First: Yesterday evening on my Mesa Trail hike, it was a little windy. I saw a tall sunflower and turned the flower head toward me to see if it was full of pollen. Nestled close together at the base of the petals were 3 small bees, with their butts upturned. Were they sleeping? Sheltering from the wind? I dunno.
I will retire from the big tree project. My friend who leads that has lucked upon a woman who is very efficient and much more enthusiastic about the project than I ever was. She's new to this area, coming from the midwest, and eager to learn about the area.
I saw the woman in action today when I went with my friend to measure big trees and take their portraits. She arrived with a measuring tape that was probably 200'. She used it on a project measuring vegetation transects. It made the measuring today so much easier than using a measly 100' tape. She does the work with good cheer. In the past, I mildly kvetched about disliking the inexactness of methods used to measure the height, girth and spread of the trees.
My friend will be in very capable hands and I'm happy for her. The woman will also benefit as my friend will take her to neat places like the petroglyphs in White Rock Canyon (where she took me also). I, of course, am invited on these trips but the pace is so slow that I may decide to start later and try to find them. Also, I'm trying to step up my efforts to walk with trestle-hopper's Monday and Tuesday hiking groups. They're a bit speedier.
The slow pace makes my feet hurt - especially the ball of my right foot. We only walked a little over 3 miles and took nearly 6 hours which meant I was standing around on sore feet for a long time. I've been having this pain for several months.
I'll do some experiments over the next week with different insoles and shoes. If all else fails, I'll be forced to contact the physical therapist in Albuquerque who made my orthotics less than 2 years ago - they couldn't be worn out already!