Every foreign language student has put her foot in her mouth, and I recall several such situations. Now I can contemplate them with an air of amusement, but then they were exceedingly embarrassing. Years ago, during a visit to Alaska’s Denali National Park, I enthusiastically told a couple on a hiking trail that I had … Continue reading Of Quill Pigs and Hand Shoes
Out-of-town visitors to Colorado Springs regularly think of the present-day Hollywood actress when Helen Hunt’s name comes up during my tours as a volunteer docent at the Pioneers Museum. Both share a name and a relationship to California, but Helen Hunt, the First (1830-1885), was a pioneering woman and writer during our town’s infancy, in the … Continue reading The Original Helen Hunt
I was in a deep sleep when the alarm jolted me awake at 2:30 AM. The wind billowing the curtains and rattling the windows, the neighbors’ dogs barking, and fear of oversleeping had not been conducive to restful slumber. When a friend had asked me to help her with a Breeding Bird Survey, I had … Continue reading Breeding Bird Survey
In early June, I attended the annual Colorado Field Ornithologists’ Convention in Steamboat Springs, in northwest Colorado. The CFO has hosted these yearly gatherings since the 1960s, but it was my first. I enjoyed meeting birders from various corners of our state, and joining field trips to a number of counties on three consecutive days, … Continue reading A Few of my Favorite Things
Horsemeat — the potential fate of wild mustangs? When I read about this scenario in the newspaper, I feel the overwhelming desire to spend some time with them. This is facilitated by my attendance at a birding convention in Steamboat Springs in northwest Colorado in early June. Some 70 miles beyond this gem on the … Continue reading 24 Hours Among Wild Horses
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