Natural History | Mary Anning

She sells seashells on the seashore
The shells she sells are seashells, I’m sure
So if she sells seashells on the seashore
Then I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

I've missed her birthday by months, but let's talk about Mary Anning, who is thought to have been the inspiration for the poem above.

I first read about her last year, and considering I'm a woman with a (un)healthy interest in paleontology, that's something of a tragedy. I picked up a copy of The Fossil Hunter by Shelley Emling on a lark and was subsequently consumed with anger that I'd never heard of Mary Anning before. I had been obsessed with natural history since childhood - how had all mention of her completely escaped my notice?

In hindsight, it isn't very surprising. Mary Anning was a 19th century fossil hunter and paleontologist who is perhaps most famous for her discovery of several Icthyosaurus skeletons, and the first plesiosaur. Born in 1799 in Lyme Regis to an impoverished family, Mary Anning collected curiosities on the beaches surrounding her home. She had an amazing eye for fossils and took great care to collect them on the dangerous outcrops of Regis, risking life and limb in the pursuit of science.

Unfortunately, if predictably, Mary did not receive the recognition she deserved during her lifetime, and was shunned by the male-dominated scientific community in London. Her part in her own discoveries was left out of the scientific papers publishing her work. While there was a resurgence of interest after her death, she is often forgotten about in the modern public consciousness.

If we're going to talk about paleontology to young kids, then we owe it to them to discuss the women in the field, past and present. It would have done a world of good to me as a young girl to know more about female paleontologists, and female paleontologists deserve to have their work recognized.

I'm hoping the next time I'm back in England I can take a detour to the Lyme Regis Museum, which was built on the site of Mary Anning's home. You should also check out Mary Anning's Revenge, an awesomely named website run by two awesome women working to bring awareness to women's issues in STEM fields.

(an interesting aside - I share my birthday with Mary Anning's death day. Creepy).

The Huntington Library | The Gardens

For the past three years, every time we've driven through Pasadena, I've pestered my best friend when we pass the sign for The Huntington Library. We have to go! 

Minolta SRT 101 & Fujifilm X-TRA ISO 800

I work in a museum, but I can't help visiting other museums during my time off (I suppose that's how you know you're in the right field), so when my 25th birthday rolled around, I knew exactly where I wanted to go to celebrate. Yes, I am a fun and exciting person, why do you ask?

Minolta SRT 101 & Fujifilm X-TRA ISO 800

The grounds are gorgeous, and I could have spent many more hours just wandering around (well, the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak - I need better shoes). I live in a desert, which is a lovely environment on its own, but it was refreshing to be around so much damn green. 

My favorite area was definitely the Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science, a large, classic iron and glass greenhouse that was filled with interesting interactive exhibits - and plants, lots of plants. I'm the exact opposite of a green thumb and know precisely zero about the botanical sciences, but I loved being surrounded by this little capsule of nature. It was hot, humid, and lovely.

Minolta SRT 101 & Fujifilm X-TRA ISO 800

My trip the Huntington Library was also the first time in around two years that I really put my film photography skills through their paces. Looking back through the photos, it's clear I'm rusty - some of the grain is intolerably high, the photos from my Yashica Mat are basically all a wash from camera shake - but I don't really care. It was extremely satisfying to go back to film, and I'm going to keep practicing.

Minolta SRT 101 & Fujifilm X-TRA ISO 800

The Huntington Library is full of treasures, and has some amazing exhibit design to boot. If I lived closer, I would have already shelled out the (considerable) money for a membership. More to come!

Ruminations | Back in the Saddle Again

The blog has been quiet - mostly because I haven't been sure what to do with it. 

Originally it was conceived as a way for me to espouse my passion for natural history, a subject I had zero opportunity to talk about in real life. Now I actually work in a natural history museum and it's 99% of what I talk about in real life. Funny how life works! But because of that, this blog has been collecting dust. 

To be fair, I've always been more of a generalist than a specialist, and I like to dabble in multiple hobbies and disciplines. I should have realized a blog focused solely on one topic was never going to work for me. I like the idea of a natural history blog, but in practice it wasn't going to happen. 

So what am I going to talk about in my little corner of the internet? Natural history - of course! Museums - all the time. Travel, film photography, books - they're all going to show up here at one point or another. This will end up being more of a personal project than anything, and if people decide to join me for the ride, so much the better.

I have film in the mail and a spreadsheet full of books to talk about. Oh, and natural history too. Let's try this again, shall we?

England, 2012; taken on a Canon AE-1 (I think). More of this from now on!

Audio | Natural History Podcasts!

Until very recently, I had an hour and a half commute to work (spoiler alert: it sucked). In order to keep from braining myself on the steering wheel, I listed to a lot of NPR and a lot of podcasts. Since this is britt&bone, I've made a list of some of my favorite natural history podcasts for your general perusal and listening pleasure.

I Know Dino

This podcast might love dinosaurs more than I do. Every episode focuses exclusively on a different dinosaur, along with featuring recent dinosaur news.

 Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County - First Fridays

I've never been to any of NHMLA's First Fridays, but thanks to their podcast I can still catch this awesome lecture series!

 American Museum of Natural History Podcast

AMNH's media game is on point - this podcast features lectures, discussions with researchers, interviews, panels, and more!

Behind the Scenes of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History

Just what it says on the tin: a lovely little behind-the-scenes look at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History! Sadly this podcast hasn't been updated since 2011, but the available episodes are no less interesting for being a few years old.

Ask Science Mike

This podcast is great for people like me, who are really interested in the intersection of science and faith. Mike McHargue answers listener questions about "science, faith, and life."

Shelf Life | The American Natural History Museum's New Video Series

Honesty hour? The American Museum of Natural History is one of the only reasons I'd ever want to go to New York (I'm sorry! It's crowded and loud!).

I've always admired them as an institution, and now they have a great video series, Shelf Life, aimed at giving the public a peek at their archives!

As someone with a particular interest in collections management, this is like being let loose into a scientific candy shop!

Enjoy the first episode below, then head over to their site to watch the rest of the series.

A Spring 2015 Playlist

I'm enjoying the scant few weeks of pleasant weather here in Southern California before it starts heating up with a vengeance. I know, I  know, I shouldn't complain - but I live in the inland portion of this area, which means temperatures can skyrocket up to 115 degrees Farenheit in my neck of the woods during summer. At that point, even leaving my house is cause for an ice cold shower.

But for the moment, everything is oranges and honeysuckle and far-too-occasional rain showers. That calls for a playlist, because for me, everything calls for a playlist!

Sunshowers That Fall on my Troubles, a Spring '15 Mix

listen @ 8tracks

ethio invention no. 1 | Andrew Bird
feel | Bomaby Bicycle Club
sunshowers | M.I.A
guramayle | Gigi
slow motion | PHOX
the lioness hunt | The Lion King: Original Broadway Cast
cirrus | Bonobo
wake me | Message to Bears

Bonus Track:
poisoning pigeons in the park | Tom Lehrer

A New Species of Sea Dragon Means I'm the Happiest Girl in the World Right Now

In case you're wondering, my favorite animal is the sea dragon (particularly the leafy sea dragon - so beautiful!). And now there's a new species, bringing the grand total of sea dragon family members up to three.

Photo © Scripps Institute of Oceanagraphy

Scientists at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography discovered the ruby sea dragon through their study of their museum collections. Originally thought to be a variant of the common, or reedy, sea dragon, they discovered that it was in fact an entirely new species, through a combination of tissue samples and photographs of the original specimen, which had been lying dormant in the Western Australia Museum's archives since 1919.

You can read more details about the discovery here at Scripps' website.

Not only does this add to the already amazing biodiversity of our oceans, but it really hammers home the importance of maintaining a museum's collections. You never know what you might find the bowels of a museum's basement archives.

Also, have a video of leafy sea dragons on me: