Last week began with the discovery of slug eggs during our weekly exploration of the edge of the woods at school. The eggs on the leaf are "duds", but the ones in the center picture contain embryos. We collected them, along with some of the surrounding mud, to see if they will hatch.

On Thursday, Mr. and Mrs. Brame capitalized on the students' current interest in the Harry Potter stories by organizing a game of Quidditch for PE. This was a fun way to combine physical activity and imagination! Did you know that lots of colleges now have intramural Quidditch teams?!

On Friday, we walked over to Gardner-Webb to meet with Botany professor, Dr. Tom Jones. He showed us some of the interesting and unusual plants that grow on the nature trail between the pond and Broyhill Adventure Course. One such plant is Bloodroot, which produces a white flower, and which is just starting to bloom. The roots of these plants have a red juice that Native Americans used to treat skin cancer. Scientists are now investigating their effect on melanoma. Another is the Princess Tree, which was brought over from China and now spreads and grows very quickly. Dr. Jones showed us several kinds of wild mint, as well as Bittercress.