Scott's Return to Wild America

It was a great pleasure to see Scott Weidensaul again after too many years of missing his appearance here or there. Scott's an old friend, although I'd guess pretty much anyone he meets immediatly feels like one with his warm and accepting personality. Scott was speaking at the Lancaster County Bird Club on Friday night and we made a special effort to attend. Amazingly there are many such great things happening in our area that we rarely have time for. Usually we meet the locals at events hours from home.

Scott spoke on his latest book Return to Wild America where he traces the path that Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher took fifty years ago. That earlier trek resulted in the classic book, Wild America. I corrected an oversight and listed Return to Wild America immediately at www.randysbooks.com. The talk was truly inspirational and was accompanied by color slides that put some of their black and white clones in the book to shame. Scott observes the changes that have happened between the two journeys and notes that there is both reason for celebration and caution. It was a bit unusual to see even Scott's feathers ruffled, but he spoke passionately about some recent attacks on wild areas that undermine some very successful conservation efforts.

Has anybody read both books? I bought a used copy of Wild America after thumbing through a copy in a Maine Bed and Breakfast we were staying in and of course, I picked up a copy of Return to Wild America at the bird club meeting so I could have Scott autograph it. Yes, I know I'm supposed to stay on top of these things and there's no excuse that I didn't already have a copy. Worse than that, I still haven't read my copy of Wild America either. Now I have two more books to read.

Hey, it SNOWED!

Yes, and that means it's a whole new world for Gio, who yesterday was slipping through the mud. Today of course it means shoveling and romping... mostly romping, followed by a melt-down in the kitchen if he can be restrained there (unlikely). Of course Jolene and Gio are ecstatic. I'm more or less tolerant, though if I could get my hands on a certain groundhog...

Blogging for Books!

Well, after deciding to do it months ago and not deciding how since then, I've finally created a blog for Randy's Books. I hope it is a convenient way to keep the conversation going for those who I see at events throughout the year and allow those I don't see to join in. Most of what I will post here will relate to Books, of course, that you find in my catalog at www.randysbooks.com, but who knows what else will come up? Come back often and share in the surprise!