Belated July 4th Weekend

Slightly late, but had a nice July 4th weekend even though I had to work Saturday and Monday.

The fun part was my parents came to watch me dive at the aquarium. Then we went to Canal Park and a state park just outside of Superior.

Mutti and I

The Parentals

On Monday, I had to work. We did a program in Moose Lake - we had a vehicle malfunction but once we got there it was smooth sailing. Afterwards, I went to fireworks in Finlayson which was a really good show considering its a town of 300! All in all, a successful weekend :)

Swimming with the Fish

I got the chance to dive at the Great Lakes Aquarium twice this past week. YAY!

Me and my dive buddy in Isle Royale 1 - I have blue fins ;)

On Tuesday, I went up with the Audubon Center. The interns were getting a behind the scenes tour and meeting with some folks. I followed for a bit and then took off to do some diving. At 11:00 when the Isle Royale show started, I dropped down into the tank and there were all my co-workers. The pictures of me diving were ones they took and I felt a bit like a goldfish in bowl. They watched me get harassed by the Lake Sturgeon and trout. Much to their entertainment, the sturgeon repeatedly tried feeding from the top of my head. We only did the first 2 tanks because of limited air (which is fine by me because that 3rd tank is brutal!)

Sturgeon!

hanging with my fav fish in the tanks

I went up on Sunday as well. This time I went by myself which meant I got to hit up some of my favorite places - Target and Starbucks. Nothing exciting happened during these dives but I did make some kids nervous. I tried waving to them while underwater and they started to back away - apparently I am a bit scary with all the equipment on. I am starting to get comfortable with all the gear and tanks which is really great. I also got some good tips from the folks this week and best of all, I got out of the bubble :)

GLA Volunteering

Its been awhile since I have filled most of you in on my volunteer gig - I have been getting up the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, MN when it works out in my and their schedule. I went 2 times in February and today (I also have 2 more times scheduled for this month) YAY! So much fun - I hope to have some picture of me diving before the month is out.

When I went up in February the people I dove with borrowed an underwater video camera and got some footage of us. I am in it but don't be surprised if you don't recognize me with all the gear on. As a helpful tip, I am the one with blue fins and no snorkel :) You can also see just how "friendly" some of the sturgeon get - I actually had one try to feed off my head!

SCUBA

On Saturday, I drove up to the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth to do my first dive as a volunteer diver. For those of you not familiar with the aquarium, check out its website. Great Lakes Aquarium. One of the main exhibits is Isle Royale. Its in the center of the aquarium and is divided into 3 smaller exhibits. Within each of these 25 foot deep tanks are large trout, pike and sturgeon among other cold water fish found in Lake Superior. Because these fish are COLD water fish, the water is kept around 50 degrees. Great for trout, not so pleasant for humans.

It had a been a couple years since my last dive so I was a bit rusty. The dive instructor walked me through the equipment they use (just a bit different than the stuff I trained in) and then I got into a wetsuit. Usually, there are 2 divers but on Saturday there were 3 of us. Another girl about my age was also getting trained in on volunteer diving. After we were all geared up it was time for the show.

The nice thing about this exhibit is that they have an educator doing an interpretive talk while people are cleaning and feeding the sturgeon. We started our dive by just having a little fun and getting used to the tanks before running through some basic dive skills. I got to feed some sturgeon as big as me. These fish are so used to be fed by divers that they actually come up to you and try to suck on you. I wish I had pictures because at one point I was feeding a sturgeon above me while another was between my legs sucking on my calf. I guess you just have to use your imagination.

It was a really fun morning for me. I forgot how much fun it was to dive AND I get to check another thing off my day zero list - volunteer somewhere.  Now that they have signed off on me diving I hope to get back up there soon!

Here and There

Another busy week. It started with a long weekend and a trip to the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth. Then, it got hectic when I was liaison for the school group on site. At one point I was talked into judging a "30 seconds of Fame" talent show. Jess and I took the opportunity to use the costume bins.

The center also had a juvenile bald eagle in for rehab. We had received several phone calls about an injured bald eagle in the area. Since it was local, we actually went out and rescued it. Based on its lack of physical injuries and people seeing it feeding on a gut pile, we suspect lead poisoning. A small amount of lead is enough to start having negative impacts on the birds nervous system. Unfortunately, we see a spike of birds in with possible lead poisoning each year in November and December, when hunting season gets underway. If you are interested in more information you can go toThe Raptor Center.

I rounded out the week by going to the new Harry Potter movie. Its good but frustrating and very dark. Now I only have to wait to next summer to see how they are going to play out the remainder of the final book.

What a Week!

The past week has been insane! We had the Ways of Wildlife Camp with 18 campers and many field trips connected to animals.

On the first full day of camp, my half of the group went to the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth. We got a behind the scenes tour and got a glimpse into what it takes to run an aquarium. It was lots of fun and we saw a bunch of fish. As a special bonus, the tall ships were still in the Duluth Harbor when we got there. 

My group in with the scuba diver in the sturgeon tank!

Me and a moose

Tall ships in Duluth

The next day we went back to Duluth to be a zoo keeper for the day at the Lake Superior Zoo. Here we went behind the scenes and cleaned the kangaroo enclosure. Then we got to explore the zoo before rushing back to the center for a Wildcat Sanctuary program. As part of this program we made enrichment for the cats which basically means we used cardboard boxes and paint to make giant cat toys!

Campers in front the the 'roo exhibit

(notice the matching t-shirts we made!)

Me showing my arm span!

The awesome cat toys!

On Wednesday, we learned about wildlife rehab. We took out a bunch of salvage animals and learned how to do a physical and bandages on an injured animal. It was a great lead in to our afternoon at an animal hospital. We took a tour of the vet clinic and rehab facilities in Garrison. Afterward, we took our picture by a huge Walleye (Minnesota's state fish)!

Me in front of the giant walleye!

On Thursday, we started the day in the barn. Half the group did kestrel handling and the other half did barn chores. It was fun to see how excited the kids were to gut the food or feed a herp. That afternoon, we drove down to the Wildlife Science Center. We saw the wolves, bears and other critters that they house.

Four wolves checking out our group!

Friday morning was a repeat of Thursday and then the campers got picked up after lunch. All in all this was a crazy week. It was exhausting because I worked nearly 90 hours but it was fulfilling at the same time. Through the week we got to see alot of critters and the campers learned how much work goes into caring for animals. It was great to see the kids get so excited to see, touch or feed an animal!

~*~ aquarium fun ~*~

Yesterday, I got the chance to go up to Duluth and see the Great Lakes Aquarium. This aquarium has primarily freshwater fish native to the great lakes area. Right now, they have an exhibit on seahorse which was fun to see. Who doesn't like seahorses?

The visit was great because for the most part, the aquarium was empty. This meant that I could meander around at my own pace and have full view of the tanks :) In addition, I got a behind the scenes tour of the filtration and some of the holding tanks. One of the neatest things of the entire trip was watching the SCUBA divers feed the sturgeon. It looked really fun and is something I hope to try someday!!