just a couple of things

Today I’m just going to post a couple of things that may be of interest to some of you. I might have written more today, but I’m feeling a little “talked out” after last night’s slide presentation to the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club down at the Canadian Museum of Nature. For those who are curious, I believe it went quite well. I did a quick count while waiting to speak and there were about 50 people in attendance. I talked and showed slides pertaining to nature photography for about an hour — how to use photography as part of one’s study of nature — then answered questions for another half hour or so. There were lots of good questions about cameras, techniques and how to work around insects and other creatures. However, being the hermit that I am, I’m not accustomed to speaking for extended periods of time. In the course of a day, I don’t speak a heck of a lot, so an hour and a half of almost non-stop talking seems very long indeed!

* Okay, first item up: Yesterday, I received an email asking permission to use the above image of mating craneflies on an very nice insects website that I didn’t know about — The Crane Flies of Pennsylvania. As anyone who has tried to ID crane flies will know, they’re a bit difficult and I wasn’t aware that there was such a nice resource online. I’ve just added the link to the Fly Identification Page on my main website as it may come in handy for anyone participating in the Blogger Bioblitz here in the northeast at the end of April. By the way, Chen was able to tell me that the above pair of mating craneflies are Tipula (Lunatipula) disjuncta.

* Next item: Dave at Via Negativa sent along an interesting link to add to the Citizen Science project page. It’s for a new initiative that goes by the name, Project Budburst. It’s a site where participants can record their observations on the leafing and flowering of trees and flowers in their area. Submitted data can then be used to track such things as climate change, plant phenology, etc. It looks interesting, so do check it out.

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8 Responses to “just a couple of things”

  1. robin andrea Says:

    When I look back on the days I spent at university talking to students all day long, I am amazed that I used so many words on a regular basis. We spend a lot of time not talking, so when it comes time to socialize and talk with people, we find that it can be pretty tiring. We’ve grown to love the quiet. It’s great, though, that you get out there and give that kind of talk. I’m sure your audience was absolutely grateful for the wealth of knowledge that you shared.

  2. Mark Says:

    Thanks for the budburst link. Most of our flowering trees bloomed a couple of weeks ago, but our recent freeze has interrupted the process. Virtually all of the open flowers were severely damaged, and I’m afraid a lot of foliage and unopened buds are now history.

  3. Celeste Says:

    Hi Bev, thanks for finding the Project Budburst. I”ve been writing down flowering and leafing here for the past 6 years,as well as the first hummingbird buzz(you always get stealth dive bombed before you see them, it seems), turkey vulture arrival, first evening song of swainson thrush, first bat swoop, when the bees swarm and look for a new nest. I also include if it was a dry year or rainy year. Some plants are regular as clockwork, others are sensitive to something outside rain or cold. I just use an old fashioned piece of paper and pen.

    I get what you’re saying about talking to folks. I tried teaching classes and doing talks at a few conferences in my work, but 1) I had to go to the big city, 2)it just put me with people so different from what I knew(washington DC area) and who had no concept of how I lived(and I’m talking suburban Oregon at that point–imagine that being seen like living on Pluto). I enjoy meeting different people, but it is overwhelming when there are so many, and you can see you’re a fish out of water. BUT it seems like your talk was at least on something the group was interested in, and they were somewhat your neighbors. And I much rather prefer the quiet too.

    Your dog is very pretty!!

  4. Dave Says:

    To give credit where credit’s due, I got the Project Budburst tip from Feathers of Hope, one of the longest running blogs of place out there.

  5. Dave Says:

    BTW, your link for BugGuide.net’s Fly Galleries actually goes to another site’s odonata page.

  6. burning silo Says:

    robin – in my former life (lives) I had to talk to people all day long. I can’t even imagine having to do so anymore. Much like you, we enjoy quiet and often walk in the woods for long stretches without saying a word. However, it was enjoyable to talk to a group who are so keen and interested in the same things that we like to study.

    Mark – Perhaps there’s a way of reporting what has occurred in your area. I haven’t had a chance to look at the Budburst site yet, but “freeze” events must also be of interest.

    Celeste – It sounds like Project Budburst is perfect for you! I kind of think I read that you can include information you’ve already recorded for this year, so you could probably input your data.

    Dave – Thanks for giving “Feathers of Hope” a mention. Also, for letting me know about the link error. It should be working right now.

  7. vicki Says:

    I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who ran out of steam when it comes to talking to people after a long professional life of talk. Silence is now golden. Maybe a little Joshua Bell. ;-)

    That is such a deliciously green photograph. I just cut open an avocado for dinner that is the same color; I held it up to the screen and they matched. Good colors occur in nature. On the previous post, thank you for that- I never matched the wooly bear with that moth, one of my favorites. Learned something new.

  8. burning silo Says:

    Hi Vicki — No, you’re not the only one who runs out of steam when you’ve been talking. Apparently, all of my earlier years of talking don’t seem to have done me much good as far as building up longevity in that department. (-L
    You’re quite right about the green – it is like an avocado. Btw, I love avocados and eat a lot of them. Yum!