All we do is search

I think it's safe to say that the 2016 field herping season has come to an end.  Last winter, I was involved in a mudpuppy study here in Chicago, and I've been told that it's going to be taken over by a new researcher this season, but so far I haven't heard anything.

2016 was a really interesting year.  At almost exactly the halfway mark on the calendar, my daughter Lumen was born, and well, babies have a way of asserting their presence and dependency.  And for the first two months or so, it was legitimately difficult.  For a borderline dromomaniac like myself, it took a lot of strength and patience to stay home and combat the near-constant screaming and crying of my colicky baby.  I knew the condition would eventually wane, but there were some late nights/early mornings, where sleep deprivation and hysteria were well and alive in this house.  Just another day, I told myself.  Just go day by day.

One morning we woke up to find Lumen quiet in her bassinet.  I feared something bad had happened.  But nope, sound asleep and calm.  Was this the turning point I was waiting for?  Soon after, she began smiling back at us and was able to support her head, which allowed her to look around inquisitively.  THAT was a milestone if I ever saw one.  It really benefited us that she was rewarding us for all the love and care we were providing.  Now, at nearly five months of age, five minutes don't pass where she doesn't look right at me and smile and giggle.  It makes a WORLD of a difference.  It makes me a proud daddy.  And most importantly, it makes me feel invincible.  If I could survive all that happened early on, I could take on anything (but Lumen, please don't challenge me!).

Since Lumen has been around, I haven't been as goal-oriented/able to commit to any comprehensive herping projects.  Just little excursions for fun mostly, which is still great.  It's a lot more acceptable for me to become distracted when I'm just outdoors and having fun.

Warning:  The following are all cell phone captures.  No glamour beyond this point.

A few shots from a September 24th expedition to the coal strip mines of Mazonia, best known for their extremely rich quantity and diversity of fossils hundreds of millions of years old (or, if you're a young earth creationist, you can convince yourself that humans were sympatric with the Tully monster and other marine life forms right here in Illinois, perhaps as little as a thousand years ago...).  Anyway.  Tom Anton enlisted my help in capturing a plains leopard frog for a then-upcoming exhibit at the nature museum.  It probably would have helped had either of us cared to bring along a net.  We saw a few plains leopards, including one beastly beauty, but despite the cool temperatures, the frogs outwitted us and disappeared into the vegetation just at the right moments.  Ironically, we ended up catching bullfrogs and green frogs, the ones we had no official use for.

 A small tributary of the Mazon River.

 A feisty eastern garter (Thamnophis sirtalis).

 This tiny northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon) was found in a roadside puddle the area of a football.  In the puddle were a few Rana larvae too big for this snake to eat.  It probably didn't stop it from trying.

 One of many gravel roads that criss-cross the area.  Today they are mostly used by outdoor sportsmen and fossil hunters.

A November 19th trip with the goal being to get some good photographs of the southern two-lined salamander (Euycea cirrigera), since I still haven't gotten any before.  When I found my first salamander, I prepped to shoot it when I realized my camera battery was dead.  Words cannot describe how frustrated one can get after driving an hour and a half for the sole purpose of getting some shots of a tiny salamander, only to be shafted.  Good thing I was with a botanist (Trevor Dean Edmonson) and a fossil/mussel mogul (Matthew Ignoffo).  They paved the way to happiness, and Trevor even brought doughnuts.

Here's a crappy cell phone shot of one of the two-lineds.

 Creek-walking and exploring.

 Some really cool geology here.

 Looks like decent mudpuppy habitat, but no mudpuppies were found.

 Trevor looking for pups

Trilobite impression Matt's son found

Trevor in his unyielding pursuit of Necturus maculosus.  

Peanuts & Cracker Jack

The Chicago Cubs, the baseball team I've hated loved for so many years, the team that has induced episodes of manic tantrums, a lot of head-shaking and exaggerated sighing, shouting of obscenities at the TV, chronic nail-biting, and serious thousand yard stare sessions, have won the World Series.  A couple nights ago, I watched in disbelief as Kris Bryant fielded a bouncer and tossed it into the glove of Anthony Rizzo at first base, ending an unforgettable game 7 of a really good Fall Classic.  As a long-suffering fan of the team, I felt this immense calmness, a satisfying sense of accomplishment, and a lot of old dead weight off of me.  Becoming attached to such a team can be dangerous.  As if I don't have enough things to worry about in life, I always have to hear from others about how bad the team is, how they'll never win because they are cursed, and whatever.  Over time it all sort of accumulates like junk in the home of a hoarder. Now I feel like I've thrown out all of the trash and am living in a pristine, bright new house.  Maybe the grey hairs in my beard will cease to proliferate.

Lumen turned four months old on November 1st.  She has grown from the tender, pink, screaming, colicky newborn to a more inquisitive, smiling, and interactive infant.  She is a lot of fun and Aimee and I are simply swooned.  She started daycare on Halloween and dealing with her inevitable and expected cold symptoms (from the other dirty little kids) has added another dimension to her care.

I'm still pretty much locked into a more routine schedule for the most part.  It's not easy, and over the last few months I see how a lot of parents (namely fathers) become frustrated and walk out of such situations.  I mean, it's not bad when you remind yourself that these are the early years and that this doesn't last forever.  I really enjoy picking Lumen up from daycare, or waking up in the morning and greeting her in her crib, where she always sports a big smile (not sure where she gets this whole happy in the morning thing).  I walk around the house with her, showing her the beautiful fish, or Mr. Turtle, or anything that grabs her attention.  Sometimes when the weather is conducive, we go outside and look at milkweed, and all of the milkweed bugs.  We will see trees, and she watches as I touch the bark and say, "ooohhh, so nice!".  It's something I never really thought I'd like to do, but I see how well she responds and it makes me happy and willing to try new things.  Makes up for all of the diapers, spit up, boogers, cheesy neck, and sicknesses she has had and will continue to have for some time.

Here's a "photo dump" which sort of represents some of the routine and extracurricular activities I've involved myself in the last month or so.

Lumen! Shhh...

 Photographing marine life in the depths of Lumen's nursery.

 My pride & joy, 2005 Honda Civic, in its last day in my possession.  First car I ever bought new, back in 2005.  A lot of adventures, a lot of memories...just not compatible with a baby seat.  That's Cassius' big dog head sticking out the window.  

 New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

 Fringed gentian (Gentianopsis crinita) in Cook Co.

 Plains garter snake (Thamnophis radix) in typical urban habitat

 Pine corridor

 Autumn foliage

 Spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)

 Large, mature oaks bordering old field

 Blue-spotted salamander (Ambystoma laterale)

 Three wiseguy green frogs (Rana clamitans) in a mild state of torpor

 Will Co central newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)

 Cassius at Potawatomie Woods in northern Cook Co

 Early settler cemetery in northern Cook Co