Tag: terry tempest-williams
Surgery Prep And A More Specific Request For Reading Suggestions
As you read this post your first reaction may be that some of it is a little more personal than it needs to be. (4 photos)
A Serendipitous Meeting With An Old Friend Yesterday Morning
Sorry folks, no birds today. This post is personal. Another apology for the quality of the following photos. I like to think I’m pretty skillful with a DSLR camera and big honkin’ lens but I’m a complete doofus with cell phones and it shows. I first met Brooke Williams back in the mid 1980’s when I worked with his wife Terry Tempest Williams at the Utah Museum of Natural History. The three of us became good friends in part because we shared a passion for wilderness and wild critters and appreciated the importance of education in spreading the word and the passion. And we just liked each other’s company. As the years passed both Terry and Brooke became acclaimed authors, educators and environmental activists, first moving to Castle Valley near Moab, Utah and now splitting their time between Castle Valley and Cambridge, Massachusetts where Terry teaches at Harvard. Brooke spent a significant portion of his conservation career with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and now teaches at Colby College in Maine. So for many years we mostly lost touch with each other. Then completely out of the blue in July of 2012 I ran into them again in the middle of the Montana wilderness where they, along with wilderness advocate and grizzly bear expert Doug Peacock and author and environmental activist Rick Bass, were involved in teaching graduate students for the University of Utah’s Environmental Humanities Institute. We had a joyous reunion on the porch of a rustic old cabin involving wine, lots of…
Why A Snoot-full Of Porcupine Quills Can Be A Serious Matter
“Don’t mess with Porky” was one of the early lessons I learned growing up on the Montana farm.
My Best Photo(s) Yet Of A Grebe Amputating A Crayfish Claw
I’ve photographed this feeding behavior before but those photos have never been this clear and detailed.
A Porcupine Story
Western Kingbirds And Old Memories
My strongest early memory of Western Kingbirds goes back to the late 70’s and early 80’s when I was teaching summer classes (Junior Science Academy) for the Utah Museum of Natural History.
A Bird-skunked Day, Saved By A Chance Encounter With Two Old Friends
Due to bad light and shy birds I didn’t get any images yesterday to be proud of but a chance encounter with two old friends more than made up for it. The encounter took place in the wilds of Montana and the old friends are Terry Tempest Williams and her husband Brooke. Terry is a highly acclaimed author, conservationist and activist and both Terry and Brooke have been very active in the environmental movement for decades. I’m sure many of my readers have read some of Terry’s exceptional books and some may be familiar with Brooke’s work with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). Many years ago I worked with Terry at the Utah Museum of Natural History and through Terry I got to know Brooke but I’ve only seen them once in the past 30+ years so it was pure delight to spend some time with them catching up. We reminisced about old times at the Museum and swapped stories about friends and acquaintences in the environmental movement. Both Terry and Brooke are the epitome of genuine, caring, passionate people and their devotion to environmental issues runs deep. If you’ve read any of Terry’s books it”s “what you see is what you get” – she wears her huge heart on her sleeve and a warm, caring heart it is. And the lady can write! In an effort to avoid setting the precedent of publishing a post without including an image I’ll relate a story about Terry. And me. And a bird. Sometime in the mid-80’s…
Fascinating Folks of the Centennial Valley, Montana – Living and Dead
The Centennial Valley of sw Montana is one of my favorite places on the planet. It has birds galore, lots of wildlife, beautiful scenery and blessed isolation. It’s not an easy place to visit for the casual visitor as one must negotiate many miles of dirt/gravel roads just to get there and then usually contend with wild weather and the utter lack of services – including restaurants, gas stations and motels. In my many trips to the area I’ve had innumerable flat tires, been stuck in bad weather for days on end and taken home hundreds of pounds of mud, rocks and cow poop that attached to the underside of my pickup and camping trailer and had to be hosed off on my driveway. But I love the place! One of the many holds the Centennial Valley has on me is the fascinating history of the region. I’m a huge fan of western history in general – especially that of Utah and Montana and the valley is dotted with abandoned homesteads dating back to the 1890’s. This area had to be one of the most difficult areas in the lower 48 states for settlers to simply survive, much less eke out a living – as evidenced by the fact that there were many more people trying to live in the valley back then than are found there now. The history of the valley is filled with tales of hardship, danger and incredibly interesting characters including indians, trappers, hunters, miners, homesteaders, squatters, cowboys, sheepmen, rustlers and moonshiners. It’s not my purpose to recount the detailed…
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Surgery Prep And A More Specific Request For Reading Suggestions
As you read this post your first reaction may be that some of it is a little more personal than it needs to be. (4 photos)
A Serendipitous Meeting With An Old Friend Yesterday Morning
Sorry folks, no birds today. This post is personal. Another apology for the quality of the following photos. I like to think I’m pretty skillful with a DSLR camera and big honkin’ lens but I’m a complete doofus with cell phones and it shows. I first met Brooke Williams back in the mid 1980’s when I worked with his wife Terry Tempest Williams at the Utah Museum of Natural History. The three of us became good friends in part because we shared a passion for wilderness and wild critters and appreciated the importance of education in spreading the word and the passion. And we just liked each other’s company. As the years passed both Terry and Brooke became acclaimed authors, educators and environmental activists, first moving to Castle Valley near Moab, Utah and now splitting their time between Castle Valley and Cambridge, Massachusetts where Terry teaches at Harvard. Brooke spent a significant portion of his conservation career with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and now teaches at Colby College in Maine. So for many years we mostly lost touch with each other. Then completely out of the blue in July of 2012 I ran into them again in the middle of the Montana wilderness where they, along with wilderness advocate and grizzly bear expert Doug Peacock and author and environmental activist Rick Bass, were involved in teaching graduate students for the University of Utah’s Environmental Humanities Institute. We had a joyous reunion on the porch of a rustic old cabin involving wine, lots of…
Why A Snoot-full Of Porcupine Quills Can Be A Serious Matter
“Don’t mess with Porky” was one of the early lessons I learned growing up on the Montana farm.
My Best Photo(s) Yet Of A Grebe Amputating A Crayfish Claw
I’ve photographed this feeding behavior before but those photos have never been this clear and detailed.
A Porcupine Story
Western Kingbirds And Old Memories
My strongest early memory of Western Kingbirds goes back to the late 70’s and early 80’s when I was teaching summer classes (Junior Science Academy) for the Utah Museum of Natural History.
A Bird-skunked Day, Saved By A Chance Encounter With Two Old Friends
Due to bad light and shy birds I didn’t get any images yesterday to be proud of but a chance encounter with two old friends more than made up for it. The encounter took place in the wilds of Montana and the old friends are Terry Tempest Williams and her husband Brooke. Terry is a highly acclaimed author, conservationist and activist and both Terry and Brooke have been very active in the environmental movement for decades. I’m sure many of my readers have read some of Terry’s exceptional books and some may be familiar with Brooke’s work with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). Many years ago I worked with Terry at the Utah Museum of Natural History and through Terry I got to know Brooke but I’ve only seen them once in the past 30+ years so it was pure delight to spend some time with them catching up. We reminisced about old times at the Museum and swapped stories about friends and acquaintences in the environmental movement. Both Terry and Brooke are the epitome of genuine, caring, passionate people and their devotion to environmental issues runs deep. If you’ve read any of Terry’s books it”s “what you see is what you get” – she wears her huge heart on her sleeve and a warm, caring heart it is. And the lady can write! In an effort to avoid setting the precedent of publishing a post without including an image I’ll relate a story about Terry. And me. And a bird. Sometime in the mid-80’s…
Fascinating Folks of the Centennial Valley, Montana – Living and Dead
The Centennial Valley of sw Montana is one of my favorite places on the planet. It has birds galore, lots of wildlife, beautiful scenery and blessed isolation. It’s not an easy place to visit for the casual visitor as one must negotiate many miles of dirt/gravel roads just to get there and then usually contend with wild weather and the utter lack of services – including restaurants, gas stations and motels. In my many trips to the area I’ve had innumerable flat tires, been stuck in bad weather for days on end and taken home hundreds of pounds of mud, rocks and cow poop that attached to the underside of my pickup and camping trailer and had to be hosed off on my driveway. But I love the place! One of the many holds the Centennial Valley has on me is the fascinating history of the region. I’m a huge fan of western history in general – especially that of Utah and Montana and the valley is dotted with abandoned homesteads dating back to the 1890’s. This area had to be one of the most difficult areas in the lower 48 states for settlers to simply survive, much less eke out a living – as evidenced by the fact that there were many more people trying to live in the valley back then than are found there now. The history of the valley is filled with tales of hardship, danger and incredibly interesting characters including indians, trappers, hunters, miners, homesteaders, squatters, cowboys, sheepmen, rustlers and moonshiners. It’s not my purpose to recount the detailed…