Faces and Places

During the past three weeks, The Zick and I have been on the road to a variety of places, encountering a pleasing blur of friendly faces, and seeing a few birds, selling a few books in between. Back home in the snowy hills of SE Ohio, I've been flipping through my iPhoto library looking at my images--mostly of people--and trying to re-conjure the magic of those moments that are now, as they always must, receding into the past.

So I'll bid them a fond farewell for now with hopes of a later re-convergence. These faces are already woven into the tapestry of my memory. I'll share some of them here, with just a brief caption to give you a sense of place, time, and space for each face, starting with the most recent days first, then drifting backward in time.

The Patrick Sweany Band played for Dave Rudie's b-day bash. Dave's b-day is 3/4 and he is 4-0.

After the show, Patrick gave me a birthday knuckle sandwich. (photo by Julie Z.)

Happy Birthday Dave! (photo by Julie Z.)

Earlier in the day we had a jocular breakfast at John Kogge's house with visiting pal Doug Meikle (behind my guitar). Three grown men giggling for two hours straight is a pretty ridiculous scene. (photo by Julie Z.)

Doug has a highly developed sense of smell. (photo by Julie Z.)

On the night of March 2, the moon looked like an eye in the sky.

Julie and I enjoyed our visit to the Murphin Ridge Inn while attending the Amish birding Symposium.

During our visit to the Kogge's house on 2/25, Jesse Kogge (little) and Liam Thompson (big) became good pals.

And so did Mallory and Phoebe.

Denver Holt and Jen Sauter made a BOTB sandwich at the OOS Owls Symposium on 2/24. Photo courtesy Jen Sauter.

This mural at Hueston Woods State Park weirded me all the way out!

On our return flight from Guatemala, we got to know this little girl sitting in front of us. She was full of smiles the entire trip home.

Our last night in Coban Guatemala we were treated to a traditional dance performance, complete with a resplendent quetzal.

This small couple, members of a Guatemalan dance troupe, took their dancing very seriously. They were smooth dancers, too!

One of Guatemala's finest birding guides is Hugo Haroldo Enriquez Toledo. We call him HugoHugo.

Estellita arranged for us to make it back to Guatemala City for our home-bound flight. She also took us to our favorite market for our final bit of shopping.

Amigas de nosotros: Maria Elena (left) works for The Nature Conservancy in Guatemala. Hilda Morales (right) works for CONAP (the National Council for Protected Areas) in Guatemala.

Young marimba professionals in training at the eco-park where we were birding. These three boys played really well--better than most adults I heard!

The leader of the marimba players at El Rey.

On Tuesday 2/20 I led a field trip with 35 Guatemalans to share the joys of birding. First lesson: How to take a goofy group photo.

Guys with giant bird brains squaring off. Peter Burke and Alvaro Jaramillo (our Guate trip partners) argue about whose book is better. Later, a hockey game broke out.

After leading the bird walk, several of us went spelunking in the ancient cave. Claudia Burgos and I posed in front of an underground Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Intrepid birder Josiah Clark describes a bird's flight at Rio Escondido in Guatemala.

On our final morning at Tikal, we climbed the Temple of the Moon. Soon a group of college kids arrived and decided to build their own pyramid atop a Mayan pyramid. No one fell off.

English birder and tour leader for Sunbird Tours, Bryan Bland casts a bushy eyebrow toward a golden-cheeked warbler at Rio Escondido. Bryan has amazing birding travel tales to tell.

Among our best Guatemalan birding pals are Kenneth Alvarado (left) and Marco Centeno. If you see them, say "Gotas!"

I am a lucky guy to be able to go birding in so many places with so many great friends. Excuse me while I count my blessings. (photo by Julie Z.)