היומן של galactic_bug_man

Been a while since I have posted to anything this year. Still I am off to a very good start. I have been roaming around a bit more to find things I have not added to my lists before. So far I have photographed my first owl which was a Great-horned Owl that I was told about out at the Village Creek Drying Beds. My friend @charley met me there and I took a few photos of it. First time I took it with my Canon Rebel T6 but when again and took a few more when I went back and took some with my Nikon Coolpix L830. I was interviewed for a new book that is coming out that a friend is working on and she I and Charley went around the place and talked and walked while we photographed the ducks and things that we found. It has been a good year. I have had a pretty slow start with the dragonflies but since it is now getting warmer I have been able to get more and more as the days go by.

Over Spring break I went out to Branson Missouri. I spent most of the trip at some of the museums but I did manage to get some wildlife and explore some caves. I got my first Salamander at one of the caves called Bluff Dwellers Caverns in Noel MO. That was a cool venture. I got to see quite a few thing that were new to me in terms of geological formations that I have never talked about in college. I also went to a place called Fantastic Caverns which was partly flooded but we did get to experience a little bit of the front of the cave which was pretty cool. We got a free fifteen minute tour but just being in that fifteen minutes makes me want to go back and explore the caves on the full thing. I am hoping to get back out there and explore more of the caves. Spanish Treasure Caverns and the Talking Rocks and Civil War Caverns are all on my next trip list. I also went to the Branson Dinosaur Museum to get an idea of what used to roam around there and get some prehistoric knowledge. I also went to the Wonders pf Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in Springfield so that was pretty fun too. I had a lot of fun doing all of that. I also did go to the Butterfly Palace which is a butterfly house that is very nice. I didn't explore a lot of nature outdoors but it was good to explore the natural history areas. I also went to the Top of the Rock Ancient Heritage Museum. At the Top of the Rock resort. Didn't stay there but it was very nice to learn about the history of the area and the surrounding areas and all. May not had a long outing but it was just enough to learn and understand the land before going back to explore some more.

I just went to Davey Dogwood Park and headed back to Gus Engeling again. I find myself going out there a lot now. Some of these places I have not been to many times I find I am going to more and more which is great. Seeing things at different times of year is always very good to do. In the long run all of this is to get ready for the next run of the City Nature Challenge. I am still working out all my exploration details but I am hoping to see some of the crew. @brentano @sambiology @kimberlietx @lulubelle @briangooding @annikaml and some of the rest. I have been pretty lonely since last year was a complete train wreck on ice skates in the middle of meteor shower mixed with a dumpster fire. That was hard on all of us. I didn't get to see too many people I knew that year except on the remote channels. Still it is what it is. Still I am hoping that this year's CNC is good. I mean I had my family to travel with like I always do during this time we turn it into a family thing when I am going around. I have tested my gear. My nets, my mothing light that will make its mothing debut to the outside world and not just my backyard. I am actually going to make it have my own personal flair and I am going to put half a Stargate around it from the Stargate movies, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Universe, and Stargate Atlantis series and franchise. I will not have that until the summer. I am going to add it as a counter weight sot that way the thing doesn't try and topple. I hear people call them UFOs and things and since I am a bit of a sci-fi nerd well wild horses being chased by Rancors and Wampa Ice creatures and wild Tyrannosaurus won't stop me. Hey got to live up to this Galactic_Bug_man name or it means nothing. Still that is going to be a bit of a side project this year. I will be getting that ready for National Moth Week. Anyhow, I just got a new supply of petri dishes early on. I always have to get a couple before these CNC ventures for I always break a good portion of them. I have cleared up a lot of data on my data cards and what not so I can take a truck load of images. I do need to supply myself with a few more batteries since I have that new Light ring for my camera which I will use during these next few events. Thing drains after so often so it is good to always have spares. I have all my gear working and will take the Nikon Coolpix L830 for a spin again. I have been using it more to get different shots and to kind of mix it up since it still works. I like working with all my stuff.

So yeah that seems to be the skinny as of now. I have been getting some great things. I just got an American Goldfinch in it's breeding colors right in my backyard which was a shock and surprise to me. I would have never seen that is I was not up early yesterday. I have been busy with Photography class and my Philosophy classes but all is going well. Has not been to rough. It has been very good these last few weeks. I cant' wait until summer. I am going to be doing a lot of volunteer work and some more travel like I have been doing. I have summer plans to make for Georgia since my brother and I want to go. I have gotten my Covid-19 vaccination like the rest of my family but still not taking any unnecessary risks when I am traveling. Still going strong and gaining new knowledge every day and always on the move. This year has been proving harder to get Volunteer Hours but to get observations has been a breeze at times but then there are times when home life gets a bit harder to work around. Still I get out when I can and that is good enough for me. I have been getting a ton of insects and stuff and have been working to get more species and so far exceeding in numbers. I don't really have a set goal for this year. I am just going to be a leaf on the wind and see where things take me this year. It will be quite interesting to see what I turn up for the rest of the year.

Well I am getting all geared up for the City Nature Challenge. I have not been out a lot this week thus far but I have been scoping out some areas and territory. I am going to spend a bit less time doing major park hopping and going to try to spend more time at one place and see what all I can get. The Village Creek Drying Beds will be on my list this year for there are a lot of dragonflies and I will be able to do a lot of sweep netting for there is a lot of tall grasses. I am also going to meet a few more folks at different areas during this event. I will be meeting @cindylcobb5 @lulubelle and several others during this thing. I am so happy that we will be able to get together in small groups. During this crazy nutso pandemic I think we have all become socially starved. Still this thing is going to be great. I will be looking for more species I have not collected data on. I have been trying to find more night insects in my yard and have found a bunch of cool things. When we are not doing the mothing nights in the public areas I will be set up mine at the house and fire it up and see what I can get. I am going for more observations this year and am going for more species. This year has been going great so far. I am hoping that this City Nature Challenge will prove to be most interesting. I have not missed one yet and I don't plan to. I am going to have a little bit of a different approach to how I do things this year but I need to do better. I have my gear all ready and rearing to go. I have used some of it lately in my practice runs. I always do a good practice run to loosen up and to work my ideas out. Hope DFW comes out on top this year. We have been close the last few years but with the more countries we add the more contest we have which is great. The more wildlife we add the more wildlife we speak up for.

Just a friendly word of warning: When out in nature make sure you don't make any unnecessary encounters with wildlife. Be mindful of your surroundings. I have seen reports of many folks being injured at state and national parks and what not. These contests do get a bit exciting but always go by ethical means of finding your observations. I know that most of us know the guidelines but with the new waves of social media and what not things can get out of hand. I am directing this message to the kids and our new members who may be unfamiliar with this sort of group. Also be mindful and wear weather appropriate clothes and be sure to wear hiking shoes out there. It is supposed to warm up in some areas and that means there could be snakes about. Still practice safety both wildlife safety and Covid-19 safety. We are not out the woods yet. Just looking out for my people and the wildlife we share. If you have a knack for catching things in petri dishes don't hold specimens more than you need to. Not trying to be overly critical but just giving a few helpful pointers. Hope you all have a great weekend and let's see who can come out on top. @sambiology @brentano @annikaml I will see you on the trail this week. This will be so good to see the groups again.

I will also get to meet Bee City Arlington for the first time on Saturday. We have not met in person so that will be nice to see them as well. I will be going out to Stovall Park for that event so there will be a lot of insects out there. I will be sweeping and what not out there. This will be a good run I can feel it in my bones. I am hoping to give my light ring and little more workout. I have not got to use it for any kind of mothing for I got it for Christmas last year. I am also hoping to get my insect pop tent a bit more use since it is spring and the rewards of sweep netting are highly increased. I will be doing a lot of sweep netting. I am going to try and get to Mockingbird Park early enough to do some sweep netting I am also bringing the small handheld black light to see if there are any scorpions out. I will have my flashlights and things too to look for hidden insects out there. It has been a while since I been out there and I have not walked around there much looking at the plants at night. I have mainly stuck to the mothing lights but I am going to switch up things a bit.

Some of the other parks I am thinking on going to

Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center
River Legacy
Village Creek Historical Area
(Maybe) Fort Worth Nature Center

I will have to look at my older lists for more but if I do a day of just park hopping it will be on Monday for sure and it will only be local parks. Saturday and Sunday will be the days I will be getting up very early and getting a big start. Sunday I will be mostly doing whatever so we will see how that goes. I will be looking forward to the reports as they come. I keep my eyes on the graphs and charts. These things get heated. I hope for nothing but the best outcomes from all of us. So that is pretty much my agenda. I will be mixing it up a bit doing sweep netting and beat sheeting but I may do some aquatics some where if I am able to. Lots of new toys I have gotten in recent months so I will have to try and use all the stuff I got during this event. Good luck, May the Force be With Us, So Say We All, Let's be a voice for nature. This is the way! Live Long and Prosper.

Well I knew that one day it was bound to happen. Next year will be my last year at TCC. I am about to sign up for classes. However, besides about to say good by to my current school friends in my last two semesters the thing I am going to miss the most is going out after class and taking images of the wildlife on campus. I mean it will be hard to leave TCC. I have been there way longer than I should have. I mean 2012 was the year I graduated high school and I got into TCC that fall. However I did hit a few snags and things along the way. However in 2015 I began putting in observations at school and have found so many cool species. I mean next year will be the final year I will be able to get bulk observations out there which makes me a bit sad to think about.

I will be transferring to UT Arlington and I will be able to establish more observations there and I am hoping to get some good stuff around there. It is always hard to leave schools. All of the campuses I have been to have all kinds of wildlife and it will be a bit harder for me to get back out there and look around but I am hoping that some one will take the time to look around and explore the nature all around. I have put a lot of hard effort to document all of the wildlife that is out there. Lots of new lifers were made at all of those campuses but UTA will be part of an even grander adventure. I don't graduate until the spring. I am sure hoping that in the closing of this chapter in my life I will be able to find a little bit more. Having almost a year without observations at TCC South or any in our district has been very distressing. Sure I have had some days being out there in the last few months. October I was filmed for that Texas Parks and Wildlife episode so that was very good. I am just hoping that there will be some one who will keep the project going and pick up the slack.

I have found several hundred observations out there and I am not sure how many species but TCC South was the most special. Sure TCC Southeast has its charms but South will always be the one I look at with most fondness. It was the place where I created my Nature Club and also was the sight of most of my observations at any TCC sight. No where else is as diverse in that area as South campus. Sure around Northwest you have that prairie and what not but South Campus was interesting for it was just buildings with really nice green spaces and it was so simple but it got so much. TCC South will not be my home away from home much longer but I am hoping for a bunch of adventures at UTA and I am hoping that I find even more interesting observations. It will be hard to leave TCC but the adventure is just picking up speed. My goal to becoming a professional wildlife photographer is on the horizon and I can feel that it will be worth my while.