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galacticbugman · 5 years

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My Favorite Insects

Well howdy ya’ll Galactic Bug Man here with another blog post. Sorry this is long over due I have been busy with school and I have had some family issues that needed to be resolved this last few months but I am back with another blog post and just in time for the start of *drum roll* *fanfare* INSECT SEASON! or just spring.

So In my last post that was back in November I said that I would talk about what are my favorite insects. For the record some people may tell you that you can only have one or two favorites of everything. Well for me that has always been hard for me. Anything that interests me automatically becomes an obsession with me. With the autism it is kind of hard to ignore things that have a profound interest with me. Some people just have one favorite or each category. As for my goofy/nerdy self I have many favorites on many levels. For me I don’t just have one favorite science fiction TV Show or movie, same goes for Cartoons, comedies, food...eh you get the picture. Anyway I don’t just have a single favorite family of animals or just one favorite species for each.

In my line of a hobby it is the thrill of the search and an encounter goes. For me favorites come in many forms and have different lifestyles, and sometimes the story that will form when I find an organism helps make an organism my favorite. So there are many things that add up to make an organism a favorite. For me it is all of these put together. Even though I am a storyteller of sorts and love to share experiences I have had finding certain species. So now let us go into some of my favorites from the world of insects. Even though I am a birder too think I am just going to leave this post strictly for the insects. Just FYI I am expanding my blog to more than just insects. In the future I will be talking about birds, mammals, and all things natural. So with that said let us dive in to Insect family #1...

Beetles have become a growing obsession for me in the last few years. Back when I was in the Future Farmers of America I participated in an entomology contest once in the spring of 2011 then I did another one in spring of 2012.It was like a UIL contest of sorts but it was an FFA governed contest. We had to study a list of 125 or 150 insects I can’t really remember the amount we had to ID but it was a lot. The Texas Ironclad Beetle was one of the many on the list. (the picture was a photo I took of one during the 2017 iNaturalist City Nature Challenge of that same species.) The FFA contest really opened my eyes to loving the insect world. I became quite interested in the lives of insects and the ways they work. Butterflies had always been a favorite subject of mine ever since I was in grade school. My late grandmother (who passed away back in August of last year) got me butterflies and we had a garden at the house we moved from back in April for a long time. Most insects didn’t really appeal to me until my time with the Martin High School FFA. Me and the teams I had both years won first prize at the contests so that is how my love for loving insects a lot more than I did started to grow. Beetles started to grow on me. There have been many species that I have seen in the last few years that I wouldn’t believe existed. Some are just so amazing to watch and to photograph.

A growing favorite group of mine would have to be the Tiger Beetles. They are some of the prettiest and most vibrant colored of the beetles. This one was found at Thora Hart Park a few blocks from where I live now. We moved back in April of last year. This was found on one of our getting ready to move days. This guy is called a Chartreuse Tiger Beetle. It is a really shiny one. I found this one on one of the sand paths out there in the back forty of the park. It is small but the number of Tigers is amazing. There are a lot of deep sands out there and on any given hot and sunny day they will be out. Tiger Beetles are known for being fast throughout their lives. They have good eyesight even when they are larva which is kind of interesting for an insect. They are also predatory their whole lives. With a sharp pair of scissor-like mandibles and a tiger like attitude they are a fascinating beetle to observe. Both fast runners and fast fliers they one of an insect’s worst nightmares. This one was really cool. I saw this flash of green and blue. Then it landed in front of me and then I saw a flash of red. These guys are actually yellow on their wing covers; but when the sun hits them just right they shine a bright reddish orange color. That is what makes them really appealing to me. We all like shiny things don’t we? Shiny rocks, Pokemon, silver, gold. You name it people love shiny objects. For me shiny beetles are no different.

Another one of my favorites is this one called the Carolina Tiger Beetle. This one was one cool Tiger Beetle. I was out at a park called Parr Park in Grapevine Texas. There was a bunch of these guys running about the light traps we were using during one of our field investigations which was a Moth Night. A moth night or mothing event is where you set out lights with different wave lengths and purposely attract insects to photograph and document them. I have been on several in the last couple of years and they are loads of fun. They are cool because you don’t always get to see the creatures of the nocturnal world that often if you are a day person. Me I am more of an afternoon and night person. I have never been much of a morning person.That doesn’t mean I won’t get up early some days and go early morning birding or something like that. I do that sort of thing all the time but the night time when it is really muggy and sticky outside the bugs just come from out of the wood work. I don’t suggest doing those kinds of events if you don’t like bugs touching you or if you have a fear of insects because they will get into you mouth and your hair. Anyway getting back on track. I had my flashlight on and I was just looking down to see what I could find. I saw a couple of purple streaks running around at the base of our sheets that the bugs would cling to while we took photos. These guys really catch your eye and the refection from a headlamp or a flashlight is amazing when the light bounces off these guys. It is amazing how shiny they are. That is why I love these guys because one they are appealing by vibrancy in color and by their amazing patterns and shades. They are amazing little creatures. They are tiny and you can easily miss them. That is why you will not have tour guide going to have a tour guide with a group of people looking for these guys. They are too small and will flee in an instant. Still going out by yourself will be your best bet on seeing these guys.

Another one of my favorite beetles is this kind. This one is known by only a scientific name. It is called Zygogramma Heterothecae. It is a mouth full I know. This photo was taken at Tarrant County College’s South Campus where I go to school. I found this guy on one of my study breaks. On most study breaks I either go to the school’s game room and hang out with the other nerds or I go out and see what insects I can find so I can upload them to iNaturalist. This guy was at one of the best places to look for insects on campus (the library). This guy was the first one I have seen. Just look at those markings; it almost looks like a tribal painting or something from a tropical land. It is amazing how these guys look. I posted it to the iNaturalist website and turns out it had never been found in the Metroplex before so I got to expand its range just a little bit. That is another factor that makes an insect my favorite for its rarity or if it is a new one for a new range of territory. I have expanded ranges for a lot of insects on iNaturalist in the three years I have been using it. It is not that I am a big shot or anything it is just that I like to take pictures of everything from common insects and birds to the really hard to see ones. It is often the small things that are the least observed. I don’t know just how many species in total I have expanded for but I have also found several firsts for many parks around the area. One of my friends tries to give me the big head and calls me a rockstar. The truth is I am no rockstar or super naturalist I am just doing what a citizen scientist does take photos and send them on the database website and let nature take its course. I mean it is cool that I have found a lot of species that are rare and maybe out of place but I am not one who likes to take credit; I am the kind of person that likes to give credit when it is due. I have always been modest in this case. But yes finding rare things like this adds to the value.

Sometimes a bug just has to look like a spaceship or an visitor from another world to get my vote. Many insects I encounter remind me of things from Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica (1978 version with the Ovion Bug People) among other science fiction movies and TV shows. This guy Delphinia Picta or Picture Winged Fly is a wild looking one. It almost reminds me of the Bounty Hunter Greedo that worked for Jabba the Hutt that Han Solo blew away with his laser pistol in Star Wars IV A New Hope. It has a head that looks just like Greedo’s face minus the green with the bumpy texture and the funny looking ears. This guy is just bizarre looking all together. It looks like a starship with a Greedo head. so that is kind of fun and adds to the favorites if they remind you of fun things like that. Many insects in my mind always look like a sci-fi or horror movie monster from the 1930s- 1960s with the B horror classics. That is just it with being a nerd you see things like that out in nature and as a huge nerd of science fiction and stuff like that I have a lot of fun with it. I seriously can’t be out with a group on a BioBlitz see a bug and shoot off my mouth with some kind of silly science fiction reference. Thankfully I am with people that get it so I am safe but yes it is true that I can’t go a day without referencing a TV show, movie, or book. I am just that kind of guy even when it comes to nature. I surprised no one has gotten sick of me yet in my naturalist group. Lets look at another insect that looks like an alien shall we.

This guy is called the Wheel Bug. Named after its weird Buzz Saw like blade on his midsection. I am surprised that when they made the Starship Troopers series they didn’t make a bug that looked like this monster. This guy is a true monster. I It conjurers up a lot of science fiction nightmares just by looking at it but man I live for this kind of stuff. I love weird looking bugs. The weirder the creature the more blown my mind is. Sometimes the things with a face only a mother could love are the best things to look at. This guy you do not want to pick up just FYI. It can bite and it bites hard. I have never been bitten but good golly I know people that have been bitten and they say it is a feeling you don’t want to have. It may not kill you but it can leave one nasty mark. This guy is a member of the Assassin Bug group and it is one of the largest. Most assassins don’t get this big but these guys are over an inch long in some cases. They are a true monster but heck just as long as you keep your distance they can’t hurt you. So that is one factor for me I guess. Some animals like elephants may remind you of Dumbo or a baby deer may remind you of Bambi. However if you are into bugs and a pop culture nerd you will probably be seeing some Close Encounters business. Just saying I have been on the sci-fi bandwagon all my life and let me tell you some insects get even stranger and bring even more science fiction stuff to the table.

Some times it just has to have a fun name to say and since we just went down a path of sci-fi reference I think this one would be great to talk about. This little butterfly is known as a Phaon Crescent. I think that name sounds so much like a ship name (just the Phaon part). This guy is a very pretty butterfly that looks very much like a starburst or a disco ball. It is a very interesting butterfly and is just as small as its sister species called the Pearl Crescent which we get here in Texas too. These are not as common for me on a more personal note but they do happen quite frequently. Both are really pretty but this one gets bonus points for having such a cool name.

Sometimes to be a favorite they have to look weird before you can figure them out and know what they are doing. As in this case for this little Yellow-collared Slug Moth. You see that arched thing? that is its butt. I am just going to say this now like I have said so many times I am glad I don’t have to put my face near my butt for protection. This moth is in its defensive position. I was in a group doing another event out at Parr Park and I was coming back with a few other and I spotted him on a garbage can and we couldn’t figure out what he was or what exactly he was doing. So yes sometimes the oddest bits of behavior help with the humor of a potential favorite observation.This guy was just doing what he does best when not looking for food or a mate. 1. he had chosen a good hiding spot that matched his color. 2. he was just in the defense position so that way nothing serious would happen to him if he was attacked. 3. It just looked funny to us. We all gave it crazy bewildered looks trying to make heads or tails out of it. Turns out many moths do the same thing like the Eggplant Leaf-roller Moth and others. So sometimes the things we don’t understand may seem like a good laugh and that could add to a fond memory.

So that is it some of my favorite insect moments frozen in time. I have tons more favorites but it is kind of hard to cram them all into a single blog post when you have over 5,000 observations and over 1,370 species on your life list. That is kind of hard to pick and choose all of your favorites. I would like to hear what your favorite animals are and how you pick and choose your favorites. So until we meet again readers stay tuned for more from me Galactic Bug Man. I will see you on the trail. See you soon! gotta run.

#insects #wild #behavior #nature #wildlife #texas #beetles #coleoptera #moths #lepidoptera #butterflies #parks #hikes #photographs #macro photography #close ups #up close #closer look #insect #bugs

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27dragons · 7 years

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So if you wanted some prompts I have some for AvAc Winteriron: 1) Bucky is crushing hard on Tony and is irrationally jealous of Misty, whose arm Tony made her. He also wants an arm spesifically made for him by Tony! Even if the one he has is working perfectly fine already!

2) After arriving at the Academy, Bucky is shown around by Tony, and is really drawn to him. He’s so impressed by everything Tony has done for the academy (not that Tony likes to mention it, he only does so in passing as if it isn’t important), and after staying there for a while he is slightly horrified by how some people treat him/take advantage of him all the time.

3) Every new song Bucky writes has subtle hints about how he is in love with Tony, not that Tony ever notices. Janet, however, does, and confronts Bucky about it to be sure he won’t break Tony’s heart, because she knows how Tony feels about Bucky as well.

These were so cute, I combined all three. This is nearly 6k, so ‘ware the readmore! (I’ll put it up on Ao3 as soon as I get a chance, for easier reading/bookmarking…)

—

“Hi,welcome to Avengers Academy!”

Buckyturned toward the voice, wary. When someone said “welcome” atHydra, it usually meant they were planning to humiliate you or getthe drop on you with an ambush.

Well,they could try. The Winter Soldier had carved out a niche of respectat Hydra, and he would make one here, if he had to.

“Usuallyit’s Jan or Pepper doing the welcome tour, but Pep’s offinterviewing some potential recruits and Jan’s right in the middleof planning next month’s parties, so I said I’d do it. So hi,welcome – I said that already, didn’t I? – um, I’m Tony Stark,nice to meet you!”

Buckylooked him over. Tony Stark had armored boots and a gauntlet on hisextended hand, and was wearing a garish red and yellow jacket overskin-tight jeans. Those jeans did not look practical for combat, butthey did an excellent job of showing off Tony’s legs. Tony hadartfully fluffy hair that made Bucky want to mess it up, and ascraggly attempt at facial hair that was kind of cute in its utterfailure. He’d started off with a bright smile, but it was beginningto fade, a crease forming between his eyebrows.

“Uh,okay,” Tony said, dropping the extended hand and rubbing it on hisother arm uncertainly. “So you’re the Winter Soldier, huh? Isthat… what you want us to call you? I mean, most everyone’s got acodename and, you know, a real name, but we’re pretty divided onwhat we want people to call us. I’m Tony and Jan is Jan and Pepperis Pepper unless she’s reallymadat you in which case she’s Ms. Potts. But you should see how madEnchantress gets if you try to call her Amora, and man, do notcallHulk Bruce, he smashes extrahardif you do that. And ‘Spider-Man’ thinks he’s maintaining asecret identity, so we pretty much humor him and call him that ifhe’s got his mask on, you know?”

Buckyconsidered this. “Names are nothing but words / it is the soulwithin that hurts,” he tried. Not the best meter or rhyme, butthere was a theme there worth exploring.

Tonystared at him blankly for a moment. “Um. So you’re… cool withwhatever, I guess. Okay. Well, I’m supposed to show you around thecampus, so come on, I’ll make sure you know where everythingimportant is!”

Tonyled Bucky around the campus in a wide arc. Bucky already knew thecampus layout, of course, having studied it in preparation forattack. But it was very different, seeing things with his own eyes,and Tony’s constant stream of chatter was often amusing.

“Twonightclubs, in fact,” Tony was saying proudly. “There’s theGalaxy club there–” He pointed toward a garish neon building.“–and the Guardians put on a mean death metal show, I gotta say.But a lot of us prefer something a little more homey, and that’sClub A. Pool table, jukebox, great dance floor.” He looked sidelongat Bucky, then shrugged. “Cap spends a lot of time in there, so…”

Buckydidn’t let himself wince, but he wanted to. His feelings about Cap– Steve – were… complicated. But Tony was looking at himhopefully, waiting for some sort of reaction, and Bucky was oddlydisinclined to disappoint him. “The bartender is a robot,” heobserved.

“What?Oh, yeah, I made him.”

“Byyourself?” It took – hadtaken–a team of three Hydra scientists to merely perform maintenance on Bucky’sarm.

“Oh,sure, robots are easy. The challenging bit was upgrading him so itdidn’t cause any long-term damage when his head comes off.”

Buckystared at Tony.

Tonyshrugged. “Crossbones keeps ripping his head off, and I don’tknow how many times I’ve tried to tell him they don’t like that,but he won’t listen, so it seemed easier to just make it so itwouldn’t hurt them too much, you know?” Bucky had no trouble believingthat. Crossbones was… unpleasant. It wasn’t enough for him toaccomplish his missions. He made it personal.

Tonywas still talking about the robot. “… already had someeasy-repair joints for the robots at the blasting range, so I justhad to find a way to–”

Nowthatsoundedlike something Bucky would enjoy. “Blasting range?” He swung hisfavorite rifle off his shoulder. “Show me.”

Tony’ssmile was all teeth. “This way.”

Janfound Tony in the library. She was supposed to be studyingentomology, which was usually one of her favorite subjects, but shecouldn’t help watching Tony. He was listlessly turning page afterpage without even really looking at what was on them. Instead, hisgaze kept drifting out the window toward the food court.

Maybehe was hungry; it wouldn’t be the first time Tony had gottenwrapped up in what he was working on and forgotten to eat. Though hedidn’t look particularly absorbed now, which meant he was brooding.Stewing. Maybe even sulking.

Janbrought up the social media aggregator on her phone and scrolledthrough it with a few flicks of her fingers. There had to be a reasonTony was acting so weird. He hadn’t gotten into a fight with Stevefor weeks; Jan had personally been making sure to take down all ofProfessor Pym’s posts on the message board calling for “volunteers”for his electricity experiments (honestly, Pym was cute but sometimeskind of thoughtless); there weren’t any new selfies from Crossbonesposing with Club A’s headless bartender or from Hulk showing off astolen cheese fridge.

Janscowled at her phone. If social media was failing her, it had to besomething huge. The last time Tony had been this listless was whenhe’d been moping about his dad, but he didn’t have thatguilty/anxious look that always gave him. The only other thing Jancould recall was when he’d been trying to convince Natasha to datehim and Nat had been–

Wait.

Waitwait wait.

Thatwasn’t Tony’s sulkingface.That was pining.

Janclapped both hands over her mouth so he wouldn’t hear her squee ofexcitement and realize she was watching him. This was something shecould help with! She would have to be crafty. Subtle. Tony sometimesobjected to her help.

First,she had to figure out who it was. She couldn’t have someoneunworthyattachedto her best friend.

Subtle,she reminded herself. She shrank down into her Wasp form and flittedthrough the library to land on Tony’s shoulder. “Hi!”

Tonyflinched a little at the buzz of her wings, but relaxed when he sawit was her. “Hey, Jan. Were you going to try to study? I can clearout.”

“Nah,I’ve got some entomology homework, but it’ll wait.” Shecritically examined the stitching on the collar of his jacket. It wasstarting to fray; she’d have to make him a new one soon. Heroeswere so hard on their clothes. “So, who’re we spying on?” Shepeered through the window, trying to see who was in the food courtthat Tony might be watching.

“I’mnot spying on anyone,” Tony said. Jan could heartheeye-roll; she was definitely on the right track.

MariaHill was at the coffee kiosk, but– ew, no. She was far too seriousfor Tony, and didn’t have much in the way of fashion sense, either.Tigra ran past, but she was obviously on her way to a fashion shootor an important nap or something, not someone Tony had been watchingfor the last half hour while pretending to read up on the latestengineering developments. Anyway, Tigra had a huge crush on Cap.Misty Knight was considering her options for lunch, but if Tony had acrush on Misty, Jan would’ve thought she’d have noticed earlier,since Tony had been working on Misty’s artificial arm for months.

Pepperand Kamala were chatting in the line for the shwarma stand, butKamala was basically everyone’s kid sister, and while Tony flirtedendlessly with Pepper, everyone – including Tony and Pepper – knewthere was nothing to that. Natasha was deep in discussion with Union Jackon one of the benches, probably listing all the different ways theycould kill a man with the hot dog she was holding. But Tony waspretty much over Natasha these days, Jan thought.

Ormaybe it was Union Jack? Jan considered that for a moment. Union Jack wasabout as gay as a guy could be without actually skipping everywhereand leaving daisy petals in his wake, and he’d never tried to hidethe way his eyes lingered on Tony sometimes. But Tony had alreadyturned him down (except for the body shots thing, and no one wascounting that),so it wasn’t him, either.

“Jan,”Tony sighed. “Really, it’s nothing.”

“Don’tbe an idiot,” Jan said, patting his ear. “You’re not that goodof an actor. This will go much faster if you just tell me who you’reso obsessed with!” Well, she’d never been that good at subtle, anyway.

Tonygroaned and nearly unseated her by dropping his face into his hands.Jan hovered for a moment and then re-settled on his shoulder,frowning out the window. “Come on,” she wheedled. “Don’t makeme beat it out of you. Is it Misty?”

“No,”Tony groaned.

“Areyou chasing Natasha again?”

“No.”

Janwas running out of options. “God, don’t tell me it’s Maria,”she begged.

Tonylifted his head to give her a disgusted look. “She’s even lessfun than Cap,” he protested. “Why would I even.”

“That’swhat I thought, but– Ooh, did you change your mind about Union Jack?”She could work with that. He was super-cute, and his colors wouldblend acceptably with Tony’s for couple-themed events. “I mean, Iknow you want everyone to think you’re straight, but–”

“Iamstraight,”Tony said firmly.

“Youdated Loki,”Jan pointed out.

“Onlyfor a couple of weeks,” Tony pouted. He dropped his face back intohis hands. “Anyway, Loki’s a girl sometimes.”

“Thatmight make you lessstraight,not more,”Jan mused. “We’ve talkedaboutthis, Tony. It’s good you want to make your dad proud and all, buthiding who you are is not the way to go about it! It’s not like hecan disown you for being bisexual.”

Tonywas quiet for a long minute, but the back of his neck was turningred. “Pansexual,” he corrected in the tiniest voice Jan had everheard from him. “I think.”

“Youdon’t have to know for sure,” she said, and patted his ear again.“I won’t out you, I promise.” He didn’t lift his head though,so Jan went back to looking out the window. “Except I still don’tknow who it is you’re–”

Oh.

OH.

Tonywasn’t looking at anyone in the food court after all. Past the foodcourt was the Quad. And on the Quad was the Winter Soldier, soulfullystrumming his guitar.

“Ohmy god.”

“Jan–”

“Ohmy god.”

“Don’t.”

“You’vegot a crush on BuckyBarnes.”

Tonygroaned, but didn’t deny it, which was confirmation enough for Jan.She was so excited that she couldn’t resist zipping around the rooma few times, trailing a barely-repressed “Eeeeeeee!” ofexcitement behind her like a banner. “Ohmigodohmigodohmigod!”

“Itdoesn’t matter,” Tony said, voice muffled by his hands. “Hebarely even lookedatme the whole time we were on the school tour. And maybe I’m notstraight, but he hastobe.”

“Whydoes he have to be straight?”

Tonygave her a despairing look. “He’s Captain Perfect’s best friendfrom the Stone Ages! Rogers is so straight that even my dad wouldprobably tell him to relax a little.”

Janfolded her arms and gave Tony her best glare. The one she practicedin the mirror to use on Enchantress, and people who mixed plaids.“Anthony Edward Stark, are you suggesting that straight andnot-straight people can’t be friends?”

“No!”Tony backpedaled. “He’s just so…” He trailed off, looking atBucky through the window again. Bucky had put his guitar away and wasplaying catch with a football-throwing device now.

Janwatched with Tony for a moment. “…Dreamy?” she suggested slyly.

“Yeah…”Tony shook himself, then shoved her, playfully. “Stop that! Youknow what I mean.”

Jandid know. There were a handful of students at the Academy who wereout of the closet, but not many. Certainly not as many as,statistically, there should have been. But that didn’t make it anyeasier to ask someone out, not knowing if they even liked whateveryou were. “Lucky for you,” Jan said, “you have me.I’ll find out for you!”

“Youwill?” The look of gratitude on Tony’s face was a testament totheir friendship. Or to his desperation. She wasn’t sure which.

TheQuad was a great place to hang out. It was wide open, not crammedwith buildings and other clutter. There was always a quiet spot forBucky to work on his music or practice throwing and catching.

Sometimes,there would be a new prospective student in the Quad, looking aroundand talking to everyone who passed. New students made the Academystronger, more able to stand against their enemies, so that was okay,even if Bucky didn’t always trust the candidates, especially theones who had recently fought against the Academy. Perhaps that washypocritical. But Bucky knew his own reasons for turning against hisformer institution. He didn’t know theirs.

Therewas frequently a challenger in the Quad as well, daring Academystudents to fight them. Sometimes, they triumphed, but Bucky’sclassmates banded together again and again, relentless and fierce,until the challenger retreated in disgrace. Bucky had not yet beencalled to stand against a challenger, but he took satisfaction inrefusing to allow them to disrupt his routine, in continuing to workout on the Quad, and showing off his arm so that the challengerscould see it and know what they might face.

(Hewasn’t the only one who enjoyed such tactics. The alien woman,Gamora, would sit on one of the benches for hours at a time, honingher sword and flipping it into the air, her cold gaze lockedrelentlessly on the challenger as it fell easily back into her hand.The Wakandan prince often chose the Quad to practice hislightning-quick fighting style, and the Black Widow, who wasintimidating even at her most friendly, had been known to don acostume of eldritch horror and… loom.)

Sothere was every reason for Bucky to spend almost as much time in theQuad as training at the blasting range. It certainly had nothing todo with the fact that Stark Tower overlooked the Quad, or that itsowner could often be seen through the windows, hard at work or evenlounging in the decadent rooftop hot tub.

Still,when a slender, red-clad figure emerged from Stark Tower’s mainentrance, Bucky noticed. He was a sniper; it was his job to noticethings. It was perfectly understandable that his heart rate wouldincrease as he evaluated a possible threat.

Somewhatless understandable was the sense of disappointment he felt when heidentified the figure as Misty Knight, but there was no one nearbywho knew him well enough to know what the subtle shift in hisshoulders or the tip of his head meant. Or to spot the way he tensedagain with the realization that he’d been out here on the Quad fora couple of hours, now, and he hadn’t seen Misty go in,which meant she’d been in Stark Tower that whole time. Perhapseven… overnight?

Helooked down at his guitar, but she had already spotted him watchingand changed the angle of her path.

“Heythere,” she said when she reached him. “You’re Bucky Barnes,right? I’m Misty. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

Wasshe going to warn him off? Her hand was extended as if to shake, butit was her artificial arm. Bucky knew how much damage hisarmcould do. But Steve had been trying to convince him that AvengersAcademy was different. That he could trust – well, maybe not allthestudents here, but mostofthem. He took her hand cautiously.

“It’swarm,” he said, startled.

Mistysmiled, wide and bright and not at all offended. “Yeah, that was acouple of upgrades back. Actually, I thought we could hang out alittle and compare notes, if you want?” She wiggled the fingers ofher prosthetic hand to indicate what she meant.

Thatseemed… good, actually. Talking to someone who knew what it waslike. Still, he hesitated. He’d meant to practice his guitar for awhile longer.

Tonyburst out of Stark Tower, running hell bent for leather. He grinnedand waved at them as he passed, late to Professor Pym’s class yetagain.

“Wecan swing through the food court and go have lunch in the park,”Misty was saying. “Have you tried the new pizza place?”

Therereally wasn’t anything keeping him in the Quad. He could practicelater. “Not yet,” he said, trying to remember how to smile, andgestured for Misty to proceed him down the path.

Thepizza was pretty good, but Bucky was less interested in that than inlearning more about Misty’s arm. It turned out that Tony had builtthat, too, and kept her supplied with upgrades on a regular basis.Much more frequently than Hydra had upgraded Bucky’s arm, which hadbeen whenever he’d managed to get it so damaged that it was easierto replace than repair.

“Oh,all sorts of things,” she answered when he asked. “There’s thetemperature thing – it’s not just cosmetic; the metal used to pullheat from my body in the winter and overheat me in the summer, and mywhole shoulder just achedfromit, you know?”

Buckydid know. He was used to ignoring it, but… he knew.

He wondered if Tony would take over maintenance to his arm, now. Maybe even upgrade it some. He thought about having Tony close enough to touch, warm breath spilling over his shoulder, strong hands delicately caressing Bucky’s innermost circuits... He shivered. He hadn’t allowed anyone so close since Hydra. It was a little terrifying.

Misty was still talking, heedless of Bucky’s wandering thoughts. “Andhe’s always got a new trick for smoother function or faster neuralresponse. Better waterproofing, a filter system to keep out dirt andstuff, power upgrades… All kinds of stuff. Seriously, Tony’s thebest.”

Hercolors were similar to Tony’s, Bucky couldn’t help but noticing– mostly red with black accents, and the arm was gold… Somethingturned over high in Bucky’s gut, oily and uncomfortable. Maybe thepizza wasn’t as good as he’d thought. “Are you and Tony…together?”

Mistysnorted indelicately. “No,” she said shortly. “He’sbrilliant, and he’s funny when he’s not trying too hard, and Iowe him more than I’ll probably ever be able to repay. But no waywould I date a boy who acts like Tony does.”

“Idon’t… understand,” Bucky confessed. Tony seemed like he wouldbe an excellent partner, clever and attentive and generous, eager toplease and adventurous, and handsome–

Oh.Oh no.

Itwasn’t fear, or the pizza. It was something much, much worse:

Acrush.

“Idon’t have anything against the guy,” Steve said as he lined uphis shot, which was utter hooey, because Steve obviously didhavesome kind of beef with Tony. “He’s just kind of… flighty.”

Buckyleaned against Club A’s bar and calculated Steve’s shot in hishead, the geometry of collisions blooming there almost as neatly asthe arc of a clean shot. If there was one thing Steve did well, itwas calculate ricochet. All that work with the shield, Buckysupposed. “He’s not flighty,” Bucky said.

“Maybethat’s the wrong word,” Steve allowed. He paused to take theshot, sending pool balls spinning across the felt. Two of themdropped into the waiting pockets. “He just never takes anythingvery seriously.”

Whateverhis eye for angles, Steve’s eye for people – or at least Tony –was obviously half-blind. “Are you kidding me?” Bucky asked. “Hedoes so much here – he built the blasting range, and he’s upgradedit at least twice! And the sparring ring–”

“Excusesto play with robots,” Steve snorted, walking slowly around thetable. “Just happened to work out for us.”

Buckyrolled his eyes. “Plushestill runs his business.”

“He’sgonna run it right into the ground if he doesn’t buckle down,”Steve said. “The last thing I saw him testing was some kind ofhoverboard toy. And then he comes in here playing big-shot, throwinghis money around.”

“Hey,it’s his money,” Bucky said mildly. He didn’t ask if thehoverboards were a thing he could get for himself, because honestly,that sounded a hell of a lot more fun than playing pool allafternoon. “And staying on top of his classes. He’s got straightA’s, you know, even though I think Pym’s got it out for him.”

“Just‘cause Tony won’t follow the standard safety precautions,”Steve muttered. “That’s not Professor Pym’s fault. Maybe hewouldn’t have such a hard time if he didn’t spend all his librarytime looking for books with pictures of pretty dames, or mockingeverything in the engineering journals.” Steve made another shot,then looked up at Bucky across the pool table. “Look, I’m nottelling you who you can or can’t like–”

“Gee,thanks, pal,” Bucky drawled.

“Ijust don’t want to see you get hurt,” Steve said, all earnestpuppy eyes. “I mean, I know you weren’t back yet when ithappened, but there was that incident a few months back where he wasin here letting Union Jack do bodyshotsoffhim. That’s not relationship material.”

Christ,Rogers was so full of bullshit, Bucky wasn’t sure why hedidn’t stink. If Tony had anything going with Jack, it would’vebeen all over campus. Hell, Bucky’d had lunch with Misty at thepark onceandit had taken three days to quash the immediate rumor that theyweredating. You’d think, between classes and jobs and superheroing,these folks wouldn’t have so much time to gossip. Bucky was aboutto mention that to Steve when the door opened and Steve’s face litup.

Peggy.Of course. The only person on campus who could make Bucky turninvisible. Steve put up his cue and jogged over to join her at thejukebox.

Buckytook another swig of his drink as he watched them dance. At leastSteve had finally learned a couple of moves. But god, it made himache with the desire to pull someone onto the dance floor himself.Someone slender and strong and unafraid of Bucky’s arm. Someonewho’d laugh and rise to the challenge, ready to risk failure forthe possibility of glory…

Buckysighed and finished his drink. He waved off the robot bartender whenit reached for a new can, and slumped out the door.

“Iheard the most interesting thing,” Natasha said in Tony’s ear.

“Gah!”said Tony, because she hadn’t been there just a second ago, andthen, “Why do you do that. Why.”

Natashasmirked. “Because it’s funny.” She stepped out of the cardboardbox she’d used to sneak up on him and dropped into the seat next tohis on the dorm patio. “I heard the most interesting thing,” sherepeated, somewhat more conversationally this time.

“Heard,or overheard?” Tony teased. He pried open the back of the gadget hewas tinkering with and examined the wiring.

“Heard,”Natasha said, faux-wounded. “Are you going to ask me what it was?”

Tonylooked at her sidelong, then fished the multitool out of his pocketand started unscrewing the circuit board. “I don’t know,” hesaid. “If it’s about how Loki and Enchantress got into anotherfight, you can save it. I heard about it already from Jan.”

“No,I got it from Jan already, too,” Natasha said. “Did she tell youthey were fighting about you?”

Tonyrolled his eyes. “Of course she did. I don’t know what she thinksI’m going to do about it. I dated Loki for, like, twoweeksbeforeI got sick of his attitude, and Enchantress only wants me because Idon’twanther.I really wish I hadn’t given her a key to the hot tub.” He heldthe circuit board up, checking the connections and switches. “Howcome the only people on this campus who are interested in me areex-villains?”He did some quick calculations in his head and flipped a couple ofswitches.

“Well,there’s Union Jack,” Natasha offered.

Tonyrolled his eyes. “He’s not actually interested in me, you know.He just spreads that around to make himself look more attractivelyunavailable. He only really wants me for the tech, to be the Q to his Bond.”

Natashadidn’t say anything. Tony finished screwing the circuit board backinto place, then hit the power switch. Well, thatdidn’twork. He turned it back off and reached for the multitool again. Heglanced at Natasha. She was watching him like he was one of themysteries of the universe. “What?”

“Nothing.”She leaned back in her chair. “Ask me what I heard.”

“Fine,whatever, tell me what you heard.”

“Iwas at the Winter Soldier’s open mic last night–”

“Oh,shit, that was last night?” Damn it. He’d been meaning to go tothat. What had he been doing last night? …Oh, right, he’d gottencaught up studying that alien armor down in SHIELD HQ’s basement.He really should start setting alarms for himself when he was downthere.

“Yes,”Natasha said. “And he had some great new lyrics to try out.”

“Well,that’s what open mic night is for, I guess.” Tony fidgetedaimlessly with the gadget, not wanting to telegraph his feelings tooobviously, even though it was Natasha and she probably already kneweverything just from the way he’d combed his hair this morning, orsomething. “I’m sorry I missed it.”

“Youshould be,” she told him smugly. “I think my favorite was the oneabout the ‘stark beauty of winter’ and the ‘red glow of dawn’,myself. Sif really liked the new ‘Snowmelt’ song, but I thoughtthe bit about it dripping into the forge’s fire was a littleoverdone. Also, the rhyme was a bit forced. It could use work.”

Tonylooked up at her. “He’s… really kind of impressed with the IcePalace, I guess?”

Natasha’smouth actually fell open. “You’re being even dumber than usualtoday,” she finally said. “That’s not what they’re about.”

Whatthe hell did that mean? “But the forge at the Ice Palace is theonly one we’ve got,” Tony pointed out.

Natashadropped her head into her hands. “You’re hopeless, Stark.Completely hopeless.”

“Excuseyou, I am fullofhope,” Tony shot back, grinning.

Natashashot him a Look that made him fear for his life, or at least hiskidneys, and stalked off, muttering under her breath.

So,Bucky liked the forge at the Ice Palace, did he? Maybe Tony shouldtry to spend a little more timethere. His blacksmith costume was pretty sexy, if he did say sohimself.

Janfound Bucky at the blasting range. “So, you’ve been here forwhat, a month now?” she said between zaps. “How’re you settlingin?”

“Fine,”Bucky said, absently taking aim. The strange thing was, he actuallymeant it. His memories had been steadily trickling back, and no onehad even hinted at taking them away again. There were people here whowere actually interested in his music, who attended open mic nightand invited him to jam sessions and sought his advice aboutharmonies. The classes were interesting – well, most of them. Thestaff seemed to think of the students’ well-being as people as muchas their value as assets. And while not everyone was friendly –Bucky and Crossbones both still went out of their way to sneer at eachother whenever they crossed paths – the atmosphere was much morerelaxed and easygoing than Hydra had ever been.

Andthere was Tony, of course. Bucky’s mouth curved in a small,unwitting smile.

Heactually likedithere.

“Youknow, Tony and I have been friends forever,”Jan said.

Buckyflinched, just a bit, and his shot went off-center, wide by a whole handspan.Damn it. He made himself take a slow breath and aim again. “I’veheard that,” he said neutrally.

“Soyou know that if you break his heart, I’ll have nomercy,”she said. She shot him a glare, and it should’ve been cute andeasily-dismissed, that stubborn pout and furrowed brow, but Bucky hadseen what her stings had done to the target ‘bots, and her tinyWasp form would be ideal for ambush. It was generally acknowledgedthat despite her fixation on fashion and social media, she was one ofthe more formidable students here. “And I don’t just meancheating,” she said fiercely. “He’s sensitive,you have to be nice to him! Don’t yell at him for working toohard because he tries to act all ‘man of leisure’ but he’sactually superbusyall the time, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll respectthat. And don’t take him for granted because he’s already had todeal with just too many people who only want his money or his tech.And you’d better appreciate his genius, too! He’s the smartestguy on campus!”

Buckyknew better than to show fear. “We’re not dating,” hepointed out when she finally had to pause to draw a breath.

Jandemolished her target and huffed in exasperation as she waited for itto reset. “Well, that’s because he’s also kind of an idiotsometimes. You just need to be a little more obvious.”

Buckyactually lowered his gun to stare at her. “More obvious.”

“Yep!”She shrank and took to wing, and destroyed the target again withthree quick shots.

“Isthere a single student on this campus who hasn’t figured out how Ifeel about him?” Bucky asked.

“Um…”She resumed her human size and thought about it. “Well… Danny canbe a little oblivious sometimes,” she said. “And Rocket doesn’tcare about anyone’s love life.” She sniffed indignantly.

“AndTony, of course,” Bucky added. Just saying the name sent a shiverthrough him, as if it were forbidden. “He came to open mic threedays ago and I sang the song I’ve been saving for him, ‘TheGlowing Heart’. I don’t know how much more obvious I can get.”

Jansmiled and reached up to pat his shoulder. “You’ll figure itout,” she said. Her eyes narrowed. “You’d better.”

“Ug,she’s at it again,” Taskmaster growled as he stomped through thedoor into Club A.

Buckyglanced up, then looked away again. Taskmaster was supposedlyreformed, but Bucky didn’t trust him. He spent too much timehanging out with Loki and Enchantress.

“Who?”Crossbones demanded from the spot he’d commandeered on the dancefloor.

Buckyhad almost turned around and left when he’d spotted Crossbonesalready in the place, but they both came from Hydra. Crossboneswouldn’t see it as Bucky simply wanting peace and quiet; instead,it would read as weakness.

Whatever.He’d only wanted a drink, anyway, before band practice.

“Amora,”Taskmaster snorted. He refused to call her Enchantress, even when shefumed at him. It was one of the few things that Bucky liked abouthim. “She’s trying to hypnotize Stark again. What the hell doeseveryone see in him, anyway?”

Buckycould have answered that, but why would he? If they couldn’tappreciate Tony without being told–

Wait.Hypnotize?

Buckythrew back the rest of his drink and barrelled out of the club,heading for the Quad at not quitehistop speed. He slammed to a halt when he saw them, the Enchantress’magic a sickly green aura that slithered into Tony’s mouth andeyes.

Tonystaggered under it, weak, and stared at Enchantress with wide,adoring eyes that made Bucky’s stomach churn with anger and disgustand fear.

Evenas Bucky watched, however, Tony shook off the effects of the magic,his dopey grin curling into a sneer. He turned his back with a rudegesture and started to walk away, but the Enchantress was alreadysending out her magic again, dragging him back in again.

Bucky’shands curled into fists. Atit again,Taskmaster had said, which meant this wasn’t anything new.The Enchantress tried to drag Tony into her trap often. And despitehaving no protection from magic – certainly not Asgardian magic –Tony had so far managed to resist her.

God,the strength of will that must take… Coulda flightymando that, Steve?Buckymentally challenged.

Butwhy the hell hadn’t anyone put a stop to this? Fury, or even Odin?Did it amuse them to see Tony so weakened? There were students, aswell, fully capable of blocking the Enchantress’ lure.

Buckygrowled, anger rising, and pushed himself into motion, stalkingtoward the tableau. “Leave him alone, witch,” he snarled at theEnchantress. He wrapped his hand around Tony’s arm and tugged himaway, making straight for Stark Tower.

Buckyfelt it, the instant the last tendrils of the Enchantress’ magicsnapped. Tony stumbled a few steps and straightened, then looked atBucky in surprise. “What…?”

“Hadto get you away from her,” Bucky said through clenched teeth. Hedidn’t stop moving until they’d pushed into the lobby of StarkTower.

“Awayfrom…” Tony turned around to look behind them, though he didn’ttwist hard enough to free his arm from Bucky’s grasp. His eyeswidened. “Enchantress? Really? You… rescued me?”

Heatflooded Bucky’s neck and cheeks. “I dunno ‘bout that,” hesaid. “You seemed to be holdin’ your own. I just… couldn’tstand to watch it.”

Tonywas looking at him, now. “No one’s ever done that for me before,”he said, voice soft with wonder.

Buckybit back the first half-dozen comments that sprang to mind. (“Yourstrength does not obligate / you to carry all the weight” wasn’ta bad starting point for a lyric, maybe a song.) Tony didn’tstop looking at him, though, his eyes wide and warm. “Well, I did,”Bucky finally said.

“Yousure did,” Tony said. “Thanks.” He smiled, and it lit up hisface like the sun. Bucky swayed into it like a plant seeking themorning light.

Moreobvious,he thought, and said, “Don’t suppose you’d like to go get adrink?”

“What?Oh, uh, sure, yeah,” Tony stammered. “Victory drink, thatsounds–”

“Imean like a date,” Bucky said, and Tony’s eyes rounded. Wow, Janhad not been kidding atallaboutTony’s level of obliviousness. “I really like you,” he added, just to be sure.It came out a little too loud, verging on panicked. If Natasha was sneaking into Tony’s cheese fridge again, she was going tobust something laughing at them.

Buckydecided he didn’t much care. He let go of Tony’s arm, finally,and instead lightly brushed back the tips of Tony’s hair where theywere drooping toward his face. “I like you a lot,” he said.

Tonyswallowed, but he didn’t back away. He just kept staring at Buckywith those pretty, warm eyes. “You’re not– Really?”

“Yeah,Tony,” Bucky said. He dug deep and dredged up a smile that wasnearly a grin. “Come on, doll, let’s paint the town red.”

“IronMan red?” Tony asked, teasing.

“Youbet,” Bucky agreed.

Tonyslipped his arm through Bucky’s. “You’re on, hot stuff.” Helaughed briefly. “Oh, man, wait’ll I tell Jan she doesn’t haveto stick her nose in it, after all!”

#tony stark #bucky barnes #winteriron #buckytony #avac #jan van dyne #natasha romanov #steve rogers #assorted others #prompt fill #Anonymous

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galacticbugman · 5 years

Text

Wildlife at TCC South Campus

Here I am on a recent hike with some our our Student Activity members during our recent spring fest. I have always wanted to lead a hike on campus and share with people just just how many organisms we have on site and how important they are to our campus ecosystem. TCC South Campus may not look like the best place for wildlife but you would be totally mistaken. There is plenty of things to look at if you know where to look.

I have been studying Tarrant County Community College Wildlife on two campuses the Southeast and South Campus. I still go to the South Campus but I did go to the Southeast Campus at times. I still go out to their ponds to look for wildlife. I must say that both are rich in wildlife but South Campus holds some particularly special creatures that always make me stop and start observing them. Let me dive into a few from years past and my most recent findings. Let me point out that this is something that was suggested to me in a round about way.

A particular special creature that I always look for in late April to early May is the little chirpy and lively Cliff Swallow. We get two types of Swallow on Campus but these are my favorite. They like to nest at the Technology building often and they gather in great numbers and build their nests from mud and saliva. They often get into minor disagreements and pick on each other if someone winds up at the wrong nest. They are just minor squabbles with very little violence. They may peck a little and may flit around and slap another with their wings but it is over pretty quickly. This year I have not seen them yet which is kind of odd for them. Normally they are here now but this year they are coming in late. We do have their close cousin which is just as lively. The Barn Swallows are there now making their nests. These guy are migratory and come all the way from Capistrano and nest in this area of Texas and a few southern areas. They are one of my favorite things to watch when I am on study break. I always take my camera with me just in case I make some sort of personal discovery. I have to stand back a little because these guys are fast and I have had a few close calls with some of these birds. I had one almost run right into me and let me tell you that wouldn’t have felt good if he hadn’t veered off. Still a fun bird to watch when I am on campus.

On hot and muggy days we get a ton of moths. I was walking around the engineering building which is one of our hot spots for insects and birds. I was walking along the breeze way path that has a solar panel canopy and was walking along the side where the classrooms were and I spotted this moth and almost stumbled. This is Tersa Sphinx moth caught me off guard and I almost fell. This is the first and only time I have ever seen this moth. I have friends who have seen them before many times but for me I don’t get to see big moths that often but we get quite a few big moths as I may have mentioned in the past. There are times where I want to do a moth night on campus and see what goes on in the nocturnal world on campus. It is a world rarely seen by some but in my experience you see some of the coolest things at night. Basically in the day time you see some moths that are sleeping. This guy was waiting for the night to return. I don’t see too many big moths on campus but there are quite a few that I have to say totally blew me away. TCC South Campus has a lot of interesting moths. Let us visit another moth that I saw late summer day.

Here is one that I found near the Nursing Building a couple of semesters back. It was when I was still taking math courses at the Nursing Building and I was outside just before my class started. I had run into a married couple I know from the Texas Master Naturalist program and the Native Plant Society of Texas North Central Texas. They had just walked into their exercise class when I saw it. This guy was on the round wall that looks like something you would see in the film Lord of the Rings the wall looks like something from the Shire. Anyway this Vine Sphinx caught me completely off guard too. I love giant moths and I have documented about five big moths on campus most of them are Sphinx Moths. This guy was easily three inches from head to tail and three inches at widest point. Some of my friends call this guy the “Stormtrooper” or it may remind you of Darth Vader for it looks like one of the masks from the Star Wars franchise. I have to agree that it looks more like a Stormtrooper. South Campus is home to many kinds of moths but there is also some interesting beetles to be found here. Some of them are considered to be rare.

A few projects have been made on the iNaturalist site dedicated to TCC Wildlife. I have actually made one that encompasses all of the colleges in the TCC District. This guy came off to me as a little strange. I was walking one day before class. I was at the library which is another hot spot on Campus. Insects like to hang around on the pillars and just chill. This leaf beetle struck me as very unusual. He has a pattern that make me think of tribal print from Africa or something. This is a kind of Leaf Beetle that is called Zygogramma Heterothecae. I know that is a mouthful but it is the only name that I know this one by. This is one of my favorite beetles for when I documented it on the site it turned out to be the first one on spotted in the Metroplex. I didn’t expect to have such rarities on campus. Before 2016 I didn’t really do photography on campus. I did it else where but not here. It was not until 2016 when I became a Texas Master Naturalist and began to study the wildlife on campus. As they say better late than never. Still I have made over three hundred observations on Campus in just the matter of a few years. I haven’t seen too many rare things on Campus but I have seen a few.

On our recent Spring Fest Hike that I lead we found this guy. This is one of those ant-mimic beetles. When we saw it looked just like an ant; it was small and even moved like an ant but it was far from it. It is a beetle in the Checkered Beetle family and is known but (here comes another technical name) Phyllobaenus unifasciatus. This is one that had never been found in Fort Worth before according to iNaturalist. I use iNaturalist as a guide in many cases. It has become the tool that I normally use in all my outdoor adventures. It was kind of a cool spotting. I know the photo is a little dark but there was a lot of cloud cover. So this is all I got of the beetle.

Today I made a very interesting find at the Wildflower Restoration area at the front of the Campus that goes all the way from the front parking lot to I-20. This guy is the Colorado Potato Beetle. I found him sitting in a Desert-Chicory plant. I wanted to get a better shot of him so without any hesitation. He did wind up barfing orange goo all over my hand but it that is when I put him back. These guys in the wild feed primarily on the members of the nightshade family but in the agriculture world these guys are very devastating to Potato crops. Though not rare this was the first one to be found on Campus grounds. It had been one I had been searching for since high school. I was in the Future Farmers of America Program and I participated in the State Entomology ID Contest and this was one that we had to study about. I had seen it in the contest arena but I have never seen it live until now. It is almost dime sized but much smaller than I had anticipated. I love it when I can find really cool things like this on campus.

Along the exercise track on the left side of the Wildflower Restoration area lies the area I called the “Mud Puddle” It is just a low area that collects with water and last winter I decided to walk around there to see if there was any winter birds that I could see. Ever so often I would walk around the tall grass and a bird would shoot out from the tall grass. This was the only shot I could get of any of the birds. This bird is one of the many winter visitors that TCC South Campus gets called the Wison’s Snipe. I did a report on these back in high school and this one kind of hit home for me. They are know for their elaborate flight displays and often make loud whistling sound with their tail feathers. they maybe a drab colored bird but their patterns (shown here) are dazzling. the dark stripes down the back, the little ruddy colored tail feathers, the black secondaries of their wings. At first I thought they were another bird called the American Woodcock or what some people refer to as the Timberdoodle. It almost has the same body shape but the Woodcock sits lower to the ground and makes a little Weemp! or Meemp! that sounds nasally. These guys let out a loud barking alarm call that sometimes startles me. Sometimes things are so quite and I am focused then I get too close and then I hear that and my heart jumps to my throat. This is one of those special birds I see at Southeast Campus too.

In the summer time we have a plant that grows at the corner of the sceince building nearest to the corridor that takes you down the path to the engineering building. The plant (seen here) is called the Flame Acanthus. One day I was out making my rounds just killing time when I saw something moving with jerky movement. I stopped and got my camera in focus and took this photo of a hummingbird. I am still in a debate if it is Black-chinned or Ruby-throated but it is one of the two. This is the best shot I have of a Hummer feeding on a flower. This is one of the truly magical shots I have ever taken on Campus.

A declining species that we have on Campus is the raptor like Loggerhead Shrike. Some days when I am on my way to school and I come to pull into the campus drive way closest to the Football Stadium across the street I will see these birds on power lines. However on the day I took this one I was walking the track with my mother. We had some time to kill and we deiced to take a brisk winter walk. I spotted this guy in a tree and knew exactly what is was. These guys are known for being a bird of pray (raptor) trapped in a song-bird’s body. These guys have a beak like a raptor and a the sounds of a songbird. They have a problem they can’t tear prey with their small birdie feet but they have a solution. They will catch what they find and impale them on a sharp barb. I have seen mice and snakes on some of the trees on campus and my only thought is that the Loggerhead Shrikes have been there. They are sadly declining due to human interference by architectural advancement. It is a pity really these birds are one of my favorites and we need to do all we can to protect these birds for they keep rodent, insect, and snake populations in check. They are one of the good guys of the open prairie and that is the place they call home. So we should be making more prairie and not tearing up more land to put parking lots and things. The more food that these guys have on a tree will make him more attractive to the ladies as I saw in a PBS nature special. With more food in the fridge so to speak he is stronger and able to provide more for their young.

Let us not forget about the cute little furry guys that call our campus home. This is one that doesn’t always occur on campus but it does from time to time; meet the Striped Skunk. The engineering building is a hive of wildlife like I have said many times. This skunk was just one of the many species I found out there. This guy was in the blue drain pipe when I came around from making a bug run. I saw something black and furry and it didn’t look exactly like a feral cat. So I walked around to see if he would come out again. I then came back and then I saw that white part of his head and I then raised my camera and began to tell myself it was a skunk. He didn’t seem to sure if he wanted to come out of the pipe or not. He was pretty hesitant to come out. He would pull in and come out and make little sounds. Then finally he jumped out and startled himself and raised his tail. I was pretty far back and not anywhere near his firing range for he was turned away from me. This guy is the first wild skunk I have ever seen in my life. May not be a rarity for some people but for me it is. Normally these guys are seen the night so this could have wound up a dicey encounter but he didn’t try anything. Normally they are solitary only coming up to another one during breeding season. The males mate with the females and then wonder off the females raise their young by themselves and then once the young are able to fend for themselves they will leave mom and then she is back to being solitary. Skunks are one of my favorite mammals. I used to feed one at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge so this was a really neat encounter.

Let me take sometime to show you one of the most common of our mammals. We get a lot of Virginia Opossums on our campus. This one I got the day before spring fest. This guy was in a rush to find a place to rest. He looked like he was in a fever state looking for shelter. He was running around the Rotunda and going back and forth not knowing which direction to go. When I took this shot he almost looked like he was at a loss. He put his hand on the outer wall and was looking right at me. It was almost like he was saying “Talk about a rut.” I love the opossum but many people don’t seem to appreciate them because they look like big rats. They are not all that bad in fact you should consider yourselves very lucky to have these in your backyard and in your forests for they are the number one tick zappers on the planet. They eat more ticks than any other animals and that helps cut back on Lyme Disease and other horrible tick related ailments. In my book the Opossum is Awesome! It is one of the heroes of the natural world for it keeps the human and pet pests away and help save lives. So the next time you see an opossum just think it is on the prowl to do you a big favor.

So this is a representation of the three main groups of animals we have on campus. I wish I could go into all of them for they all have something wonderful to tell. Each animal and person have a story. TCC South Campus is known for its quite atmosphere, clubs, and its bell tower but for me TCC South has a lot more to be recognize for. It may just be a school to some but to me it is a wildlife hot bed, a wild place; a place for wildlife to thrive. It is a habitat for countless species. Many people don’t take the time to notice the wildlife on campus. However when I am on campus I am always checking out every nook and cranny that I can get to to find the next best thing. Their is a magic to TCC South and it is not too hard to find it. The wildlife on campus is really special to me for I have been studying it for a while. It is vital that we take care of it and keep planting native vegetation and keeping it clean so that way more things can show up. Most of the things we get are arthropods but we get a lot of birds too. We get a good cross section of things. Some people don’t take the time to enjoy what I think is the most special thing about the campus. It is a hidden world to most but for me it is a world I love to lose myself in. Observing these things and documenting and discovering what other creatures call this campus home. For me this the true magic of TCC. Sure it is a peaceful place but the animals that we share with it add to that natural ambiance of the campus. The South Campus is by far the wildest place I have ever attended for schooling. It has a whole plethora of wildlife that I love to explore and even if it is just for a few minutes a day or about an hour a day I never miss out on personal discovery. This is what I want to share with people on campus. There is a whole world different from our own out there and that is why I created the South Nature Club to help people understand and appreciate the world of wildlife on campus and beyond. It is a wonderful feeling to meet a new creature on campus and it makes me want to tell people the value of that creature or organism. I hope this has been a little window to my feelings on Campus wildlife. A little window from the eyes of a student and a budding naturalist.

I am Zachary Chapman and I will see you on the trail.

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