Almost survived it

If I make it through tomorrow's fieldwork (re-finding and taking GPS coordinates of points we sampled on a day when the batteries in the GPS unit conked out*), I think I can safely say I survived the summer fieldwork. (Well, there may be a few more go-out-and-grab-plants days if my ankle-hurt student gets back on her feet. But that's different from the quadrat sampling).

(* Interesting about the batteries on these things. The supposedly-new "departmental" batteries my student picked up from the box we had in the GIS room conked out almost immediately - I suspect someone returning the batteries put the nearly-worn-out ones back in the box that was supposed to be for "new" batteries. But then when she went to the local wal-mart and bought batteries, those ran out super-fast. Finally, when I did the Target run I did several weeks ago, I got a big package of the batteries (they are AAAs). The same set of batteries has lasted us through three sites plus part of a fourth. So I don't know what that says, other than that maybe my student should take the batteries she bought back to the wal-mart and complain.)

Today it was pretty awful. We were in a floodplain area and there was giant ragweed that was over 6' tall (it was at least a foot over MY head, and I'm something like 5'7", maybe even a little more in field boots). And because it was a floodplain area, and we had flooding in 2007, underneath all the giant ragweed and the Polygonum, there was all the flotsam that had washed up in the flood - mostly branches and small tree-chunks. So it was really rough going. And it didn't help that I knew this area to be the one that when I sampled it back around 2002 with a student, we saw a baby rattlesnake. So I went very slowly, probing with a staff as I went, ready to jump back if I heard a rattle or saw movement. And I banged on all the downed trees with the staff as I went by, hoping the vibrations might send any snakes away.

Luckily, we didn't see any snakes. But dang, it was exhausting - especially as it was far, far more humid today than it's been before (They promised us storms. I want to see some storms). And we wound up arguing about what direction to go - my "sense" of where I was was all messed up (well, that happens when I can't SEE anything but the stems of plants in front of my face) and we wound up walking around a lot and stopping to consult the GPS unit. (We are trying to sample the corner points of a square: pick a point, get its north and east bearings, sample, then move on keeping the east bearing the same, but change the north, then sample again, then move again keeping the north the same as that last point but changing the east, and then finally, complete the square with the east coordinates of the first point and the north coordinates of the third. Or something like that. I have a headache now and can't visualize if that's exactly how we did it...but we did a big square in each forest.)

I think I was also tense because I am kind of claustrophobic and I sort of freak out a little when I can't see clear to see where I am going. And with the worrying about snakes, or running into hornet's nests, or one of us stepping wrong and stepping into a hole or catching an ankle between downed branches and breaking or spraining an ankle...that kind of "I'm responsible for this working out and nothing too bad going wrong" tension can make me kind of short-tempered.

But at least we're done with that part now. Tomorrow it comes down to finding the second place we sampled (several weeks ago) again, and finding the trees I "blazed" with my pocketknife again. Between you and me, I don't hold out much hope that we will, but we have to TRY.

I'm also kind of sad and unsettled today. My mom called yesterday to tell me that the eye doctor we had all used for years (And I still even went to him when I needed a check-up; I scheduled them when I was up visiting) had died. He was only five years older than I was. I feel sad for his family - he was married (a second wife) and I know he had a young son, maybe another child as well. And his co-workers: all the nurses and office ladies seemed to like him a lot. And of course now there's the challenge of finding a good new eye doctor.

And the fact that he was only five years my senior kind of freaks me out. (He did tell my dad in an appointment once - I think my dad was talking about having had pneumonia - that he had had some really bad strain of the flu some years back and had been told he might not live at that time...so I suppose it could have caused heart damage, or something. But still. When a death comes somewhat suddenly, you think about the last time you saw the person (for me, my checkup over Christmas break) and it's just kind of eerie when it's a case where the person seemed perfectly healthy and OK. Life really is fragile).

I think also the heat, the humidity, the fieldwork, everything, are getting to me a little and wearing me down. (The weather affects me a lot. People talk about getting SAD in the winter when it's chilly and dark but that's actually often when I feel best and most cheerful. It's in the summer when it's hot, it's humid, it doesn't rain, and it's painfully bright out that I start to feel kind of sad and unsettled. (And really, sort of cabin-fever-ish).

For some reason the lack of rain really gets to me. I don't know if it's the monotony, or worrying about my lawn (I really, really don't want to go down the road of having to water it. I never have before and it's survived the summers fine) or what. (And this weekend, the lack of rain worries me because of IDIOTS SHOOTING OFF FIREWORKS. I so don't have the energy to clean the pecan catkins off my roof but I may have to figure out a way. (Maybe get a "concentrator nozzle" for my hose from the Lowe's and try to shoot them down. If nothing else they will get wetted down and will be less likely to burn if someone's errant bottle-rocket lands in them).

The fireworks stands are getting ready to open up here so I guess the authorities are going to look the other way on fireworks even though pretty much the entire state is under a burn ban.

I spent most of last evening sort of moping around. I quilted a little bit, found my extra embroidery hoop and decided to start on the horse pillowcases I bought at the quilt show (they are made in the USA! St. Louis, it looks like - somebody-or-other's Needleart company (ETA: Jack Dempsey Needle Art). That makes me happy, that's one thing you can still find that's made here). But I couldn't settle down and find anything to work on that made me really happy to work on it.