2017: favorite nature moments #2

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Last April, I was invited to speak at Yakima Valley College by anthropologist Eric Anderson. In three days, I presented four talks about my book Ghost Birds, writing and publishing, practicing mindfulness plus a preview of my new book Ephemeral by Nature, at the time still six months away. 

I also participated in the college's Earth Day observance, getting to speak to many students one-on-one, so they met a real Tennessean, not a red one but a green-blue one. I think you call that teal. 

I made new friends including Wendy, click: rattlesnake rescuer and got to see a bevy of...darn, I am a writer, I cannot use the cliché word, adorable...but what works? oh heck, adorable...California quails trundle along on their merry way. Did I say adorable?  

I got to reacquaint myself with one of my favorite Corvids, the Steller's jay, named to honor German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller. I haven' seen one since June 1988. Look at that boss crest! Also while sitting on campus, I watched a pair of introduced so not exactly beloved Eurasian collared doves court, and dare I say, mate. (If you are going to do it balanced on top of a light pole, don't expect folks not to watch.)

Yet, it is hard to condense six days into on a few favorite moments, but here is an overview. 

Click: YVC.

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