The Assassin

I wanted to give a shout out to my host the last couple nights up in Minnesota, Mike G. Mike and his Carleton College roommates provided me suitable accommodations while I was in the land of 10,000 lakes. Located in the small town of Northfield, MN Carleton owns land next to the campus called the Cowling Arboretum aka "the Arb". It consists of approximately 880 acres of forest, field, and floodplain, and it includes many miles of trails. There are two sections to the Arb: The Upper Arb has greater trail density, some trails designated for bike use, and generally smaller areas of natural communities and the Lower Arb, which has populations of rare plants and animals and has primary conservation and education importance. The Lower Arb has fewer trails, no bike use, and large contiguous areas of natural habitat.

The reason I bring up this fascinating reserve is one, because it is an official protected prairie land and two, a few of us went out onto the Arb late on Monday night to do some exploration in the dark. We went out for a midnight hike in what felt like a night out at the beach. Given that I am averse to poisonous native snakes I was definitely wary of the reptile as we trekked thru the tall grasses. But all in all it was a good time and I'm sure Mike and his buds will get out there as much as they can as long as the temperature stays above zero and their workload doesn't get too suicidal.

The picture is of Mike G. and his recently purchased Nerf toys, which he will find useful during a competition that happens on campus called Assassins. For explanation I have copied this text from Wikipedia:"The Assassin Guild is a student-run group on campus dedicated to the pursuit of friendly competition and team-building through senseless violence. Students attempt to "kill" one another with a variety of nonlethal, though potentially annoying, weapons. Rounds are run several times throughout the term, during which participants can be seen skulking about, hiding nerf guns under trenchcoats, and engaging in mock swordfights."

Needless to say, Carleton is a unique place.