Welcome to Harp Lake, mind the plankton

I'm falling behind in my writing and have so much to write about but will start back with my day on the 14th, last week. I had my first introduction to Harp Lake where I will be doing my field work, and am pretty happy with it! Puzzlingly, there is an old sign on the road to the lake with "Aussies - Free Beer" written in fading writing, which I may have to further investigate when I have more time.

The main task for the day was installing the met. station buoy. The Canadian pronunciation of "buoy", booee, is invading my brain and I have started occasionally saying it like that in my head when I read it or think of it. I am turning into a Canadian and I've only been here two weeks. I think it is all the Tim Hortons coffee I've been drinking, and the wild blueberries I've been eating.

Anyway, installing the buoy involved going out to the deepest point in the lake, attaching ropes to four cinder blocks, throwing them over the side of the boat and attaching the other ends to the four corners of the buoy. It is very important however that the buoy is as stationary as something in the middle of a lake can be, which means that the ropes attaching the buoy to the cinder blocks have to be as taut as possible. This is turn means that someone needs to be in the water, making sure the ropes are located well and nice and tight. Given that this is my study, this person was me. For your enjoyment, here is a very fetching shot of me trying to figure out the tangled ropes.