Thank you note, bass and golf !

We received our very first Thank-You card from the group of 1st/2nd graders !! How nice & thoughtful !!


Friday we went back to work - I gave a tour to 20 5th graders - they were very cool & had lots of good questions. It even rained on us at one point... we had one more stop to make (the outside ponds) and when I asked if they wanted to "skip it"... they all said "NO" let's go out, rain won't bother us !! BV was out mowing the grounds... even in the rain.


Thursday May 7th was mating day for the bass....they drained a small pond, trapped 64 bass in the small concrete area, netted, put them in a fresh water tank, sorted into pairs and then released into 2 of the large 1.3 acre ponds to naturally spawn. Sure would like to catch one of these !

After watching all this... we went to play golf at a local 18 hole course - Fox Run. Very nice, lots of grass. BV played very well, beat me ! I'm still having trouble with the game.... what's new, sure would like to work it out !!
Today, Saturday May 9 I worked in the Aquarium and BV did more "mower man" work. Temps didn't get above 65 ! Tomorrw we work again... so not much will be new to post. Next blog will probably be mid-week. Happy Mothers Day to all !! xxoo

The Turtle Slinger !

Our day off was Wednesday, but we put in 8 hours of volunteer work ! From 7:30-11:30am staff went back out to pull the hoop nets, check fish variety, weight and length. BV helped pull in the nets, sort the fish and.... when we got turtles... "sling em out" ! Several large snapping turtles were caught and thus the new nickname! For those tracking his fishing progess... see the big fish he has >>>

History Lesson #3: The hoop nets are huge, smaller nets underwater lead fish into the square end, they swim to the smaller hooped ends and cannot get out. No harm is done to them. When pulled, the fish are dumped into a tank of water, BV pulled them out one by one, the biologists took the measurements and the fish were released. I'm excited - I've taken on a photographer role & will work with them to update their interpretive boards & put together a portfolio of pictures showing the different hatchery activities that go on during the year.

That night from 8pm-12midnight we met with staff from here & the NB state fish & game to conduct a joint agency night bass data count. History Lesson #4: one boat has front electric probes that temporarily shock the fish as the boat slowly moves forward, fish come to the surface, staff on rubber maps net them, put them in a water tank then transfer to a 2nd boat where stats are taken, fish are then released with no harm being done. It's an interesting operation - the lake is divided into 5 sections, the shock boat runs for 15 minutes in each area to obtain section data. I'm glad we arrived early so we could participate in all these activities !

Boat rides.. beaver dams...hoop nets !

Tuesday May 5, we went out on Lake Yankton with the biologists to set 8 hoop nets and found several large "beaver " dams .... BV thought he'd move in, but it was a bit wet & crowded!History Lesson #2: the hoop nets are put out 2 times a year to gather fish so they can tell what size and variety are in the lake. Tomorrw morning we will go back out, pull in the nets and see what the "catch of the day" is.

We walked the outside ponds today and it is quite a wildlife sanctuary. Pairs of Canadian geese were out with their young ones - very cute. We saw a bald eagle but couldn't get a picture.

1st day at work !

Today, May 4 was our 1st day for "officially" volunteering... tho we've been helping out since we arrived last week. While I was getting ready, BV was awaiting me with our new ride, a Gator

"convertible" ! At 10am we checked the status of the walleye and trout, got ready for our 11am tour of 1st/2nd graders & then of course we joined the staff for "break". Our group arrived, I gave a short overview then BV asked who were the "troublemakers" - the 1st graders raised their hands, so he took them .. I had the 2nd grade and away we went ! With kids and teachers in tow, we showed them a grand time around the hatchery, joining up at the aquarium for pictures !! Of course BV got them laughing when he said ok, smile and say "Texas" ! They shouted back "Nebraska", he then shouted "Longhorns" & what do you think they came back with ?? Huskers !!! I think we did pretty good & the kids had fun !

After lunch, we went out with staff on Lake Lewis & Clark for a 3 hour test run of the USFW longboat ..... 1st leg was over to the Nebraska side ...was it windy and choppy .... then along the cliffs up to the sandbars, back to the dam and returning to the launch in South Dakota.

And our day wasn't done yet ! Pallid sturgeon eggs were coming in from a hatchery further south that were already spawning and the biologists here had to immediatly verify the count, check their weight ... (imagine checking weight of fish eggs) ... check them for health under a microscope and then set them up for hatching in their beakers.
Would you believe that in the beaker on the right..... there are approx 6,000 sturgeon eggs ? Alias.... caviar.... which is one reason they are "endangered" today !

We're supposed to be off the next 3 days.. but we've asked to help them tomorrow when they set 8 - "really big" nets in Lake Yankton to pull fish for measurements, weights and sample varieties. BV found out that last year, just in one net they pulled up a 50lb paddlefish - maybe we need to re-think what we "volunteer" for !!!! More later......

Internet again has been out ! But guess what... we went and played golf on Friday ! A 9-hole course in Irene, SD... Oh was it windy ! We elected to walk nine with an option on another..... I think since farmland takes up all the flatlands... they make golf courses on all the hills !! Up,
down and back up ... yep, we played another nine !! It seems every little town has a golf course... so, we have our work cut out for us !!!


Sooo, after golf... we decided to drive around the area, found a few more courses and then saw a sign for "casino" ! Yep, drove to just west of Wagner on the Yankton Sioux Indian Lands and donated a few pennies... stayed until midnight... and of course we did our normal routine.. hadn't eaten all day.. so by this time, the restaurant was only serving breakfast !! Ummm good !! Got back to the trailer about 1:30am... just a little jaunt for a Friday !!!




Saturday was interesting !!! What you see out the window of the trailer is a tractor... Staff asked if we wanted a garden ... we said YES...and out they came to dig up a swatch of land just behind us. That night BV put on the knee pads and planted 3 varieties of tomatoes, some bell pepper, sweet red pepper, cucumber and of course jalapeno peppers !! I followed and dug the trenches, watered and made sure they were secure. Surprisingly, nothing ate them overnight... but we do need to put up a small fence - they have some deer but say the rabbits do the most damage !
Sunday - BV planted seeds for okra, cantalope and two varieties of squash. I hope they all do well and we have lots to share !!

We also finished setting up the bookstore... while we we were pricing items, families came in, we told them about the new store and we even ended up selling some merchandise ! OJT.... so tomorrow, Monday May 4 we start officially ! Our hours are 12-5... it's tough, but someone has to do it !!

Thursday April 30..... a tour for sixty 3rd graders was scheduled so we decided to start our orientation early (our first day is formally May 4). We joined the kids as Marv gave the presentation in the hatchery building - walleye are hatching, perch just came in and rainbow fingerlings are being raised. See BV - he's Marv's new assistant !! This tour was broken into 3 groups in different locations and rotated until all the kids saw the aqaurium, hatchery, fed the trout, saw the sturgeon and walked around the outside ponds. What do you think the kids found the most exciting ????? With 36 outside ponds, this area is also a bird sanctuary - with some birds not being welcome !

Today an Indian Tribe from upstate SD picked up a load of rainbow trout to stock their reservoir, the staff took 3 day old walleye fry from their tank and put them into an outside pond.

AND we had some more fun...... they added a "bookstore" to the aquarium... but not much had been done to fix it up... and it didn't seem like staff had time, so this afternoon BV and I took it upon ourselves to "get 'er done" ! We cleaned, rearranged the surplus cabinets & furniture, and provided ideas for displays. The empty tank behind me is now a display with boulders, driftwood, plants and samples of their "fish". The glass case is moved to the other side with caps, mugs & t-shirts. Only the ice-cream machine is in the same spot !! More is yet to be done and we'll probably work on the room over the weekend.

AND oh yeah - the answer to the earlier question about what the kids liked the best ?? Of course... feeding the rainbow trout... and they found a garter snake out at the ponds !

Thursday April 30..... sorry about the lack of communication.... we've

any internet access last few days ! Where were we ? And where are we now ? We travelled thru Missouri, Iowa and on Tuesday arrived at the Gavin's Point Hatchery in South Dakota. At first no one was around, but as soon as we parked in a visitor lot- staff came walking & driving in.

"So, you must be our volunteers" was the greeting from Dianne !

They had our trailer spot ready, just behind the Aquarium. We met Tim, who volunteered to park the rig - since it was a tight spot ... BV didn't argue about who backed it in !! The pad is a mix of crushed asphalt & dirt - too much dirt ! It had rained and the trailer sunk a bit as we levelled it. We put the awning out, and good thing - it poured on us Wednesday night.

You can see the front of the aquarium & the rig is just behind it !

Jeff, the project manager who "hired" us then took us on a whirlwind tour of the facility - the aquarium, 36 outside ponds, 2 pallid sturgeon buildings (endangered), inside hatchery& tanks, around the area where they grow their own hay & grain for fish feed, over the dam into Nebraska (yes, we found the golf course) ! We learned a lot the 1st afternoon, and of course we will share a bit with ya'll too !!!

HISTORY LESSON #1: One sturgeon building has 17 large round tanks and appox 150 sturgeon per tank. One tank has fish from 1992, the others have fish from every year (but 2000) thru 2008. NOTE: reason for so many years of housing fish, a sturgeon has to be at least 13 years old to produce. Also, they are very sensitive to light, sound, changes in temperature and subject to a disease related to, believe it or not "stress" . Which is the reason they are endangered - this building is limited for visitors and everyone must disinfect their shoes before entering. Why no fish from 2000 ? Fish from that year were tested and found to have the disease so they had to destroy all of them from that year. Staff test the fish each year to ensure a clean tank.

We also got a treat !! In the back , where the public is not allowed - is a tank for 4 special sturgeon. Three males and one female - she is approx 80 years old and they are huge !!! They are kept in low lite, no stress and staff are awaiting "when the time is right" !!

Wow, did we have a great first day !! Met 5 of the 7 person staff, met the fish and aquarium residents !! Stay tuned, much more to come !!!