Wednesday Wrap-Up

Today was a day of finished projects, the best kind! I was able to tie up several loose ends so that I could head into my days off with no worries. I made sure that I did not get too over heated today as well because it was another painfully hot day.
After opening the park, my co-worker and I set to work on the gutter repair at the barn that I had started yesterday. We made sure to catch the coolest part of the day (which was still HOT) and made quick work of the gutter repair. We even had a supervisor. The first photo shows a dragonfly resting at the top of a lightning rod on the barn roof. When I returned to the office to get the paperwork done, I listened to a phone message and found out that some archaeologists were coming in to dive the Madison wreckage. I finished up the paperwork and headed out into the park. I found another dragonfly. It was laying on the walkway, dead. It was disappointing to find it dead, but it gave me a great opportunity to photograph it. As I moved it around for different angles, I noticed how its seemingly clear wings could glow with an amber hue when the sunlight was right. It was really beautiful. I checked in two divers, one of which dives here often. Soon after the first divers were in the water, the archaeologists arrived. They were with the Division of Historical Resources and I enjoyed talking with them about the interpretation of the wreckage in the park. They saw that I had a poster that was made by their organization and asked if I wanted more to hand out to visitors. Hooray, I love coming across new resources for our visitors! I walked them through the visitor center and showed them the photos and documentation that we have on file. They dove the wreckage and took another photo survey. They said that it was in good shape and all was well. I also asked them about another wreckage that is on the river near Adams Tract. They weren't aware of it and I needed to go to Adams Tract, so I took them over there.
At Adams Tract, we did some adventuring to get through the woods and down the steep river bank and we walked along the edge of the river a bit. They made note of the GPS coordinates of the site and told me that they would come back to check it out. I gave them a quick tour of the river camp and said good-bye. I set to work on the tasks that brought me there.
The volunteer that stays on site at the river camp had told me that part of the septic system was making some loud noises. I checked it out and it was very loud. I looked into it a bit and cleared a mouse nest out of it, but I saw that it was a problem from inside a motor. It is a job for professionals. My next job was to install a new part on the chlorinator at the well. I have been waiting for this part since June, so I was glad to get it in place. It wasn't keeping the chlorinator from working, but it was keeping it from working as efficiently as it could, so it was a good feeling to have it done. While I was there, I tried to take a photo a one butterfly and instead, was able to capture a different one. That seems to be happening a lot lately. I like the photo of this little Skipper because you can see its proboscis (the long straw-like mouth part) uncurled and in the flower.
When I got back to Troy, I stopped at home to get some more water and spotted a very large bird in my yard. It was a vulture! A Turkey Vulture to be exact. We have two types of vultures here, the Black Vulture has a black head and its feathers are all black, except for the tips under its wings. The Turkey Vulture is even uglier than the Black Vulture because its head is obviously featherless and bright red. It has much more white under its wings than the Black Vulture which makes it easy to tell the difference from the ground when they are flying over. Before I disturbed it by driving down my driveway, it was on the ground in the woods. I wonder what dead thing it was feasting on.
Back at the park, I moved the hose to drain the last of the rain barrels, another project completed! I spotted some very pretty wildflowers growing near the last barrel. I believe that they are a type of Giant Ironweed. I think that they are beautiful. I checked in with my co-worker and our evening relief and then headed home, ready to start my weekend!