I have an idea

While I am still working on Udacity classes, I really want to start working on my own personal project. For years I have been passionate about plants, especially identifying wild native plants. You can probably tell, since most of the photos that make it into this blog are plants.

In college plant taxonomy was by far my favorite class. I loved that class. It was just four guys, the teacher, and myself. In retrospect my final project was “sort of phoned in.” It involved going out to a nearby park, several times a week over the course of a few months, and documenting the growth of the spring plants, and the seed dispersal methods they each used. I really didn’t take personal observation seriously, and at the last minute I sort of “Alta Vista-ed1” for a good part of the information. The way I didn’t pursue my college classes with my whole heart still bothers me, and that’s why I really want to complete this Udacity nanodegree. I want to prove to myself I can work hard at something difficult, and push through, and complete it.

But back to the plants.

I love plant books!

I want you to see wildflowers as your friends.

While I know other plant ID sites and apps already exist, this one is going to be my own. Everyone starts with a first project, and, yes, this may be ambitious, but it’s a topic I really enjoy. Ideally, I want to code the web app, sketch the art,  write the text, and take the photos of the plants. Now that probably isn’t going to be exactly how this works out, or else it would be a site that only helps you identify plants that live in my back yard. But it’s a dream, goal, and working idea.

Indentiflora_2015So Identiflora.com was born. If you go there, there is nothing to see. I won’t even link you to the  boring parked page. But I registered the name and drew a little app icon.
I’m excited about this!

 

1That’s what searching was called before it was Google, and after it was Lycos.

Turning over an old leaf

I live in Ohio, which is the land of four, distinct, beautiful seasons. Granted, I think Summer is far too short, and Winter is far too long (because I’m always so cold, bleh), but I wouldn’t give any of them up! So this year, watching the leaves fall and die without much of the brilliant color we usually have, was unfulfilling. We had a lack of rain this Summer and it stressed the poor things out.

But even so, I’m so glad that you can see the Creator’s hand in the turn of the hours, and seasons, and years. Sometimes the season you are in (like disgusting, cold winter) feels like it will last forever, and you hate it. But joy comes in the morning (or the Spring), and season does follow season – even if some are seasons of drought, and some are seasons of refreshment.

So take heart, tomorrow may not be a perfect warm Summer day, but it will be new, and different, and was given to you as a gift – glorify God with it, and abide in Him as you watch for the seasons to change.

Why Yellow There!