Summer in the Butterfly Garden

Back in early May, I decided to give myself a birthday present and do something beneficial for my yard and wildlife by planting a butterfly garden.  I spent a large part of the summer tweeting about the Maryland native plants that I chose to attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, but wanted to share a little more of the story here. I took what was the area I had been using as a tree nursery, and cleared a little more space for over two dozen species of native shrubs and flowers.  The plot went from this...

Happy National Fossil Day!

The 2012 National Fossil Day logo, from the National Park Service website.

The 72nd Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology starts today, and the morning has already been full of great talks. But it's also the 3rd year that National Fossil Day is being celebrated. The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences has a bunch of great events going on all day, as do many other museums, parks, and centers across the country. Be sure to check out the National Fossil Day website for events in your area, and celebrate discovery, science, and prehistoric life!

(This post will be updated with images, links, and additional goodies as soon as I can find that reliable Wi-Fi hot spot I so desperately seek. If you're at #2012SVP and you know where it is, let me know @Superoceras. Thanks!)

Another Day, Another WIP

I now have at least a dozen paleo-art related projects that I've been really excited for, started, and then left on the back burner.  This is one of the more recent that I had hoped to have done for the latest ART Evolved gallery, but alas, still just a work in progress.  Meant as a tribute to the recent series 7 episode of Doctor Who titled "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", I had hoped to surround the TARDIS with lifelike reconstructions of the ornithodirans featured in the show.  Then I realized I left out the fuzzy juvenile tyrannosaur.  Now if I could just figure out where to put it.

"Ornithodirans on a Spaceship", a work in progress.  Pencil on paper. 

Brace Yourselves: SVP is Coming

Alright boys and girls.  It's been too long.  I shame myself. And as Earth Science week begins with the 72nd SVP Annual Meeting and National Fossil Day right around the corner, I figure I'd better get on the ball.  I will be in Raleigh, and I hope to see many of you there.  But if you can't find me in the convention center, and I don't harass you to buy a raffel ticket, look for (one of) the (many) individual(s) wearing one of these snazzy buttons.  They can help you locate me, anything else you're looking for, or just lend a hand (or other homologous structure)!

During the meeting, I do plan to blog as much as possible.  And I will also be tweeting quite a bit, so look for the official #2012SVP hashtag and get in on the conversation!  See you in North Carolina!