There are so many wonderful author events all around the country this October. Whether you’re looking for some spooky fun in New England, paddling the rivers across the state of Georgia, or pitching a tent with your family in Colorado, our authors are out there hoping to meet you and hear about your experiences. Check out the list of author events to see if any are happening near you!
Learn to identify the birds of Texas, and make bird-watching even more enjoyable with Stan Tekiela’s famous Birds of Texas Field Guide. This book features 140 species of Texas birds organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don’t know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out.
This new edition includes more species, updated photographs and range maps, revised information, and even more of Stan’s expert insights.
Here are some amazing birds to watch out for:
The Boat-tailed Grackle is a noisy bird of coastal saltwater and inland marshes, giving several harsh, high-pitched calls and squeaks. It eats a wide variety of foods, from grains to fish, and is even seen picking insects off the backs of cattle. The bird will even visit bird feeders!
Did you know that the Boat-tailed Grackle makes a cup nest with mud or cow dung and grass? Interestingly, the Boat-tailed Grackles in Texas and on the Gulf Coast have dark eyes. Birds farther east, on the Atlantic Coast, have bright-red eyes.
The Spotted Towhee and Eastern Towhee were once considered a single species called Rufous-sided Towhee. It is found in a variety of habitats, from thick brush and chaparral to suburban backyards, and it is usually heard noisily scratching through dead leaves on the ground for food. Over 70% of its diet is plant material. The Spotted Towhee eats more insects during spring and summer.
The Black-necked Stilts is seen year-round along the coast in Texas, and it can be found along the East Coast and as far north as the Great Lakes. The bird nests solitarily or in small colonies in open areas.
This very vocal bird of shallow marshes gives a “kek-kek-kek” call. Its legs are up to 10 inches long and may be the longest legs in the bird world in proportion to its body. Black-necked Stilts are known to transport water with water-soaked belly feathers (belly-soaking) to cool eggs in hot weather.
The bird aggressively defends its nest, eggs, and young. The young leave the nest shortly after hatching.
So grab Birds of Texas Field Guide for your next birding adventure―to help ensure that you positively identify the many birds that you see.
About the author: Naturalist, wildlife photographer, and writer Stan Tekiela has written more than 175 field guides, nature books, children’s books, wildlife audio CDs, puzzles, and playing cards, presenting many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, trees, wildflowers, and cacti in the United States. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural History from the University of Minnesota and as an active professional naturalist for more than 25 years, Stan studies and photographs wildlife throughout the United States and Canada. He has received various national and regional awards for his books and photographs.
Also a well-known columnist and radio personality, his syndicated column appears in more than 25 newspapers, and his wildlife programs are broadcast on a number of Midwest radio stations. Stan can be followed on Facebook and Twitter. He can be contacted via www.naturesmart.com.
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Learn to identify the trees in the Carolinas with Stan Tekiela’s famous Trees of the Carolinas Field Guide. Learn about all 153 species found in the two states, organized by leaf type and attachment. Just look at a tree’s leaves, then go to the correct section to learn what it is.
Fact-filled information contains the particulars that you want to know, while full-page photographs provide the visual detail needed for accurate identification. Plus, Stan’s naturalist notes feature fascinating tidbits and fun facts.
This new edition includes updated photographs, expanded information, and even more of Stan’s expert insights.
Here are some amazing facts about trees found in the two states:
The Red Mulberry produces large crops of fruit, providing an important food source for wildlife, especially birds. In summer, berries ripen to red and are delicious when black. The fruit is sweet and juicy and can be used in jams, jellies, and pies.
One of the most fascinating trees is, without a doubt, the Ginkgo tree, the sole surviving species from an ancient family of trees that flourished millions of years ago. Because the surviving trees were cultivated only in ancient temple gardens in China, the species remained unknown to the scientific community until the late 1700s. Only the male trees are sold and planted because female trees produce butyric acid, which makes the fruit smell foul.
Ginkgo fruit has been highly prized by some people for medicinal properties. Its leaves are often in two lobes, hence the species name biloba. It is also called Maidenhair-tree because the unique fan-shaped leaves resemble the fronds of the Maidenhair Fern plant.
Ginkgo biloba seed or fruit ready to harvest – Image
A small nonnative species that was introduced from Asia is the fast-growing Siberian Elm. Also called the Chinese Elm (U. parvifolia), it thrives in a wide variety of soils and tolerates harsh conditions.
So grab Trees of the Carolinas Field Guide for your next outdoor adventure―to help ensure that you positively identify the many trees that you see.
About the author: Naturalist, wildlife photographer, and writer Stan Tekiela has written more than 175 field guides, nature books, children’s books, wildlife audio CDs, puzzles, and playing cards, presenting many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, trees, wildflowers, and cacti in the United States. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural History from the University of Minnesota and as an active professional naturalist for more than 25 years, Stan studies and photographs wildlife throughout the United States and Canada. He has received various national and regional awards for his books and photographs.
Also a well-known columnist and radio personality, his syndicated column appears in more than 25 newspapers, and his wildlife programs are broadcast on a number of Midwest radio stations. Stan can be followed on Facebook and Twitter. He can be contacted via www.naturesmart.com.
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Today, Nicole Hardina, author of Little Washington, takes us to the town of Waverly. Founded in 1879, the town has a population of 106.
A Complicated Past The town of Waverly received a post office and a name in 1879. Then, while other Inland Empire towns met the railroad and began to flourish, Waverly remained a lonely outpost. An early history describes it as a “little village, quiet and serene . . . remote from the scenes of turmoil and strife.” However, Waverly’s most prominent feature speaks to a history that is anything but bucolic.
Hangman Creek winds through Waverly. Uncultivated land approaches the creek’s edge. Farmed acres stop for a treeline, a rocky butte, and a soft marsh. The water looks as though it might spill over its edges, glimmering gently past farmhouses. The name was long ago changed to Latah Creek, but it’s still widely known as Hangman—and for a reason. The Spokane Historical society isn’t pulling any punches in its description: “This is the site of a murder.”
In 1858, the Spokane and Yakama tribes resisted treaty terms, and violence erupted in Eastern Washington. When the tribes defeated Colonel Steptoe’s 150 men, Colonel George Wright sent hundreds more in their place. Chief Owhi, whose son, Qualchan, was wanted for murder, tried to negotiate with Wright, who took Owhi hostage. Not knowing Wright had imprisoned his father, Qualchan entered the camp on his own peace mission, along with his wife, son, and brother. Wright ordered Qualchan hanged. The next day, Chief Owhi tried to escape and was shot and killed. In three days, Wright ordered the hangings of more than a dozen people, all of whom had approached with a white flag, symbolizing their peaceful intentions.
By the time A. D. Thayer homesteaded on Hangman Creek, evidence of the violence was long gone. Two decades later, Waverly began to flourish. The Washington State Sugar Beet Factory, established in 1898, employed 150 men. The Waverly Optimist reported in 1899 that laborers made $1.50 per day, while “skilled superintendents” earned as much as $7,500 per year, or more than $250,000 in today’s dollars.
A dam across the creek fed water to the factory. Soon the railroad came, and multiple grain producers established warehouses and elevators in Waverly. In 1900, the population had blossomed to 895. Ten years later, the sugar beet factory closed, and the bloom began to wilt.
School’s Out In Waverly today, Hangman Creek Bar and Grill is closed and boarded up. Peeling signs in the windows upstairs advertise Miss Elsie’s 5¢ baths and Doctor Yankum’s dentistry services. Concrete memorials at the park’s edge remember beloved townspeople and war veterans. In 1935, the Spokane County Pioneers Association established a memorial at the site where the hanging tree once stood.
In 1910, Washington state had more than 2,700 school districts. Not quite a century later, that number has declined by about 90%. Spokane County had some of the first schools in Washington, dating to the 1830s. The first schools often took place in settlers’ homes until a community secured funding for a dedicated building.
As the population increased, communities often abandoned their log cabin schools in favor of wood frame and, later, brick schools. As the student population grew, schools diversified, distinguishing elementary and junior-high education programs and locating them in their own schools. By 1915, Washington boasted 500 high schools.
The boom in school construction continued until the Depression, when a lack of funding put the brakes on school spending. Despite funding scarcity, many new schools were built in the 1930s as part of the Works Progress Administration. Even with the government-sponsored infusion of capital, by the end of WWII, school consolidations in rural areas had begun in earnest. After the war, urban centers grew at the expense of rural communities, and by 1946, nearly all one-room schools had closed. The Prairie View school in Waverly was one of them.
From 1904 to 1938, the school served as many as 40 students in a year. The simple, wood frame building boasted an iron stove for heat and a curved stage for the teacher’s desk. Prairie View is the oldest example of its kind in Spokane County. Long since fallen into disuse, the school malingered in a cottonwood grove, its porch sagging, wind rushing through its empty windows. Then, in 2013, preservationists decided to move and restore the decaying school. With a fundraising effort that garnered thousands in private donations, the southeast Spokane Historical society led the effort to preserve the history of public education in eastern Washington. Today, the school has a new foundation and a new roof. A modern door stands between the weather and the schoolroom. The clapboard siding is original, but the windows are brand-new. If left abandoned, nature would have taken the school back. After years of snow and neglect, the roof would have collapsed, and then the walls. Instead, the Prairie View school stands on the corner of South Prairie View Road as it curves out of, or into, town, like a greeting or parting message for visitors.
Waving Goodbye Driving through any city’s residential neighborhoods between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. can be a slow affair. When children are present, the speed limit usually tops out at 20 miles per hour. In Waverly, the school has been closed for a long time. Still, a hand-painted sign asks travelers to keep it under 25 mph. A father shepherds two children and a dog on the short walk from the park to their home. He holds the kids’ hands and they stick to the sidewalk, though mine is the only car on the road.
Waverly is the smallest incorporated town in Spokane County, and it feels like it. Visitors to Waverly might be forgiven for looking around and asking, “What makes a town a town?” There is a fire department, a Grange, and evidence of agriculture. Other than that, there’s a collection of houses, a controlled burn, a barking dog, a shuttered door, a babbling stream. There’s history here, for sure. A future feels less certain.
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Learn to identify birds in Florida, and make bird-watching even more enjoyable with Stan Tekiela’s famous Birds of Florida Field Guide. This book features 140 species of Florida birds organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don’t know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out.
This new edition includes more species, updated photographs and range maps, revised information, and even more of Stan’s expert insights.
Here are some amazing birds to watch out for:
The Crested Caracara is the largest member of the falcon family. The bird is often found in the open savanna or in tropical scrubland habitat.
The Crested Caracara mainly feeds on roadkill, often coursing (patrolling) at low elevations on roads at sunrise. It is very different from all other raptors in North America, using its legs to stalk and chase prey such as mice.
It is often seen in the company of vultures, but it glides on flat wings, unlike vultures in flight, which hold their wings upward in a semi-V shape. At night it roosts in trees.
One of Florida’s most dramatic-looking birds, commonly seen in the Everglades, is the Purple Gallinule. The bird uses its extremely long toes to walk on floating vegetation in freshwater and saltwater marshes, where it hunts for grasshoppers and other insects, seeds, and frogs. Family groups stay together, and the first brood sometimes helps raise the second. The Purple Gallinule moves out of northern Florida during winter and can be seen year-round in the southern part of the state. Individuals are known to wander well north of Florida.
Found in central Florida and nowhere else, the Scrub-Jay is well known for its cooperative breeding system in which the young from one year help to raise the young of the new year. The bird has a wide variety of raspy, hoarse calls and prefers a transitional scrubby habitat, usually of oak trees around 10 feet (3 m) tall with some openings. The Scrub-Jay is not a backyard bird, like the Blue Jay. Sadly, it is a threatened species and its population has declined up to 90% over the last century due to habitat loss.
So grab Birds of Florida Field Guide for your next birding adventure―to help ensure that you positively identify the many birds that you see.
About the author: Naturalist, wildlife photographer, and writer Stan Tekiela has written more than 175 field guides, nature books, children’s books, wildlife audio CDs, puzzles, and playing cards, presenting many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, trees, wildflowers, and cacti in the United States. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural History from the University of Minnesota and as an active professional naturalist for more than 25 years, Stan studies and photographs wildlife throughout the United States and Canada. He has received various national and regional awards for his books and photographs.
Also a well-known columnist and radio personality, his syndicated column appears in more than 25 newspapers, and his wildlife programs are broadcast on a number of Midwest radio stations. Stan can be followed on Facebook and Twitter. He can be contacted via www.naturesmart.com.
For more stories about wildlife and nature, sign up for our newsletter now!
Little Washington presents 100 of the state’s tiniest towns. With populations under 2,000, these charming and unique locations dot the entire state―from Neah Bay along the Northwest coast to LaCrosse, a farming community in the eastern county of Whitman.
With full-color photographs, fun facts, and fascinating details about every locale, it’s almost as if you’re walking down Main Street, waving hello to folks who know all of their neighbors.
The selected locations help readers to appreciate the broader history of small-town life in Washington. Yet each featured town boasts a distinct narrative, as unique as the citizens who call these places home. These residents are innovators, hard workers, and―most of all―good people.
The locations range from quaint to historic, and they wonderfully represent the Evergreen State. Little Washington, written by Nicole Hardina, is for anyone who grew up in a small town and for everyone who takes pride in being called a Washingtonian. These towns may be small, but they have huge character!
Little Washington is Nicola Hardina’s attempt, 100 times over, to get to know the state she calls home. It’s part history, part travelogue, and a love letter to the Evergreen State.
About the author: Nicole Hardina has lived in Washington for more than 20 years, in towns big and small. Alaska-grown, she is a Seattle-based writer sharing an apartment with two cats, a guitar, and several overflowing bookcases. Her writing has appeared in Scope,Months to Years, Out There Outdoors, the Bellingham Review, Proximity, and elsewhere. She received a Grant for Artist Projects award from the Artist Trust in 2016 and is working on a memoir that is equal parts grief account and love letter to the Pacific Northwest. When not writing, she can be found on a flying trapeze or via her website, www.nicolehardina.com.
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Birding is big—and getting bigger. As topsy-turvy as this year has been, its events have shaken up enough routines to cause people to notice new things in the world, and that includes the birds flying around their homes.
Barn Swallow
Maybe the boom in new birders is simply tied to the fact that many of us are safe at home and looking out the windows at times when we’d normally be stuck in traffic commuting. Or maybe, even during quarantine, people have found that they want to get outside and, for social distancing reasons, have discovered new places to go. Birding fills that bill nicely.
Of course, it could be that in a digitally-engaged-always-on-Zoom world, people are finally waking up to what birders have always known: Birding is fun, and you’re guaranteed to see some amazing things. As a hobby, birding gets a lot right.
There’s a very low cost to get started.
There’s a low learning curve.
It works great for small groups.
It works just as well for individuals.
It takes you outside and away from screens.
Birders are introduced to more about the world around them.
It’s a hobby that you can participate in year-round.
These books for beginning birders also have information on birdseed and other bird foods. Not all birds eat the same kinds of foods, and you’ll be amazed at how the mix of birds in your yard changes once certain foods, feeders, bird houses, etc., are put into use. The guides also have information on bird nests and trees, as well as a few words on the habits and migration patterns of some of the birds in each region.
[Note: the following information was current as of August 1, 2020.]
The Bighorn Fire, named for the bighorn sheep that roam the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, began after a lightning strike hit those mountains on June 5th, 2020. Fanned by high winds and exacerbated by hot, dry weather often exceeding 100°F, the fire burned for almost 7 weeks, burning 119,978 acres (178.5 square miles) of forest. At its height, more than 1,000 firefighting personnel were involved in containing the blaze, and several helicopters and aircraft were used to dump water and fire-retardant slurry over remote areas that could not be reached by road.
The village of Summerhaven high on Mount Lemmon was evacuated, and many residents of homes in the Santa Catalina Foothills were also forced to leave. Fortunately, the fire crews were successful in saving the buildings and no lives were lost or major injuries reported. While some wildlife unfortunately did not survive, many animals were able to escape the fire. In fact, a herd of 14 bighorn sheep was seen strolling through a suburban neighborhood in late July.
The US Forest Service has closed all facilities in the Santa Catalinas until November 1st. With the annual monsoon rains expected through September, it is likely that the burned-out areas will not be able to absorb the rainfall and dangerous flash flooding will result. There have already been some flash floods of tarry water carrying blackened debris closing roads and potentially threatening homes. All trails have been closed until the flood danger is over and crews have inspected trails to assess if they are safe and passable.
This means that trails described in the Mount Lemmon, Sabino Canyon, and Santa Catalina Foothills sections of the book are closed. Also, Sabino Canyon and the Catalina State Park are closed until further notice. The Mount Lemmon Highway was temporarily closed during the fire but reopened on August 1st with restricted access to Summerhaven. Because parking space is limited, the road may close temporarily until space is available. Further information is available on the Pima County Sheriff’s Road Condition Report at (520) 547-7510.
Saguaro National Park is open. However, both visitor centers are closed until further notice.
I live 2 miles south of the evacuation zone in the Catalina Foothills. During most of June and into July, I could see the fire burning, huge clouds of smoke billowing, and firefighting helicopters and aircraft passing overhead. Often, I could smell the smoke. Most residents of Tucson and the surrounding communities experienced the same to a greater or lesser extent. 2020 has been an abnormal year for everyone, and Tucsonans got hit with a little bit extra.
When things improve in the fall, I will report back with details of which trails are reopened. Meanwhile, stay safe, stay hydrated, and please wear a mask in public places as mandated by Pima County and the city of Tucson.
About the Author: Rob Rachowiecki is the author of Five Star Hikes: Tucson, which focuses on 38 Spectacular Hikes around the Old Pueblo. He has authored hiking and climbing guides to Central America and the Central Andes, as well as travel guides to Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and the American Southwest.
Although I grew up in Colorado, I did not grow up hiking with my dad. I really don’t know why this was the case, but at some point, he was a single dad of two with a full-time job, while I was a sassy teen with a part-time job and homework and friends and crushes. Hiking together just wasn’t part of our world.
Yet, when I set out to update 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Denver and Boulder, my dad was one of the people I ended up doing some memorable hikes with through the seasons. It hadn’t occurred to me before to ask him to join me, honestly, and I was so pleased that he wanted to come along.
I’ve got a few tips for enjoying a hike with your dad (or stepdad or grandfather or uncle) as I share a few stories from our hikes.
01: Go ahead and extend the invitation. Dad saw my posts on social media about my first few hikes and called me to ask if he could hike with me. It wasn’t that I deliberately did not invite him—I wasn’t so organized to have a list of hiking partners—but I hadn’t thought of him yet. Maybe you think hiking isn’t something your father likes or he hasn’t done it before, but don’t let that stop you. If it’s new to him, start with something relatively flat with places to stop and rest along the way. Even if he says no, it will make him feel good to be included.
02: One interesting thing about being an adult child is that sometimes you forget you’re still someone’s kid. I was humbly reminded of this on a gorgeous hike outside of Fort Collins, Colorado, to the top of Greyrock Mountain where little lakes filled with talkative frogs dwell. The hike had been hotter than expected, so it felt longer; by the time we were scrambling up rocks near the top, my legs were wobbly. My 70-something father hoisted himself up, and I stood there looking at my hiking poles and looking at the rocks and back and forth. “You want me to take the poles?” he asked. “No, I’ve got it.” I said. Like he can’t see right through me! I finally abandoned the poles and gave him my hand and he half-pulled me up. You’re never too old to still need your dear old dad.
03: Remember to pack your sense of humor along with your water bottle and other hiking necessities. One of my earliest hikes for my book was not in the previous edition, so I did a little research and headed off to meet Dad on a late-summer afternoon. Like many trailheads, this one had several trail options, and I misread the distance. As we walked and talked, it became clear this hike would be longer than we expected—by about a mile, it turned out. “How long did you say this hike is?” he asked me as we began the loop back. I had to confess that I no longer knew, and this seemed hilarious to us. On our various hikes we laughed about all kinds of mishaps—from those in the past to our getting lost en route to the trailhead—and this made us want to go on another hike together.
04: Try new things together—from taking selfies during the hike to having a meal together after the hike. Even though you’re all grown up, you can still make memories together. Just because we didn’t spend my childhood going on lots of hikes didn’t mean we couldn’t start now. Now retired, my dad has the time to hit the trail and spend the next day recovering, if needed. We have so much to talk about as we hike, and we laugh a lot about past and present stories we share. Next thing you know, we’ll have new hiking experiences to talk about over Christmas dinner with more family members, and our relationship and history will just keep evolving through these shared moments.
05: Adjust your hiking style. If you’re a weekend warrior bagging peaks with your buddies, that’s cool, but that’s maybe not quite what your father can handle. There’s a lot to be said for slowing down and simply appreciating the company you’re with and the time outside. If it’s your dad who is the budding athlete while you’re a weekday desk jockey, ask him to go at your speed so you can hike together.
Out of the more than 70 hikes I did for my research, only a handful of those were with my dad, but those were some of the best ones, and I have indelible memories from each one. We were both awed by the beauty we saw, and we easily laughed off our foibles. It wasn’t a trip down memory lane, but a chance to keep building remembrances in our lives together.
No one would ever describe me as an athlete, so I am probably late to the game in appreciating my body’s functionality. Being blessed with good genes so that I’m generally healthy also means that I tend to take my body for granted.
The truth is, I long thought of my body in terms of how it looked, how it fit into clothes, or how it was judged by others (the weird mental woman’s work of developing opinions of my own body based on what others might think).
When I set out to update the guidebook60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Denver and Boulder in late 2018, I pictured myself getting buff and toned and looking better than ever as I traipsed along Colorado’s Front Range trails more than once a week. I look back on that and shake my head, thinking, “What foolishness.” Note that I was thinking how I would look, not feel.
It takes actually using your body to appreciate it rather than judge it. Otherwise, we might miss important messages from our bodies that can direct our wellness—or underestimate our abilities as we sit back and demand that the body just be as we wish.
A Scientific Americanarticle titled “We’ve Lost Touch with Our Bodies” looks at how a combination of medications, technology, and our modern culture have led to many problems in which we are increasingly disconnected from our own bodies. Without going into great detail, the concept is called interoception, and it’s about how our mind receives and responds to basic internal signals from the body such as hunger and thirst. When we numb ourselves through medicines, screens, and more, then the messages don’t get through.
I certainly wasn’t feeling out of touch with my body, but I do think that a full-time office job and daily commute meant my body—like so many others—had morphed into the shape of a dining room chair, and I didn’t give it much thought. As long as I wasn’t sick, made it to a yoga class and the gym every so often, and fit into my favorite jeans, there was nothing to think about, right?
Body image is a complex topic for both men and women, and it changes with age, not just size. Psychology Today did extensive surveys on body image over the decades and concluded that, despite discontent with their bodies, people would rather be assessed for what they do, not how they look.
Somewhere on about hike 30-something in the middle of one of the snowiest Colorado winters in years, I began to think differently about my body, as I needed more energy and muscle to get from trailhead to peak and back, over and over again. I forgot all about how my body looked or might look in the near future and instead focused on what it needed from me in terms of types of food, hydration, and rest. My goal was essentially the same—complete all 60 hikes by deadline—but how my pants fit was no longer on my mind.
I developed a new respect for the hard work my body was doing as I tackled trails with thousands of feet of elevation gain in just a few miles, pushed myself to get up pre-dawn to be on the trail, and then asked my body to do it all again the next day or a couple of days later. I became grateful to my body for making it possible for me to meet my goals, and I showed this by making sure I ate protein-rich foods along with fresh vegetables and fruit, had enough snacks and water with me on each hike, and soaked in plenty of Epsom salts when I got home.
I started off as a slow hiker, and I finished as a slow hiker. My pants fit exactly the same on my last hike as my first. And I was thrilled with my body!
I learned that what matters is how you feel, not how you look.
