Hello, I am Flown <3

[Luca]

Welcome!!
I am also nonbinary (he/they), an artist, interested in biology and nature, interested in hiking and the outdoors, and partially disabled.

My main focus is dogs- their psychology, behavior, genetics, natural instincts, training and competition, etc. I have five dogs, two of which are rescues (one is disabled), and one of my dogs is a service dog.

But I am fascinated by the natural world, and all wild and domestic animals!
I am one of the aforementioned thread derailers though

I’ve been here for a while now and I’ve met some of my favorite people, ever, on this site
I hope you have this experience too, and please make yourself at home and get to know everyone!
- Luca

 

[Flown]

Welcome.

Thank you!

Welcome, @Flown . It is nice to see a naturalist here. One of my special interests is aquatic macroinvertebrates. I monitor several rivers, collecting samples that I identify to the family level that can be scored for a measure of stream quality. This gets me back into taxonomy, the basis of biology, after my training in molecular genetics. I also enjoy paleontology with a special interest in Trilobites.

I am still stirred by Charles Darwin's closing of, On the Origin of Species; "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."

My nature photography is generally underwater. like these Nudibranchs.
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Ahhh! Fascinating! I have a friend that documents nudibranchs and other underwater wildlife! She is amazing! I've only done a small amount of stream monitoring, but I would love to give it a try again.

We are currently in a sort of "limbo" when it comes to housing, and it is not a comfortable feeling. We previously resided in an off grid abode on 23 acres of conservation forest in the Southern Apppalachians (for over 4 years), so I could simply step outside and do the things I love. However, we made a decision to move/sell our place in November due to a multitude of factors/pressures. We are currently staying in a motorhome in a campground while we wait to find the perfect place to settle again. I'm steel reeling at all of the changes and feel that I have lost my "footing" entirely. I miss my home in the forest every day.

Welcome! And your post reminds me that one thing I should do more of this year is to get out into nature more. Lots to explore in the PNW.

Yay! The PNW is gorgeous! If my Seasonal Affective Disorder weren't so severe, I would have possibly stayed there (I lasted a year in the Seattle area).

Hi and welcome, I hope that you enjoy it here. Your interests sound great wish I could knit well. Sounds like you have plenty to do. I do some crafts and I like to write, and enjoy gardening and getting out and walking. Also nonbinary.

Nice to meet you <3 I have a lot of interests, but I don't always have the energy or focus to complete them! Also, I am a beginner when it comes to knitting! I am hoping to become more skilled though!

I particularly enjoyed his book, Consilience. Among insects I love to look for those straddling families, like seeing Velvet Ants at Lion Hollow, along the Green River in Utah. They are more like solitary wasps and I was entranced by them.

I absolutely LOVE Mutillids! They can be a pain to photograph (they are so fast) though!
One of my coolest Mutillid finds was this: My partner found a strange, intact puparium in a mound of soil near our home. I placed the puparium in a jar and waited to see what emerged. I had observed Timulla dubitata females in this area on multiple occasions, but it didn't really click that I had finally found a male until I saw this beauty the following morning. Females look VERY different (if you are interested in their appearance, let me know):

Welcome aboard. We share the nervousness and chronic health issues.

No one is ever truly alone here. I hope eventually you find a home here.

*hugs* Thank you so much!

Hi and Welcome @Flown

Thank you!

 

[Flown]

Welcome!!
I am also nonbinary (he/they), an artist, interested in biology and nature, interested in hiking and the outdoors, and partially disabled.

My main focus is dogs- their psychology, behavior, genetics, natural instincts, training and competition, etc. I have five dogs, two of which are rescues (one is disabled), and one of my dogs is a service dog.

But I am fascinated by the natural world, and all wild and domestic animals!
I am one of the aforementioned thread derailers though

I’ve been here for a while now and I’ve met some of my favorite people, ever, on this site
I hope you have this experience too, and please make yourself at home and get to know everyone!
- Luca

Nice to meet you, Luca! Thank you for the warm welcome. I absolutely love dogs! I have two rescues!

 

[Luca]

Nice to meet you, Luca! Thank you for the warm welcome. I absolutely love dogs! I have two rescues!

Nice to meet you too!!
Dogs are my favorite thing ever!!! I quoted your post in another thread and attached a photo of one of my rescue dogs

 

[Flown]

Nice to meet you too!!
Dogs are my favorite thing ever!!! I quoted your post in another thread and attached a photo of one of my rescue dogs

I don't know what I would do without my canine friends. I feel lost without them.

 

[Luca]

I don't know what I would do without my canine friends. I feel lost without them.

Same here!!!

 

[Sherlock77]

@Flown

Welcome! Another photographer around, there are a few of us, but I see that you noticed another post with me... I'm very much into urban photography, not that I don't appreciate nature...

 

[Magna]

Welcome!

 

[Isadoorian]

Hi, and Welcome to the Forums! I hope you make new friends here and enjoy your stay in the process!

 

[SusanLR]

Welcome to the forums, Flown.

I like photography, oil painting, and nature so much also.
As you stated though, I have become disabled this past year and can't walk or do gardening
as I did before.
Too much to get into about that, but, it sure interferes.

I like odd little creatures and the wild birds. I have a number of tree frogs for pets.
Can't have cats or dogs where I am currently renting.

I think you'll like it here. I try to check in every night to see what's going on.
Late in life diagnosed in mid 50's. Age 64 now.
A couple of odd insect photos for you.

This is Red Devil, a grasshopper that was missing a leg that I kept for a pet.

A walking stick on the tennis court one morning.
I also raise Monarch Butterflies.

 

[Flown]

Welcome to the forums, Flown.

I like photography, oil painting, and nature so much also.
As you stated though, I have become disabled this past year and can't walk or do gardening
as I did before.
Too much to get into about that, but, it sure interferes.

I'm so sorry that you can't do all that you enjoy. It is one of the most frustrating things in the world to not be able to do the things that keep us "alive"!

I like odd little creatures and the wild birds. I have a number of tree frogs for pets.
Can't have cats or dogs where I am currently renting.

I definitely do not miss renting for that reason. My dogs keep me calm and steady! It sounds like you have plenty of good company though!

I think you'll like it here. I try to check in every night to see what's going on.
Late in life diagnosed in mid 50's. Age 64 now.

Thank you! It's nice to meet you! It wasn't something I realized until I was in my mid 30s (despite other autistic friends nudging me in that direction since I was in my early twenties).

A walking stick on the tennis court one morning.

So cool! This is a PAIR of Southern Two-striped Walkingsticks (Anisomorpha buprestoides)! The females are so gigantic compared to the males! I love them! <3