Liberty

      Here is another fiddle tune that I played on my banjo.  Duane also recorded this piece, which is why the sound quality is better than most of my videos.  This particular arrangement is by Mike Iverson, and the tabs are available for free.  I know a lot of folks are opposed to tabs, so I'll add my two cents.  I don't believe I could consider myself a good musician if I only used tabs, but they do help me learn.  I use tabs on some songs and then try to incorporate what I learned from the tabs when I work out my own arrangements for songs.  By using the tabs, I can learn from Mike, even through we are geographically separated.  Yes, I also believe that it is up to the individual player to develop their own style, and I'm working on mine. However, I can still be influenced by others including Mike.  His melodic style has definitely influenced me.  I still make my own music, but it would be a shame not to learn from these tabs just for the sake of saying, "I don't use tabs."  By the way, I have been playing for 2 years now!  As you can tell, I still need to work on keeping time, but I'm getting better.  Soon, I'll post a then and now video that anybody considering starting a musical instrument should find inspiring.

Herps at Telogia Creek

A Florida cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti) that I  came face to face with as I climbed some stumps.  I could tell that this one was about to shed because the eye is cloudy blue and the skin is pale.

      In scientific fields it is often important for one to specialize in a certain area of study.  As you probably already know, I am specializing in conservation of endemic fishes.  However, I have rarely met a biologist who hasn't had at least a general understanding of other organisms around them, and based on my personal experience, I think it is safe to say that most are still interested with groups of organisms (biologists call these groups taxa) that aren't within their particular specialization.  For example, I am always noticing the native plant life around my and I also like herps (reptiles and amphibians).  So, even though I didn't catch any of the fish I was looking for on my last collecting trip, I still had a good time because I encountered some cool reptiles and amphibians.