Fall

Can you see the deer?

Too late now, he is gone!

Just the Biologist in Me

Debbie threatened me about posting these pics, but what are the odds of capturing these images again. It's just nature being natural and explains where baby walking sticks (Phasmids) come from (note how small the male is compare to the female). There are over 3,000 species of walking sticks worldwide. I actually found this couple in our bedroom and removed them to the back patio for these pics.

Brayden's on the move!!

This past week I have spent quite a bit of time with Brayden, He is adorable! He is also on the go. He is crawling and pulling up. It won't be long before he will be walking. Our biggest obsticle has been trying to get him to go to sleep on his own. He will get it soon I'm sure, but in the mean time it has been a little heartbreaking. I miss my tiny baby boy who let me rock him to sleep. I had the chance Wednesday to get a few quick pictures of him crawling and standing at his favorite toy (this table is a lifesaver). It has only been one day since I've seen him and I miss his already.

Good snake

This is a Midland Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi) that I found while planting daffodil bulbs yesterday. These snakes are called fossorial reptiles because they spend their time underground. They eat, among other things, slugs which we seem to have an abundance of around our place. This little guy was only around 10"-12" long and was very photogenic.

Fuzzy Caterpillar

Here is a neat caterpillar I found crawling accross our back wall yesterday. As you can see the colors are so bright, it was hard to miss him. This is a Isabella Tiger Moth caterpillar (Pyrrharchia isabella); see the picture below for the adult. Not much of a resemblance.

Dog Days

Candy is enjoying the last (I hope) of the really hot days of summer. I am ready for things to cool down and stay cool. I love the fall weather and I wish we could just go from fall weather to spring weather and eliminate both winter and summer.

Isn't she adorable?!

I just received some pictures of my nephew's daughter, Kaydee. Kaydee will be 3 in December. These pictures were taken at dress up day at her preschool. They were sent to me in an e-mail so they are kinda small, but still adorable

Visiting Professor Program

One of the highlights of my job is the time I spend working in a volunteer program called the Educational Reclamation Zone (ERZ). The program partners professors with either high school or middle school teachers and their classes. I am starting my second year in the program and was one of the very first professors to become involved. I work with middle school students who are really great. They are curious, funny, and excited every time I visit. Debbie and I overheard a little girl last night in Sams telling her mom about me and how I visited their school. These are pictures from my first visit this year. I brought two of my students (Ken and Hannah) to help me with a DNA fingerprinting lab that the kids really liked doing. I am looking forward to going back this month to do some bloodtyping and later to hibernate some frogs. I think they will like both exercises.

Congratulations Troy!

Troy strives for excellence in everything he does from preaching to teaching. He puts a lot of effort into all that he does. I have attached two emails below that can better describe the two awards he was presented yesterday at Henderson State University. It is nice for him to be recognized for all the hard work he does in his field. I know he is the best and it is good to find they see it too.

From: Miles, Vernon
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 3:12 PM
To: Faculty (For official University use ); Staff (For official University use only)
Subject: Faculty Awards

Friends and Colleagues,

Please join me in congratulating the recipients of the Faculty Excellence Awards listed below. Our faculty make HSU what it is, and we cannot be reminded of this quite often enough. Let’s all let this serve as one of many reminders of the wonderful things we do for our students day after day, semester after semester.

2008-2009 FACULTY EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Excellence in Scholarly or Creative Activity

Teachers College, Henderson Dr. Lonnie McDonald

School of Business Dr. Frank Smith

Ellis College of Arts and Sciences

Liberal Arts Dr. Angela Boswell
Fine Arts Dr. Randy Duncan
Science and Mathematics Dr. Troy Bray

Outstanding New Faculty Member Dr. Troy Bray

These individuals will be recognized at our Founder’s Day celebration on October 1st, so if you have not had an opportunity to congratulate each before then, you certainly will on that auspicious day.

Regards,

Vernon

Dr. Engman is the chair of the biology department

From: ENGMAN, JAMES
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 3:42 PM
To: Biology
Subject: FW: Faculty Awards

Please also join me in congratulating Troy on receiving the TWO awards listed above. Personally, I could not be any happier. He is incredibly deserving, as he has worked so hard since the day he crossed our doorstep. Actually, I guess he has crossed our doorstep more than once, but both times – as a student and then as a faculty member – he has impressed us. He has put a great deal of time, and effort (and money L) into giving our cell and genetics courses the benefit of his training. He is continuing to make improvements on the lab work in those classes, introducing our students to a wider variety of modern tools. He has published regularly in his time here. He has also served the university very well, both on and off campus. I especially appreciate his work in the ERZ program. He is exactly what Henderson had in mind when these awards were established. We all know that those first few years as a new faculty member can be stressful and tiring; just surviving is an accomplishment. Flourishing like this is truly a laudable achievement. We, and our students, are very lucky to have him.

Congratulations, Troy!

Jamie

This first picture is the recieving of the Excellence in Scholarly or Creativity Activity Award. One award is given in each school within the college.


These two pictures are the receiving of the Oustanding New Faculty Member Award. One award is given over the entire college.

We love you and could not be more proud of you. Congratulations!