FINALLY SOMEONE DESIGNED AN APP THAT I THINK IS TOTALLY COOL!!

The good people at NPR recently reported on an app for your smartphone or tablet with some cool side effects. The average Joe or Jane on the street could help to locate species which has been described hundreds of years ago but never photographed or you could help uncover a totally new species. HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE?! (The complete story can be found here.)
Think about it if your like me you photograph all sorts of cool things that you have no idea what is for instance:

Slime mold in spore stage according to a botanist friend of mine. 

Or this still as yet unidentified stuff.

Anyone out there who knows what this stuff is please let me know. It looks wet yet isn't and a friend ruled out it being a type of lichen.

On the iNaturalist.org website you can see what kinds of cool things people have spotted in your area; post pictures of cool stuff you've seen and can't identify, or search through some of the online field guides posted there. Even look at posts from around the world. Think about planning your next vacation based on something you saw posted on the app.

This new app got me thinking about an article I read in the New York Times a few years ago about mapping roadkill  to better understand where and what types of animals become pancaked on asphalt in California and Maine. (To read the article click here.)  Maybe someone should create a road kill app, so we can all become more aware of what is lurking along the countries roadsides and urge highway managers to consider creating more animal bridges in areas with high collision rates. Want to check some cool animal bridges click the National Wildlife Federations blog. 

So, instead of looking for Pokemon let's take and post pictures of the cool REAL things we see in nature.

Happy searching!!