5/29/17

In my opinion, the combination of today’s activities proved to be one of my favorite, with a lecture on climate change, a small swim in a lake, and a visit with new animals that we haven’t been introduced to thus far. We were able to sleep in a little more than usual today, starting breakfast at 9:00 this morning. We had a breakfast pizza from Casey’s General Store with cantaloupe and tater tots as “side dishes”. Breakfast pizza must be a Iowan tradition because none of my classmates (myself included), had ever heard of a breakfast pizza which consisted of sausage, egg, and cheese on top of a dough. I really enjoyed this new treat, even though it may not be the healthiest of breakfasts. But none of our meals have been extremely healthy, so I’ll just have to exercise a lot when we return home. At 9:45, we departed Morris’s house for Iowa City where we were planning to meet Connie Mutel, an ecologist with a passion for restoration and climate change. The drive was not short and we didn’t have enough time to stop for lunch, so we prepared ahead of time by bringing snacks along for the trip. The snacks consisted of meat sticks, cheese sticks, crackers, grapes, and a popcorn ball.

We arrived at Connie’s house at 1:00. Her property was absolutely beautiful and I was extremely jealous that she had so much land with oak trees. One of the main things that I miss from South Carolina is trees, so being able to seclude myself in this “forest” of oaks and shrubbery pleased me greatly. Connie’s house was built from her own hands as well as the hands of her husband and I must say they did a fabulous job. They are concerned about the property and house once they pass away, saying they may transfer it into a nature reserve for the public. I almost volunteered to take the house off her hands, just because it reminded me so much of home. Connie’s lecture on climate change was very well done and helped reinforce my own ideas that global warming that is occurring. She also provided us with some ways to help convince others that climate change is real, which were strategies that I have never considered. The Earth should be compared to a child. If a child’s temperature continues to rise, the parents would not ignore it, but rather take the proper measures needed to heal the child. The Earth should be treated the same way or human life could be in danger in some number of years.

We left Connie’s home at around 3:30 to head out to Mary Mascher’s brother’s house to help plant gourds, watermelon, cucumbers, squash, and cantaloupe. It was very rewarding to know that we helped with the process in such a dramatic way, completing the gardening activities in approximately 2 hours, whereas Mary and her brother would need 2 weeks to finish. After the planting was finished, we were treated to a Memorial Day dinner of barbecue, baked beans, a variety of fruits and vegetables, and pecan pie for dessert. I don’t think I have eaten so much food in my life! Everything was delicious as usual, and I’m sure I gained a few pounds just from that meal. Once we finished our dinner, Mary took us to her lake she spent a large amount of time at as a child. At this lake, Josh tried to learn how to swim, but was not very successful in this goal. I did not get into the water, but a few other students jumped off the end of the dock and swam with Josh for a little bit of time. Our last activity consisted of a very sweet llama and baby lambs! They were all so cute and definitely made a great ending to a great day. Tomorrow is our last day in Iowa and I am proud to say that I have yet to be disappointed in our activities.