Full on field season

Yesterday, my tech (Stephen) and I headed out for full on field season. We got a few days of groceries, checked into our hotel room, and then went out to fog and pitfall the first stand. It was a long, long, humid, 4 hours in which I ran out of water at the end point, but the toughest of the stands are done! 

This morning we could have possibly got 3 surveys in, but the rest of the week is rife with 50-60% chance of rain, so I didn't want to do any of the stands we could possibly do of it rains and the other stands had been surveyed not that long ago, so we came back early. However once we got changed and were about to head to get breakfast I couldn't find my phone anywhere. I have never lost my phone and being this far from everyone put me in panic mode. I checked everything and decided to head back to our last stand where I knew I had it last. I didn't want to change back into my wet clothes so I went in my shorts and flip flops; big mistake.  

We searched and searched the road where I checked the time on my phone before we went back to Newton. Didn't find it. So I decided I was going to trek back to the last point in my flip flops and shorts. There's a decent bunny trail to it so I figured I would be ok, though I kept thinking I was gonna get bit by something. Still didn't find it. So we went back to the truck and moved everything around. I moved the seat back and lo and behold, there it was. I felt awful and scratched up like I got in a fight with a bobcat. So I got is some ice cream from the DG in Merryville cause ice cream makes everything better. 

We get back to Newton and I'm feeling a little better (see ice cream worked!) and start helping hang our clothes back on the tailgate to dry and I step in the ONLY ant bed in the whole freaking parking lot! So not only are my feet scratched up from briars, but now I have ant bites! I'm thinking fuck this day, so I put rinse off my feet in alcohol (holy mother of jeebus!) and put on my bathing suit to get in the pool. As soon as I get settled in the pool and used to the cold water, it starts thundering in the distance. Seriously!? So I get one lap in and get my head wet before I get out. 

A few hours pass and it's time to doors fogging and pitfalling and its raining! I can't fog in the wet, it won't work, so we turn around and head back, again. I hope the rest of the week gets better. Stupid El Niño year during my field season! In sure we will get it done though, it's just gonna be a struggle. 

The curly girl method is working wonders for my hair! 

One of my favorite pictures of Buddy. 

Ugh. 

Luna turned 4!!!

Hair products have lied!

I had said I would post more often. Little did I know I would post so soon.

So, those of you that know me know I have unruly, frizzy, humidity hating curly hair. I usually wear it up in a bun because it is so unmanageable. Today I started a new hair regimen that is going to change my hair for the better.

It all started 2 weeks ago when a fellow curly told me she didn't use shampoo in her hair because it stripped the moisture out. I had recently purchased the Herbal Essences naked moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. The shampoo really cleaned my hair! For the first time in forever I could get out of the shower with out gunk still being in my hair; however it was drier than normal. I figured product would help, but it didn't. So when My fellow curly told me she didn't use shampoo, it really made me start thinking. 

Then a few days later I saw something on Facebook about hair plopping. It's where you put your wet hair in a tee-shirt on top of your head and let it dry. So I started down a YouTube journey that lead me to something called the curly girl method of hair care. I knew there were different types of curly hair, but had no clue someone had made a chart to catogorize them so you knew how to better take care of it. Apparently I'm a 3a. Weather affects my hair greatly and I have several different types of curl in my hair. I also have low porosity meaning it's hard for my hair to hold moisture. And do you know what frizz really means? It means you need more moisture! 

Also, do you know what is in your shampoo and conditioners? I do now. Most shampoos have sulfate a which is a cleansing agent also found in dish detergents. It's what causes all the suds. Do you know what sulfate a do? Strip your hair of moisture! So why do MOISTURIZING shampoos have sulfates? So you'll use more conditioner. BUT most conditioners have silicones in them. Do you know what silicones do to your hair? They coat the strands to make it shiny and healthy but prevent them from retaining moisture! After a day these silicones weigh down your hair and cause major buildup; that gunk that was always in my hair. So it's a freaking vicious cycle! Strip your hair of all the gunk silicones are leaving by using sulfates then adding more gunk which you think is moisturizing by using silicones!! I'm furious that al these products I have used for over 20 years have been doing the exact opposite of what I have thought they were and what they claimed to do! Even this "naked" brand of Herbal Essences CLAIMS to be paraben and silicone free. The shampoo is silicone free but sulfate is the second infgredient after water! The conditioner that goes with the shampoo is not silicone free. 

So for the last few days I've been researching this curly girl method which was invented by the lady that started deva curl products. These are super expensive but they work (I was given some to try before)! First you have to rid your hair of silicones which means just one more time you have to use sulfates in your hair. That's the only way to get them out. Then you deep condition like mad. Your next washes include either a sulfate free shampoo, which I found a whopping total of 3 at Walmart, or wash with a light conditioner like Suave or V05 that doesn't have silicones. For the shampoo I found one by Loreal for curly hair, one by Not Your Mothers for straight hair, and one my Shea Moisture that's in the ethnic hair section. My hair is so freaking damaged I sprang for the Shea Moisture that's about $10. Plus I don't plan on using it often once field season is over and I can start trying co-shampooing (conditioner shampooing). I also bought a conditioning balm from Sally's that is the Generic brand and had no silicones and hair gel. 

I haven't used hair gel since high school because it was always so crunchy and heavy, but from all the YouTube'ing I've done I suspect it was the silicones fault. So I stripped my hair of all the silicones by using my sulfate shampoo one last time. I wish it would work like it says since it really smells so good, but alas, it's a bottle of LIES! I deep conditioned with my conditioning balm. I used a tee-shirt instead of a terry cloth towel to dry my hair a tiny bit and then lathered it with gel while it was still saturated. My inner teen was yelling at myself for using so much because it was going to be crunchy, but lo and behold when I took my hair out of a plop half an hour later, no crunch and beautiful curls! I still have no clue what to do with my bangs, but I'll figure it out. 

I need to get better at this...

There is so much I would like to write about, but I either A) completely forget or B) just haven't had the time to sit down and unload the words on the page.

I know I keep saying this month was crazy and I have all this stuff I need to get done, but Y'ALL, seriously. It's crazy. I actually argued with a girl in my Regression class that next week couldn't POSSIBLY be dead week. But it is! Seriously?! Where did this year go? It seems like just yesterday I was preparing for our trip back home. It's just been a whirl wind of one thing after another.

Let's see, I gave my first oral presentation on the first, finished my first draft of my proposal the following week, finished my poster presentation that I did not get to present due to impending field work, started field work that weekend, layed out my first set of pitfall traps Tuesday, presented my poster at the Bright Ideas Conference Wednesday, and tomorrow I go back out to Louisiana again for the weekend. Whew!

Poor Luna is already tired of me coming and going. She has decided she needs to sleep between the wall and my side of the bed so I can't sneak past her. Like I could if I wanted to anyway. Her "bed" is at the foot of the bed. Out of the way of my infant bladder that must pee every half hour until I fall asleep. But with her laying in her "new" spot, I trip over her every time I have to get up. No bueno. As if I needed help being even more clumsy. Even Serenity is back to snuggling with me at night. I know Buddy is also lonely.

So far field work is going slow, but it is to be expected since I haven't started putting out pitfalls or doing any insect stuff until this week. I wanted to keep around the same schedule as I had last year, but I'm having to work around not only my classes, but my tech's classes as well. Not to mention East Texas has gotten over 12 inches of rain this month and Merryville has gotten well over 9. All of my stands thus far have been flooded and some I haven't even been able to get to due to the shape of the roads.

Two more months of this and I'll be done with field work possibly forever....I really don't know yet. That's the million dollar question right now. What is next. I have no freaking clue. I don't know if I want to start job hunting or keep going with my education. I still have a little time to think about it.

So, I'm going to make my best effort to chronicle this field season while we are out there full time. No promises (like I have readers anyway), but I'm going to do my best to.

Happy Beltane and blessed be!

Copperhead I almost stepped on while trail running with Luna.

Eastern Hognose found at Tucker woods

Worm-eating Warbler mist netted at Tucker woods with Comer's Intro class lab

Tent caterpillar. The favorite food of one of my favorite birds, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Thunderstorms = 80 lb pansy dog trying to get as far in my lap as possible

Poor picture, but Blue Grosbeak on a snag in a eucalyptus stand. 

This stand was just a little bit flooded....

Oh, rubus (aka blackberry)

The blackberry is about shoulder high on me in some parts of this eucalyptus stand

Crazy hail storm in Nacogdoches after my first weekend of field work. 

Sweet Serenity

The eucs have put on about 2-3 feet of growth since I saw them last. That pink flagging is just about head height for my 5'5" self.

Not getting down this road.

Got down the road from above picture the following day only to find this. It was so deep those ripples were more like waves.

These little guys were only about mid-calf to knee high last year and now they are person sized!

A nice row between eucalyptus trees

I'll come back to this stand when I have a machete.

Mandatory March post

It's been crazy here in Nac and it's only about to get worse! Last week we were on our way back from 5 days in Alabama. It was so nice to see all of our loved ones! It's strange how I haven't seen some of them in over a year but it seems like just yesterday we left Bama on ths crazy adventure. It's also strange how some friendships seem strained and awkward, others pick up right where you left off, and some stay the same daily. 

Of course, my body does not do well with long distance traveling so as soon as we wake up on our first day back in Nac, I have a cold. I'm glad it waited till we got back to rebel. But today is the first day I have my full voice back! 

Today Bud and I went to the opening day for a new Ren and Piratical Faire. It was so much fun. There was a falconry show that I tried not to volunteer for when the crowd asked for volunteers, yet still got picked. Me and five other people lined up  three on each side, while an Australian auger flied between us then held our arms up as it flew between our arms. I can not lie, I was extatic! There was funnel cake, wild boar, axe throwing, absinthe making, leather working, and JOUSTING! Now it's certain. We have to go to mideival times for our birthdays. 

We haven't had a full date day in a long time. So after getting home we ate a super nice (expensive) dinner at Union cafe. It was so worth it. Now I have to keep my sun burned ass (not literally) awake till 8 to go meet some former and current SFA grad students for reunion drinks. Whew! 

This next month (which is only a few days away) I have a seminar presentation on the first, a poster at the Big Thicket conference SFA is hosting, field season work will start on weekends in the middle of the month, another poster (or the same from TCTWS) at the bright ideas conference that is school wide, registration for 2 more conferences (one at the end of July and the other in November) and a proposal to finish so I can start sending it out for edits. Whew! Not to mention any homework for my stats class and maybe trying to do more stats for the data I've already collected. 

I am exhausted from the sun and today's fun activities along with everything else I've been cramming away at. But, to tell you the truth, our trip back solidified how much I love being away. That sounds horrible. I love that I am getting out there, seeing more of the world than just sweet home Alabama. I would say we, but Buddy was a long distance truck driver for the longest so he's seen all of this. I love that I'm learning more about this field that I'm in, I'm learning more about and meeting other people, and learning more about our marriage. And in turn I'm learning more about myself. Yes, it can be scary as hell thinking about not having a safety net of friends and loved ones if something (gods forbid) happens. But it's a good kind of scary. A self reliance, self sufficient kind of thing. It only took 32 years but better late than never, right?

Here are some pictures from the last almost 2 months! Enjoy and as always, blessed be!

Tufted titmouse right before it started snowing!

Female orange-crowned warbler. First time I've seen one!

SPRING!

Grandma's goats

Swayback trails in Wetumpka 

On the way to mobile

New Orleans

South American black hawk-eagle

African auger

Jousting

Tip break!