Autumn Begins As September Ends

It is still quite warm in Georgia, although the season has turned to autumn, officially. I saw an old FB post of mine that reported frost on the ground in Michigan at this time, and it sent me into some cognitive dissonance. I haven't needed as much as a sweatshirt yet.

We finished scoring the General Chemistry exams and handed them back this week. I think the results were good, an average of around 66% with several scores in the 90's. I had a couple of those in my "quick" section, but the other section had a high of 79, which tracks with my impression of the two sections. I offered the students participation points for coming to my office to go over their exams individually, and so I had a few days of constant visitors. I didn't remind them that they get participation points anytime they come to my office, and it did spur a few of the reluctant ones.

The other big event was in the Modeling and Problem Solving class. We finished the first Module this week. The deliverable for this Module is a scientific poster, and the students presented in teams during the class time on Thursday. We had a few visitors from the other sections and from last year's class. I think our group did well overall, and it was enjoyable to see them rise to the challenge. 

On Monday evening I went to the board game group. Tuesday I played cribbage, and won three out of nine games, so not as catastrophically bad as the previous two weeks have been. Thursday evening I met K & P for outdoor Oakhurst jazz night. They provided dinner and brought me two bottles of Founders Porter, not knowing that Founders comes from Grand Rapids. So I had a bittersweet moment of nostalgia when I first saw the familiar label. Friday I stayed on campus late to attend the first Theatre production of the year, A Respectable Wedding by Bertolt Brecht. One of the chemistry students had a part in it. I thought it was strange; it takes place at a wedding reception but the guests don't really get along and there was a lot of shouting and crying. I should have read about it before seeing it, I think, because I found it difficult to follow what was happening.

Saturday I got up early and went to Fort Yargo State Park for Georgia State Parks volunteer day. I had a five mile hike while collecting trash. Our ranger, Jake, gave a commentary on the plants and animals along the way. We saw many Joro spiders in their immense webs, as well as several kinds of mushrooms/fungus, and a tiny ring necked snake. There was evidence of beaver activity in the creek, too.

Our trash collecting crew on the trail.

After the hike, I explored more of the park. There is a reconstructed block house similar to the original fort, as well as some other period-appropriate buildings. I guess there are reenactors who come out sometimes to demonstrate trades there.

View of the lake from the fort.

I also checked out the beach recreation area after the man at the visitor center (of course I took this opportunity to get my parks passport stamped) told me it was just renovated. It was a very nice swimming beach. There was a little shop for snacks, a shower building, a disc golf course, pickleball courts, and a mini golf course. Even though it was hot, I played a round of mini golf.

Big beautiful beach!

After the park, I went to downtown Winder for lunch. I had a delicious crepe and grits, and then I walked a couple of blocks for pistachio ice cream. While I was in town, I took photos of the new Barrow County courthouse off the highway as well as the historic courthouse downtown. 

Historic Barrow County Courthouse in Winder, Georgia.

Next, I drove back through Lawrenceville and stopped at Slow Pour Brewing. This was the brewery I visited during my first interview trip in February 2024. I needed to check it off my Gwinnett County beer quest, so I spent a comfortable hour reading in their taproom while drinking an Oktoberfest marzen. Then I walked two blocks down the street to Third Rail Distillery (also on the Gwinnett County list) to get a bottle of their bourbon whiskey.

Last, I drove to Cumming and found the Forsyth County courthouse. Downtown Forsyth was very governmental. Not a lot of shops or restaurants, but several large administrative buildings. Also, very few people on foot. I took the requisite photos but that was all. There was a historical marker on the corner describing a lynching that took place in the county in 1912 and resulted in the county excluding Black folks for most of the 20th century. Not a very nice thought.

Forsyth County Courthouse in Cumming, Georgia.

I met my friend C in another part of Cumming so we could try Crooked Culture Brewing and have dinner together. I had a blueberry sour to begin with, then delicious supper, and finished with a kolsch before coming home at the end of a very long, active day.

Neptune Is Not A Blueberry (blueberry sour)

Today I've done laundry, made carrot soup, baked some bread, and washed dishes twice. One of the professors who lives near me had a small group of us over for brunch today, so I had a pleasant couple of hours on her porch conversing with other women faculty. When I got home I caught up on some work for classes, and then we had Family Meet. I finished my pre-tenure review portfolio as well! It felt very good to hit Send on the email to the tenure & promotion committee chairperson. That thing has been weighing on me all summer and I'm glad to be done with it, for awhile at least.