A look at my 2019 blogging activity shows that I posted the least number of times since the blog began 13 years ago. Now that it is at rock bottom, the only way to go in 2020 is onwards and upwards, so before blogging, I'll need some material to blog about... What to do this year, well...
1. The Patch List will be ongoing, not only to keep up with Steve at North Downs and Beyond, but to give some focus locally that can be done whenever I have a minute spare.
2. Its not just about birding here at chez Stewchat, I will be mothing, butterflying, spidering, botanising, fungusing and any other 'ing' that will draw me into the natural world.
3. Try to do some more drawing and notebook stuff in the field. I must push this!
4. Out and About. Nowadays I mainly concentrate on VC68 or North Northumberland, the area between the River Coquet to the south and the River Tweed in the North. There are endless opportunities for new discoveries in the very underwatched area for natural history (other than birding).
5. Farther afield. Mmm, now...I do fancy a trip north for one very special moth but that will be kept in the planning stage for the moment, plus there will be holiday cottages in Suffolk and Scotland hopefully where some unfamiliar faces can be found.
And that is about it really, there is always something of interest to look for. I recently read someone on Twitter say that they had 'lost their birding mojo'. This came from someone who hasn't been birding for very long either so what can you say to that.
As a good friend once said to me about another, 'Stewart, they aren't birders like us', and I knew exactly what was implied. For some, natural history observation is a hobby to pick up and drop whenever the going gets tough. For others it is a lifelong quest that can never be satiated. The possibilities are infinite in the relatively short span of a human lifespan.
So, in the new decade, get out there and live amongst fellow earth beings, in the sound knowledge that if your day seems quiet or near to boring, then its time you upped your game!
Happy New Decade everyone, I will definitely post more this year!
