Fieldwork is done

I have to say, today I wished I was working with another person, so we could high-five on the way out of the last field site for getting everything done.

I went out at 7 and set the bee traps; then I did observations at the first site. Then I returned to my colleague's land and did observations, and then collected the soil samples for the still-ongoing invertebrate survey. Then I took up both sets of traps. (And then, I got crickets, for Monday's lab). In a few minutes I'll set up the first set of soil extractions.

I have to admit, I didn't know if I would make it. And this is partly the fault of the local news. Because apparently lots of people lack common sense, they made a big fat hairy deal about it being DANGEROUS HEAT!!!11!!! today. (Never mind that it's about 15 degrees cooler, still, than it is at the height of July). So of course, I interpret it as "there's some extra special bad factor that's making it more dangerous."

Well, I started worrying midway through taking the soil - would I be able to make it? Would I get sick? I was feeling a little queasy but (as a Ravelry friend commented) perimenopause means your body is hella confused, I figured it could be ANYTHING. Or it could be being hungry. Or it could be needing more water.

But then I started to get lightheaded, and I almost quit. I did sit down for a while in one of the plots, and when I shuttled some completed samples back to the car I turned it back on and turned on the AC and sat for a while. That helped. I managed to power through. I don't feel GREAT right now but I feel a lot better than I did out in the field. (I probably need to eat something. My "lunch" was an old granola bar I found shoved down in my field bag. I thought I'd be done sooner and could break for lunch....by the time I could get lunch, I didn't really want it any more. I will probably just have an early dinner and maybe make it a little larger to compensate)

I will admit I was also fretting a bit about hyponatremia - I have no idea how likely it is for someone NOT on a diuretic, but who strictly limits sodium (and nausea is one of the symptoms). Though it doesn't look likely based on a little research I quickly did online. (A friend of mine who was on a diuretic had a hyponatremic episode. Treatment was simple - her doctor told her "Eat a bag of chips or a couple pickles, whichever you want." She said she went for the chips.)

I may allow myself slightly more sodium than I otherwise might eat this evening, just to be safe...

Of course, the DANGEROUS HEAT!!!11!!! could be that the dewpoint was around 70 (I checked, after getting back home for a brief bathroom break and a COOL glass of water - unlike the water in my field bottles). And there was no wind whatsoever - usually that's a saving grace, but it was almost totally still today.

At any rate, I'm glad I powered through it and I am rewarding myself by taking Saturday off and either knitting or sewing.