Hello Flog! Today was a great day out on the prairie. We got a lot of important things done, but more importantly, we had fun getting them done! Weather-wise it was a nice day, we were slightly concerned at lunch after a brief spurt of rain, but things cleared off and the beautiful weather held through the afternoon. While temperatures in western MN have gone down a bit, the mosquito population still seems enormous.
In the morning some folks worked on independent projects, a select few worked on planning a top secret project ‘The Big Event’ (flog post coming soon to an Echinacea project flog near you). I worked in experimental plot one with Kristen, Andy, Anna, and Michael to find and record all flowering heads, Its a big job but luckily not as big as experimental plot 2!
Kristen and Andy next to their prized flowering Echinacea
I took a break at about 10:30 to learn more about our brand new GPS unit named Darwin. This is an excellent investment for the project and will help us get a lot more field work done. It has many more useful functions than our GRS-1 units which seem to be terminally ill.
At lunch, we discussed the finer points of the 40-hour work week.
Post lunch many of us went back out to experimental plot 1 to find and record information on the Hesperostipa spartea that are planted near the Echinacea in that plot. Since it is a grass it can be difficult to spot, I was lucky enough to work with Zeke who seems to have been blessed with the ‘Stipa Sense’ or the ability to spot these plants from at least 2 miles away on a foggy morning.
The team learning how to find Stipa
Have a great night!
Will
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