Mission Accomplished, or Why We Haven't Posted in Awhile

You may have noticed it's been quite some time since a new post on My Florida Backyard. This is not because we've fallen into a sudden sinkhole or been swept away by one of those crazy waterspouts that keep cropping up in Tampa Bay this year. No, My Florida Backyard is right where it always is and even much less weed-filled than last summer. Butterflies are visiting, birds are singing, and flowers are blooming, and every trip around the yard gives us something new to discover, just like always.

See? We're right where we've always been, and not even buried under the usual summer weeds!

So where have we been? Well, right here, but very very busy. And in many ways, I have this blog to thank for it.

You see, when I started this blog four and a half years ago, I had three major goals in mind:

1) Keep my mom and other up-north relatives posted on the cool stuff happening in my garden
2) Keep my writing skills sharp after losing my job in communications during The Great Recession
3) Create a portfolio of nature-based writing I could use as I started a job search with new goals in mind

After many years working for a bank, first doing training delivery, then instructional design, and finally internal communications, I had decided it was time for a change. Like many folks, I decided to turn my job loss into an "opportunity" and pursue work that really interested me. I knew I wanted to write, and I knew I was done with corporate 9-5 jobs (especially in finance) that involved cubicles and phrases like "Interest-may-be-tax-deductible-consult-your-tax-advisor".

Isn't this much nicer than a cubicle, or even an office with a window?
Who needs windows when you can sit on the back porch and write about what you see?

So, with the full support of a wonderful spouse, I took some time to just explore what interested me. I started My Florida Backyard, and within a few months had an opportunity to blog for a larger site geared toward Tampa Bay (which no longer exists). Through this, I met the Coordinator of MOSI Outside and began volunteering, spending time at the butterfly garden and gaining a lot of specialized knowledge.  Eventually, my volunteer work turned into a paid part-time job. Now, you'll find me at MOSI at least three days a week, and online at the MOSI Outside blog.

The BioWorks Flight Encounter at MOSI, where I spend much time with sweat in my eyes and hands full of caterpillars.

After endless prodding from friends, I decided to join Facebook a few years ago, and it turns out that it was one of the greatest things I ever did. (And I don't even play Farmville!) One of the magazines I was following, Birds & Blooms, put out a request for "regional reporters" to turn in bi-monthly updates to be featured in the magazine. Eventually, this expanded into the opportunity to blog for them several times a week, and I recently had my first by-line in the magazine. (Look for "Diary of a Monarch" by Jill Staake, in the September issue of Birds & Blooms Extra! Coming soon to a news stand near you!) I've taken on some other responsibilities for them too, especially in social media, and now spend a good chunk of my time writing about birds, blooms, and butterflies - for pay!

Hey, that's my name! Check out the blog by clicking here.

I'm extremely proud of the career I've managed to create for myself over the last few years. The pay isn't the best, but the work is something I feel passionate about. I'm allowed to be creative, to dig in the dirt, to photograph butterflies and birds, and to share my knowledge with others. I've had the chance to travel for Birds & Blooms, and to make interesting contacts around the Tampa area and beyond.

Of course, this is all keeping me very busy. And when too much is happening at once, something's gotta give. In my case, it was My Florida Backyard. It's been harder and harder to find time to write posts for it, when other writing jobs (the kind with paychecks attached) are awaiting my attention. So days slipped into weeks, which slipped into months, which brings us to now.

I thought about calling it quits on this blog, and just leaving it up as a resource for others. After all, I send my mom pictures from my phone all the time, and my Birds & Blooms blog posts are frequently about things going on in my yard. Why not just let this particular blog's activity come to an end?

But I find I'm not quite ready to do that. I think that occasionally, I'll find topics that are very specific to Florida backyards, ones that I really want to write about but that only a very few people might care to read about. I love writing for B&B, but their audience isn't always the right fit for more technical posts, or for those about very specific regional species. And in those cases, for the right special people, I want My Florida Backyard to remain active.

How else can I justify posting yet more photos of white peacocks?

So you may not see a lot of new posts from this site going forward. But I hope you'll join me in several other places around the web, to see what's going on here and what I'm up to in general. And I hope you'll continue to subscribe, or leave me in your RSS feed, or just check back every once in awhile, because plenty of amazing things still happen in My Florida Backyard, and from time to time, I'll be sure to let you in on some of them.

Find Me on the Web (look for the posts by Jill):

• MOSI Outside Blog
• Birds & Blooms Blog

Give a Little Bit

Today is officially Earth Day - the 40th anniversary, as a matter of fact. According to Wikipedia, "Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment", and thousands of events are taking place across the country as people spend a day focusing on the natural world and our human responsibilities to it.

I'll be spending Earth Day 2010 at my "garden away from home" - the MOSI BioWorks Butterfly Gardens. I spend several days a week volunteering in the gardens and working with the Butterfly Flight Encounter, and this Earth Day, I'll be helping out as over a dozen volunteers come to help with a massive planting in the gardens and tree grove.

If you've never been to the gardens at MOSI in Tampa, they're definitely worth a visit. The Historic Tree Grove contains trees from famous locations, such as the Fort Matanzas Red Cedar and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Sycamore, and many of the gardens beneath are themed to match the trees - for instance, plants with medicinal applications are planted beneath the Clara Barton Red Bud. You can learn much more about the Historic Tree Grove by clicking here.

In addition to the historic and themed gardens, all of the gardens are designed with butterflies in mind. Both nectar and host plants are in abundance, and it's a rare stroll through the gardens that doesn't result in the sighting of a variety of butterfly species. BioWorks rears and displays native butterflies all year long, and visitors can get an up close look in the Flight Encounter experience.

For me, the butterflies are the best part of the volunteer experience. Nearly everything I've learned about butterfly gardening is due to my time at the BioWorks Butterfly Gardens and the amazing woman who runs the show. Kristen has an unbelievable knowledge of native plants, local flora and fauna, and gardening in general, and she's happy to share it with guests and volunteers alike. If you can't make it to MOSI, you can still benefit from Kristen's knowledge by visiting her blog, Lepcurious: Tales From the Butterfly Garden.

If you do live in the Tampa area and have some time available, MOSI BioWorks is always looking for new volunteers. If you don't get enough of getting your hands dirty in your own gardens, Kristen is always looking for garden assistants. Click here to learn more or to contact Kristen to offer your time.

So, that's where I'll be this Earth Day. What about you?