ארכיון יומן של מאי 2021

מאי 9, 2021

I might be overloading

Back in April of 2020, during the early days of the pandemic, when we were mostly all inside, I bought my first real camera. I had been using iNaturalist for a few months, but realized I wasn't getting very far with my cell phone camera. So I bought a nice camera online and went out for a big day of observing. That day, I got 29 photos, and to me, that seemed like a gigantic haul.

My first day observing like that was when I lived in Eureka, California. I walked along Humboldt Bay. The Humboldt Bay area, from a naturalist perspective, is probably one of the most productive and diverse places in the United States. And on that day, going out on a major expedition, I got 29 pictures... (I was still learning to use my camera and how to get good bird pictures).

The past few months, especially since I have gotten some back-up batteries, I have had a number of days here in Oregon where I easily got over 100 observations, in a few hours. I am so into observing that instead of waiting for something to jump out at me, I can go to a local park and easy find a few dozen observations in around a half hour. Things that used to be "bugs" are now something I can identify and I think are interesting.

But I might be overloading myself. Two problems with this: it takes a long time to upload all those pictures! Including uploading time, as well as geolocating and identifying taxa, and writing notes, it can take several hours to upload all those photos. (I am usually doing something else at the same time, but still)

Observing also can sometimes ruin my enjoyment. It can enhance, or degrade. Getting to know more about nature is fun, as well as sharing it. But...its gotten to the point that I can be on a walk in the park, and I want to take a picture of every weed and bug. "What if this is actually an ultra rare maple! I have to take a picture in case it is!" So it can be distracting.

Just a thought. I am sure I will continue to observe, but also I have to remember it is okay if the world doesn't know about every dandelion I see.

הועלה ב-מאי 9, 2021 09:31 אחה"צ על ידי mnharris mnharris | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

מאי 20, 2021

My walking goals, and Millersburg

So this is kind of a long story:

My earliest memories are of Battle Ground, Washington, where I lived from the time I was 2 to the time I was 8. When I was 8, my family moved to somewhere close to Salem. In my teens and twenties, being very energetic, I walked around both areas. Sometime in my 30s, I looked at a map and realized there were only a few gaps in the places I have walked. So I set out to walk them. Usually along just normal rural and suburban roads. Maybe someday, Oregon will have a walking path from Portland to Eugene!

So anyway, between Battle Ground, Washington, and Corvallis, Oregon, where I live now, I had walked every mile, except for a six mile stretch, from near Jefferson, to Albany. So last Friday, I rode my bicycle to Jefferson, and then walked back to Albany. It was only six miles or so, and took me about two hours. And of course, I had already bicycled the route---but I wanted to walk it, too.

It was also not an extremely scenic route. At least conventionally. Millersburg is a city right north of Albany that was incorporated mostly as an industrial city. It has several heavy industrial plants within city limits---metal working and wood product processing. So after a small walk through fields, I spent most of it walking through an industrial city. One thing about industrial areas is that at times, they can have more wildlife than "natural" areas, because industry tends to discourage people. For example, while not extremely rare, I did see a heron, just sitting in a big pond across from a factory. And I haven't seen any herons in months, despite visiting a lot of natural areas and wildlife refuges!

So anyway, while unspectacular on the surface, I liked taking this walk. I hope to see a lot more of the Willamette Valley this way.

הועלה ב-מאי 20, 2021 08:16 אחה"צ על ידי mnharris mnharris | תצפית 1 | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

מאי 29, 2021

My birthday was today and I celebrated by...

Today I went to the Salem, Oregon area to view wildlife in the Minto-Brown park, as well as on the West side of the Willamette. I had to leave early, and I was excited to go, so I barely slept. I then walked...more than 10 miles, and exhausted three batteries while taking 328 photos--- (which won't equal 328 observations, but will probably equal 200).

My ankle really hurts and I need to sleep.

Oh, another thing, if you spend a day sleep-deprived and trying to identify camouflaged spiders, you might end up with everything looking like a spider!

הועלה ב-מאי 29, 2021 05:59 לפנה"צ על ידי mnharris mnharris | 5 תגובות | הוספת תגובה