After hitting snooze on my alarm clock a bajillion times this morning, I got up, got ready, and brewed myself a cup of coffee. I didn’t have time to make breakfast (and our dorm building’s kitchen was probably full), so I grabbed a leaf of Swiss Chard out of our little fridge and ran to the lab. The next few hours (9-12) were spent looking through a low-powered microscope at sticky-traps full of bugs, trying to identify salient features of the insects and enter those into a spreadsheet. I ran back to the dorm, made myself some lunch, threw the leftovers into a tupperware, and then went back to the lab for our afternoon fieldwork session.

After organizing our gear and laying out a gameplan, the crew piled into our van and rode off to a University-owned cornfield where we’re conducting some experiments. We arrived to see at least three dozen geese wandering around the grassy edge of the field while a deer looked on in the distance. My co-workers started to collect all the insects that we had trapped in this field as I walked around the perimeter of an electric fence we had set up checking the charge, hanging up fallen “warning” signs, and observing any spots where there was damage. After I had finished my walk and the others had finished gathering the insects, we replaced the SD cards for and turned on a series of camera traps we have set up around the perimeter of the field and the perimeter of the fence to capture wildlife. Then we drove back to the lab and looked at insects until 5.

📖 🎶 Evening Fellowship

One of the Christian fellowships on campus, “Princeton Christian Fellowship,” has been spearheading almost nightly meals and devotional times for any Christians who are staying on campus or in the area through the summer. Tonight was omelettes made by PCF’s intern Jay, followed by brownies, worship, and a short devotional on prayer. It was a wonderful few hours of time together as believers, reflection on God’s word, and prayer for one another. I got to know a few new friends and felt like my relationships with others deepened with the time and worship spent together. My spirit was also refreshed by being with the Lord in prayer.

Praise the Lord for the Christian community on campus! And thanks for checking in with me. May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always!