new direction

Well...my lifelong dream of moving to China to publish one blog post about dragonflies has been completed and now that that's out of the way I have relocated back to America.  All seriousness aside, though I did not stay the intended duration of my trip in China I do not consider it a failure.  While the trip didn't turn out how I had wanted it to (my blog about my China experience), I learned a lot of things I wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn were I stateside.  As well...obviously, I saw some badass new dragonflies!!

Coming back home felt somewhat like a setback in many ways and I knew I didn't want to be where I was.  Though it's not necessarily the most appealing form of motivation, being extremely frustrated with your situation can do the trick sometimes.

summer break

Hi all.  Well, spring is here and summer is next.  You know what that means!  Neither do I, but I have other news anyway:  I am moving to China at the end of June.  This means a lot for the Colleyville Dragonfly Museum.  As some may know, the museum is located in the bedroom of my parent's house.  My parents have recently informed me that they are going to take over my room while I am gone.  Thus...admission to the museum will be temporarily suspended to the general public.  Case-by-case appeals for entry can be made by contacting me via a note on this blog entry.

Expansion of the museum will also be halted while I am away.  I realized today while walking that I have too much work to do before I leave for China and I cannot keep accumulating specimens--even the specimens I already have have not received enough care and attention; there are literally over 100 specimens sitting in shoeboxes on the ground because I have nowhere to put them right now.

I'm sorry for this distressing news.  Blog entries will probably continue as I try to share pictures and information about our winged friends.  My stomach has just informed me that I must eat or I will die, so this entry is going to be cut short.  Goodbye for now.

ecstatic beginnings

The time has come here in Northeast Tarrant County!!  As mentioned in my previous two postings (which in extreme excitement I sent from my phone), specific Zygopterans and Epithecans have taken to the air at the Colleyville Nature Center.

I began my walk this morning with hopes of seeing some dragonflies but I made sure not to get too excited, as my fragile personality easily becomes fragmented.  Walking by sections of the park I recalled years past and dragonflies the dragonflies of yore...could today be the day??  ...No, Brian, calm down, be patient.  I say this to myself a lot.  So I kept sauntering along, enjoying the sights of many other insects that I haven't seen in a while.  I saw a six-spotted tiger beetle (species Cincindela sexguttata) along my way to the pond's edge, as well as some butterflies or moths (who cares...order Lepidoptera) and midges (suborder Nemotocera).  The midges got me excited--midges are aquatic insects just like dragonflies.  In fact, midges often fall prey to the mandibles of our beloved dragonflies.  If only...

I think you can tell where this is headed.  If not, you're retarded, because I already told you in the first paragraph.