דצמבר 14, 2023

Farewell to Texas

How do you say goodbye to a place you’ve called home for 12 years? I never imagined how deeply I would fall in love with Texas nature. I visited the red-orange canyons in Palo Duro at least twice, both visits more than memorable, ice storm and all. Experienced the muggy swamps in east Texas, and enjoyed sitting on the edge of a bridge with my Texas dad while pondering life. Visited multiple times the marshy coastal waterways of the Gulf, and especially enjoyed exploring Anahuac where Carly and I watched a small gator eat a too-large crab. Visited Big Bend and saw amazing rattlesnakes and and views, and also where Michael and I watched storms roll in across the desert from a (precarious) cabin porch. All of the national wildlife refuges, wildlife management areas, city parks - the mothing events, and BioBlitzes. The wondrous grasslands and cross timbers that I’ve called home around DFW. So many I’m missing.

These last 12 years were full of ups (lots and lots of incredible and amazing ups) and downs (super awful, low downs), but I’m so lucky to have had the opportunity to explore this beautiful state with some of the most amazing and passionate nature lovers. Each of you Texas nature nerds have left a permanent mark on me, and have helped me appreciate pieces of nature I may have overlooked otherwise!

I guess I should have started with our amazing and exciting major life update… we’re moving to Minnesota!!! We’re going to be moving away from this state that I’ve called home within the next few months. It’s a very quick turnaround and transition, and I’m so very excited for this new chapter and adventure in our lives, and for the opportunity to learn as much as I can about the new state we’ll call home (and seriously increase their iNaturalist observations). At the same time, I’m incredibly sad to leave behind such an amazing Texas family, and naturalist community here. I hope to come back as often as possible - there are lots of family and friends to visit! Well, and spiders and snakes to find! :)

If anyone has time and wants to swing out for a stroll at the LBJ grasslands (or another park) on the weekend sometime within the next couple weeks, let me know!!

הועלה ב-דצמבר 14, 2023 07:56 אחה"צ על ידי wildcarrot wildcarrot | 6 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

יולי 14, 2022

Mothing at Dixon Water Foundation near Decatur - July 23rd

Hi all!

NPAT and the Dixon Water Foundation are hosting a nocturnal bioblitz/moth night at the Josey Pavilion on July 23rd from 7p-11p - this is near Decatur, TX. There will be water/drinks and some light snacks available! Make sure to bring flashlights/headlamps, bug spray, and your phone or camera to document critters found to iNaturalist!

Please reach out to me or Dr. Carly Aulicky (carly_aulicky@texasprairie.org) if you're interested, and if you'd be willing to bring mothing gear! I'll post additional location details closer to the event date.

Here are more details about the location: https://dixonwater.org/ranches/leo-and-pittman-units/josey-pavilion/?fbclid=IwAR35ukMPzyFMALYJdLtxxweAbgEy60epqykicQ_XiTYepy4MuZxL6ZGmtXE

I'm going to tag a few folks who may be interested below! Please feel free to tag folks I may have missed!

UPDATE for location & add'l details:
I hope you are excited to kick off National Moth Week at the Dixon Water Foundation's Josey Pavilion!

The gates will be opened at 7pm to give folks a chance to set up mothing stations and explore a bit in the daylight - we'll plan to be out until 11pm.

The Josey Pavilion can be tricky to find! Please use the Josey Pavilion's address, 5190 Co Road 398, Decatur, TX 76234. It should pop up if you search for "Josey Pavilion" in either Google or Apple maps, but use the provided address for best results. The driveway is between two metal signs with the Dixon Water Foundation's logo and the Josey Pavilion name. From there, follow the drive-way along the right to parking by the pavilion.

I don't need to tell anyone how hot is out right now, but please come prepared for the heat! Even at night, the temperature will stay high for a while, so please be sure to come with plenty of water. We'll have additional water & some Gatorade available.

For safety reasons, please wear closed-toed shoes and bring a flashlight. Counter-intuitive to the hot weather preparedness, you may be more comfortable near mothing stations in a dark colored shirt. Darker colors will help keep the moths and other nocturnal friends more interested in the lit stations than the light fabric of your shirt.

Bringing a mothing station is not required, but if you have one and are willing to bring it that is awesome! The more we have, the greater chance of seeing something super cool. We will have plenty of space to spread them out.

If you have any questions please reach out! Dr. Carly Aulicky's cell is 908-894-9787 or contact me at 610-348-9923

הועלה ב-יולי 14, 2022 05:32 אחה"צ על ידי wildcarrot wildcarrot | 13 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

יוני 7, 2022

NPAT Bioblitz in Northeast Texas

Hi y'all! There's going to be an awesome opportunity to bioblitz and moth one of the northeastern NPAT properties at the end of the month!

NPAT is holding a Bioblitz at Talbot Brothers Prairie on Saturday, June 25. We will be exploring the prairie and bottomland forest for native plants and pollinators! The morning event will be from 8a to noon, with a nocturnal (mothing) survey from ~6p to late evening.

Space is limited to 30 people and registration is required (but we can definitely flex that number 😊). Please message me here on iNat, or email Dr. Aulicky at carly_aulicky@texasprairie.org with any questions! Link to the NPAT website event page here: https://texasprairie.org/celebrate-native-pollinators-with-npat/

Make sure to bring lots of water, sunblock, bug spray, etc. We will have snacks and drinks available! And if you've got mobile mothing stations, bring those as well! There is no electricity or restrooms on the property, but folks are welcome to camp!

A little bit about the property: Fifth generation Texans, David and John Talbot of New Boston sold this 366-acre property in Bowie County to NPAT in 2019. It has ~200 acres of bottomland forest and one of the last examples of unplowed, native prairie in Northeast Texas. There is a pond as well as some wet areas in the bottomland section.

UPDATE 6/22/22
I have a quick update from the NPAT folks: the evening portion of the event is canceled due to extreme heat in that area. So morning is still on with a plan to end ~12p. There will likely be more opportunities later in the year to explore these NPAT properties again!

https://texasprairie.org/tickets/

הועלה ב-יוני 7, 2022 02:32 אחה"צ על ידי wildcarrot wildcarrot | 12 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

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