A bit of backstory:

So I am just writing a bit of backstory on here, to explain the mindset I have on iNaturalist.

I have been into travelling and going new places for a long time---although it was really only something that I started to be able to do for real as a young adult. I am 41, and I have visited 44 states of the US. I have also lived in Taiwan (for 3 months) and Chile (for over 3 years). In the US, I have spent most of my time in the Pacific Northwest/Mountain states. I've lived in Washington, Oregon, Montana, California and Vermont. I've crossed the country by bus and train several times. I've always liked to go new places. And record what I saw.

I've also been interested in nature, but before iNaturalist, it wasn't always on the top of the list of things I observed. Or at least, I didn't differentiate it out. Social and technological aspects of a new location were just as important to me. I have pictures of myself visiting almost every metro station in Santiago.

Looking back at it, I feel like it was a missed opportunity, I wish I had known about inaturalist then! Especially in Chile! I took some pictures there, but it was basically when I saw something very novel. I imagine all the lost opportunities. As well as when I was in Montana: I would bicycle up into the Sapphire Mountains sometimes several times a week, and I got lots of beautiful landscape pictures, and I took pictures of things like Bald Eagles and Bighorn Sheep, but now I am looking back at it and thinking...I could have gotten to 100 observations on an average June day on the Skalkaho.

But anyway, now I think the pendulum has swung back too far the other way. iNaturalist has been a pandemic activity for me, and this year has obviously been one without a lot of travel options. I have gotten over 2000 observations this year, almost all within 10 miles of my two homes. I have a laser like focus, noticing small changes in fungi and insect. Which is good.

But having an intensive record of all the crows and dandelions around Eureka, California and Corvallis, Oregon is not really indicative of my interests! I am really looking forward to seeing something new, to visit a new place---even if the taxa I observe there aren't that different, if I could just go to a slightly new place, I would be happy.

Alas, we will have to wait to see when that happens.

הועלה ב-דצמבר 31, 2020 05:52 לפנה"צ על ידי mnharris mnharris

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I, too, am getting tired of photographing the same species again and again in Corvallis! However, It's also fun to be out and noticing things. Identifying iNaturalist photos is also fun and I do a lot of it, but it doesn't have that component of being outside and discovering things myself. Hopefully the pandemic will end this next year, though I expect not as quickly as we'd like.

פורסם על-ידי sedgequeen לפני בערך 3 שנים

I, too, am getting tired of photographing the same species again and again in Corvallis! However, It's also fun to be out and noticing things. Identifying iNaturalist photos is also fun and I do a lot of it, but it doesn't have that component of being outside and discovering things myself. Hopefully the pandemic will end this next year, though I expect not as quickly as we'd like.

פורסם על-ידי sedgequeen לפני בערך 3 שנים

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