domingo, 13 de noviembre de 2016

Caving

I know I have not been very active on here lately but I promise it is not because I have not been out photographing I have just been very lazy about adding the copious number of pics I have taken these past few months. Growing season is over and with 391 native wildflower species for the year I am happy. But rather than post any of my pics I am going to continue to be lazy and write this instead. This past Tuesday myself and a fellow co-worker got the opportunity to take a group of kids caving near Lenoir City, TN. I have not been caving in quite a few years so I was looking forward to it. The kids had a great time and so did I. I did not bring my camera due to the fact that some of the cave was very muddy (we all got absolutely filthy) and having to crawl through several VERY small squeezes. However, I still got to see some very impressive displays of the underground world. Numerous stalactites, stalagmites, and columns were just the beginning. We saw a small underground stream and some luminescent rocks. We stopped talking and doused our lights to experience what complete silence and complete darkness were like. I saw several cave centipedes and my first cave salamander (Eurycea lucifuga). What a great time. On the unfortunate side there was much evidence that we were not the only people to visit this cave. Much of the outer sections were heavily vandalized with graffiti and there were several sections where stalactites and stalagmites were broken in ways that did not seem like they happened naturally. Overall, it was a great time. Caves are some of the least explored terrestrial ecosystems that boast some very unique species. Would love to go again someday.

Publicado el domingo, 13 de noviembre de 2016 a las 10:19 PM por wildflowerenthusiast5 wildflowerenthusiast5 | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

domingo, 03 de abril de 2016

Just to clarify

As some of you know I am currently working in the Cumberland Mountains of Southeastern Kentucky. I have created a iNat page for my place of employment and it can be found under the name pinemountain and all my observations are being added to this page. However, on the occasion I get the chance to naturalize off our property those observations will be posted here on my personal page. The majority of my observations are likely to be taken on work property so those will be found on the pinemountain page. However, I may occasionally have a few stray observations taken from other locations and those will be posted here. May be unnecessary but I just felt the need to clarify that.

Publicado el domingo, 03 de abril de 2016 a las 11:56 PM por wildflowerenthusiast5 wildflowerenthusiast5 | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

miércoles, 03 de febrero de 2016

new account

So some news for everyone who follows me. For those who don't know I am currently working at Pine Mountain Settlement School in the Cumberland mountains of eastern Kentucky. As part of a project for work I will be starting up a new account for the observations of my place of employment. So for the next several months if any of you still want to bother with following me I will be adding my observations to the account pinemountain instead of my current one. It will hopefully also be used by several of my co-workers as well so there should be a better variety of observations. Happy observing everyone!

Publicado el miércoles, 03 de febrero de 2016 a las 04:55 PM por wildflowerenthusiast5 wildflowerenthusiast5 | 2 comentarios | Deja un comentario

martes, 27 de octubre de 2015

what a year!

Well, another growing season is drawing to a close, and with a total of 384 wildflower species I would call it a very successful year. I got to visit some really amazing habitats from bogs in New York to mountain slopes in Tennessee. I am also glad to have pushed myself to start photographing a few species here and there besides just plants. Thank you to everyone here who has helped in giving ID's for any of my observations. Hope next year will be just as successful.

Publicado el martes, 27 de octubre de 2015 a las 01:08 AM por wildflowerenthusiast5 wildflowerenthusiast5 | 2 comentarios | Deja un comentario

lunes, 03 de agosto de 2015

Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks to all the people here who have been helping me with ID's for all my observations. Specifically, with identifications for my Odonata and Lepidoptera observations. Getting conclusive ID's of these insect families has been tough and I don't really know any insect buffs personally. So, thanks to everyone who has been helping me get some identifications down to the species. I Appreciate everybody's input and varied areas of expertise.

Publicado el lunes, 03 de agosto de 2015 a las 12:29 AM por wildflowerenthusiast5 wildflowerenthusiast5 | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

viernes, 22 de mayo de 2015

excited

Well I am now a published author. This season teaching in east Tennessee I was asked to make a guide to the wildflowers I have observed a photographed on my workplaces property. I was asked to make this guide in the hope that interested persons would be able to use my photos to identify the wildflower species that can be found there. After several weeks it is finally done. Admittedly my book is not what I would call an "official" field guide since it does not have a description of the leaves, stem, flowers, or fruit of each plant. I am unfortunately not proficient enough in my botanical jargon to give such adequate descriptions. It does contain a photo of every wildflower I have seen on the property as well as flowering time and a rather vague description of where the species can be found. I also included a brief section explaining the reasons for botanical diversity of the southern Appalachian region. I made two copies, one for my workplace and one for myself. I am pretty excited about having been able to work on this. My hope is that someone somewhere will be able to get some degree of use or enjoyment out of it. I am already up to 163 species for the year and have an overall life list of 429 wildflower species. I am grateful to everyone who follows me here on iNat. I hope my observations have been as useful and enjoyable to all of you as all of your findings have been to me.

Publicado el viernes, 22 de mayo de 2015 a las 02:37 AM por wildflowerenthusiast5 wildflowerenthusiast5 | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

lunes, 05 de enero de 2015

A Walk in the Woods

After a long week of teaching and educating there's not much that can beat a weekend spent in the woods botanizing and being surrounded by nature. I've found that being out in nature is not only something I enjoy, it is also a very effective stress reliever. There is something about being among the trees and the animals (and of course the wildflowers) by yourself, or with a group of nature nerds, that eases the soul. When me and/or my friends escape to the forest, or the mountains, or a wetland I've found that nature seems to welcome us back like an old friend. The natural world always has something more to show, to teach, and to discover. Even visiting the same place over and over again across the span of several years can still turn up something unexpected. When the end of the week nears it seems that nature is calling me back to relax, to explore, and to find something new. More and more it seems that people (in the U.S. at least) think of nature as something separate from ourselves. It is something that exists on the periphery of our civilization. Something dark and mysterious full of frightening secrets and hidden dangers waiting to strike. Too often nature has become something to be mistrusted, avoided, or even feared. I can't speak for other people but as for me I will always be ready return to the wild ready to enjoy and to learn.

Publicado el lunes, 05 de enero de 2015 a las 07:18 PM por wildflowerenthusiast5 wildflowerenthusiast5 | 1 comentario | Deja un comentario