#140 - NEW BLOG

Hello y'all,

I've decided to keep Kiss My Big Hairy Spider going even if the page visits certainly have diminished. I think it is still a great place for me to blog about issues that are specifically arachnid related. However, yesterday I made my first post to my new blog. Pikey: Boondocking and Shunpiking; the Gypsy Life is my new home for tales from the road, both my adventures in the United States and my travels abroad. As some of you know, I am taking my field trip activity to a whole new level in 2017. I have bought a brand new truck and RV and soon will leave Chicagoland for full-time living all across America. I will be blogging almost daily as I chase reptiles, arachnids, birds and other wildlife across the beautiful United States. The plan is to spend most of January in southern Florida, return to Chicago in early February because I fly to Borneo and Langkawi, Malaysia on February 8, and then - after returning to Chicago in late February - I will head south again and make my way west along the Mexico border. Weather will dictate my path as I strive to keep the temperature range between 50 and 80ºF. By July I will be up in the Pacific Northwest where I used to live and then will head to Alaska. During my 2017 road trip I will have many adventures, but my focus will be on photographing and writing about the arachnids and reptiles of the U.S. for future eBook style projects, articles and lectures. I also will be photographing birds and other wildlife for similar use. Personally, I will also be just enjoying life and working on my music. I have rekindled my interest in songwriting after composing what I feel is the best song I have ever written in celebration of a special lady's birthday. I've created a Soundcloud channel for my music and all of my projects can be accessed through my new primary website - mjacobi.com. I will revamp exoticfauna.com as well during the coming year as it will host the eBooks I will be creating. So please check out the new website and give it a bookmark and make sure you follow the new blog. Pikey will be the place I post regularly now, but if I just want to talk about arachnids I will post here as well.

Thanks for reading, MJ