A Note on Leeches, Cartoon Bears, and Science Fiction Impersonators

We haven't seen much wildlife in the last few days, well at least interesting/noteworthy wildlife. It is almost as if the animals wanted to show off for us in our first week here, and now that we are no longer a novelty, they all went back to their business. My boss did receive an email from our landlord however, telling us that there is a bear wandering around the resort so we need to be careful. But the closet thing to to a bear I've seen lately was a cut-out of Yogi and Boo-boo on our drive to the river. All I can picture now is waking up one morning to the resort bear stealing our pic-a-nic basket!

Speaking of bears, there is this t-shirt at the Wawa General Store that says "you don't have to outrun a bear, you just have to outrun your friend". Well I figured out who out of the four of us on the team will be the one who gets left behind and eaten by the bear...can you guess?...It's ME! We went back to Wawa to (FINALLY) install the thermologgers in the Magpie River. This is the first time I had to hike into the access points and I trailed behind everyone else by at least 10 mins! Normally I wouldn't make to big a deal out of it, however the access points on the river are SURROUNDED by blueberry bushes!! So once they start to bloom I will be a sitting duck. If I had my hiking boots on I might have a chance, but in waders? I can barely bend my knees let alone run! I should just surrender myself now! Maybe if I bust my butt and manage to keep up with everyone and then outrun (cough-trip-cough!) the person carrying the Electrofishing Backpack I won't be the one eaten lol.

Lately, underneath de l'eau is where it is happening! Snorkeling is going a lot better. I am gaining my strength back in my arms and I am really starting to get a hang of seeing and identifying fish while snorkeling. While it is strenuous to the body climbing against heavy currents, quite frustrating to find fish, and overall a very slow process, the plus side is it gives me the perfect opportunity to practice my Darth Vader impression :P

Through Snorkel: points to a Trout (heavy breathing) "The force (to avoid the electrofisher) is strong with this one"

A piece of advice for those of you who like to snorkel in freshwater rivers- When snorkeling in the river, even if you where all the neoprene in the world, you won't be saved from leeches! So watch out! Make sure you check the inside of your wetsuit when you remove it. The one I found today, while fortunately didn't attach to me, attached to the INSIDE of my suit. And I wore a full length wetsuit, gloves, boots, and a hood!! How did it get in?! Can you say EWWWWW!!

Finally, I would like to leave all of you with a little guessing game. When we went to Wawa the first time we had a lot of trouble finding the access points (encountering washed out roads, mounds of dirt blocking roads etc). Can you guess which is the actual way to the river? Don't worry it threw us for a loop as well!

Sincerely,

Your thoroughly amused, sometimes bored, and wanting-to-avoid-getting-back-into-the-wetsuit Field Biologist

The Fine Art of Cruise Control!

Believe it or not, but for the first time in my entire life I learned how to use cruise control! And for those of you who don't know me should know what an amazing feat this is! Before last week I wouldn't touch any car bigger than my parents Mazda 6 with a ten foot pole, let alone try and figure out how cruise control works. I am flabbergasted that I didn't think to attempt to learn it sooner! Boy does it make my life easy. I no longer have to worry about those long stretches of highway constantly adjusting my speed. I can sit back and relax as my car does it for me :D. A glorious toast to the inventors of this magnificent piece of technology! Without you my life was incomplete.

I only wish there was cruise control for the human body. I could certainly have used it today. We did our snorkeling training for the first time, and in fast flowing current no less!! To say that I had trouble trying not to get swept down stream was an understatement! I was thrown and tossed about like food in a food fight! I have many many MANY bruises from bouncing off the rocks, and my arms are DEFINITELY going to be sore in the morning as I had to claw my way up against the current, CLINGING to rocks. Well at least I will be very fit by the end of the summer!
If only I were Aquaman. Life would be so much simpler...

Sincerely,

Your cruise control loving-wishing it was transferable to water, Field Biologist

Called on account of rain!

I wake up this morning to pouring rain and a day off. SWEET! And to top it off my internet has been fixed (for now anyway...). So I have decided to post more of my pictures from the trip to Wawa the day before yesterday. Enjoy!

On the Road to Wawa:

The beautiful Lake Superior:

The route to the Magpie River:

Trip to Young's General Store and the Scenic High Falls, Wawa, ON:

Sincerely,

Your relaxed-and-happy-to-have-a-day-off Field Biologist

Houston, we have a problem!

First I just want to appoligize as it seems that I might not be able to update this blog for a few days or weeks :S) as my internet is patchy at best. I am currently sitting at the local community centre in order to check my emails and give all of you an update. so far its not going so well...
Well yesterday was a VERY interesting day. Our team drove 210km North to Wawa to check out the acces sites we will be using when we begin studying the Magpie River. This river is considered comparable with the Batchawana (which we are studying now), the only difference being that the Magpie has a Hydropower dam on it.

We arrive in Wawa and immediately experience a change in the scenery. In order to get to two of the access points to the river we travelled along a dirt road across more open land full of blueberry bushes.

However, we encountered a few problems. We were unable to get to ANY of the access points on the River! We were blocked by a mound of dirt that was completely impassable, and a washed out road.

In the end we spent the day exploring the small town of Wawa doing toristy things...but more on that to come later when I have better internet access!

Sincerely,

Your extremely frustrated and technologically challenged Field Biologist





There's just something about a campfire

There is just something magical about a campfire. Whether it is just for a few minutes or for a few hours, cooking food or just relaxing, being with family or with new friends, I enjoy it each and everytime. I love the way the flames dance, the crackling sounds of the wood, and most especially the campfire smell. I find the fire so warm and cozy...comforting even. It reminds me of all the times I spent around the campfire with my family enjoying our summer vacation. Roasting marshmallows is also always a plus :P

I hope now that it is almost summer that you will all get a chance to have your own campfires. Enjoy and treasure the moments sitting around the fire creates.

One can enjoy a wood fire worthily only when he warms his thoughts

by it as well as his hands and feet

~Odell Shephard

The fire is the main comfort of the camp, whether in summer or winter,

and is about as ample at one season as at another. It is as well cheerfulness

as for warmness and dryness

~Henry David Thoreau

To poke a wood fire is more solid enjoyment than

almost anything else in the world

~Charles Dudley Warner

The most tangible of all visible mysteries - fire

~Leigh Hunt

Sincerely,

Your very warm-n-cozy Field Biologist



Oh how I love the smell of OFF in the morning!

So far I have managed to avoid any major mosquito bites (just a few here or there). This is good because when I get bitten I really swell up, and I look like I just had an allergic reaction. So everyday I coat myself in heavy layers of OFF repellent, much to the complaint of my lungs. Which no matter how many times I wash my hands is always still there (not so pleasant when trying to eat lol). Today however, there is no avoiding the mosquitoes!
It is supposed to thunderstorm all day today and it rained heavily overnight. This only means one thing...Lots of bugs!! Is it wrong that i hope we get rained out today?

On the plus side, I am driving, so lots of puddles to splash in :P

Sincerely,

Your soon-to-be-eaten-alive Field Biologist

I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore...

Today we embarked on Highway 17 North which runs along Lake Superior to reach Lake Batchawana. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking! It is unlike anything I have seen before. Being here in Sault Ste. Marie, you really get a chance to experiene the Canadian wilderness.

I have never seen Lake Superior before and I can see why they call it such. It is absolutely magnificant. I am looking forward to seeing more of it when we move on to Wawa in July.

Lake Batchawana was even more beautiful. The River is right in the middle of nowhere, and completely surrounded by forest. This area is very heterogenous in its plant/tree species. I have never seen such a variety. Very different from the Rocky Mountains (where I have visited many times) which is mainly dominated by Pines.

The best part of the day was definitely travelling there. In order to reach our access points for sampling on the river we had to travel on road Mile 38, a real off road adventure. There was lots of rocks, and lots of bumps! It was so bumpy that our Chevrolet Silverado finally earned its name. Our car is officially "Jolly Jumper" after Lucky Luke's trusty horse because it certainly felt like we were riding a horse. We even played the William Tell Overture as we bumped along just to finish off the illusion!

I will be posting twice tomorrow. One in the morning and one in the evening :)

Enjoy!

Sincerely,
Your Cowgirl/Field Biologist :P

The Adventure Begins!

As a fourth year Environmental Science student I have experienced field work before, however, they were only for periods no longer than two weeks. For the first time EVER, I have been employed to work in the field for the summer! So here I am in Searchmont, ON, less than an hour from Sault Ste. Marie undergoing three months of gruelling, but adventuresome, and rewarding field work experience.

It is my endeavour to keep you all entertained (myself included) by my experiences, and hopefully interested in biological field work!

Until next time!

Sincerely,
Your Very Excited Field Biologist