A year in review for 2020

I know I have not written in a while but I thought it would be nice to recall all the stuff that has gone on in the life of 2020 in terms of nature and my travels and my adventure so far. A Charles Dickens once penned it was the best of times; it was the worst of times. 2020 certainly was a little bit of both for sure. I had a lot of fun in between all the chaos and confusion. However not being with my good friends this year who I normally BioBlitz with was hard for me. It was all going very smoothly at the start of the year. Then things started to spiral out of control. I was in Arizona when all the chaos seemed to unfold here in the U.S when the Covid-19 stuff happened. I was coming back from a grand adventure. I have to say I loved going back to Arizona for one thing. I went during my Spring Break. I had a lot of fun exploring the Cactus lands and seeing all the wildlife I did. I loved seeing the cool Toad Bug, the Diamondback Rattlesnake, the giant Saguaro Cacti, the Cactus Wren, the Gamble's Quail and what not. It was a great vacation. We finished off the trek at Palo Duro Canyon for some sight seeing and some more birding. This Arizona trip was very fun and I went to a few good places like Agua Fria National Monument, Dreamy Draw, Homolovi State Park, and Palo Duro Canyon. This trek was very fun. We also went to see the Texas Rangers Baseball team during Spring Training. That was the only game we got to see during the entire year in person. When we got back I went to volunteer at River Legacy and then it seemed that world had stopped. On the final day of the Spring Break Nature Camp we barely had any visitors. We had a few but it was like the world had stopped turning. Months past and the shut down was really getting to me and my brother. We finished off the school year and then summer came and we took some social distance trips. We went to Lyndon B. Johnson State Park, Balcones' Canyonlands State Park, we went to Red River National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, Logolly State Park in Arkansas, we also went to a Caddo Lake State Park, and Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge, we also went to Big Spring State Park toward the end of the year. I must say this sure was a wild year more ways than one but I was really happy with all the stuff I was able to do and see. This year and last year were both good years in terms of wildlife observing. In the spring I participated in the City Nature Challenge but was pretty bummed out that I couldn't spent it with my BioBlitz team and peeps like I am sure a lot of you can relate. I also did the National Moth week but I did something really special during these two events. I hopped on to Facebook and did a live stream set for my mothing. I did a lot of live streams during the hard times to keep people in the loop and to show them all kinds of cool wildlife. I also participated in the DFW Social Distance Challenge. It was very interesting for I got into more scrapes than one. I was almost bowled over by a group of deer at the Bob Jones Nature Center, I got covered by fire ants at the Village Creek Drying Beds and was stung over thirty times. I was also bit and attacked by a crazy Muscovy Duck at the Cliff Nelson Rec center. It was not cool but I did manage to get a lot of pretty neat observations despite the obstacles I faced in that time. On the up and up I did get to see @sambiology when I was filmed for an segment for Texas Parks and Wildlife. Things were good during that event. I was happy to have been included in that project. Things were full of ups and downs but having been filmed for that segment felt good and felt right. It was just a wonderful thing. A bunch of my friends from TCC South were there with me collecting data and stuff while we were being filmed in a BioBlitz setting. It was a great time we found some new stuff for the school list when we were out there and we had a great time getting together and just took the time to really do good for conservation and also outreach that day. This year has been full of ups and downs and it has been a rollercoaster of terror it seems for some. Many have died from the pandemic and the political situation was and is a rollercoaster so there was a lot going on this year. It may have not been the best but it was not all bad. I mean many of us were able to get out and document wildlife. And any time you go out and do iNaturalist stuff it is a great day for wildlife. I am sure hoping next year is better. It has been kind of crazy for this is the longest I have been without being with my Texas Master Naturalist friends (well the majority anyway). Safety is everything though and I am so glad that I can still get with them on Zoom. I have been on many Zooms and things throughout the year so it has been good that I get to see some of the familiar faces. It just has been year full of emotion. My schooling too has been a rollercoaster as well. I am doing great in my Geology class but I regret to say it but I will have to drop my Federal Government class for it has not been the best in that class. Too much going on and there was not a regular lecture and on top of other things. Next semester though I will be taking a Phil class and a photography class so a something a bit easier and less taxing maybe. I hope you all stay safe and healthy well into the new year and for always. I just wanted to let you know I am still here and not going anywhere. I have been just blown away by the whole situation. It has been a year I will never forget.

Publicado el noviembre 15, 2020 08:56 MAÑANA por galactic_bug_man galactic_bug_man

Comentarios

Thank you for sharing your adventures and your experiences this year. It has been hard for the college students, but stay on it and you will succeed! A shout out to the incredible Texas INAT people from the INAT amateur observers in Ohio :)

I did get to meet @wildcarrot while deployed in Texas though :)

Publicado por carolr hace más de 3 años

Great stuff, Zach.

And hey, you can see that it's been a good year for your observations too! Check out that species list of stuff you've seen so far this year:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?d1=2020-01-01&place_id=any&subview=grid&user_id=galactic_bug_man

And your most commonly observed species:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?d1=2020-01-01&place_id=any&subview=grid&user_id=galactic_bug_man&view=species

That fox squirrel tops a lot of lists! :)

Publicado por sambiology hace más de 3 años

Excellent post! Thank you for sharing. I also need to focus on the good things this year brought to me, and not just the negative. I hope you have an awesome 2021!

Publicado por nanotyrannus hace más de 3 años

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