At the end, I am at home in the woods
It has been three weeks since I last visited the vernal pool and installed the Version 4 (Ultrasonic) water depth data-logger. I was curious to learn whether the new logger was working and decided to collect the data and replace the batteries in both loggers — the Version 3 logger (laser rangefinder) had also been running since the last visit.
Daytime high temperatures in the first half of June in Middlebury are historically in the 70s F, but so far this year half of the days in June have been in the 80s F. Historically in June, Burlington gets 2.5 inches of rain by the 20th, but so far has gotten only 0.4 inches (last year they got 3.8 inches by now). So maybe I should not have been so surprised on Friday to find that our vernal pool was completely dry. Ned and I visited to collect data from the loggers and install a new version of the DIY water depth and water temperature logger. The new logger might not have much work to do for a while.
Six weeks ago I installed version 3 of a water depth data logger in the vernal pool we are monitoring. I liked that logger more than the earlier versions because the parts cost $35 instead of $50. After posting about it I noticed that many Arduino hobbyists measure distance with an ultrasonic rangefinder instead of the laser rangefinder I had used, so I ordered a few HC-SR04p rangefinders.
On May 3 we made the official third visit to the vernal pool we are monitoring. During this visit we are supposed to collect the frog call recorder and do the final surveys for amphibian eggs and aquatic invertebrates. At the second visit we failed to find any fairy shrimp, so I was looking forward to adding them to my crustacean life list. I was also looking forward to collecting the microSD card from the data logger we had installed on April 17 and examining two more weeks worth of data. And at the last minute I decided to bring a 24 foot-long pole and get some “aerial” photos from above the pool. By the time we left the pool to hike back to the road, I was dismayed at my lack of success at most of these goals.
