Catching up

So Thursday (where we left off), the morning started with a heavy thunderstorm blowing through. This delayed our departure by an hour, but I didn't go back to sleep. We got to the project area around 9:30 to a light drizzle and a rapidly dropping temperature. By the time we finished the first mile stretch (11 am) the sky had cleared and the thermometer read 39 degrees. I was having horrible chills in my chest and coughing up all sorts of gross stuff. Walked a little more, then around noon my co-worker made me take a break in the truck. I really needed it, as i was fading and really hurting. She finished up the part we had started, and then we drove over to the "easy" part. It was easy mostly because it was already cleared for overhead power lines, so all we really had to do was walk. Unfortunately, both segments would have to be done as a "walk in/walk out" because the access roads were too muddy to drive.But I soldiered on. Sure, I sat on my screen a few times to catch my wind, and I didn't carry a shovel, but I did over 2 miles on that second segment, and we got it all done. And then I went to the hotel, took some nyquil, and stayed in bed for the rest of the evening!
So the sherd we found on the surface was not alone. All told, we found 7 sherds (including the original) in 5 shovel tests across 60 meters. That's actually a pretty low recovery, and suggests that the site is fairly insubstantial, at least within the narrow corridor where the pipeline is going. But it was something new and different, so I was pretty excited.
On Friday, we drove back and then I cleaned up the sherds so that Mary Jo might identify them. Then I came home, took Nyquil, and watched TV for the rest of the night. Tina went out with work folks and crashed at someone's house. Saturday, we sat together in misery on the sofa. I also went and picked up my new glasses (you can see them on my Facebook and Myspace pages). Not exactly what I wanted, but I'm getting used to them. Need to get them tightened.
Yesterday, I spent most of the day working on a secret project that I'll talk more about once it's finished! I might be slightly more Austin famous after this. Then I watched the NEW YORK GIANTS shock the world and humble the smug New England Patriots. If it couldn't be my beloved Packers, then I'm glad it was the Giants.
This week is back to the TxDOT grind, while Tina does biological survey work in Kenedy County. I'll use my time wisely, I promise, and I'll talk more about the project soon.

The day in review

I saw a water moccasin. It's 50 freaking degrees out and there was a water moccasin all stretched out along a small creek. Mary Jo saw it when it moved it's head and opened it's mouth. We found another way across.
A Caddoan ceramic sherd (my first). Exposed in a tire track along an overhead power line corridor. Unfortunately, we weren't really prepared to dig holes, we were just checking out access points and the project area. So we brought it home and I cleaned it up for pictures and identification, and tomorrow we'll take it back and check out the area more thoroughly. I don't know what type it is, just that it's grog-tempered plain ware with blackening on the inside
I'm pretty sick. I alternate between chills and sweats, and have a pretty nasty cough. Makes it hard to get comfortable. Tomorrow should be interesting, as we'll be working a long day, walking 2-4 miles and digging shovel tests. It might rain, too. Hope we find some cool stuff in our 30-foot wide corridor. And it sure is nice to be doing archaeology again!
Where in the hell am I? A Quality Inn in Marshall, Texas.
PS: I started a second blog to review restaurants from a field tech perspective. Here's the link:
http://texasfieldeats.blogspot.com/