It was a beautiful start to the week. We woke up to sunny skies and a light wind on Sunday morning. We took our time strolling around taking in nature along the way. The bumble bees are in abundance this time of year.
We also saw a few other neat critters.
We got back and relaxed for a bit, catching up on our pictures and blog.
A late afternoon armchair birding session was pretty sweet, seeing a Red-breasted Nuthatch at Camp Chewy.
We started the day Monday with the heaters running then spent most of the day setting out traps for a Blanding's turtle survey. After picking out a couple of spots, 12 traps were set in each of the areas. I decided not to dredge around in the muck and stayed on the bank taking photos of the crew.
While we were looking for the turtle trap spots, a beautiful Green Darner flew into the truck. It is probably one of the most popular darners on the refuge. Everyone in the truck wanted its picture!
We had a late lunch, then went on a refuge tour. We had been looking for the Whooping Cranes this morning without any luck.
Things picked up when we got to Goose/Sprague Pools. We saw lots of shorebirds, swans, 6 whoopers, and a belted kingfisher.
It has been another great day of nature chasing.
Tuesday was another run the heaters kind of morning. The workday was spent checking the turtle traps. The second trap checked had 2 Painted Turtles and 1 Blanding's Turtle. Success!!
After all the traps were checked, the Blanding's Turtle, #50, that we named Ultra, was measured, weighed, tagged, then released.
The other area of traps had 9 Painted Turtles, a few frogs, and a couple of Bullheads in them. One of the smaller Bullhead finned Lauren as he was releasing it.
We had another late lunch, piddled around a bit, then relaxed at Camp Chewy.
We went to sleep listening to the chirps of the critters. It is so nice to have the windows open and not having an a/c run at night.
Wednesday morning was another cool start to the day with the heaters running. It was also a cool day of turtle trapping. There were 19 painted turtles and 2 Blanding's turtles. We now have Fat Boy #51, and Dyna #52. It was an long and exciting day for 14 people to enjoy.
We had so much fun, we missed Max's going away party. We ate the party food around 4 pm when we got in.
Thursday morning Lauren went to help with the beaver deterrent contraption at the water structure. He and Bryce shoveled from inside the structure, while Max and Brad shoveled the debris out of the water. I bet there is going to be some mad beavers when they see what they have done to their beaver dam.
We had another productive day catching 1 Blanding's Turtle, #53 named Sportster, and 6 Painted Turtles. This trial run was pretty good practice for the real deal that will be done next year.
After a long day, we sat around and relaxed with a few beer sodas.
Friday, Sarah and I updated the turtle data while Lauren went to Mauston for more Soapwort herbicides.
The afternoon, Lauren and I checked out the beaver activity on the newly built beaver determent. After work, we loaded up on Amber and rode to Angie and Chad's for the weekend.
Saturday, we rode with about 60 other motorcycles in a memorial Poker Run. It was a well-organized event with 4 stops. We got 2 meals and entertainment for our money, plus each of us won a door prize. We listened to the band for a couple of hours then made our way back to Angie and Chad's before dark. It was a great day of riding.
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