Monitoring Site #1

[reallyginnyf]

Checked out my first potential monitoring site of the FrogWatch season.  Not sure if this will be a viable site. I couldn't approach the water source too closely due to terrain (poorly marked trail with a steep pitch to the water's edge on a dark and rainy evening) and ambient noise was a huge problem.  Recordings were interrupted five times (barking dogs, traffic noise, planes flying overhead).  Identified large chorus of spring peepers, individual gray tree frogs and cricket frogs.  Lost my favorite pen in the woods and I need better recording equipment.  All in alll, not a huge success. I'm still going to register the site and check it a few times during the season, although there's not much I can do about the proximity to the highway. I'm hoping in better conditions I can walk farther into the property and cut down on some of the extraneous noise. Will check my second monitoring site next week if I can nail down a date and time; it has more potential because it's a lake vs. a creek and it's on the edge of the city landfill on a single-lane road so ambient noise should be less of a problem

In other news, my mom's health is failing and she may need heart surgery if she's strong enough (spoiler alert: she is not strong enough) and I'm still in "I hate everyone" mode so have been avoiding most social media because you know that old saying "she could start a fight in an empty house?" That's exactly where my head is at right now.