journey

The REAL question….

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I leave Sunday for the BIGGEST of the Mom’s Big Year trips so far and still have oodles of items on the to-do list.  I’m starting to accept the fact that they’re just not going to get done. I kept thinking I had another week and it dawned on me the other day that my plane leaves for Austin early THIS Sunday!

I texted one of my dearest and oldest friends yesterday and confided in her that with everything going on — I just didn’t feel quite ready for this big and exciting adventure.

Her response….

“But is Texas ready for YOU? ……..THAT is the question.”

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Here’s to another 30+ years of friendship, Tamar!  Thank you for always dishing out EXACTLY what I need to hear when I need it most!

XOXO, Nancy

 

 

Pick 3

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Work. sleep. family. fitness. friends.  (And let’s add BIRDING too– or whatever your *passion* might be!)

“Pick three”, I’ve been told.

Hmmm… As a mom, ‘family’ ~always~ is at the top of the list and for me ‘friends’ need to be in there too.. And if you know me well enough.. then you know that Nature Nancy NEEDS to have ‘birding’ in there too.. And you may know that I’m loving my new job — so I need to include that as well… So, that means there’s nothing left for ‘sleep’ & ‘fitness’.  Hmmm. <Insert head scratch here>

IMG_6290Last week, sleep had to take a back seat.. as friends (and work) needed some more attention. I did try to beat the system and sneak in some extra sleep, however.  😉 I have become an expert at setting a three-minute timer on my phone during the day and taking a nap for those three minutes. I’m not sure that that qualifies as real sleep, but I’ll take what I can get. (And yes, I CAN fall asleep for a good portion of those three minutes.  Just ask my son… Out of curiosity and fascination, he’s actually watched me achieve this feat first-hand more than once. 🙂  )

The lack of sleep finally caught up with me though and the tone of the week took a downward turn. A mommy friend was just diagnosed with breast cancer. . Whenever I hear news like this, I feel as if I’ve been punched in the stomach.  I was planning to go birding that day and blog all about it– but instead there I stood in the grocery store, the get well cards fading into a blur as my eyes welled with tears.shopcart620 I was searching for just the right card and flowers as a ‘pick-me-up’. I needed to do ~something~, anything for this friend.. and birding/blogging would just have to wait.
I ducked into the next aisle attempting to dry my eyes. As a steady stream of tears began to fall, I found myself pretending to read the cans of Raid (of all things) that happened to be in front of me, just to avoid drawing any attention to myself. My attempts to juggle my lack of sleep, birding, teaching, friends and family had all caught up with me… Greeting-Cards-People-Cancerbut I knew I had every right to cry, even if I wasn’t spread so thin.

I feel much better after finally getting a good night’s sleep and I know my friend is going to knock the socks off her cancer!

Last week was a sobering reminder to me that a Mom’s Big Year of birding involves a whole lot more than just the birds.

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Break

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This past week may have been Spring Break for the professor in me, but it was far from a break for the birder in me! It was ‘catch-up’ time….ticking birds for Mom’s Big Year! Fun!

My plans to get ahead on several weeks of class lecture prep went out the window, with local sightings of harlequin ducks and other fun birds posted Monday. There were several winter birds still out there on the coast of Maryland that I needed, so I sent a quick email out. Shortly after I sent it, I had several very kind offers from local birder buddies to get out in the field with me all over the state this week! Fun!

I’m still recovering… and soon you’ll know why..

Last Wed 1:11 am-bedtime…IMG_6011

 

followed by a 4:14 am wake-up for a trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to chase winter waterfowl for the day.

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I’ve got a whole lot to tell about some really fun birds, including a long-tailed duck and gannets!

Every night I sit at my laptop to write you all about it….. BUT I fall asleep… 🙂

Tonight as I tried to squeeze in the last moments of daylight… I was outside pruning the bushes(despite being completely overtired) and accidentally clipped a string of Christmas lights still hanging. Yes, you heard me, Christmas lights.. you can laugh now.. as the wreath is still up too!   (So, perhaps it’s not TOO late for me to send out those holiday cards after all. LOL!)

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Such is life in a busy Mom’s Big Year, right. 🙂 

Must get to bed now as migration is starting!

But I’ll post more soon!

Good night and good birding,

Nancy

 

 

 

 

 

First trip!

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I just landed in sunny Florida for the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival!  Special thanks to Kevin Loughlin and Wildside Nature Tours for bringing me down to lead field trips here for the next 5 days!  So much FUN! I can’t wait!

Looking forward to seeing some great birds and meeting and reconnecting with lots of fun and exciting people on this first out-of-state trip for my ‘Mom’s Big Year’!

Continue reading →

And the winner is…

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No… Sorry my dear friends.. I am not one of the lucky Powerball winners.. (But if you are.. please remember how much I do love y’all!)

Yesterday, I felt like I did win though… all $1.5 billion.

Well, almost. 😛 Continue reading →

Imagine

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I bought this stone last spring, just after the Mom’s Big Year seed had been planted during a fun and inspiring conversation with Greg Miller*. I had time on my hands at that point.. enough time to pick this stone up and put it down 7 times before I finally decided to treat myself and buy it.  Since then, my ‘Imagine’ stone has fueled dreams of flying off to far away and exciting places all over the country to see rare birds and equally exciting people.

I no longer have the luxury of extra time, as this week I begin prep for my first big trip of Mom’s Big Year.  Now everything is kicking into gear.

All. At. Once.

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Bittersweet

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Happy New Year! Wishing you all peace, health and joy in 2016!

It’s been a great start to Mom’s Big Year so far!

I kicked off January 1st doing what I’ll be doing a LOT of this year… …..Birding!  (Just writing that puts a *huge* smile on my face.)

I joined 18 members of our local bird club at my favorite local spot, The Howard County Conservancy at Mt. Pleasant. Since Friday, a couple of exciting birds have appeared on the scene at various local hotspots, including a Ross’s Goose and a Redhead Duck- both unusual for our area! Check out the barred owl too!

Barred Owl, Photo by Howard Patterson with phonescope adapter
Ross’s Goose, photo by Kevin Heffernan
Redhead duck, photo by Anthony Vanschoor

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‘Twas the night before…

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Blue Jay, photo by Tom Halliwell

‘Twas the night before Mom’s Big Year!

I’m super excited to get going tomorrow! You’re all invited to join me on my journey and follow along via this blog- if you’re not already. (Just select the blue button on the right or elect to follow via email).  I am completely humbled and deeply moved by the outpouring of support I have received from so many friends near and far! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the personal notes of encouragement and offers to house me, bird with me, and support me along the way.  I’m sure feeling the love!

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Owl prowl

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“It is good to have an end to journey toward;

but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

– Ernest Hemingway

We had no business going out… 

This weekend’s calendar was bursting at the seams with homework, science projects, basketball games, holiday baking commitments, orchestra practice, scout merit badge requirements, and several not-to-be-missed holiday gatherings.  Tis the season, right??

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Fly!

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Over the past few months, on several early morning coffee dates, my non-birding girlfriends have ever-so-patiently listened to me bubble over with excitement about my Mom’s Big Year.  They have been SO supportive and encouraging and have patiently listened to everything from my big picture travel plans right down to the detailed differences between a Franklin’s gull and laughing gull in winter plumage…      Quite the feat for a non-birding audience. 🙂

One morning a couple months ago, out of the blue, I received a text from one of those dear girlfriends, Sandra, with this photo attached.  

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Sandra is simply lovely. She’s an amazing friend, artist, mom, and graphic designer and she created this collage as a gift to me- inspired by my journey.  Tears welled up in my eyes as I called to thank her.. I was deeply moved by her sweet gesture.  Every element of this artwork has a TON of symbolism for me…the word “FLY”, the bird cage, the birds on the wire, the colors… So exciting to wrap my mind around this. Whenever I look at it, I smile and cry, all at the same time. I will cherish it always.

With the support of people as genuine and generous as Sandra in my flock ;-), I know this journey is going to be nothing short of fabulous!  Today I’m rolling out my blog to a wider audience and I’m ready to FLY!