Actually a Master Naturalist Class.
First impression.
5 out of 22 participants are under retirement age.
Most every single person in the room except perhaps 4 of us have had formal training in Biology, Ecology, or some higher degrees of study. Let's just say, as many listed their colleges and degrees and Masters degrees, I started feeling smaller and smaller....
wondering how I could crawl under the table when it came time to introduce myself.
Then I had to speak out to the others.
So much I wanted to say but after listening to all the degrees I just said:
My name is Val Ewing.
I came to this part of Wisconsin by accident. I met a fellow on a Wagon Train and fell in love and moved here.
I don't have a degree in any of this, just life experience.
Why do I have an interest in this class?
Hmmm, well the first year I had a tiny pocket camera I decided to go out and find every wild flower and plant I could daily and record where I found it, when I found it, and record what it looked like.
What was my inspiration?
[Goodness so many things to say but I picked the one thing that really stood out the most.]
My Grandmother Pearl was a Naturalist of sorts. She could hear a bird and identify it, she could walk past plants and tell you if you could eat them. She took us berry picking in the wild woods and we encountered bears. She knew her fish, and she knew wild life tracks. In fact, I was pretty sure she knew everything about anything in Nature.
I wanted to be like my Grandmother.
The fellow next to me didn't have a degree either but was eloquent in his little speech talking about how he liked to roam and stop to look at things and wonder why. [I wished I'd used that line!]
The binders we were given are worth the price of the class itself. But they are huge and weigh a ton! I've already found a hand out that I think Allison and I could really have fun with as a pocket guide.
Wonderful Wacky Water Critters published by the University of WI.
So it looks like I'm going to have to write a field journal. Most of the samples given are so dry.
Saw a Robin, 35 degrees out, sunny, ...date
and location...
Meh. You all know me. I just can't write like that.
More like.
I was wandering down to the creek when I spotted the first green leaves of a wild strawberry plant. I sat on a log to ponder it for a while and listened the the chickadee above me and I'm sure I heard a Robin. And of course I'd go off on a tangent regarding life in the forest and regrowth including wondering ...if the strawberries will be so sweet...and yadda, yadda....
Uh oh, I am in trouble!
I hate to be put in situations like that. My friend, Stormy Jade had a wonderful anecdote for it. She'd sit straight up and with the straightest face say "Hi, I'm Stormy. I like puppies, kittens, and long walks on the beach. But you will find me most evenings sitting by the fireside with a good Merlot. I cook a mean Quiche Lorraine and my herb garden is to die for." Then she'd stop and look at the next person to be introduced as if to indicate it was their turn. I saw her do it at several meetings, one where there were C-level attendees. Most people were amused by it. If not, they were polite enough to be quiet about it, and by the end of the meeting they'd forgotten about it, but few ever forgot who she was.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great answer and what a great name she has too!
DeleteYou will do just fine! I am certain you will learn from them and they will learn from you! Some of them are bound to be book nerds:)
ReplyDelete