Live mode is the worst!!
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This is such an accurate depiction of every time Iâve spotted a painted bunting or a summer tanager.
Or anytime I am motionless and silent while observing something when my Husband, who had been oblivious to everything but his phone, has decided to A) start walking as loud as possible while managing to step on every twig and loose rock like itâs a competition or B) has found a random stick and, much like a bored child, begins swinging it around wildly and/or hitting things with it.
Thus scaring away whatever it was I was trying to get a look at as well as everything else in the vicinity.
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The only time I managed to get a pic of a northern cardinal was from my parked car with the windows rolled up. Every other time, theyâve flown away before I started to raise my phone.
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Computer crashing during uploading a ton of pictures from this weekâs galveston trip; I nearly taught my kids new words.
I also got covered in ticks and mosquitos despite using OffâŚwhile finding zero herps (well, I did hear green tree frogs) on top of a wicked sunburn during a dusk time trip to the east end of galveston. My arms and legs look like extra bumpy lobsters. And I saw some neat birds but still, I really hoped to find some glass lizards or something. It was a good trip overallâlots of nearly empty beaches for fun with my kids, some good birding, etcâŚbut that particular outing was miserable.
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I have some bad experience while observing
- stomped a nail while wearing sandals (thatâs really hurt!!)
- thorned by some Bougainvillea plant
- accidentally touched a poisonous caterpillar!! (super itchy)
- stumbled down by hard rocks (my thumb injured)
- stinged by fire ants (lots of themm!!)
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I stepped on a snake once while he was nicely curled up and sleeping near the edge of the pond. He sat up and hissed at me. I apologized and he literally curled back up and went to bed. I really felt bad. I wouldnât want to be stepped on in the middle of the night.
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What kind of snake was it?
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My worst iNat experiences have been gender-based bullying and harassment. Iâve had several incidents of random men stopping me while Iâm hiking and telling me that the outdoors is no place for a lady unaccompanied by a man, âbecause thereâs ticks and stuffâ or âbecause thereâs snakesâ or âsomeone will kill you.â
Once I was on a fishing on a pier on Cypress Bayou and saw a man watching me while sitting in his truck. I was trying to document species for the Fishes of Texas project and caught a giant, trophy-sized Redear Sunfish. I saw the man get on his cell phone and drive away. Minutes later, he returned with a truckload of his buddies, who tried to shove me off the pier and take it over.
Another time, I was microfishing (trying to catch tiny fish) at a state park, and a man noticed that I was catching the tiny minnows. He got in my face and basically said, âMy fish are bigger than yours! You women suck!â Um, I wasnât trying to get the big ones. I was trying to find a tiny species unique to Caddo Lake.
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I was hiking solo across a flat wet slippery rock surface in Bako National Park in Malaysian Borneo, being very careful not to slip, when (surprise!) I slipped. My left wrist broke the fall, and the fall broke my left wrist. I then put my camera into my backpack with my right hand only, and hiked about a mile back to the visitor center, being extremely careful not to jostle my left wrist. But of course I jostled it plenty, and ouch. The worst part was that I had to cancel the rest of my Borneo plans (but I returned the next year and completed them, so allâs well that ends well).
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Extremely sorry youâve had those negative experiences while out in the wild.
My worst experience was years and years ago working in a fast food place. After a quick prayer, I thought to say I had two relativesâone was 6 foot 6 and the other was a lawyer. Immediately the harassment ended.
Perhaps some sort of official looking uniform would helpâbe deputized as a ranger. Forgive my brainstorming. Have a pleasant weekend!
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I doubt it. If someone is so offended by cosmiccat daring to be a woman partaking in activities in natural spaces, then the fact that she has some outward symbol of authority is unlikely to matter to them.
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You are probably right. I thought a uniform might cause a few potential troublemakers to be off-balanced enough to decide to move on rather than mouth off or worse and risk a possible fine or having privileges taken away. My scenario assumes thinking behavior, but that is not a given.
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I think it could help, but thereâs probably also a chance someone whoâs already gatekeeping could see it as even more reason to approach her.
To clarify, Iâm not saying she shouldnât wear a uniform or gear if she desires; Iâm not even really saying it wouldnât help as you propose in specific cases.
Iâm just saying I donât know the efficiency of using them as a form of deterent.
And of course, all this is skirting the larger issue of why should she need to signifiy a higher level of credentials before being allowed to occupy the same spaces as a layperson who is not challenged because he is a male.
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I agree she shouldnât need to show credentials at all. I just want her to be safe in the mean timeâpositive change takes longer than it should to affect behavior.
My aunt who worked a government job in the 60âs got a nickname of âThe Nunâ because she just said âNoâ to all the propositions she gotâmostly from married men. The âMe Tooâ movement was much too late to improve her working conditions, but she was true to herself and her example inspired me.
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The type of men Iâm talking about tend to think female authority is joke, so I donât think it would help.
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If standard diplomacy is ineffective, try the Roosevelt strategy: Speak softly, and carry a big stick.
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This is not nature related at all, but It reminded me of a sunburn story. I used to race 800m. I was at a track meet, and my family was there. Dad, being dad, went up on this small hill with a chair, crossed his legs, and promptly fell asleep. A space between his pants and socks (about 3cm) got sunburned! Only he could do that!
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Earlier this week, it was a super humid dayâŚno wind. I went on a little side trail and there was a sign with all the legal jargon at the beginning of the trail that said âenter at your own risk, the county is not liable for any injuriesâ. I literally laughed out loud and was on my merry way. Took some good photosâŚplus a horse fly bite, and a spider in my faceâŚa normal dayâŚand headed back out to the more âcivilizedâ part of the park. Well, suddenly I hear this LOUD cracking and falling sound. I stopped. I thought it was a big black bear or something. Nope. Suddenly a very tall ash (and dead) tree fell about 25 feet from me! Fortunately, the angle was parallel to me. It was incredible! I literally said loudly, âomg. omg. Did that just happen?â and was laughing in disbelief as the leaves were raining down from the sky around me. This was my first time of hearing (AND seeing) what they call âsudden branch drop syndromeââŚexcept it was the whole treeâŚjust snapped near the bottom of the crown!
But, actually, a more scary experience for me was with fellow humans. Last week, I was at a doctors appointment at one of those suburban office parksâŚwith the brick buildings and law offices, accountants, etc in the same area. There was a little ditch run-off area near the parking lot. I saw a red flower in the ditch and got over excited and went to the edge of the parking lots concrete and start trying to get a distant photo. I didnât get on the grass. Well, a lady from the law office came outside on her phone and wouldnt let me explain (from more than 12 feet away) what I was doing. I quickly got in my car and called my doctor to tell her the situation and I was sorry if there was a complaint! I got out of there okâŚdrove away before any other issues. All I could think the whole time was I was going to be on 6pm news for the police arresting a nature lover LOL.
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I wear t-shirts when working outdoors, and by late summer I am usually tanned enough not to get badly burnt on the arms from a whole day out⌠But then I buy a new t-shirt that has 1cm shorter sleeves, and first day out I get that sunburnt ring on my arm!
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I have had no terrible experiences, but I do feel a great regret that I didnât know about iNaturalist sooner! I lived over a year each in Japan, Australia and Hawaii and travelled extensively, buying guidebooks and keeping lists everywhere I went. All those âlifersâ seen and gone!
Most of the time since I have known about iNaturalist I have been in New Zealand and now have 2 young boys with another bub on the way, so my exploring time is a bit limited.
At least I have the memories and experiences :)
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