Makin up names
MadMarshall, etal,
This might be a bit off-topic (not lookin fer gold.), but years ago when I lived in a different neighborhood, I became interested in hunting wild ginseng.
Luckily, there was a Nature Park about 10 minutes from my house. This park had some open grassy fields surrounded by old forest that had hills and ravines with drainage creeks at the bottom. The forest areas were very shady and the open fields sunny.
There were intersecting dirt walking paths around the upper edges of the hills and through the fields. It was a great park for nature walks, bird watching and occasional jogging.
During the Spring, Summer and Fall, I frequently visited my secret patches of ginseng, making notes in a pocket-size spiral notebook on the growth stages, whether the plants had two, three or more prongs, general height of the plants, whether there were flowers , green or red berries and how many plants there were in each patch. I also recorded compass settings and drew icons of various significant forest features so I could return to each patch easily.
This research project lasted about 5 years until my wife and I decided to move and with that my interests went in other directions.
My point here is that when you have a serious project-goal going on out in the wild, it is best to keep detailed records so you can return to specific areas and continue with the project, making progress and finally reaching your goal. Of course, there are alternate methods of recording details if you don't like to make notes, like videos, still-camera pictures or maybe you have an excellent memory (Oh God, I wish I did !
).
Good luck whatever your goal might be !
ToddB64
