2021 fieldwork done

 I admit, I was apprehensive about this bit - the longest walk (about 15 minutes, so probably about a mile or maybe a bit more, given the pace of my walking), the most remote area (would be hard for someone to find if they weren't familiar with the area), and in an area that had flooded in recent years (so: lots of dead wood on the ground under the vegetation, so lots of tripping hazards).

I did ask a friend from church to be my check in person. I told her more or less where I'd be. I figured with most issues (like: badly sprained ankle), I'd be capable of forwarding GPS coordinates to the first responders and probably hobble out to the "food plot" area, which would be easier to find. And with major, major issues (e.g., massive heart attack), it probably wouldn't matter anyway if I had a check in person or not. 

But everything went okay.

there is a LOT of downed brush; these transects were by necessity shorter than the others because part of the area was impassable. 

I saw a plant again that I'd not seen for a few years, and I remembered what it was (though the name is different now)

This is Oenothera lindheimeri, formerly Gaura lindheimeri. I was proud of myself for remembering it (And I checked it online - I had enough "bars" - there's a cell tower nearby - that I could)

That was probably the most "characteristic native" species out there; most of the rest of the stuff is the crummy old sericea lespedeza that's everywhere there, and a common invasive grass, and Himalayan blackberry.

I got out there early, as was my plan, and was on my way home by 10:30. Showered, ate lunch, decided that I could go to Sherman. 

On the way there, I remembered that Wednesday is supposedly "Treat Yo' Self Day" (a made up holiday from "Parks and Recreation"). I actually celebrated this last year despite the pandemic being on, and my not being vaccinated yet (but numbers were a lot lower then). This year, it was a lot better and a lot safer to. 

Still, because of being busy, and because of the horrible construction on 69/75, it had been a long time (possibly as long ago as August?) since I had been south of the Red River. (The last big trip out was to Sulphur, on Labor Day). 

So it was kind of exciting.

Also I found that they have pretty well completed the bridge work, so it's much less scary to cross now, which is good. I am now considering a later-this-month trip to Whitesboro to the yarn shop, or a trip to Denison to try to do some "local goodies" Christmas shopping (They are warning, sigh, because of supply chain issues, to buy early this year. But I doubt that would affect the output of local potters and similar.)

And yes, I did treat myself.

Giant cake of chenille yarn claiming that one is enough to make an afghan. (I haven't checked the pattern yet; I am hoping it's crochet despite probably not having the right hook size for this yarn - knitting chenille isn't fun). I don't NEED another afghan, and in fact have two in various stages of completion, but I liked the yarn and was intrigued by the idea of a single-ball afghan.

(Foot is for scale; I wear a woman's 7 1/2 - 8)

I also circled back around at Target after looking at this earlier and saying "no you don't need it" but then before checking out I decided I COULD use another pullover hooded sweatshirt.

Kind of a 1970s vibe to it. But it has a HORRIBLE sizing smell - I've washed it and if it hasn't come out with one wash, I will wash it again, or maybe try to hang it outside for a bit on a sunny day.  I didn't notice the smell in the store or else I might have not bought it. 

And some other littler things:

 Bath fizzies (a small pleasure, and I find that warm baths help with muscle aches. These fizzies have "prizes" inside, which, while they're not always great, at least it's some small element of surprise), and a red-velvet-cake flavored lip balm, and Pumpkin Spice (!) hot cocoa mix. And another halloween candle, this is one scented like "halloween candy, " I guess. And a squishy pink cat going :3, and a book (probably not a HAPPY book but one I wanted to learn about) and finally the 2022 Susan Branch calendar, though I confess there have been some days since July that it feels like an act of faith to look forward to there being a 2022. 

I also filled in a few groceries and some more laundry detergen from the Target, and got the most recent issue of Simply Knitting. 

I also picked up a number of Halloween cards - have plans for a few of them (people I want to send them to) but also have a few I could send out if anyone would like to get these; I'll probably send them later this coming week (Monday is a Federal Holiday, so no mail....)