It’s hard to describe what the last several months have been like for me. In some regards, I’ve been carrying on as how I would normally go about my business — working full-time, going outside on my days off to look for insects and spiders — but that’s where the similarities end. From April onward, this year has been that of slowly-seeping terror, a constant threat of COVID-19, marred with widespread racial injustice, wildfires, and political unrest. COVID is worse now than it was earlier in the year and every day I come home from work, I wonder if I still will have my senses of taste and smell in the morning.
The election feels like it was months ago; April seems like it was only last week. With the pandemic has come a distorted perception of the passage of time, measured by medication refills, biweekly recycling pickup, and shed tarantula skins. It’s the first day of December, but it’s like summer never happened.
That said, I have gotten outside this year, and have found some pretty incredible arthropods. This summer was the first time I explored Madera Canyon, which I ended up visiting three times. During our pitiful monsoon season, I photographed the plentiful bugs scurrying through the desert. And after the Bighorn Fire torched over 100,000 acres of the Catalina Mountains, I made a point to see what invertebrates could still be found inhabiting the burn scars.
So, tentatively, this blog is back. I’ve got plenty to write about from the last six months, and a whole lot of photographs to share.
Bug Talk 