caseychamberlain's Journal

This was the last full week of our iNaturalist project, which comes to a close in two days. Tomorrow and Tuesday I hope to make some final observations in additional phyla before the project ends.

I was not able to get out to any parks or the beach this week, but I was walking around my yard and noticed some strawberries spontaneously growing in my backyard, so I may take photos of those to upload. Around my yard there are also lots of different patches of moss, as well as tiny flowers that grow in my lawn. I often see little birds right outside my window, sometimes even including hummingbirds, so I hope that I will be able to capture these observations.

This upcoming week, my goal is to continue working on uploading my observations from Santa Cruz, as well as make some observations on the coast and maybe in the Central Valley. I might be in Sacramento on Wednesday, so on my drive there and back I might be able to stop along some of the inland waterways that connect to the San Francisco Bay and observe some estuary species. I would also like to potentially go tidepooling, as this will help me make observations of phyla that I have yet to find.

This past Saturday I spent some time in Santa Cruz, so I walked along the water by Lighthouse Point and made some observations. My findings were mostly of plants and animals, but I also saw one fungus that I was able to get a picture of. I am working on uploading these observations today. This upcoming week, I hope to get out to another new location, but if that does not work out, I would like to maybe go to the beach or Huddart Park again. I am going to research some phyla that I have not yet observed and figure out where I might be able to see some new species, so I am excited to see what I might be able to come across.

Week 6 came to a close yesterday, and as it rained the entire day, I am very excited to see what observations I can make. There should be a good amount of earthworms and salamanders in my yard, and the last time it rained I heard a lot of frogs, so maybe I can find some this week, too. I have been very busy lately so taking time to go out to a location has proved difficult, but I hope I can at least get back to Huddart this week.

I didn't make it over to the coast or any regional parks this weekend, but I am excited for what I might be able to observe this upcoming week because of the little bit of rain that I had at my house this evening. When I was younger I would always look for salamanders in my yard after it had rained, so I hope I can do that again this week. Additionally, I think having rain for the first time in a while this year will make a lot of the plant life, particularly mosses, more vibrant, so it will be a good time to make observations. I know that there was a lot more rain on the coast today, which might mean better observation opportunities, so I will try to get to some coastal preserves and/or the beach at some point this week.

I was unfortunately not able to make it out into the field again this week; I will have to prioritize going to any or all of the locations I have mentioned previously. I have been busy starting a new job and balancing this new schedule with school and making sure I have downtime for myself, but spending time looking more closely at the creatures and scenery around me is certainly relaxing and a good way to wind down, so I will plan to do that this week.

Unfortunately, I was not able to get out into the field during Week 3 because I was hoping to go to the coast or Windy Hill Preserve over the weekend, but was too busy with work. I hope to go on multiple excursions during Week 4, however, to make up for this. I want to go to Huddart Park again tomorrow to make some observations of fungi for this past week's lab activity, and my work schedule this upcoming weekend should leave the afternoons open so I can go over to the coast and see what species I can find.

Today marks the end of Week 2 of our iNaturalist project. This morning, I went to take a walk in Huddart Park and took some photos of a variety of plants, as well as one fungus. It was so nice to be able to slow down and really take in everything around me as a looked for observations to make. I heard a number of interesting bird calls in the park, as well, although I wasn't able to see the birds making them. This upcoming week I would like to plan to potentially go to the coast to observe some species in tidepools. This was an activity I did frequently as a kid, and I was always surprised by the abundance and variation of the organisms I could find. If that does not work out, I will see if I can either get out on my family's boat or go for a hike at Windy Hill Preserve to make some observations there.

Week 1 of our iNaturalist Project is wrapping up today, and although I unfortunately was not able to get out into the field this week to make any observations, I am planning to get to one or more locations over the next several days. Next Saturday I might have an opportunity to go out on my family's boat to fish, which would allow me to observe all sorts of fish, as well as marine birds and mammals. If that does not work out, I am also going to go to either Huddart Park or Windy Hill Preserve over the course of the following week. Both of these locations have a wide variety of plants and fungi, so I hope that I can find something eye-catching while on a hike.