Notes From The Field
Over the years, these trips have become far more meaningful and satisfying. As a young lad tramping about the woods and fields, I was blissfully ignorant of anything other than the herps I was pursuing. I could identify and name any kind of reptile or amphibian, but could not name any tree, flower, or bird. These things were the blurry backdrop of our snake hunts. I could not see the forest for the trees.
Over time, I've learned a few things, coming back from each field trip with some new nuggets of knowledge, some new plant or bird or tree identified. Home studies of ecosystems and organisms also helped - cracking open a field guide on a cold winter's day is time well spent! Field trips, even when few herps are found, are an enriching experience; on some occasions the geology of a place is almost as exciting as the herps! Friends can add their knowledge to the experience - Tracey Mitchell can get anyone excited about plants, and Steve Coogan has turned me into a birder, whether I wanted to be one or not!
In 1995 or thereabouts I started toying with the idea of an on-line journal of field trips. I'm no artist, but I appreciate the concept of the illuminated journal. I learned to use a camera to help record my experiences, and over the years I have experimented with various formats for these journals. I've settled on formatting them for Internet Explorer, and I hope they're not too wretched when viewed through some other browser. At any rate, thanks for visiting, and enjoy!
Mike (pingleto@ncsa.uiuc.edu)
Note: During these field trips, state laws and regulations were followed. We purchased licenses where necessary and received permission when hunting on private property. All animals photographed were released at the point of capture; I find it far more satisfying to let a milk snake or treefrog go about its business after I have marveled at it and taken its picture. To paraphrase the old song, "if you love something, set it free"!