Writing My World

Roger Tory Peterson was many things; a naturalist, an artist, an ornithologist, an environmentalist and an educator.  If you’ve ever browsed a nature store, chances are you’ve seen a Peterson Guide. He brought birding and nature to national prominence through his guides and illustrations. Les Line, a former editor of Audubon, wrote: “Because of Peterson, we became watchers not just of birds, his greatest love. Through the magic of The Peterson Field Guide series, which grew to more than 30 volumes under his editorship, we became watchers--and, more importantly, protectors--of every form of life on our planet.” I n the 1930s when he submitted his first field guide, publishers turned him down. Houghton-Mifflin finally agreed to publish his book, anticipating little success. However, the first printing of 2,000 copies sold out within a week. His fame soared and over the next fifty years, Peterson wrote nearly as many books. Peterson changed birding from a narrower “sp...

For years, my sister-in-law and niece have raved about the Lilac Festival held each May in Rochester, NY. 2019 is my lucky year! I was in town in May and the festival truly was as spectacular as they had promised. One of my earliest memories is the spring smell of lilacs. When I was young, we had one big lilac tree (as least it seemed really big at the time) at the back corner of our house. Nothing says spring to me more than that heavenly smell. I'd open the back door and there it was! It's as much in my memory as the smell of my mother's apple pie and fried chicken. That fragrance enveloped me again as we walked around Highland Park in downtown Rochester. According to Highland Park's website ( https://www.highlandparkconservancy.org/lilacs ), the park's twenty-two acres is home to 1,200 shrubs with more than 500 varieties of lilacs. John Dunbar planted the first lilacs at Highland Park in 1892. Since the first lilac celebration in 1905, hundred...