So start to things off well, I’ve put up a photo gallery as a penitence for my absence. In March, 2007, I and several others accompanied a friend to Starr County, Texas, where he was conducting research on an endangered cactus, the Star Cactus1 (Astrophytum asterias).

The study involves marking as many cacti as we could find in a quadrat, and then revisiting the areas occasionally to monitor what’s eating the cacti. Other efforts included trapping for small mammals to get a picture of what’s in the area, and using cameras that are triggered by tripping an infrared beam to catch herbivores in the act…

While reaching out to place a flag near a cactus, I noticed an odd rock at arms length. Turns out it was a Common Poorwill sitting on the nest. I had to sprint back to the car to grab my camera, but the shots were pretty amazing.

I’ve put up a handful of pictures of this bird and some other neat highlights from this trip in the photo gallery.

I’ll put up other shots of other trips as time allows.

Today I leave for the Davis Mountains to continue my second (and last) field season of thesis research. Last year my adviser was gracious and allowed me the use of his vehicle. This year however, he wasn’t feeling so altruistic. And who can blame him? I had a whole year to arrange for another vehicle.

The problem of course is that I drive a Corolla. She’s light and nimble on her feet and gets a near miraculous amount of miles to the gallon, but she aint exactly renowned for her off road abilities. Her name is Betsy.

I needed more of a bastion of transportation to handle the mountainous terrain. I needed Bertha.

Bertha has a long and storied history. A 1988 GMC suburban that belongs to my parents, she’s like that relative that everyone respects for all they’ve seen and been through, yet no one wants to sit next to at the dinner table because of the smell…

A few years ago in what was expected to be her last hurrah, Bertha embarked with five young gents on a trip deep in the southern bowels of Mexico. She made it all the way to Oaxaca and back. True, she got her gas cap stolen and there were four flat tires in the first six days, but Bertha can hardly be faulted for Mexico’s hooligan youth, shoddy road conditions, and below standard spare tires.

No, Bertha will do quite well for me this summer. She’d better. I just spent $250 to get one of her four windows working (she has no air conditioner) and glue the fabric ceiling back on. She’s just got the right constitution for field work.

I’m really looking forward to these next few weeks. In addition to the research, I’m going to be pulling out the camera in my spare time, catching up on processing all my pictures, and reading lots of books. If my internet connection cooperates, you can expect to see plenty of pictures.

Oh, and by the way, if you’re in the market for a 1988 GMC Suburban with one working window and a glued on ceiling lots of character, I’ll have one for sale in about five weeks.