This was my last week here at the Appleton Whittel Research Ranch and I’m sad to go but thankful for the experience I got to have during my short time here. My week was continuing my experiment with the mice carcasses. The experiment went well and my conclusion proved my hypothesis that the mice carcass in the sun would decompose faster than the one in the shade. It was super interesting to find all kinds of insects that are apart of the decomposition process and identify them to see what part of decomposition they aid in. I also got to make observations of a baby Javalina that the ranch had been storing in a freezer. This was awesome to study because I got to watch a much bigger animal than the mice decompose and see different kinds of insects and identify them. It was interesting to see how different bigger animals and small animals are when they decompose and what kinds of different insects are present on each of the animals.
I also got to see some really cool snakes that were found outside the house I have been staying in. One of these snakes was a friendly gofer snake that we got to hold and really examine before we realeased it but the other snake wasn’t so friendly and we didn’t dare try to touch it. It was a western diamond back rattlesnake that we found which was super cool to see. 
I wish I didn’t have to leave this beautiful place and I am so thankful for the people that made this happen.
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