Air Temperature: 15 C / 54 F
Weather: Light overcast (bright but no shadows), no wind
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 0.2 cm (0.08 inches)

Water Temperature: 14.1 C / 57.4 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 9.6 mg/L

Notes: A Great Blue Heron lifted off from below the dam as I was walking up to the site (when I got home I was looking at my notes from last year and on the first day last year a Great Blue Heron did the same thing!). A nice welcome to another year of monitoring on the Woonasquatucket River at Donigian Park. There is lots of bird life out today, including mallards, a canada goose, numerous songbirds and even some crows. It is a classic late-April morning: damp and cloudy, but warm enough to provide assurance that winter is truly over. The trees are starting to leaf out and the river is high and running hard (and a bit smelly) from the heavy rain last week.

Weather: Clear, gentle wind.
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 19.1 C / 66.4 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 8.2 mg/L

Air Temperature: 19 C / 66 F
Weather: Light overcast (bright but no shadows), gentle wind
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 19.9 C / 67.8 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 8.3 mg/L

Notes: The sun is breaking through the fog, and a sky that was gray and white when I got here is turning blue. The sky overhead and to the north is the first to turn blue but the sun keeps coming in and out of the fog to the south, down closer to the bay. Sometimes the sun is completely hidden, sometimes it is shining brightly, and sometimes it is just a gleaming disk in the fog. There appears to be a Canada Goose nesting on the little island near where I collect my samples.

Weather: Clear and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 19.8 C / 67.6 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 7.9 mg/L

Air Temperature: 24 C / 75 F
Weather: Clear and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 21 C / 70 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 7.4 mg/L

Notes: It's Memorial Day weekend and the weather feels more like the 4th of July -- hot and hazy at 8AM! Some very large bumblebees are hurrying through a patch of yellow flowers gathering food and pollinating the flowers. It is amazing what a breeze will do. While I was analyzing my samples on the bank a breeze came up and suddenly if felt more like late May again.

Remember to take some time this weekend to remember those who have died in service to our country.

Air Temperature: 19 C / 66 F
Weather: Clear and gentle wind
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 0.7 cm (0.3 inches)

Water Temperature: 21 C / 70 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 7.9 mg/L

Notes: The sun is slipping in and out of the clouds and everything is damp and vibrant from last night's rain. The weather also brought down a precipitation of white flowers from a tree near the river. They lie scattered across the damp ground like giant snowflakes.

In the park two pair of Canada Geese were sheparding around two gooslings each. As I was sitting near the dam analyzing my samples the whole gang came marching up the path right past me and went down into the river right were I had just come ashore after collecting my samples.

Air Temperature: 16 C / 60 F
Weather: Clear and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 18.5 C / 65.3 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 7.3 mg/L

Air Temperature: 16 C / 60 F
Weather: Clear and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 18.4 C / 65.1 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 8.4 mg/L

Notes: The river is teaming with life this morning: the four Canada Geese with four goslings are back, there are a couple of ducks below the dam with half a dozen ducklings, I saw two fish jump, and in the shallow water there was a school of tiny fish flitting around. It is a beautiful early summer morning: cool in the shade, warm in the sun, and a blue sky overhead.

Air Temperature: 14.5 C / 58.1 F
Weather: Clear and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 20.0 C / 68.0 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 7.5 mg/L

Air Temperature: 18 C / 64 F
Weather: Clear and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 22 C / 72 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 7.3 mg/L

Notes: A beautiful morning on the river. There's not a cloud in the sky. The sun is filtering through the leaves as it slowly climbs up through the trees into the sky and the are birds singing in every direction. As I was standing in the river, in the shade, I watched a bird flying high overhead, twisting and turning in the morning sunlight.

Air Temperature: 21.6 C / 70.9 F
Weather: Clear and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 22.7 C / 72 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 6.3 mg/L

Notes: A lovely, cloudless morning on the river. A duck was going head down, tails up to get food off the bottom right above the dam when I got to the site. I'm about to leave on a two week trip so Douglas Stephens will be filling in for me next week. Thanks Doug!

Weather: Heavy overcast and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 2.5 cm (1 inch)

Water Temperature: 22.3 C / 72.1 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 6.8 mg/L

Air Temperature: 23.5 C / 74.3 F
Weather: Heavy overcast and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 2.5 cm (1 inch)

Water Temperature: 23.5 C / 74.3 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 6.4 mg/L

Weather: Clear and gentle wind
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 23.9 C / 75.0 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 7.5 mg/L

Air Temperature: 26.0 C / 78.8 F
Weather: Clear and gentle wind
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 25.5 C / 77.9 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 6.0 mg/L

Notes: There's no doubt about it; its summertime. The river is low and slow but wonderfully clear. The sky is hazy and the air is warm and damp even at 8 in the morning. A Spotted Sandpiper is working his way along the face of the dam, just below the crest, in the falling water. He is hanging onto the dam with his feet, walking along and apparently picking some sort of food out of the rapidly moving water. Quite a trick.

Let's pause for a moment to remember Ken Weber, a great writer and naturalist who did so much to teach us all about and show us how to see for ourselves the natural world that is right outside our door but so often hidden from plain sight. He passed away on Thursday at the much too young age of 63. He will be greatly missed.

Weather: Clear and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 21.4 C / 70.5 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 8.3 mg/L

Air Temperature: 21 C / 70 F
Weather: Partly cloudy and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 22.3 C / 72.1 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 6.3 mg/L

Notes: There is a muted, low-energy feel to the morning. The river is as low as it's been all summer, there is not a breath of wind, and because it is cloudy there is no sun sparkling through the trees; but there is a whole flock of birds catching their breakfast of bugs above the river, and small fish, or some other small river creatures, keep rising to the surface and making ripples on the still water.

Weather: Clear
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 19.9 C / 67.8 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 8.0 mg/L

Air Temperature: 18.8 C / 65.8 F
Weather: Clear and gentle wind
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 21.2 C / 70.2 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 6.2 mg/L

Notes: The official first day of fall is still three weeks away, but it feels like fall today, this first day of September: the sky is a clear, sharp blue and for the first time in months it is sunny and cool at the same time. The river is very low, even lower than it was two weeks ago, and it is only coming over the dam in some places rather than all the way across. Three crows flew across the river as I was collecting my samples, nothing unusually really, but I don't usually see crows here.

Weather: Heavy overcast, calm wind, raining
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 0.7 cm.

Water Temperature: 19.4 C / 66.9 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 8.2 mg/L

Air Temperature: 18.8 C / 65.8 F
Weather: Heavy overcast, calm wind, raining
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 0.7 cm.

Water Temperature: 19.2 C / 66.6 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 7.3 mg/L

Notes: Big doings at the site: a fish ladder is being built on the other side of the river to give fish a way to get around the dam. So, there is a barrier of huge white sandbags around the area where the ladder is being built and the shoreline is all torn up. The fish will, we hope, be very happy when the fish ladder is ready for them to use.

A gentle but steady rain is falling this morning, making beautiful patterns on the surface of the river. Each raindrop makes a silvery flash as it hits the water, so the whole image is like a sea of twinkling lights between walls of lush green vegetation, rejuvenated by the recent rains after a very dry August.

Weather: Clear and moderate wind
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 0.1 cm. (0.04")

Water Temperature: 18.2 C / 64.8 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 7.9 mg/L

Air Temperature: 11.5 C / 52.7 F
Weather: clear and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 17.9 C / 64.2 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 7.4 mg/L

Notes: Fall is definitely here. I arrived at the site a few minutes before 7 AM and the sun was just creeping above the horizon. It is a still morning and the low sun is spreading a soft, warm light across the scene. The leaves are still green, but if this cool weather keeps up, I'm sure they will start turning soon. The river is still very low.

It is hard to tell if much progress has been made on the fish ladder. The hole seems a little deeper and it looks like the bottom of the hole is pretty much dry. Sort of odd looking at dry land well below the surface of the river.

Weather: Clear
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 0.3 cm. (0.1")

Water Temperature: 14.9 C / 58.8 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 7.6 mg/L

Air Temperature: 9.0 C / 48.2 F
Weather: clear and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 12.9 C / 55.2 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 8.1 mg/L

Notes: Fall weather has finally arrived: the sky is deep blue, the sun is shining brightly and the air still has a definite chill to it. The river is running cold and clear and feels almost like a mountain stream this morning!

Weather: Heavy overcast and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 15.1 C / 59.2 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 9.1 mg/L

Air Temperature: 16.0 C / 60.8 F
Weather: Heavy overcast and calm
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: None

Water Temperature: 14.1 C / 57.4 F
Dissolved Oxygen: 8.5 mg/L

Notes: It is a misty morning and everything around me looks soft and muted, even gentle; but the cold river water is a reminder that fall is here and another season of monitoring on the Woonasquatucket has come to an end. Most of the leaves on the trees are still quite green, but some reds and yellows are starting to show up. Even on this windless morning, there is an irregular procession of yellow leaves floating down to land on the ground or in the river. One lands very neatly right on the crest of the dam and is immediately swept over the edge and into the churning water below.

* Note: Rainfall amounts are record at a rain gauge about a mile WSW of Donigian Park. These rainfall amounts should be view as approximations because trees may shade this gauge under certain conditions.

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