I can’t believe it’s time to post to the blog again, because that means I’ve been at my internship for over a month now. Time flies when you’re having fun!

Last week was the training workshop at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I finally got to meet Krissa and Marian, who are totally awesome. I also got to hang out with all the other interns in the program, which was like being back in college, except where everyone else loves plants as much as I do. The Chicago Botanic Garden was beautiful.  I learned some really interesting things, and we had a ton of fun going into the city Friday night. Basically the workshop was awesome, although the humidity definitely made me appreciate working in the desert.

As for life back in Grand Junction, my most recent excitement was finding a rare threatened plant, the DeBeque phacelia. It’s a tiny annual forb that only grows in a very specific environment, in bare loose soil on southwest or east-facing slopes. I have never been so excited over a tiny dried-out plant.

In other news, I went wine tasting in Palisade last weekend, which is cool since I never would have thought of wineries in Colorado. They actually have some international award-winning wines. Best part was the tasting was all free!

Also I’m covered in bug bites, especially on my feet. Just thought you all should know.