Thomas Jefferson

   So our Nephila project is complete!  What an intense week – initial presentations and discussions were monday, data collection was tuesday-friday, saturday was preparing for the symposium which was sunday, and the paper is due today (Monday) (in six hours).  And I am finally finished, though it was a bit reminiscent of pulling teeth.  Mostly because we are expected to know a great deal about past experiments and related literature, but we’ve had such a short amount of time to learn them that it has been like a complete brain overload.  I dream of Nephilas or spiders close to every night.  

    A few pictures of our favorite spiders.  As we spent about thirty minutes a day watching each one, we became quite aquainted with each.  The one with the numerous items in its web is Thomas Jefferson, named after my fav. president because he was the first spider of mine who actually did something right.  And there’s even some action shots!  Which we were basically required to have for our presentations, but regardless now you all know how I look when I do work. 

    On another note, we have turned as a group to a ping pong obsession.  And I’m actually not bad, surprisingly.  However, I need to learn how to spin the ball.  So if you can explain, please do.  I have a reputation to forge out of the fires of battle.  

    Pura Vida!

Do you believe I’m in a rainforest now?

Let me share with you an extremely entertaining encounter I had the other day:
       Whitney (another girl in the program) – “Hey Jessica your hair looks really nice!  What did you do to it?”
       Me – “I brushed it”
So apparently it does make a difference.  Who knew?

Here is Iguana, one of the few places we visit that my orientation packet did not describe as “rustic:”

 

little white bats “tenting”   
(our version more intense) , and a few more jungle friends

                   

         

    this is Eduardo, one of our resident howlers

and my favorite, our eyelash viper.          

these are really rare, so it was amazing we got to see one.  (and yes, I am too close to it taking this picture). The one disappointment is that it is tiny, not even a foot long (and its an adult).  I was expected something massive, like the movie Anaconda.  But I suppose the fact that nature made this snake bright yellow is sufficient.  Plus note the skin around its eyes, it has formed a protruding structure (and hence the name “eyelash viper”)

 My independent project starts tomorrow, and that is a photo of our model organism (a stock photo, my camera definitely wont focus that sharply).  These spiders incorporate dead insects and plant material into their webs, and we are attempting to test one hypothesis as to why they do so (the odor of decaying organic matter attracts more prey).  So its eight hours in the field watching these guys for the next five days.  Wish me sanity (and results!)  
                                                                                              

I made an error in an earlier post, Sarah’s blog from Thailand is actually:  lutkie.wordpress.com.  She already has some pictures up, and it looks amazing! The bustle of such busy cities is so very far from where I am.  Plus she is staying for the moment in a quasi-resort on the beach, so I suppose thats a bit different as well.   Different in a very, very good way.

I hear Obama is back on top in the polls, great job America!  Keep up the good work, I’ll be thinking of all of you! Pura vida