Year(s) of the Asterisk * Part 2 : One decision at a time.

Yellowjacket, getting itself something sweet. 2020/09/06 #yellowjacket #pollinator #goanddo #dothework

A decision down, more still to come.

Since the last post I’ve been a little busy. Cultivating an old routine and making it new again, journaling. Journaling for me includes sketching as well as writing. I do have a fine art and design background, and drawing and painting were my main creative ventures. So I wanted to try and bring back those practices, that helped me develop ideas, that I let slip away. Yesterday, I made a modification to my site, there was an old 365 project that I had started in 2019 and subsequently let die, so renamed and reclaimed as an Image Journal. It’s a place just to upload images for ideas, reference and just to say this is me right here right now. It’s not Instagram, which for me is more of a promotional space. But more of a space for generating ideas, a space to take note of things for future ideas, concepts and projects etc. As well as just to say this is me right here right now. It’s also not a blog exactly, it can link to and probably will at different points, but it generally won't be as formal or detailed as a blog post or series of post.

Ex: Imagine a book with pages that are not lined, where you jot down an idea next to a sketch and maybe a taped image you captured to help illustrate your idea to yourself. Just to remind yourself at later date. Thats kind of what I’m going for. So yes a visual journal, not necessarily daily but will entries made often.

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Pollinators

Along with the Image Journal, I am also beginning to share images and video that I have captured, that show moments in the woods or wherever I go. This ties in with the general theme of my photography, Where I Go, What I See. Below is an example of that. The still image and video are of a Viceroy Butterfly that I captured during one of my recent visits to Oxley Nature Center. This is particular moment is shared in the Pollinator gallery under the Projects tab. I feel it’s so important to protect our pollinators, all of them not just the honey bees.

Viceroy Butterfly, a moment in the woods @oxleynaturecenter

Being mindful of the details...

Bees are awesome, so be kind to the pollinators.

Spent some time outside today, I've been needing that for a while. Here in Tulsa, OK we are privileged to have such a great park, Oxley Nature Center. Its a wonderful place to spend time in the woods.

Usually when I come out here, I have a tendency to try and capture the bigger image, to give context although I try to pay attention to the details. This time I actually did focus on the details, I slowed down and took my time.

Pollinator population declines and conservation.

Pollinators provide a key ecosystem service vital to the maintenance of both wild and agricultural plant communities. In 1999 the Convention on Biological Diversity issued the São Paulo Declaration on Pollinators, recognizing the critical role that these species play in supporting and maintaining terrestrial productivity as well as the survival challenges they face due to anthropogenic change. Today pollinators are considered to be in a state of decline, some species, such as Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini) have been red-listed and are in danger of extinction. Although managed bee hives are increasing worldwide, these can not compensate for the loss of wild pollinators in many locations.

Declines in the health and population of pollinators pose what could be a significant threat to the integrity of biodiversity, to global food webs, and to human health. At least 80% of our world's crop species require pollination to set seed. An estimated one out of every three bites of food comes to us through the work of animal pollinators. The quality of pollinator service has declined over time and this had led to concerns that pollination will be less resistant to extinction in the future. (section from  Pollinator-Decline)

We can help and heres how, Million Pollinator Garden Network 

Beatles, pollinate too, like these Soldier Beetles. Its so important to try and protect all of our indigenous wildlife. All life flora and fauna fill a niche, even mosquitoes.

Spiders are our friends too. Spiders like this Orb-Weaver Spider do a great job at helping to maintain and regulate other insect populations. Just like a variety of Bat and Bird species.

Out at Oxley Nature Center, there is a lot of water. Either Sherry Lake, Eagle Creek, marsh areas and canals. While hiking along a canal leading from Sherry Lake to the High Line Trail, I found this Shortnose Gar chilling in the water and slowly heading the same direction as I was.

Whenever I visit Oxley Nature Center I usually see deer. Not always in the most advantageous to get a photo, but will usually see one or eight. This time I came across the Whitetail fawn, just hanging out feeding on some low lying greens and leaves.

Its not just about the animals and insects, there are moments when you just need to stop and breathe. And when you do, you slow down, and you really begin to notice the details, the little things that usually go unseen and unappreciated. The thistle pods were leftovers from the lunch of forest inhabitant. I almost missed them on the side of the trail the way they blended in with the rest of the litter on the forest floor. The reflections in the water bedding up on the lily pad hides amongst the hundreds of other pads in various stages of decline as we head into early fall.

A walk in the woods.

A nest hidden among the reeds in a marsh. When I captured this image, I noticed the items the bird used to construct its nest with.

I stood on the boardwalk that makes its way through the marsh, breathing in the sweet and cool fall air. The reeds sway in the breeze, the black birds flutter in the marsh grasses dancing from one area to the next. This is why I goto the woods, why I photograph.

Taking the time to experience where you are, is just as important as the photos that you are there to capture. When you allow yourself to really be present in a place, to witness what it has to offer, it will help by informing you what and how to photograph your subject.

Its all in the details. Finding the little details is like a treasure hunt. These gems, add so much to your experience, texture of the seed husk with the soft cotton tendrils straining to catch a breeze to carry them off.

Great Blue Herring just taking flight after I accidentally made a noise by stepping on a small twig. Its so important to be mindful of your surroundings, it will help you images a ton, Ugh-LOL.