Blanding’s Summer 2020 Blog 3
The day we have all been waiting for is here: moving day!
We finally moved our huge pile of supplies from the field closet into our car. With the help of caffeine, we made the 3-hour drive up to Lake County to set up our lab at Turtle Town. We unpacked all of the coolers, set up all our equipment, and started stuffing our field backpacks with everything we need for a day of sampling Blanding’s.
That afternoon we left the work car in Lake County, and Sam drove us back to Urbana to pack up our personal cars. The next day we made a very similar drive back to Lake County so we could move into our house. After unpacking our rooms, we headed back to Turtle Town to put a few finishing touches on our field bags, set up our sample storage boxes, and try on our waders. Check back soon for more information about what we carry while we are in the field.
Waders, as you can see, are a fashion statement! Lucky Sam immediately found the boots she wore last year, but I tried on every pair until I found one that fit. Now in full gear, with our bags all packed, we are finally ready to find some Blanding’s!
Check back next week to see our first week of fieldwork, and (hopefully) lots of very cute Blanding’s!
