Enough

Now, what's this tree? An oak. Yes, but which oak? Sessile? Pendunculate? Red?? No, that's Sessile. Covered in leaf mines. Moth or fly? Better take a leaf to check back at home, see if the mine is tenanted. Oh, and there's a gall - I'll take a picture of that. And the leaves have rusts and smuts on them... they'll need identifying. And so will that fungus growing at the base of the trunk. And those flies on the nearby vegetation. And those spiders. What about the wasps. And....

And then my head explodes. I return home with a camera card full of images and the likelihood of several hours at the computer, trying to identify everything before me.

No, it's no use, I'll own up.

It isn't fun.

I can handle a day or two of this, full on, but after that it all becomes relentless. It becomes a game of numbers. Joyless. A chore. Homework.

Enough.

So. The Circle.

Just birds, plants, Lepidoptera and Odonata.

Honorable mention to anything else that gets my attention.

How these top Pan-listers keep sane and keep relationships going is beyond me...

Skev, 41st place is all yours mate.

Fly thing. Or is it a wasp? A bee? Someone out there WILL know...

Comments

Unknown said…
Just post a pic. & rely on the hive mind that is twitter - someone out there will enjoy doing what you don't.
29 July 2020 at 18:57
Steve Gale said…
I don't ordinarily do that, unless something is stumping me after a fair bit of effort to identify it on my part. If it comes to posting up pic after pic just to get an identification without trying, I might as well pack up and go home...
29 July 2020 at 19:01
Skev said…
Sawfly, I think one of the Arge spp. I fully expect you to continue to nip ahead and keep me busy - I have a full time job and overall spend far more time on other things than PSL, but it is about squeezing potential out of every opportunity. Like taking a detour to look at a Wall Lettuce on my way home ....
29 July 2020 at 19:33
Steve Gale said…
No Skev, my idleness will not count for much - sticking to my core interests, I cannot remember my plants and moths as it is!
29 July 2020 at 19:45
Stewart said…
I did say....my method is to look for things that look like they are identifiable from a photo. Thinks like galls and smuts etc are too much bother really when there are nicer things to pass the time...even most fungi and spiders etc are really too tricky without a microscope and I havent got time. Just enjoy waht you find on your patch and if somethings is new, great.
29 July 2020 at 20:07
Gibster said…
I feel you peaked too soon with that Hen Harrier, it's sent you all giddy n stuff. Ease up buddy, just ease up. Stick to those core interests, you'll still find and recognise/learn other stuff along the way. Put simply - it's who you are and what you do. Nobody but you is asking you to act differently. If I adopted that 'oak tree scenario' every time I head out, it could take me several hours to make it as far as the footpath at the bottom of the (short) driveway! It's fun if you're doing that as some sort of a self-imposed bioblitz, but not all the time coz yeah, anybody's head would explode. Glad to see you're keeping the damsels and dragons though.

If ever you feel it becoming a numbers game, just jack it all in and take up cricket. No naturalist (whether they PSL or not) needs that attitude, it's plain bad for the soul. Trust me, I know. I watched Kev close the gap and overhaul me, then Tim, followed by Calum and now William is doing the same. End of the day...so what?

Nature is immense, it's everywhere. And it's utterly bottomless. So enjoy it as deeply as you wish, even those guys at the top of the PSL table are only wiggling their toes in the shallows :)
29 July 2020 at 20:31
martinf said…
I'm with you Steve, I struggle to go beyond core interests. Beetles is where it's at for me, with moths a longtime continuing passion second. You are one of the people that have indirectly persuaded me to resume my botanical interests though and I have been paying far more attention to green things again. I may even finally work out my plant list at some point...
29 July 2020 at 20:33
Gibster said…
PS - Steve, have you seen how many page views this site has received??? Bottle of fizz coming your way when next we meet! :) :) :)
29 July 2020 at 20:34
Steve Gale said…
Stewart, Seth and Martin - I do overdramatise these posts. I’m far more at ease with it all than appears. And yes Seth, a million in the next day or so...
29 July 2020 at 20:56
Gavin Haig said…
It is so fascinating to read about how we variously get pleasure from nature, and I frequently get inspiration and ideas as a result. And if there's one point that comes across more often than any other, it is this: a hobby should never be a chore. Thankfully most of us older folk know that already, and find ways avoid the trap. Like you have. 😊 👍
30 July 2020 at 14:42
Steve Gale said…
Gav, even after 46 years of ‘doing’ this stuff, it amazes me that I still haven’t truly sussed it out!
30 July 2020 at 17:49
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