Wednesday, September 11, 2013

The Treehouse (and Fall Semester Class)

Hello all! You haven't heard much from me lately, and I do apologize, but between moving in to a new apartment, preseason marching band camp and the start of fall semester classes, I've been just a tiny bit busy. Thankfully my roommates and I have successfully completed our move into our new place and have survived the first week and a half of class.
I'm really really happy with our new living arrangements. Two other girls and I have moved to the upper level of a duplex just a short distance off campus and our space is super cozy. We all have our own rooms and the living spaces are pretty much full to the brim with plants. It probably doesn't help that two of us are horticulture majors. It's rather common among people in the marching band to name their houses, so we've decided to call our new place "The Treehouse", mostly because there's a lot of greenery inside the house and out (as you can see in my second picture). Also, it's entirely on the top level of a house, so the elevation makes sense with the name as well.

Our main living room. The window is southwest facing so it's nice and bright here during the day. 
A view out my window. Another reason why we call it The Treehouse.

Our garden's been bountiful, so we made a few things into a lovely centerpiece.
Our dining area has some nice big windows too.
One of the most exciting things about the start of this semester is the start of actual Horticulture courses. I've had a lot of the prerequisites to do up until now, but this year I actually get to go in depth with horticulture material. My first class bright and early in the morning is Agricultural Biochemistry. And while chemistry is really not my thing, this class is taught through the Horticulture department and is aimed toward those of us studying plants. This way we can learn the facets of biochemistry that is directly relevant to our studies. My second class is Viticulture and Fruit Production for Local and Organic Markets (which is the longest class title ever!) This one is really exciting because we'll be learning about how to run an organic fruit or viticulture operation. We'll be visiting a fruit farm, developing a plan for one of our own and learning all the necessary steps to starting up an operation of that kind. And, fun fact, but one of my professors is the person who helped invent the Honeycrisp Apple! I also have Horticultural Marketing, which is quickly turning into a very interesting and thought provoking course. We analyze not only different marketing strategies and their uses, but how those things apply to the horticultural market. Lastly, I have an online General Management course to fulfill a requirement for my business track within the horticulture major. So look for some posts regarding those horticulture classes because I'm sure I'll have a good amount to talk about. 

What better way to start the fruit production class than by the professors handing out apples!
Zestar Apples are delicious! 
And finally, I'll leave you with a little entertainment for the day, I've included a link to our first marching band performance of the year! Have fun singing along with all our karaoke tunes!