‘I am always doing what I can’t do yet in order to learn how to do it.’ – Van Gogh, 1885
I wanted to create a space to talk about things I’m interested in and projects I am working on. Topics may include woodworking, vintage tools, birding, and maybe even other awesome things: Aubrey-Maturin novels, coin collecting and 4runners – basically anything I find cool (I enjoy exploring a wide variety of things.) I hope some of the material here (particularly the vintage tool restoration posts) may be useful to some folks out there, but I’m doing this primarily for my own enjoyment.
I guess I should say a few things about myself since this is an ‘about me’ page…
I’m graduating in December with a Ph.D. in Forest Resources with a concentration in Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture. My research areas include landscape ecology and ornithology. My dissertation research addressed birds in intensively managed pine forests. This isn’t really intended to be a professional blog, but you can read my publications by following the link at the top, if you’re so inclined.
I’ve been a birder since 2003. I specialize in the birds of the eastern US. 2018 has been something of a ‘little big year’ for me, and I’ve been trying to see all the birds I can in Mississippi this year. If you’re interested, there’s a link to my birding life list at the top.
Other things… I like creating things and learning about everything I can. I restore vintage hand tools and do woodworking by hand when I have time (and the shop is below 90 degrees). I work on my own vehicles when I can. I am a big fan of the Aubrey-Maturin novel series. I’m a trekkie. I think I might have a coffee problem. I’m married and I’m dad to three awesome little kiddos. I’m doing my best to turn the kids into birders. My cat seems to find me acceptable.
If you like something I’ve posted, please leave a comment using the form below. I am always happy to chat about something I’ve worked on or am working on. It’s more fun when you get to share this stuff with other like minded people.
-Michael
