Raised in a large family. Left home when I was 17 for college. Fell in love with plants and the environment along the way. Worked in plant conservation. Explored the world (actually, the Americas and Europe is the extent of it). Live with my 18-year old son who spent a month in China last year and who's traveling to India in late May. He'll start at ASU in the fall (it's a mile straight up College Avenue). We spend a lot of time with our pups and putzing in the house and garden working on projects depending upon the season.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Overeducated, underemployed, etc.

Interests

• arts
• books
• walking
• music
• plants
• exploring

Music, Movies, and Books

Eclectic, from Neil Young & Joni Mitchell, to Mississippi John Hurt to King Sonny Ade, Los Lobos, Gypsy Kings, etc. Movies include Casablanca to Inception.

Books such as One Hundred Years of Solitude and anything by Nancy Turner (ethnobotanist).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Ridden a mule along a narrow mountain trail in the Sierra Madré Occidental in México on a moonless night. Hiking to wash our clothes, boil our lunch, and bathe in local geysers high in the Andes east of Moquequa, Peru. Described a plant species new to science and having another one named for me (the trip with the aforementioned mule). Okay, so I can't count.

Teach, Learn, Share

Plants, people, art.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Our house and our evolving garden. We have two dogs, desert tortoises, and chickens. I enjoy cooking with people. Basic healthy mostly vegetarian diet. We're a mile from Arizona State University and a free neighborhood circulator bus comes by every 15 minutes. From there you can connect to LightRail which can take you to the airport (7 miles) and on into Phoenix. Desert Botanical Garden and Phoenix Zoo are about four miles away. We don't have much money but we're good with that.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Costa Rica, England, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Sweden, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico