About halfway through September, we had a trip out to a new area with an Investigator I have met once before, an area where they act as a ranger. This was a first time outing with this group it was more of a meet and greet than an investigation. Some folks I had met previously and some were for the first time. The agenda I had in going if there was one was to see if there was interest in forming the nucleus of a New England centric colligative network of investigators who could work together towards more coordinated research in the region. This is partially out of the realization that the group I currently belong to is only so willing to engage in new England field work, and to move in a different direction as a result. The first night there, our host was quite gracious and we had a lengthy carouse around a camp fire well into the morning as we got to know each better as a group.
Next day, we awoke to the sounds of the various birds that were milling around the nearby pond, a mix of geese, grouse, turkeys and birds less obvious. During the day we took a hike through the nearby forest which is a multimile tract of land and quite dense in places. Then came campfire dinner and some didgeridoo call blasting and wood knocking prior to setting out for a night operation. The denseness of the woods was all the more apparent in the dark, and we looking for any sign of our quarry with a mix of Flir and night vision, only to have to realize that he wasn’t about. What we did find some entertainment in was the presence across the pond of what are called LARPers, Live action role players. We weren’t right on top of these folks but they did in fact provide some entertainment value with some of the sounds carrying across the pond.
The next morning I had a good chat with our host towards forming the network, and it was agreed that slow and steady is the best process, having started as a secret Facebook group to invite some regional right minded researchers and then let the community evolve from there. It was a good starting point and a good outing, and as we speak the nucleus of this network is forming and efforts are being made to provide the right infrastructure for the intended collaboration.