New blog!

With only three weeks to go until our son enters the world, we decided to create a more personal space to post updates, pictures, videos, etc. of the "family" side of our lives. Of course, it will largely feature the kiddo, but we'll try to keep it interesting with other things as well. Kelly will keep updating Onward, Westward with all of his great nature finds and photography, but if you're interested in following our personal side as well, check us out at htpp://us-plus.blogspot.com. We've also included a link under the "Links" heading on the right-hand sidebar to make it easy to go from one blog to the other.

If you decide to follow us there, we hope you'll enjoy it! If you're here just for the nature/biology fun, then keep coming back! Kelly will still maintain this site just like always -- and you won't have to scroll through baby pictures to find your target species. :)

A Tale of Two T-Shirts

Those of you who see me regularly or know me well might recognize my favorite T-shirt, since I wear it all the time.



This T-shirt has a special story behind it, which, aside from it being an awesome shirt, adds to the reasons why it's my favorite.

I got this T-shirt when Kelly and I lived in Oregon. It's from a vendor called Cretin Art that sells T-shirts with hand-drawn designs at the Portland Saturday Market. While most of the drawings are a little fantastical for my taste, he had this amazing scraggly tree that Kelly and I just fell in love with. Unfortunately, they didn't have any shirts with this drawing on it in my size, so they offered to make one specially for me. I got to choose the color of shirt and the ink color, and they mailed it to me since we didn't live in Portland and wouldn't be back at the market the following week. Since then, it's been my favorite T-shirt ever, and Kelly always loves when I wear it.

So as you can imagine, it was a sad day a few months ago when I had to pack up my "tree shirt" along with the other clothes that won't fit my growing belly anymore. I know it's a temporary condition, but even a few months -- and hot, summer months at that -- when I can't wear my favorite shirt are sad ones.

That is, until the other day, when I opened my closet to pack clothes for our recent anniversary get-away to St. Augustine, and discovered a white T-shirt mysteriously back in place after having gone missing for about a month. Where had it gone? How had it returned? Did Kelly find it somewhere and quietly hang it back in its place without mentioning it to me, even though he knew I had been confounded by its disappearance for weeks?

I moved the surrounding clothes back to take a look at the shirt, and what did I find? [GASP!]



Evidently, a couple of months ago, Kelly had secretly contacted the makers of my original shirt, asking them if they sold maternity T-shirts. They didn't, but said that if he could send them one they would print on it, or if he found one online, they would buy it, print it, and just charge him the total price. So my sweet husband, who loathes shopping, tried to shop for a maternity T-shirt online, but to no avail. When I happened to purchase one, he stole it from my closet, sent it to Oregon with a special request for the tree, and then returned it to my closet for me to find! Happy pregnancy to me!! My favorite shirt now comes in maternity size! It was the sweetest, most thoughtful gift ever! I just had to share my excitement, and brag on Kelly for being so amazing.

Six years and counting

Kelly and I celebrated our 6-year anniversary on May 4. It's hard to believe it's been that long, but you know what they say about how time flies...

To celebrate, we did something we've been waiting years to do -- We went to a Radiohead concert! We both love Radiohead, but since they're from the U.K., they don't often tour in the U.S. We have been afraid the band would break up before we'd get the chance to see them in concert. But with the release of their new album, In Rainbows, they scheduled a U.S. tour -- and the first stop was West Palm Beach, FL. We drove all the way across the state to celebrate six amazing years of marriage and hear one of our favorite bands perform an incredible live show. (See our Radiohead Concert post if you're interested in photos and video from the show.)

We also did some cool birding, which took us through Miami (where we stopped at a Cuban cafe in Little Havana) and on to Key Largo. Of course, we had to eat key lime pie while we were there!



We ate at the Paris Bakery & Cafe in downtown West Palm Beach the day of the concert (SO delicious). While we were there, a pigeon landed on the building across the street, right next to a statue of a Great Horned Owl -- which is supposed to scare birds AWAY. Kelly thought it was funny, so snapped a photo.



We had a small pond outside our hotel window, where we saw three Common Moorhen chicks following after their mama. The picture is blurry since it's so far away, but if you click on it to blow it up, the little baby chicks are super-cute.



We had a bit of spare time before the concert, so we went to the beach. While the beach itself didn't seem very novel since we live right by it already, it was nice to see the Atlantic again, since we're by the Gulf.

My parents down for a visit

March was a busy month for Sarah and I, with a visit from our friends Kate and Nate, a brief but enjoyable trip to TX, and ending with my parents coming down from MN. We had pretty nice weather while my parents were down, in contrast to the messy late winter weather that makes Minnesotans long for Spring.

Visits to the beach were key.



A Portuguese Man O' War washed up on the beach was an unexpected find. The color makes them quite beautiful.



My dad and I got out to do some poking around, and he spotted this Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake...


...as well as these two male Longnose Gar competing for good spawning position alongside the big female.



We hit some of the local restaurants that we like, including McGuire's Irish pub and restaurant. The money stapled all over the ceiling is somewhat tacky, but they really do have great food and at least one good beer that they make on site. We also enjoy the live Irish music they have there.



We kept busy, but some good rest is always key.



No photos to show for this, but we had bottlenose dolphins right outside our apartment just about every day my parents were here. One day, they put on a real show, with lots of fish-catching, jumping way out of the water, and playing with each other. Until a hurricane knocks our place down, I can say 'I'm glad we live next to the water.'

The dark side of the moon.

These pictures are from the lunar eclipse we watched about a week ago. We had lots of patches of crystal clear skies, so it was a great night for viewing.



The bright spot down and to the left of the moon is Saturn. We were able to see the rings through our spotting scope. According to Kelly, the bright spot directly above the moon is Regulus from the constellation Leo.

Home for the holidays

We had a great time spending a white Christmas in Minnesota with Kelly's family this year. The chill in the air and snow on the ground only added to our holiday cheer. (In our opinion, 'tis NEVER the season for Christmas lights on palm trees.)










We got to meet our new niece Rowan for the first time! She's a cutie!



Out for coffee on Christmas Day, with Mary, Grandma Jones, and Kevin. Yum!



The Como Park Conservatory had a beautiful poinsettia display on Christmas. We also wandered through their other exhibits, including a jungle where we got to watch a sloth sloooowwwwly changing position:






The day after Christmas, Kelly and I went up north for a little birding. The highlight: Two Great Gray Owls and a flock of Bohemian Waxwings. We got to watch one of the owls hunt mice through the snow--it would listen for them, then swoop down on it, sticking its head and talons into the snow, with only its wings and tail sticking out. These owls are more than two feet tall--the largest owl in North America. (Kelly likes to point out that in one year's time we saw both the smallest and largest North American owls.) Check out it's wingspan as it flies from perch to perch:





Kevin goes for a spare. Nice shoes.

More fun herps

Our friend Brendan visited from Texas this weekend, and we had a pretty productive time herping. All told, we observed about 15 species of amphibians and reptiles. I've included the two new species for me first, followed by a few other highlights.


This is the first and smaller of two Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) that we found in conveniently clear water. Their size is intimidating, but they are far less "snappy" than their smaller cousin, the Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina).




This is a Southern Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber vioscai). We found four under logs in a wet lowland area.



Above is a Florida Bog Frog (Rana okaloosae), and below is a young Banded Watersnake (Nerodia fasciata fasciata). These watersnakes are commonly seen in bog frog habitat, and are a known predator of that species.




I was pleasantly surprised to see some Eastern Spadefoot Toads (Scaphiopus holbrookii holbrookii) on the roads. This species is an explosive breeder that typically remains underground except on nights immediately following or during heavy rains. They get right down to business, and their larvae develop quickly in ephemeral pools of water. Apart from their interesting natural history, I think they just look really unique with that face and those huge eyes.



For those of you that don't know, Sarah has a real knack for seeing cryptic animals, whether it's a Least Bittern hiding in the reeds 150 m away, or this tiny juvenile Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus) whose head could fit in a drinking straw, and whose body is clearly even thinner.

Life in the Sunshine State

Well, it's official. I have a Florida license plate on my car, a FL driver's license in my wallet, and I'm officially registered to vote in the country's most populous swing state!

Don't be fooled, though. I am still a Midwesterner, and it shows. I wear capris when it's 95 degrees and 70% humidity outside, and I bring my zip-up hoodie sweatshirt with me everywhere I go just hoping for an excuse to wear it--which there frequently is, since every building is over air-conditioned to compensate for the boiling temps outside. I have to ask people to repeat themselves--and vice versa--since I'm still not used to the Southern drawl (of course, it's *me* that has the accent and talks too fast, according to the locals), and since I'm not willing to get skin cancer just because I changed my zip code, I'm as fair-skinned as ever, and will probably stay that way.

We have been enjoying the Southern hospitality, though--everyone we've met has been extraordinarily friendly and welcoming. Kelly has already caught fresh fish for dinner off our pier (snapper!), and he's anxious to put his scuba certification to good use as well. We take walks on the beach at night and have a hurricane-preparedness brochure stuck to our fridge. (Okay, not exactly, although during an extreme thunder storm that woke us up in the middle of the night about a week ago, I asked Kelly, "Do they have a hurricane siren here?" Which, of course they don't--another of my Midwestern "lost in translation" moments [I mean, come on, I'm used to hearing the practice tornado siren going off every Friday at 11:00 a.m.]. Since we don't have TV, either, we've asked our over-protective grandmother-ly neighbor to let us know if one is headed our way.)

The best part is strolling around our neighborhood in the evenings...which of course, brings us to scenes such as this:





We seriously feel like we take a mini-vacation whenever we go to the beach. It's easy to forget that we actually *live* here!

All moved in

After a couple of wonderful months traveling and visiting friends and family (I know, I know...we've been remiss. We'll post pictures and tell tales soon), we've finally made it to Texas and officially moved in. We've already even had our first visitors! Kelly's parents stayed for a week in early February, so we got to cheer the Colts on to a Superbowl victory together!

This season of the blog may be less interesting since we are much farther from unique places here than we were in Oregon. Because of that, and because of Kelly's work schedule, we probably won't be able to make every weekend an adventure like we did before, but we'll sure do our best and keep you posted on how it goes. :)

This weekend, though, it's off to the lower Rio Grande for us to do some exploring before Kelly starts work on Monday. We'll post those pictures, as well as stories and pictures from our California camping trip and our Christmas in Jamaica soon.

While we're excited about this new adventure, we are still mourning our move from Oregon. We really, really miss it out there, and Texas sure doesn't feel like home...yet.


This was just too good to not post - I got a jersey to show my Colts pride so far from home, and Kelly, instead of getting a jersey, decided to use athletic tape to make a huge horseshoe on his shirt. Not quite enough planning went into it, though, so it ended up being off-center and tilted, and the tape bunched up his shirt in different places. It looked hillarious, but it was definitely still effective!


WE WON!!! GO COLTS!

Yee-haw! We're movin' to Texas!

Well, it's official. Kelly was offered another 6-month position with The Nature Conservancy (the same organization he worked for here in Oregon) studying the federally endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. Working with a federally listed species is a rare opportunity, so although Texas was never a place we ever thought we'd be living, we're excited for the chance to experience yet another part of the country for a while, and to gain some excellent professional experience in the process. We'll keep updating our blog with Texas adventures once we get there, so definitely check back mid-January, when we plan to make the move.

Now that Kelly's job here is over and we know where we're headed next, we are planning on leaving in a couple of days for a 2-week camping trip around California in order to make the most of our last few weeks on the West Coast. We'll definitely be posting some pictures of this last adventure when we get back! Our trip will culminate at Yosemite National Park, where we'll be attending the wedding of a close friend of mine from Taylor. We'll be home for Christmas for a few weeks visiting both our families, and then it's off to the South for us!

We've loved every moment of our time in Oregon, and we will definitely miss it out here. We felt very at home from the moment we arrived in Astoria, and it will always remain a home in our hearts. Thanks for reading about our crazy adventures, and we'll try to keep up the pace in Texas, too!

Hello, Seattle! Here we come, Cascades!

We spent a couple of recent weekends with Brendan and Billi visiting Seattle (Pike Place Market) and hiking/camping in the Cascade Mountains. Our main objective in the Cascades was to find a Rubber Boa, but we were unable to find one. We did, however, find long-toed salamanders, which was also a treat, and we did some great hiking in the beautiful Central Washington country-side.


Us on the ferry with Seattle still far in the distance.


Long-toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum)

On another trip to Olympia, we went to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, where we saw our first Barn Owl, among other things, including:


An American Bittern hiding in the reeds.


A Pacific Tree Frog (Pseudacris regilla).


A beautiful Northwestern Garder Snake (Thamnophis ordinoides).


We got to see this playful river otter just long enough to snap a shot!

The crackle of the fire; the roar of the sea

One of the best things about living where we do is having fires on the beach at night. We got a visit from a very close friend of ours this weekend, and spent both nights around the fire, with great conversation and delicious fire-grilled teriyaki steak kabobs, all set to the natural soundtrack of crashing waves and crackling flames. Does it get any better than this?






We also had a great time at Cannon Beach showing Shawn the puffins and the haystacks.

O, Canada! ...eh?

We spent this past weekend (all 5 days of it) in Vancouver, British Columbia with Kelly's coworker who is from there. We had a great time and did tons of fun stuff, including:

• celebrated Canada Day on Granville Island (The public market is sensory overload!)


• visited the Vancouver Aquarium


• lounged on the city's beaches


• ate amazing food


• went birding at the Reiffel Bird Sanctuary. (We got up close and personal with the resident sandhill cranes!)


• attended free concerts at the weekend's International Jazz Festival


• spent a day at Whistler, where many of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games events will be held. On the way, we drove the breathtaking Sea to Sky Highway, hiked out to Shannon Falls and Brandywine Falls, and ate a delicious Indian dinner in Whistler Village.

We did, of course, make it back to Astoria in time for 4th of July fireworks over the Columbia River.


The mountains of Whistler seen from the Sea to Sky Highway



Us at Shannon Falls