Tired tonight so a short check in - I did the first (of 12) transect of sampling today. It was hot but not *terrible* and I think maybe if I do these one a day (or two a day if we get the predicted cool down) I can get them done in not TOO long and do it without overtaxing myself. (It took about an hour to do the single transect, including set-up time; if the future ones are more diverse they might take longer)
At this point it looks like the fire didn't really fix anything in terms of the invasives, but that's still a result if that's the result.
I will say that while there are downsides to doing fieldwork alone, it is nice to decide to go and just GO, without someone saying "No, wait, I have to talk to this person first, it'll be fast" and then 45 minutes later you're still waiting on them (I've had that happen to me), or the person who planned on meeting me at the site is delayed by an hour by car problems or bad planning.
It's also nice to be able to get out there, get started working, and think, "You know, I'll just do one transect today." When I had student workers with me, the case was often that they could only come on specific days (work scheduling), so we'd have to put in a LONG day to get the work done. It's a lot nicer and more tolerable in the heat to know you can knock off if you need to.
The downside? Mainly it's hard to juggle all the equipment, and if you're not working with a well-trained colleague you don't have that other pair of eyes to help you identify a plant you've forgotten. A bigger concern is the risk to being out in the field alone - there are injuries you can sustain (most likely: twisted ankle or bee sting, though with a sting I tend to be a "slap some mud on it and keep going" person) or there is a tiny risk of meeting up with a threat (allegedly there were hogs out at this site, though I don't think they're active at the time I'd be out there, and never in the place where I am). The more likely threat is another person, and even that's remote - the most likely person you'd meet would be another researcher, or someone walking down to the lake to fish. (Though some months back a guy who was involved in a high speed chase apparently bailed out and ran into the site.)
I deal with the "what if you have a mystery injury that makes it impossible to get back out" by carrying my smartphone - like, if I stepped in a hole and sprained my ankle to the point where walking back out wasn't gonna happen, I could call for help. And for debilitating situations (most likely being heat exhaustion, though I can feel that starting and get out to my car in time), I check in before I leave via text with someone who knows where I will be, and give them a time that if I've not checked back in, they need to text me, and if I don't reply, send someone after me.
Yes, it would be safer with another person, but - the minor injuries I might sustain, I can either get myself out of there, or at least crawl to a shaded place and wait for help that I've called, and with the really likely life-ending ones (massive heart attack or meeting someone with a desire to harm another human), having another person there would not likely make a difference. (And in the second case, would likely just lead to a second victim).
I admit the pandemic did change one thing about me: I'm a bit less fearful about things like this (in the past, I really loathed going out to do fieldwork alone, because "all the things that COULD happen" but I guess after living through the slow-motion disaster that was the pandemic (well, until I could be vaccinated it was), I realized "I lived through this thing and by taking precautions I was able to stay safe, even though I was pretty sure at the start of it I'd wind up catching it" which leads to "maybe some of the risks I think I face aren't so big after all?"
I mean, yeah, there are still RISKS - but I go out hiking on public trails a lot more now than I did in the past, even though I might meet up with a loose dog or an unpleasant person. (I admit I still have a bit of driving anxiety some times, because of car wrecks, but that seems reasonable, having lost people I cared about in car wrecks). But honestly, my perspective has changed - if going out for a hike somewhere makes me happier and healthier, but carries with it a 0.005% chance I'll meet up with a mean dog, it's worth it. (And I do often carry a walking stick, partly for defense but mainly for support/to avoid slipping if the trail is wet).
So anyway.
I did the research, got home, showered and ate lunch, went back to campus (I had two plants I couldn't identify, and wanted to try to figure them out - one I know now is Acalypha virginicum, the other one might be a small, non-flowering meadow-pink). I also had to run over to CIDT to review one of my videoed labs - they were showing example ones to the university president this evening and I wanted to quick look it over to be sure it's okay (Well, I look fat on camera and I don't like how my voice sounds but the information is solid). And I had a counseling appointment (the last one until/unless I need one).
So it was a busy day
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