Capstone Project!

http://vimeo.com/markg/fullmoonsilhouettes Hey hey hey! This is a pretty cool video. Please enjoy :)

So, this post is going to be about my capstone project. I've been working here for two weeks already but haven't had the time to make a blog! I am taking 6 classes this semester and it's kind of taking over my life right now! Oh well, I am officially accepted into graduate school so it is all paying off!!!!

I love seedlings :)

My capstone - I work with Dr. Brian Hudelson in the Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic (PDDC). I will be learning different lab techniques ranging from isolating nemtode cysts from soil to fungal spore isolation on agar plates. Right now there are not a lot of samples (obviously, it is winter in Wisconsin) but I got to do some disease sampling. My first day, Andrew, the other lab tech, taught me how to extract soybean cyst nematode (SCN) cysts from the soil samples. That was something I have never done and it was fun! SCN cysts we found! They were all over the place in our sample! Brian did a 1mL count instead of 5mL there were so many! I got to see the cysts and the juvenile stage. Nematode juveniles look like microscopic worms (vermicular form) and have a stylet (mouth/tongue thing) that you can see in a light microscope :) I'll try to find a picture and post it.

Other things I will be doing include going to talks/presentations /meetings with Brian, meet other extension workers, and write disease articles! http://labs.russell.wisc.edu/pddc/vegetable-facts-sheets/ <-- Here's the link where you can find the fact sheets! There are more than just vegetable. Look under Fact Sheets in the upper headings and enjoy diseases, insects, and basic horticultural fact sheets. Hopefully I will have a few up here within the next few months!!! I will then have a few things published which will look good on my resume. Here is the link to my second publication: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadang-cadanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadang-cadang 

Let your mind be as free as the clouds in the sky.

Soak up the sunshine.

Let the wind play with your hair.

Don't be afraid to show your inner beauty.

Overall, I love my capstone project. I graduate in 105 days. I got accepted to graduate school at NCSU. I traveled to Guatemala. I'm a happy camper :)