A day on the water.

Yesterday Judy and I got a rare treat.  We assisted biology tech, Gina, with water quality testing on several lakes in the refuge.  Being out on the water allowed us to see the refuge in a different way.

Judy and I all dressed up in our gear and ready to go.   We are making a fashion statement. LOL

Can you tell Judy was having good time? 

Gina used a GPS to arrive at the correct testing location.   When we reached our location Judy lowered the anchor while Gina asssembled the equipment.  Judy assisted Gina with the bottles and I recorded the data.  

Gina used a long PVC pipe to retrieve water for testing. 

Some of the water is poured in to smaller plastic bottles with sulfuric acid added to one of the bottles to kill any existing organisms. 

Once that is accomplished she uses a sonde to measure temperature, PH and turbidity. 

Here is Gina with the sonde.  I was amazed when she told us this piece of equipment cost around $10,000.00. Wow!  Hold on tight to that. LOL 

The next step is using a secchi to determine water clarity and to measure depth.  The secchi looks like a large metal plate with a tape measure attached to it.  

Gina is about to drop the secchi into the water.  

Gina packing up the test samples. 

In all we assisted Gina with five lakes.  Judy and I both agreed this was better than being stuck inside all day. LOL   A big thank you to Gina for taking us along with her.   

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.