Nature Literature discussion
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Diary of a Citizen Scientist
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Diary of a Citizen Scientist discussion
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Becky
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Jan 01, 2015 09:17AM
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Wow, I never expected this. I got mine this morning for my New Year self-gift.. I'm 2 months behind, but I think I'll go ahead now with this one.
Super! This is my first time participating with this group. I'm looking forward to reading this book and discussing.
Lucky me. I have a 2 hour flight today, so it will be just me and Sharman Apt Russell.I read the first pages of “Diary of a Citizen Scientist" last night before falling asleep. Here is my favourite quote so far:
“I enlarge in nature. I calm down. The beauty of the world is a tangible solace—that such harmony exists, such elegance, the changing colors of sky, the lift and roll of land, a riverbank, and now a beetle flashing in the sun, an entrance into its perfect world.”
I was excited to see the book selected by our group because my recent entrance into the world of insects and citizen science has enriched my relationship with nature beyond measure. (I was surprised to discover how these little animals are so accessible – they are everywhere once you teach yourself to see – so that even an urban park or overgrown garden can seem like a miniature Serengeti. Entomologists are also surprisingly accessible people!)
Is it okay if I share a tiger beetle, my first tiger beetle? (My photos & species records go to citizen science websites as well as a photo group called Meet Your Neighbours.)
Megacephala corpulenta doesn’t have the gorgeous patterns of Sharman Apt Russell’s red-bellied tiger beetles, but they are still quite pretty for a “bug”, don't you think?
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Thank you, Lily! I might just share one of mine. ;-)
that would be great to see, Andree!
Becky wrote: "That's great, ladies - thank you for your immediate responses considering it's just the first day of this! LOL"First day? But it's day two in Australia! :)
Good morning! I'm going to test Becky's tolerance now. Three photos; I could not choose which and all are favorites. If you click on the image, you will be taken to the Flickr image, which is bigger, in the same window (unless you right click to display in a new tab/window).
Below: mating Six-spotted Tiger Beetles (Cicindela sexguttata):
Below: a Six-spotted eating what I presume to be a chafer beetle:
Below: My first ever Tiger beetle photo. A Common Claybank Tiger Beetle (Green-margined Tiger Beetle) (Cicindela limbalis) running in the hunt:
Thank you!
...
Great photos! I enjoyed the passage in the book about click beetles as I have had one experience with that beetle. On a hike through an urban park here in NYC, we found what we thought was a dead beetle. We picked it up and carried it, thinking we'd study it when we got home. When we stopped for a picnic, the beetle jumped alive, giving us a very big surprise! It was an eye-elator. He was a cute fellow who captured our attention.
I appreciate (and was surprised) that the author was squeamish about touching the beetles - that gives me some encouragement as I'm squeamish too.
Be careful whenever you go to touch anything outside. It could be a blister beetle, which gives you painful, blistering stings. All sorts of stuff out there. I always use sticks in the woods to touch anything, plant or animal. Too many painful lessons! I have yet to see a click beetle click. :-(
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I'm looking for your feedback on how to proceed: would you prefer she wait until later to join in so that you're not potentially intimidated? Or would you like her to take part already now so that you can ask her questions as you read?
How exciting! Personally, I would love to be able to ask the author questions as we read. I think her presence would be an extraordinary gift. I hope she joins.
I think it would be great to have the author here. One of the things I am enjoying about the book is how the author contacts and connects with people.
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Diary of a Citizen Scientist is going slowly for me, but this is only because I keep going back to reread passages that resonate. Then I have to find my husband so I can get him to read the same words too.I knew I'd love the subject matter, but I didn’t anticipate the author's wonderful way of writing. She is passionate and personal. I like the way she drifts into reflection (about Jainism, about the trailers outside of Albuquerque) and I like the comparisons she draws (herself as an ogre in a fairy tale while dishing out worms, or a beetle larva as something that could sit on a stool in the bar scene of Star Wars.)
I am moved by her imagination, her detailed descriptions, her curiosity, her honesty, and the way she tells a story. This might be clichè, but if it was possible to ask a question, I would ask Sharman Apt Russell if she'd consider naming a few writers or books that shaped or inspired her own writing.
Does anyone here keep a nature journal - with written observations and/or drawings? As a kid, I was fascinated by a friend of the family who kept a nature diary. He was my dad's friend and he kept a log in a big ledger to record the weather, wildlife, etc. He was especially interested in ice on the frozen lake where he had a cabin in northern Minnesota, and he would take vacation time in the spring hoping to catch the sound of the ice cracking. If you've heard this sound, you know how haunting it can be.
Being how fascinated I was with his notations, I don't know why it took me so long to start my own nature journal. I started one when my kids were young when we spent hours of the day outdoors. I am more haphazard about it and mainly draw vegetation I see when the mood strikes rather than keep a detailed diary. I love doing it.
I've wanted to keep a Calendar of Firsts, recording the first buds, first robins, first flowers that pop out of the ground. Well, how 'bout I start one this year?!
Anyone else keep something similar?
Hello, everyone, how great to join this group! And I am so pleased and flattered that you chose Diary of a Citizen Scientist to read this January. As you can tell, this was such fun to write, such a good way to engage more in where I live. Writing definitely pushes me out into the world, makes me get up and look for tiger beetles and talk to people and generally explore. Lily asked about my influences. That's a question, I think, best answered quickly and I have to say quickly--Annie Dillard and Virginia Woolf. Not that I reach their heights. But they inspire me to climb a little higher.
Sharman wrote: "Hello, everyone, how great to join this group! And I am so pleased and flattered that you chose Diary of a Citizen Scientist to read this January. As you can tell, this was such fun to write, such ..."welcome, Sharman!! It's great to see you here. I haven't started the book yet because I am 1.4 books behind, so the interest in the book is pushing me on to read them thoroughly yet quickly.
Rhonda wrote: "Does anyone here keep a nature journal - with written observations and/or drawings? As a kid, I was fascinated by a friend of the family who kept a nature diary. He was my dad's friend and he kep..."
Hi, Rhonda!
I sort of do it with photography. But I have the deepest respect and awe (and jealousy) of those who can record with artistry. I've always wanted to.
So you need to look at
http://budburst.org/
It is a phenology citizen science network. They do exactly what you are talking about: when do things bud, blossom, burst forth? They record it. They do it with cameras, but I don't see why you couldn't start a sub-group of artists.
Let us know what you think of them.
Mod
Sharman - welcome and applause for the Annie Dillard reference! One of my faves, as well (I haven't read Woolf, much to my chagrin). Now I just might have to think about nominating one of her books for February's Book of the Month - it's been AGES since I've read her and I need to again!
Becky wrote: "Since you 3 have "voted" and are the only ones currently participating, I'm going to call this a unanimous vote and invite the author to join in. :)"Haven't gotten the book yet but I love this idea!
On keeping a nature journal - No, I don't do this, but I want to. This is something I've been thinking about for months. Like the author I also suspect I have botanical dyslexia! (Common names stick but scientific names elude me). I like the way she draws leaves to remember a species' name.Is anyone involved in a citizen science project? Is there a project out there that interests you? I think one of the best things about being a budding amateur naturalist is not having to specialize - birds, insects, fungi, trees, wildflowers, or distant galaxies - we can enter any world we want. (Having said that, I'm crazy about katydids & grasshoppers so if I ever go looking for ovaries, these are the ovaries for me!)
I'm adding Annie Dillard and Virginia Woolf to my list of authors to read this year, along with more Sharman Russell.
Margaret wrote: "I kept careful track of all the plants in my neighborhood two years ago. I drew them and noted the first day they appeared."Margaret, your journal of neighborhood plants sounds wonderful. Do you still draw botanical subjects? I’m embarrassed to think how many plants in my neighborhood I’d need to consult a field guide to identify! (To be fair, Australia isn’t my native country.)
You shouldn’t let your son deter you. Although a good photo is nice, this doesn’t matter as much as the species' record. Even heavily trafficked urban areas can be full of surprises. Just a few months ago a new species of frog was discovered in New York City!
And there are so many other ways to participate in citizen science. As Sharman points out, we don’t even need to leave our computers. I’ve been eying an Australian project where volunteers transcribe pages from the state museum’s Natural History Collection. They give you pages from something like, “The Ornithological Journals of William Brewster, 1890”, and then you’re off to tackle the ornate handwriting. :)
I like the kind of project you can do anywhere. I've been submitting records of species (with photo and GPS coordinates) to an Australian social science website. Last month one these records (a weevil) caught the attention of entomologists and a press release was issued: “Citizen scientist redefines species distribution of elusive insect”. I think these small, but important, discoveries are available to everyone, everywhere.
Hi, Margaret, and today I just emailed Dick Vane Wright, the former Keeper of Entomology at the London Natural History Museum, a hello and a thanks. His quote "You could spend a week studying some obscure insect and you would then know more than anyone else on the planet" was first in An Obsessions with Butterflies and them an important theme in Diary of a Citizen Scientist, ten years later. It looks like he is an associate professor at a university and still very active in entomology. Also, I heard him once speak in a radio interview from a Zen retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico!
Lily wrote: "Margaret wrote: "I kept careful track of all the plants in my neighborhood two years ago. I drew them and noted the first day they appeared."Margaret, your journal of neighborhood plants sounds w..."
You've redefined the species distribution of an elusive insect! That really brings a smile and must make you smile, too.
Just to let everyone know that my publishers are doing a giveaway of Diary of a Citizen Scientist starting on January 24 and closing February 7. And I am doing an Author's Event on February 3 to talk abut the book, citizen science, nature writing, the writing life, etc. This is my first Author's Event. In truth I am relatively new to being active on Goodreads--essentially since last fall although I had joined before. It's like visiting a new and interesting country.
Sharman wrote: "Just to let everyone know that my publishers are doing a giveaway of Diary of a Citizen Scientist starting on January 24 and closing February 7. And I am doing an Author's Event on February 3 to ta..."I am picking up my copy today but I may enter anyway. If I win I would give it to my local library
I finished Fire Season this week and glad I read it. In the back was the bibliography and in that I found:"Russell, Sharman Apt. Kill the Cowboy: A Battle of Mythology in the New West (Reading, MA: Addison- Wesley, 1993). A scrupulously fair- minded account of public- lands ranching in the modern West from all points of view, Russell’s book offers the ranchers’ dubious defense of their livelihood so I don’t have to."
How cool!
Actually, talk about small world...that this group picked these two books...Phil and I live in the same small town or region in New Mexico and I see him around at various events, like environmental meetings against the state trying to dam the Gila River, and sometimes the Little Toad bar. I didn't know him, though, while he was writing Fire Season.
I am late entering this discussion since I just recently joined the group. I also just got the book on Kindle, but I find it a fascinating read (at the end of the July chapter, so just getting started). I have observed tiger beetles on a few occasions, but hadn't imagined an entire book on them. Fascinating.
I am late entering this discussion since I just recently joined the group. I also just got the book on Kindle, but I find it a fascinating read (at the end of the July chapter, so just getting started). I have observed tiger beetles on a few occasions, but hadn't imagined an entire book on them. Fascinating.
Sorry for the double post. Can't imagine how that happened.
Andree wrote: "Rhonda wrote: "Does anyone here keep a nature journal - with written observations and/or drawings? As a kid, I was fascinated by a friend of the family who kept a nature diary. He was my dad's fr..."
I have several notebooks recording observations and reactions. They go back, though not continuously, to 1980 or so.
that is a LONG time. I'm wondering if you could collate data from that (or whatever you call it)
I don't know. I was observing nature and keeping a journal, but it was pretty unfocused. I have gotten some pretty good poems out of the material though.
I think I love you. Your poem "Edge," while about bog edges (of which we have a large Vermont class 2 bog), it is the woods edge I love. Best, most bugs. Transitional trees; new ones always surprise me every year as they fill in a field. Thank you. I have put Swamp Journal on my Feedly.
Thank you for your kind words. Bogs are pretty amazing places.
The book is fabulous. Southwestern imagery reminds me of Dessert Solitaire (Abbey) and Refuge (Terry Tempest Williams). The fabulous stories are a great example of place based literature, which Wendell Berry insists that all good literature must be. They really compliment the narrative thread about Tiger Beetle research.
I have Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams and I took it down from the bookshelf just last week - which means it's on my personal short list of books to read next.
Indeed, it is a great read. Just started the last chapter.
That's very neat to me--nesting red shouldered hawks. And for those of us who get excited by that kind of thing, the world is full of excitements every day.
I will announce here that my publisher is doing a giveaway of ten free copies of my young adult book Teresa of the New World coming out March 3.Teresa of the New World
You can click here to get to the giveaway.
I have worked on this book for most of my life. Seemingly, Teresa of the New World is about the fictional daughter of the real-life Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and a Capoque mother from the coastal tribes of Texas, about the dreamscape of the American Southwest in the sixteenth century, about a father's love and a father’s betrayal, about plague (measles, yes) and apocalypse and were-jaguars and a deep connection with the trickster earth. But, really, I think it is about me. (And somehow totally related to citizen science!)
I will announce here that my publisher is doing a giveaway of ten free copies of my young adult book Teresa of the New World coming out March 3. Teresa of the New World
You can click here to get to the giveaway.
I have worked on this book for most of my life. Seemingly, Teresa of the New World is about the fictional daughter of the real-life Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and a Capoque mother from the coastal tribes of Texas, about the dreamscape of the American Southwest in the sixteenth century, about a father's love and a father’s betrayal, about plague and apocalypse and were-jaguars and a deep connection with the trickster earth. But, really, I think it is about me. (And totally related to citizen science!)
Nature Literature
Books mentioned in this topic
Teresa of the New World (other topics)Teresa of the New World (other topics)
Teresa of the New World (other topics)
Diary of a Citizen Scientist: Chasing Tiger Beetles and Other New Ways of Engaging the World (other topics)
