Day 3 and 4: Sunday Sabbath and Mystery Monday

Pickerel Lake from the boat launch

Sunday Morning I was blessed to visit Church in the Hills with a group of AuSable Students. The people were friendly and quite curious of a group of "young" people.  

For the afternoon I went on an exploratory bike ride around Big Twin, Little Twin and Pickerel Lake. The topography of this area is quite different from New Hampshire.  There are some rolling hills but nothing like South Road or High Street in Candia.  Bike riding here requires you to pedal all the time!

Additionally, sand can be a real issue for cyclists - and it is abundant in this area of Michigan.  The interior lakes here are called Kettle lakes - where a depression in the topography was left from the retreating glacier.  Where these holes are located below the water table a lake or pond forms.  

A beautiful part of the AuSable experience is Sunday night Vespers.  Each week is lead by a different class and a Professor brings a message from the word.  This week Field botany lead!  The message brought by Dr. Ken Sytsma on the Ceders of Lebanon.  Looking at the Biblical account of the use and misuse of this resource can provide a lesson regarding how we use natural resources.    This was the primary wood used for the building of the Temple and then Solomon's own palace.  This particular tree is quite massive and stately - it would dwarf our White Ceder.  Unfortunately, the species is still in a declining situation today.  Resources are a gift from the Lord, however poor stewardship of the resources is not a sustainable practice.

Maiden Hair Fern 

Monday kicked off my working assignment. For the first few weeks I will be working with two other Research Assistants -  our first task it to become acquainted with the research work that we will be helping to improve for publication.  Then will come the more tedious but all important data organization.

Mystery Monday Species: 
After an afternoon run around Twin Lake I found this lovely Maidenhair Fern on the pathway between the Education Center and Willow House!  This was a species that I was looking forward to seeing - since it not very common in NH.