Dreary drizzle awaited me as I left my cabin this morning. A quick check of the weather channel app on my phone let me know to expect more of the same for the rest of the day. If only I were going to play baseball, the game would have been called, kaput, rained out. Instead, I was going to do pond surveys. In this game, the only thing that cancels work is lighting. No storms of that nature were predicted until after lunch.
Our team marched out to the first site of the day. It was a shallow looking pond, with no signs of turtles at all. After deciding that a turtle search would be fruitless at this pond, we hiked to the second site of the day. This was a nearby pond which was added to our survey so our main objective was simply to locate the pond.
Leaving a trail of broken branches and upset spiders in our wake, we came to the shoreline of our new pond. After a brief pause for observations, I set about entering the water to survey this huge lake. Four short steps along the shoreline and I found myself chest deep in the water and sinking slowly.
Looking out across the lake, I saw a clear path on the far shore. Four wheel drive tire treads running parallel up a green carpeted hillside. We decided that finding that path would allow for a better survey. I exited the water and we were on our way to the next site.
The sky doubled its rain production shortly after a green frog found her way into Chelsea's net at our third site. By the time she finished writing all the stats on the page, it was soaked through. We released the frog and raced back to the truck.
Highlight: I guess the highlight of today would be learning that I will be helping out with the new kid's camp this week. It is a "Vet Camp". I can't hardly wait to return to the animal hospital even if the price of admission is dealing with preteens.
Lowlight: Rainy days are terrible for finding turtles. From this point forward, I will only be working on a Major League Baseball type schedule. Might as well roll tarps over the ponds while we wait out the storm from the comfort of a plush locker room.
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