Midwest Birding Symposium!

I can't believe it's been two years since the Midwest Birding Symposium happened at Lakeside, Ohio. It's coming around again. And I can't quite believe that, either. 

Seems like we were just there.

And wait. What happened to this summer, where did it go?

It's August. And then it will be September, and hundreds of happy birders and people who want to be birders and people who just like being outside and around others who appreciate nature will again convene on the beautiful Victorian village of Lakeside.

They'll hear lectures by top-flight speakers.

They'll be entertained by deft emcee Bill Thompson III.

They'll stroll the grounds looking for whimsy and beauty in Lakeside's many gardens.

The sun will smile and the breezes will be mild.

With crispy edges.

Maybe the waves from great Lake Erie will crash against the breakwaters, almost making us imagine we're on the seashore. But we are...on a fresh inland sea, but a sea no less.

There's something so freeing about being on a huge body of water.

MBS is like a big autumnal camp of happy people who share a desire to learn and celebrate birds and birdwatching.

There is a terrific vendor hall that grows and grows, and has everything a good little birder really wants for Christmas. You can pick up any binocular or scope you wish and try it before you buy it--or just dream about it.

Friendly Bird Watcher's Digest staff stand ready to assist you. Nobody hosts an event like BWD. Attention to detail and caring about your comfort and convenience are their focus, and they do it well.

Laura, Elsa and Wendy in uniform and ready to rock.

We'll go out looking for birds. Maybe another Kirtland's warbler will show up in 2013, setting hearts  pounding?

Jen Brumfield will be ready for it. Even in the lunch line.

I'm going. And so are our kids. And so is Chet Baker.

He will again be Official Greeter Dog of Midwest Birding Symposium.

This is a position that he takes very seriously. Many people come into enormous Hoover Auditorium every day, and they all need to be kissed and smiled at.

 Some come to the hall repeatedly. I think in some cases it is just for the dog.

 Daddeh will keep it all rolling along on schedule, lighthearted and fun.

 I'll be behind Chet Baker, showing art and signing books and giving a talk too. MBS is the only place I show art any more. I'm too busy making it.

If you'd like to learn more about MBS, click this link. But be ready to laugh.

Because MBS is above all, FUN. I am really looking forward to it. It's hard work for all of us, but it's also extremely fun. And I know from fun.

Come spend some time with us on the big inland sea. Meet friends old and new. Hear stimulating talks, go on field trips with other birders, gather and laugh and learn. I'll see you there. 

Register soon--it's only 45 days away!

Find out more!

Midwest Birding Symposium: Some Favorite Shots

Billed as "The world's friendliest birding event," the Midwest Birding Symposium is exactly that. What a gas! So many incredibly nice people all gathered together to watch birds and learn from speakers, to laugh and eat and hang out together in the salubrious winy-rich fall days at beautiful Lakeside.

I have a grab-bag of photos from the event. Most of them have dog in them, because sitting at my booth was the only time I had a camera with me. I thought you'd enjoy seeing them, spontaneous and uncategorized as they are.

Here's my friend Jeff Reiter from Words on Birds makin' petties on Chet Baker. It was Chet's idea to take a running leap and land on the display table when Jeff appeared. After the second such display, with books and papers scattering everywhere, I suggested to The Bacon that he was to stay on the floor or in his super-pimped director's chair. Which he was happy to do. But a Boston does like to make the occasional splash.

We charged extra for Rain Crows tee's and hoodies that had been sat upon by such a famous cybercelebrity.

 

I was thrilled to see Kay and James Novak sporting the color-remarqued name badges I made for them at the 1999 symposium in Lakeside. I remember it well...Phoebe was three, and trundling around under my easel, and Liam was still being baked but rising fast, to be born less than two months later, and I was for some insane and probably hormonal  reason painting everyone's favorite bird on their nametag for $15 a pop. I will say it improved booth traffic; it was like having a hugely pregnant painting monkey at your booth, and what could be better than that?

But it sure made people happy!

You can see in the background that I have a mix of framed paintings and brand-new pieces from The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds. The new art is mounted very simply on matboard. I couldn't afford to frame it all, and there wasn't time anyway--I only just got it back from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. But it looked really pretty mixed in with the framed art.

We went to a reception for speakers and vendors on Thursday night at Rock of Ages, a gorgeous hold home in Marblehead. It was breezy and chilly, but everyone loved being out on the lawn

 

because the view looked like this 

 

and we were all together, hugging and laughing and having a little wine and great food, thanks to my sister-in-law Laura Fulton, who knows about such things. There's Publisher Elsa Thompson in front, taking in Bill's every word

as he gives credit where credit is due and welcomes everyone to the Symposium. I was blown away yet again, all weekend, by Bill's grace under fire and ability to attend to a thousand tiny details, put out hundreds of the usual event-related brush fires, then leap up the stairs to the podium and take an audience in the palm of his hand, making them feel appreciated and welcome and thoroughly entertained. He has every right to be comatose for the next week.

I really had the time of my life, hangin' with friends like master birder George Armistead of Field Guides Inc. and master digiscoper Bill Schmoker.

And I watched in amazement as my beautiful friend and bandmate Wendy Eller did everything from wrassle Internet providers to haul ice buckets to sing like a dang nightingale to keep everyone fed, entertained and satisfied.

Liz Gordon of ABA and The Cosmos, and Jan Pierson, also of Field Guides, Inc. So great to see my buds! Oh look! There's a lil' angel on Jan's shoulder!

 

 Back at the booth, Chet Baker was very busy giving sweet dog fixes to anyone who needed them. And there were a whole lot of people needing that special quiet connection with a good dog. John Moore came back several times, and Chet walked over, smiling, then planted himself next to John for a little nonverbal communication, a little communion.

 

Terry probably visited Chet the most. He's been the delighted owner of two Bostons, but that was awhile ago. I could feel him remembering all the love they'd given him, and Chet could, too. It was very sweet, and Chet Baker knew Terry needed some special attention. Plus, that man knew all the right places to scratch. Chet's wearing his special Official MBS Bandanna made by the amazing Jen Sauter.

 

Chet Baker never quite got the hang of riding in a golf cart. If he'd see a fox squirtle, he'd leap out and hit the pavement pretty hard, so you had to keep your arm around him tightly.

 Lakeside is like a giant fox squirtle-filled candy box for Baker. They're big and slow and kinda dumb compared to chipmunks, and oh, he wanted one so bad. But they aren't that dumb.

Shirley Stary was like a beneficent angel, bestowing multiplugs, adaptors, extension cords, beverages and great goodwill upon all the speakers, vendors, organizers and participants. And who was taking care of Shirley?

Chet Baker.

Shirley introduced him to a lot of her staff by saying, "I am not a dog person, and I've never been much for dogs. But this is Chet Baker and I am crazy about him."

We see a Boston in Shirley's future, oh yes, we do. Because that exact thing has happened before to someone who never thought she much wanted a dog in her life, and had to think about it for 13 years.

The Midwest Birding Symposium, Baker Style

A bit of a hurried post as I prepare for our biggest day (Saturday) at the MBS here in Lakeside, Ohio. It's everything we dreamt of and so much more. About 1,000 people, all committed to birdwatching and appreciating and conserving our environment, are gathered together, and it is a beautiful explosion. 

I am very happy to have Chet Baker along, and there are lots of folks who are happy about that, too.

He's taking his job as meeter/greeter at Hoover Auditorium very seriously.

Surely there is someone here who needs a kiss. I am on the lookout for people who need kisses.

 Found one! Here's KatDoc, and she always likes my kisses. She does one better--she gets down and plays with me. She is a 10 on the Dog-o-Meter.

 There are wonderful talks going on in Hoover all day long, and Chet and I are delighted to be there with our art display, able to listen and learn while manning our booth.

 Mary Ann Barnett is a very nice bloggerlady. Those people who have blogs seem to be the happiest to see me.

I gave my friend Ruthie the Nature Knitter some special love. She needed dog.

 

She is a very, very nice person. I like her very much.

 Mether has about 50 paintings hanging up. They are all her favorites from Letters from Eden and from her book that is coming out, The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds. There are a lot of people wanting to buy them but Mether says she wants to mount a traveling exhibit so she doesn't want to sell them before the book comes out. It is awkward, in my opinion. So people have to settle for ordering the new book or buying the new bird gardening book, or a print, or Letters from Eden. I think she should sell them all so she can keep me in the manner to which I have become accustomed.

 I do have to admit she makes sure I am comfortable. She has a chair set up with a brand new non-smelly bed, some bikkits,  and my leash. My friend Miss Jen Sauter made me a special  MBS kerchief, which lends a tinge of officiality to my presence.

 

We are in a huge auditorium where people like Kim and Kenn Kaufman, Pete Dunne, David Bird, Bridget Stuchbury, Alvaro Jaramillo and Mether and Daddeh are talking. 

 There are many, many birders here. This is Jen Brumfield, getting her lunch. She refused any help with her scope, claiming that it was perfectly balanced. I have to believe her.

 This is the wonderful blogger Chris Ciccone. I was happy to meet him!

There was a small small babeh here and I was so excited to see him I jumped up and kissed him while he was still in his daddeh's arms. Then we talked a little bit. We used pictures instead of words. That babeh liked me.

I try to make sure that babehs understand that dogs are friendly and sweet. I also like the way babehs smell. 
They like me, too.

 

Mether pretty much gives me the run of Hoover, but she makes me come back to her booth often. She should not worry. I have work to do, and that sometimes involves going out and clearing the big stupid fox squirtles from the premises. It needs to be done. They have been running amok for too long.

 This is Mether's editor, Lisa White at Houghton Mifflin. She loves me so much she bought my half-sister Ella Fitzgerald. Part of my job is to give people who need it some dog, just when they need it. I must go now, because I am needed! More later!
Love,

Chet Baker, Greeter Dog

Not About Primroses

 

 Evening primrose in my garden. Gratuitous color splash, nothing to do with what's spilling out of me...

Haven't felt much like blogging lately. It's felt more like something I had to do...I had to tell you all about Charlie, and then Snapperfest came up in an anonymous comment on my blog, and I was moved to investigate and then to do something about that. That post continues to draw hits, which delights me because it means people are still ticked off about it. I know I am. I've been working on a strategic angle on the whole mess that has some promise. I honestly think the animal cruelty angle, however obvious it may be to (literally) the rest of the world, is a dead end in the fine state of Indiana. Emails to Indiana's Governor Daniels protesting the event are answered with:


"The common snapping turtle is one of three turtles considered a game species in Indiana. The other two are the smooth softshell turtle and spiny softshell turtle. All three are subject to state laws that regulate their taking from the wild. Those laws include the purchase and possession of a fishing or hunting license for anyone age 18 or older, plus a daily bag limit and possession limit. Furthermore, Indiana law prohibits the sale of all native turtle species.

"Many individuals who have voiced objection to Snapperfest point to the animal cruelty laws found in Indiana Code 35-46-3. However, that law is not applicable in this instance because it provides an exemption for wild animals that are legally taken and possessed under the authority of Indiana Code 14-22.

"Thank you for your active citizenship."

Oh, you're welcome. I'm nothing if not an active citizen.

Which response apparently means that it's OK to be cruel to animals as long as you've taken them legally, in season, with the proper license. So I could torture a fox or a bobwhite quail or a white-tailed deer to death with a toothpick as long as I wounded it legally. Do you see anything right about that? Because I don't. If an animal is declared  a game species, it's left unprotected by animal cruelty laws? God help sandhill cranes if they're ever hunted in Indiana. Maybe you could wing one, then tie it up in your yard for awhile with the chickens. As I think about it, if you're going to hold leghold trapping seasons, you would have to exempt those furbearers from any animal cruelty laws, because they leave this mortal coil in a very bad way indeed.

Hmmm. Must get off that particular train of thought. It's like turning over cowpies, only what you find isn't fun creepy crawlies. Anyway, I'm not done fighting for snapping and soft-shelled turtles in Indiana, and I hope you aren't either. Still channeling grief and anger at myself on Charlie's behalf into something that might make a difference for some turtles and the kids who've been watching them being manhandled. I feel just a little bit crazy, but at least I'm aware of it. Phoebe said last night she'd like to have her fun mommy back. OK, I'm working on that, too.

 Quite the most spectacular evening primrose there ever was, and it volunteered!

Today a big bouquet of daisies and lilies with a teddy bear attached to it arrived from a reader, and her name was familiar, and I saw that she had helped me way back in another dark but memorable time, the Darryl the Bat Rabies Inoculation Event. Liam immediately appropriated the supersoft teddy bear after first cutting the pink ribbon off its neck. It was really something, to have a dazed and confused floral deliverywoman show up at my door, having punched our address into Mapquest and been sent on a wild snipe chase over hill and dale trying to find our place. When she called to say she was coming I warned her not to rely on Mapquest; it had tried to send our friend Jason down a woods road with 8" dbh trees. I gave her directions but she assured me she had them just fine. Oh, yeah, I've heard that before. Google Maps, I told her, Google Maps. Mapquest, no good. Anyway, she eventually made it and now there's this pretty bouquet from dear Ruth, with a little stack of cards from people I've never met and it all makes me cry all over again, but just because it's so sweet, to send flowers and condolence cards for a macaw they'd never seen but loved anyway.

I was reading this evening about the death of Nickolas Ashford, half of the singer/songwriter duo Ashford and Simpson, who left us this week. Apparently he was homeless when he wandered into a Baptist church because he'd heard he might get something to eat there. And there was a woman there playing piano and they struck up a conversation and wound up collaborating on songwriting for ten years before finally getting married and staying married. She wrote the music; he wrote the lyrics to songs like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me." Inside this homeless hungry man was a poet and songwriter wanting out, and what might have become of him if he hadn't met Miss Simpson?

 

Evening primrose and moonrise.

 They're popping open with an audible plup!

It's the human connection that matters; the connection between us, the thing that makes you write back to me when I am hurting. That's the thing. It's clear to me that Charlie is still doing her work of keeping me company, and it seems she's been very busy scrabbling around in your hearts. Chet Baker has been hanging close with me in the studio. There's no bossy green terror kicking him out of his Studio Bed, and he can actually go into REM sleep now. I'm not sure he ever did that while Charlie was around to waddle up to him and say Move Along.  (He's sound asleep as I write.) I watched him today as he chased something, listened to him giving squeaky sleep barks as his legs twitched and galloped through a field of dreams.

 

Chet as a tubesock wearin' winter puppeh, a photo I haven't seen since 2006. Because who doesn't need to see that? It's a wonder that dog gets any sleep at all, as much snorgling as STILL goes on.

 

I'm keeping very busy cutting mats, mounting prints, making signs, and figuring out how to present a bunch of the original artwork for my new book The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds With Common Birds. I'll have a couple of panels of my show booth at the Midwest Birding Symposium dedicated to the new book. And today I made a pre-order form for the book, so people who come to the Symposium September 15-18 in Lakeside, Ohio, can have it before anyone else. It's exactly the kind of thing I need to be doing. And I'm doing all that work in Charlie's sunny little room. The countertop where she played and shredded papers is now my work surface; her view for the last dozen years is now my view. The bird feeders we put outside her window are still full of the goldfinches, cardinals and titmice she loved to watch. It feels good and right to be in there where she lived for so many years.

I'm really looking forward to the Symposium, to writing and giving a brand new talk called "Living With Birds," which is how The Bluebird Effect came to be a book, anyway.  It's about the bonds, it's all about the bonds.

 

My finest work, viewed through a screen lightly.

Thank you for all your kindness. It helps, it helps.

Midwest Birding Symposium-Come With Me!

The Midwest Birding Symposium is almost here! In 34 days, close to a thousand birdwatchers will flutter down upon Lakeside, an idyllic resort on the shore of Lake Erie. It's coming. People are signing up like crazy. I would like you to consider joining the flock. So I shall seduce you with flowers, beautiful architecture, scintillating talks, groovy field trips and a certain charismatic Boston terrier.

This is my favorite birding event aside from the Big Sit, and for many of the same reasons. Most of all, I love seeing so many wonderful people, greeting and yakking with them at my booth. Lakeside is like this big beautiful Victorian summer camp, and seeing groups of birders sauntering through its quaint streets makes me happy. They're going from talk to talk.

About those talks. I sat down to make a list of the speakers I wanted to hear. I got a piece of paper, went to the Speakers link on Midwestbirding.org
and started writing. About halfway through, I started to chuckle, because I'd written every single one down as a can't-miss.

Last year I gave my talk in Orchestra Hall, with its lovely acoustics and intimate atmosphere. Perfect. But a tad small. We don't want to make anyone stand up.

This year, I'll face the cavernous expanse of historic Hoover Auditorium, along with a roster of wonderful speakers. I'm Al Batt's warmup act on Saturday night.

 

Imagine this place packed full of birders. Scary! Fun!  As it happens, Hoover's where I'll have my art booth. So I'll get to hear a bunch of awesome talks, and I'll get to see practically everybody as they come through. Yay! Come and say hi! Remember to blurt "BLOG!" if that's how we know each other. People won't look at you funny.

It's time to pack up the booth. I enjoy the challenge of using my Poor Man's Pickup, the cargo carrier I bought to haul Extra Stuff. Usually that means bales of straw or lots of bungeed garbage cans, but sometimes it means Fine Art.

 

 Many bungee cords, some strapdowns, some tarps and yes, some duct tape will be deployed.

Here's hoping for the same perfect winey-sweet September weather we enjoyed in 2009.

I'll have limited-edition prints and original paintings like this one from my upcoming book.

 

  It's called The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds.

It's due out in early spring 2012. 80,000 words and 320 brand-new color and pencil illustrations...it's been a thing. But it's done now and just about to go to press, and I cannot wait to hold it in my hands. 

I'll be taking the first pre-orders at this Symposium. If you pre-order The Bluebird Effect here, you'll get it before anyone else, and I'll be more than happy to sign it and personalize it as you request.

But enough of my yakkin'. Let me show you Lakeside as I know it and love it.

 

There's a lovely walking path that runs along Erie's shore, past gorgeous homes and luscious gardens.

 

 I walk and gaze and fantasize that Bill and I are sitting in those chairs, sharing a julep as we gaze out on the lake. But of course there would be many more dandelions in our lawn.

  

 There are almost no cars to worry about, just golf carts and bicycles, so you can walk anywhere. 

There are big green spaces with tantalizing squirtles.

We'll be bunking at the Hotel Lakeside, which I understand is full up right now. Liam is spooked by the ghosts that are said to walk its halls, but they're mostly just playing dressup with the sheets.

 

Both kids are hugely looking forward to it. Phoebe loves the architecture and the freedom of riding bikes anywhere she and Liam want to go.

 

Chet Baker loves the place, too. And he'll be with us, so this may be your chance to get your kiss from a very down-to-earth canine cyberstar.

 

As you can see, my Crazy Dog Lady priorities are in order. Chet first, kids second.

We'll all be signing our books, even Phoebe and Liam, who helped Daddy write and design the

Young Birder's Guide.

 2009's Authors' Event was really fun. Here's Lang Elliott, Sharon Stiteler, Paul Baicich, Bill Thompson III, Jim McCormac, Wayne Peterson, Lisa White and Jeff Gordon, all lined up to meet, greet and sign. I was sandwiched in next to Bill, because we both sign copies of several of his books that I've illustrated or helped on.

If all this sounds like fun, please consider attending. There's PLENTY of lodging space left, both on the Lakeside grounds and off, from humble dormitories to bed and breakfasts to cottages to hotels in nearby Port Clinton.

Click here: Lodging Options  

or

Email: hotels@lakesideohio.com 

or 

call: Lakeside's Steve Koenig at 

419-798-4461 x 230 or

1-866-952-5374

What I'm trying to say is It's Not Too Late to Regiser and PLEASE COME SEE US! You'll be so glad you did. Birders are the friendliest people anywhere. And this is such a lovely, smoothly-run event in a lovely, smoothly-run place. It has a huge and an insanely great vendor mart, too, so if you're thinking of upgrading your optics or picking up the latest, hottest books, clothing, or birding accoutrements, this is IT.

Come ogle the many gorgeous homes and gardens.

Come hang out with people who love birds. Come hear terrific talks and watch the sun rise over Lake Erie.

  Come chase fall warblers with people who also think that's fun. Maybe the Kirtland's warbler who graced 2009's event will stop by again. You never know what will show up on migration along Lake Erie.

Hey! I'm a Cape May!

Visit midwestbirding.org for every detail. Check the toolbar across the site's top for links to everything you could want.
 The Thompson/Zickefoose/Baker family is anxious to see you there.

We'll be gassing up down at the Sibley Mart on the way up. Only seems fittin'.