2026

January

Bball with Bennett & John

Pickup basketball with Bennett and John

Field Site — Elk Park

Jackson drove ~1.5 hours from Bozeman to check on one of his research exclosures (a fence to keep cows out). A windy winter had taken its toll: a big tree had come down and crushed part of the fence. Jackson broke out the chainsaw to clear the tree.

Elk Park exclosure Tree down on the fence Drone view of Elk Park Chainsaw work

Burrito League

Grace won a lot of burritos for running a lot. She ran 125 miles in two weeks! More information about the burrito league here: https://www.burrito-league.com/

February

Blake, Bennett, Hannah Visit Bozeman

Ski trip to Bridger and Big Sky.

Grace Habitat for Humanity

Went to Chico, CA with her coworkers to help build a house for wildfire affected families.

March

Jackson XC Skiing

Finally got to use his new skis. Bad snow year. Bad conditions too!

Jackson XC skiing

Jackson Lab & Greenhouse Work

Much of Jackson's time this spring was spent in MSU's greenhouse doing experiments. The basic idea: what happens to a toadflax plant when a weevil moves in? To find out, I placed small stem-boring weevils directly onto potted toadflax plants and then waited. Over the following weeks, the weevils fed, mated, and laid eggs inside the plant's stems, while I periodically measured how the plants responded. After several weeks, I carefully dissected each stem to count the weevils inside and assess how far they had developed. Pairing those insect counts with the earlier stress measurements lets me ask interesting questions: what does the plant's stress response tell us about the weevil effectiveness as biological control agents? The short answer is: we're finding out.

Greenhouse work Greenhouse work Greenhouse work Greenhouse work Greenhouse work
April

Hyalite Road!

Every spring the road up to Hyalite reservoir closes to vehicles, so it's a great time to run or bike. Grace fatbiked and I took some pictures with my drone and camera of her.

Hyalite drone Hyalite drone Hyalite Hyalite Hyalite Hyalite

Grace Work Trips

Went to Tampa, FL and MN for work related activities.

RACE: Expedition 12k

J&G both raced the Expedition 12k at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park.

May

Glacier NP Trip

Camping trip up in Glacier.

Wedding in Greenville, SC

Sightseeing in Asheville, NC

June

Scout Mountain Runs — Pocatello, ID

J&G drove down to Pocatello to volunteer at the Scout Mountain Runs, a trail running event in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.