started working with Microsoft qBASIC.  Our first set of problems are pretty easy ... ending with the "Guess a number between 1-100" problem.  These problems continue tomorrow.

Took a walk in a light rain this evening ... ran up on and almost stepped on a half grown raccoon.  I must be getting more stealthy.  Some of the seed I planted on Saturday has already germinated after the 3 inches of rain in the last 48 hours ... it was a great rain ... not to much at a time ... just a steady rain for two days.

Buckwheat redo, raining finally ... thanks TS Lee

Yesterday at daybreak ... started back over the small buckwheat fields I had planted ... it was hot!  I had to disc up what was there because somehow, some weeds have been growing without rain.  After that I had to walk on lime and fertilize with a hand seeder (when my ship comes in I have to get a three-point hitch spreader).

I was hoping that my turnip, upland cress and mustard seed would arrive on Saturday morning ... almost Priority Mail from Stokes Seeds... but, it did not arrive.  I prepared my Burl's Big Turnip Patch and will plant next week.   Afterwards planted buckwheat with Austrian Peas (winter peas) and some hairy vetch I had left over.  This included the deer plots in the bottom ... ended up planting some sunflowers that will not make it to flower but, may give the deer something to eat besides the buckwheat ... a diversion.

Started raining just as I finished and I got soaked on the way into the barn ... reminded me of farming with my Dad and Grandfather ... whenever a rain was coming up, no one wanted to head to the barn first (a sign of weakness) so, we would all get wet leaving the field usually in the pouring rain.

I had to walk in to get the tractor and back down to the bottom to get the truck this morning ... lots of bees at the bee spring fed watering hole ... bees were arriving and leaving a about twenty per minute mostly headed toward the hives behind the house.  Several bees were working the flowers in the small valley behind our house ... They were on the jewel weed but I am not sure they were getting much nectar.  It was beautiful back there at sunrise ... I need to take more walks in the AM.

Already rained about an inch and is suppose to rain all night and several days this week.  Thanks to Tropical Storm Lee ... 

Ate at Aunt Sue Nell's late, went up to check on Granny (her electricity was out ... east side of Holland's electricity comes from Fountain Run) and bottling honey this PM ... tomorrow,  school stuff.

Labor Day Weekend and Happy Birthday Sue Neal!

Celebrated Sue Neal's birthday today ...  Ate dinner with John and Claire ... great conversation and a good evening!

At school today we tried to wrap up several projects.  We had a test in Genetics but the seniors were late leaving for superlative elections and will have to finish their tests on Tuesday.  We will go over the Chapter 4 Discussion Questions on Tuesday and on Wednesday we have an Indian Corn Genetics Lab.

We started our Earth Science study in Selected Topics today ... Rock Lab next week!

Karel is over in computer programming ... Microsoft qBASIC demos today and we start full blast in qBASIC next week.

It is suppose to rain some next week so I am going to prepare our "Burl's Big Turnip Patch" tomorrow in advance of the rain ... Seven Top and Purple Top Turnips, two type of Mustard and some Upland Cress ... Creasy here.

Happy Anniversary Ms. Foster!

Ms Foster and Dr. Foster (long-time educators at ACS) celebrated their 32nd anniversary today ... Congrats!

Also, congratulations to Rex and Aaron on winning the Great Plant Growing Contest!  Pictured below shows Rex and Aaron with ... evidently, a science groupie ... everyone like scientists and contest winners!  Congrats on a great effort!

Tomorrow we are having an organizational meeting for a early Spring trip to NYC ... President's Day weekend ... my room at 7:20.  We have made three of these AP NYC trips in the past as well as seven trips to MarineLab in Key Largo.  We will have to see the numbers we are working with and what AAA - Bowling Green can do for us for group rates.  This trip would be like the others ... American Museum of Natural History / Hayden Planetarium, Metropolitan Art Museum, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Chinatown, Ground Zero, Broadway Musical, Times Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, CBS Early Show and much more in three days ... no sleep, just go and go!

We continued our study of genetics / modes of inheritance in Genetics today.  The dihybrid parakeet problem and "Who's My Daddy" problem ... Tomorrow, our first test ... Chapters 1-3 and some bio review material.  Seniors will miss class for superlative elections ...

We had a unit test in Selected Topics and a few students will have to finish tomorrow.  We will start our study of earth science tomorrow and after Labor Day.

Students are finishing their small group programming problem ... tomorrow is last day.  After Labor Day, we will move on to Microsoft qBASIC.

Ran some errands after school ... ASCS office for farm maps, drug store and Post Office.  Still watering plants close to the house ... I have given up on the rest.

Lots of contests this weekend ... volleyball, cross country and football ... Good luck to all!