Field Notes

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Other sites visited today: Bouldin Corn | Bouldin Alfalfa | Hill Slough
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Rush Ranch: 2025-07-10 11:00:00 (DOY 191)
Author: Joe Verfaillie
Others: Arman

Summary: Drive to the site unless fire danger or rain, failed at soil sensor installed, failed to fix radio link, Annex PAR dangling, need moth balls, forgot to collect GHG files.

Rush Ranch
2025-07-10

Arman and I arrived at about 12:00 PDT. It was clear sunny and hot. We walked to the site and this time we have a bunch of equipment to carry. I'm now convinced that we should drive except for red flag fire days and when it is supper wet. We met Solomon, a new hire at the Ranch, and he said they mow the roads all the way to the towers and it's fine to drive.

One of my tasks today was to install two more sets of ground sensors at the tower. But the ground was very hard and I discovered I had forgotten to add the Peltier SHF plates to the conduits. I decided it was better not to do a poor job of installing them today but to do a better job another time so we carried them back out.

I also wanted to fix the radio link to the Annex tower and brought another CR1000 and lithium battery pack but forgot the SMA antenna cable. I was able to pull the radios out of the boxes and get an unobstructed line of sight but they still didn't connect. So more stuff carried to the site, not used and carried back.

The reflected PAR at the Annex site had come loose of its mount and was dangling. I needed a very small Allen wrench that was back in the car! I was able to get the PAR sensor mostly back in place with a cable tie though. Also needed some moth balls that were in the car. Basically carried a bunch of stuff I didn't need and left a bunch of stuff in the car that I needed. Driving out from now on!

There was a big disturbed area near the Annex tower where the plants and ground had been dug up like maybe wild pigs were rooting in the ground. In the phenocam images I found a photo of someone carrying a square for clip plots.

At the tower Arman cleaned the solar panels and the tower sensors and refilled the wash reservoir -very little water used. I collected the met and camera data but missed swapping the flux USB drive in all the commotion. It should be okay for another couple weeks.
The 7500 read: 417.8ppm CO2, 720.0mmol/m3 H2O, 30.9C, 101.2kPa, 94.4SS
The 7700 read: 1.99ppm CH4, 48.9RSSI - 79.9 after cleaning

When we were leaving the Ranch, Arman found a baby swallow on the ground by the bathrooms. We tried to put it back in its nest but the other chicks in the nest immediately kicked it out again. We tried, nothing to be done. Such is life.

We left at about 13:00 PDT.

2 photos found

20250710RR_SunflowerChimneyBee.jpg ( 2025-07-10 12:54:10 ) Full size: 1440x1920
Burrows of sunflower chimney bees in the ground of the cow pasture