Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

For the past few days here in Sudbury, we've been experiencing a warming trend that has been welcomed by us snow weary denizens. On Wednesday we even managed to crack 60 degrees Fahrenheit! However, some people might be skeptical that Mother Nature is luring us back into a false sense of security only to hit us with a surprise Nor'easter or other terrible frozen affliction. Despite those possible outcomes, I'm starting to see signs of creatures and Nature herself releasing the world from its snowy blanket. The most obvious signs have been the melting snow. I've never been more excited to seen ground and dead grass, so much so that I scarcely think that I will be again. Other plants have captured my attention as well. Recently I've been reading parts of two books about trees for my new job that will be starting in a few days up in Saco, Maine. Both books emphasize the importance of identification within the context of recognizing those species by appearance and h...

As most of you who read regularly can tell, I like to carve wood into folksy likenesses of birds. Considering 90% of my posts consist of birds, birding, bitching about birding, and so forth, this isn't much of a change of pace. However, I'm here to give a summary of how I came to be interested in wood carving and what I've created so far. It started when I was young and had bought one of my first books entitled Duck Hunting by Dick Sternberg and Jeff Simpson. While I've always had an on and off interest in waterfowling, I never really have had the opportunity to go and while I would like to at some point, I am more content to read up on the history and learn about regional decoy styles. The page that caught my eye was the decoy page and ever since, I've had a fascination with the bird in a wooden form. One of my earliest posts on here was about the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper ( Eurynorhynchus pygmeus ) and how I'd made some folksy looking deco...