JMB Spring Term Day 31

Date: May 21, 2009
Location: JMB, Masardis, Maine

The earl part of the day was spent on further reducing the red oak stave. The day was very hot but windy enough to keep the black flies at bay. I have the stave carved close to the goal lines. I decided on the dimensions recommended in Primitive Technology II. After lunch we worked on plant ID and I added a number of specimens to my herbarium. Before dinner we identified two sets of tracks along the road.

Accomplishments and Observations:
1) made progress on bow
2) pressed plants
   -Fragaria virginiana
   -Plantago major
   -Viola sp.?
   -Rumex acetosella
   -Sambucus sp.?
   -Amelanchier sp.?
   -Alnus sp.?
   -Taraxacum officinale
   -Populus balsamifera
   -Populus tremuloides
   -Brassicaceae gs? sp?

Initial Reflections:
The family based plant ID is really helping my understand of plants. It gives a great framework for ID and for understanding plant evolution.

Current Reflections:
I am now getting back into proper plant study so its fun to try and access this information from a few years ago. I've also taken a few proper biology courses now so I am curious to see how the classroom work informs my person study and viceversa. I think the raw quantities of information in nature study make it a better fit for self study than classroom work anyway. I don't absorb a whole lot of academic information in the classroom setting, I tent to just take notes and do the actual learning on my own time.
I am surprised to find myself becoming curious about how learning actually happens and how to optimize it. Education is more interesting than I gave it credit for.