Coolest research for a story-anything to do with the great outdoors

“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more” 
~George Gordon Byron, 1788 – 1824~Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage

May 3 Question: What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day.

Hmmmm! Coolest… thing I researched are the birds, animals, and insects that live around me.  What interests me is the most fun to research.

Interested in Praying Mantis…check out this site from National Geographic Kids. 

 

Once I start searching out information, I found how nature is overlooked when it comes to the bottom dollar.  Those that have made a comeback; those still on the endangered species list; and those just living day to day, need our help.

I have met people who will give incorrect information to get their priorities pushed through.   And I have heard ‘fear talk’ of big businesses; how no one has the money to fight them. For the average person that is true. But once they connect with the correct people the chain strengthens.

Sorry, I am rambling and grumbling.

Once the weather starts to warm up, and the snows are scattered piles along windbreaks and at the base of evergreens, where the sun doesn’t reach. It is then that migratory birds  head back home, getting connected, searching out safe or so-so safe nesting areas.

That is when they start their mating dance. Songbirds dance on the ground weaving and bobbing, puffing out chest feathers and singing a song that echoes from the past.   Hawks; whose dance swims high above us, diving and circling repeating their secrets, screeched out longer family litanies; impressing each other with their pedigree.

Then, there are the bees… I saw an article where the ‘rusty-patched bumblebee, a species on the brink of extinction’ stopped construction of a four-lane, 5-mile toll road and a four-lane Fox River bridge crossing.’ As I read about those bees, a Bumble was busy knocking against my kitchen window; letting me know I have been seen.

Spring’s warm sun brings out insects and new plant growth…I can go on and on. Nature is so cool. Researching Mother Nature is so much fun.

Oh, before I forget, let me add the weirdest- animal scat. Come on, I know you want to click that link for animal scat. 

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” ~John Muir

Illinois endangered lists:

https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/lists/illinois-cty.html

http://rainforests.mongabay.com/endangered/charts/birds-falcons.html

https://www.fws.gov/MIDWEST/Endangered/insects/index.html