Three iNaturalist Journal Entries
Author: Three iNaturalist Users
https://www.inaturalist.org/journal
[1 of 3] megn_martin’s Journal 9/24/22 (Written 9/27/22)
My initial goals were ambitious. 30 minutes, three times each work week. 1 hour each weekend. Spend this time being mindful, observing, documenting, and investigating nature. I spent about five hours that Thursday (9/22) with my undergraduates, observing an environmental education program put on by Shaver’s Creek for 3rd graders. Initially, I didn’t think this time would count toward being in nature and observing, because I wasn’t identifying species as I had originally listed as a goal. However, 3 hours in, I realized that I was focused on the kids and their enjoyment of nature. I had forgotten about the tasks I had to accomplish that day and the next and the next. I was “at peace”, even if only for a short while. Watching the students find leaves on the ground to journal about gave me pause. I took this time to also journal about a leaf I had found on the ground. After reflection, I have decided that it is ok I missed this first journal post. I’m doing it now and I’m ok with that. The days are still fresh in my mind.
On Saturday (9/24), I decided I would garden for a few hours, which turned into weeding for over 5 hours and getting a nice blister on the center of my right hand from using the … Hold on a moment, while I look at what the actual name for the tool I’ve used since I was a kid is called. Oh wow, it is called a weeder tool. How appropriate. I didn’t listen to music. I just focused on clearing english ivy and other ivy off a path we want to put gravel down on. We have been trying to remove as much english ivy as possible, but with the amount in our yard, it seems impossible. I enjoyed my time. It was harder to focus on enjoying my time compared to the field trip. I felt very aware of the passage of time and it made me anxious. After about 3 hours, I noticed a teeny tiny mushroom. I got excited and immediately thought about how I should document it and try to ID it. Even if it was wrong, I was hoping to rely on the iNaturalist community to tell me what it actually was. A milky conecap is what I found (so I think). I learned it is toxic (likely), and can sometimes grow in mulch woodchips after a hard rain. This was exactly the case. This delicate mushroom caught my attention and for 10 minutes I observed it, and noticed things about it. I took pictures of it and even showed my spouse. I got excited by this one non-cultivated find in my yard and looked for more things to document. And I found more! The giant black-staining polypores in the middle of our front yard cropped up in the same places last year at this same time of year. We pulled them up last year because they were killing our grass and part of the manicured ground cover. None of which we planted. We prefer to let nature be. We still mow, but not often. This year, I decided to let them be, except for the two I tripped over walking to take a picture of the largest ones.
I spent 30 minutes today logging all these species and putting them into the app. I also used other apps like a mushroom finder app to help with those. The Seek app struggled with IDing my mushrooms for some reason. I went on here to check if any of my observations had been verified once or twice (bringing them to research grade quality). They hadn’t but I don’t mind. I really enjoy documenting things even if it’s just for me. It transports me back to a place and time when I was excited about something small on this planet. As I was looking through a few other people’s observations to verify them, I saw someone posted a dragonfly and their location was the east coast of Russia. It gave me pause. All I hear on the news and in the media is about the war. To think, there is someone who was still looking for insects in this chaotic world, made me feel… it made me feel alright. There is always chaos around you, and sometimes there is chaos in your own life, your own mind, but for this community, focusing on something specific is where you can really find peace.
I have assignments that are late, but I am taking the time to write this post. Getting into a different headspace is healthy and sometimes you need to put yourself and your mental health before things like a grade. I’m getting better at accepting this. It only makes me feel better. I’m glad I will never run out of things to explore in the natural world.
Posted by
megn_martin, September 28, 2022 03:43
Observations
[2 of 3] laineamb’s Journal Pine Tree Preserve Walk 9/27/2022
I went to the Pine Tree Preserve on the Boston College campus that overlooks the chestnut hill reservoir. I went around 10 am and It was about 63 degrees Fahrenheit, and pretty muggy. It had just rained less than an hour before, so many of the plants were damp. It was on the brink of fall, so there were some leaves on the ground, and a lot of pine needles. There was a path to walk on that went around and up the hill with plenty of plants on either side. There was a variety of tall trees and smaller plants. There surprisingly were not that many bugs when I went, but there were a few squirrels that I did not manage to get a photo of. It was a pretty peaceful and well shaded area. You could hear some bugs humming, but also cars from the nearby roads. There were plenty of big rocks throughout the location.m, and many of them were covered with moss. Most of the plants seemed like weeds on the ground, but there was a good variety. Overall, if you looked closely, there was a lot of diversity in the plants at this preservation. There were not many visible animals, although I saw a few squirrels and heard bugs throughout the walk. It was a peaceful experience and it was nice to be able to take a break for 30 minutes and walk around nature for a change.
Posted by
laineamb, September 27, 2022 15:16
Observations
[3 of 3] Pacific Newt Roadkill (2022-2023)- Lexington Reservoir’s Journal North section – 09/20/2022
Tuesday, 8:47-10:40 am. no live newts.
34 dead newts.
Weather: sunny, nice.
Coverage: Jones trailhead to stop sign.
I walked with Keith!
Newts: 30 newts, 19 on the hill side of the road, 15 on the reservoir side.
At least 1 of the newts was juvenile.
Other roadkills: one bullfrog, one fence lizard, one Arboreal Salamander, and one Alligator Lizards.
This brings us to 6 herp species today and yesterday, 7 with newts.
Traffic: 16 cars, 21 trucks(!),
0 motorcycles, 2 bikes, 7 pedestrians, 8 parked cars (one motorcycle at the farther parking lot).
My observations of the day – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?captive=any&on=2022-09-20&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any
Posted by
merav, September 21, 2022 01:53
Comments
This is just heartbreaking news, @merav. My heart and soul cry for these little creatures who are helpless against modern traffic. How can the powers-that-be allow this to continue? I admire you for continuing this quest to help the newts and other creatures. I can barely stand to look at the pictures, much less walk the road and photograph the carnage. Thank you for all you do to make the world a better place.
Posted by truthseqr 8 days ago
Thanks, Anne. It is heartbreaking indeed. I was also thinking today that this is only a 4.2 mile road, out of so many similar roads in the county and country. it’s not that special, and this is probably happing in so many other places right now.
Posted by merav 8 days ago
@merav, I’ve thought of that too. It’s overwhelming to try to estimate how many newts and other creatures are being killed on similar country roads. So terribly sad. And most people don’t give it a second thought.
Posted by truthseqr 8 days ago
yes, agreed. early in the season is when we see the highest diversity – many other amphibians and reptiles on the road.
Posted by merav 8 days ago (Flag)
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