land o'lakes

today was another full day out on the water. we visited three lakes with lindsey: Trout, High, and Big. It was all the same work as yesterday morning: checking the juvenile crayfish in the containers and measuring them, it was a good chance to see some new lakes though. First we drove to Trout Lake, which was 40 minutes away and Bradley and I went for our first grocery trip while lindsey prepared the crayfish that she was going to be adding to this lake. we didn't even launch the boat because the two crayfish container sites were within wading distance so we just carried a lab table and the other equipment out to the spots. oh! and it was here that I found a single crayfish claw that lindsey let me take home.... but i just realized that i left it in the truck. and that it was smelling kind of bad... whoops. I'll have to check on that tomorrow.

carrying on, I think High Lake is my new favorite. The boat launch is right in a little marsh-like canal which would be perfect for kayaking due to the long grasses and lilies. then, after maybe 1/3 of a mile it opens up into a huge lake with a few islands, peninsulas, and bays. lots of cool kayaking and snorkeling spots. and luckily this place is only 15 minutes away so I could probably convince someone to go back with me. and on the way back lindsey actually let me drive the boat--- that was fun, but manuevering the motorboat in that marsh-land was difficult especially when i had to navigate a narrow passage around a fallen log and i actually had to turn off the engine at one point. but, it's practice!

and at the third lake (big), I had more boat practice, but this time with the trailer. i backed the trailer up and launched the boat into the water. it was hard! i have a new respect for anyone that can back up the boat onto the ramp straight, especially in just a couple of minutes. mine was incredibly sideways, but still launchable.

then in the evening, my roommates returned at about the same time as me and we all had taco night. i used a vegan sloppy joe mix. afterwards, we headed over to "The Taj," the house where the Notre Dame undergrads live for a seminar speaker. This week featured the post-doc that my roommates actually work for, Stuart Jones, who studies the flow of terrestrial Carbon into lakes. It was an okay talk, and it was cool to hear what katie, rachel, and alexandra are working on, but I don't know, it wasn't incredibly interesting. we were going to cozy up the watch psych but instead a graduate student, chris, who lives at the apartment across from us came over and invited us over for board games so we played apples to apples and quiddle, a game similar to scrabble and was quite fun.

The Real Land O'Lakes