CURRENT MISSION

In nature and wilderness I find my peace, but in community gifts of culture are shared.

ABOUT ME

My father worked at NASA until he retired to walk the 2000 mile Appalachian Trail. We share interests in science and nature. My son is studying Physics at the university. With him I share laughter. My mother is our rock and with her I share a love of language and music. I work with exceptionally brilliant professors and we all care deeply for the students that come to us. I am also a Virginia Master Naturalist where we train others and volunteer ourselves to be environmental educators, citizen scientists, and stewards of this precious Earth, our island home.

PHILOSOPHY

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." We are all related and connected to each other and our fragile Earth. We must take care of each other and live peacefully.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I enjoyed meeting several couch surfers this past year and the camaraderie and joy shared was delightful.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Looking forward to my first personal couch surfing experience this May in Italy.

Interests

Experiencing nature through ornithology, entomology, horticulture, native wildflowers, amphibians, and reptiles. We gather data by personal experience with trained eyes, ears, and hearts and share it with national databanks. I also love yoga and meditation and practice daily. Dancing (all types) is another favorite form of fun and exercise!

• birds
• reptiles
• amphibians
• culture
• dancing
• exercise
• yoga
• meditation
• music
• hiking
• canoeing
• kayaking
• surfing
• entomology
• ornithology
• physics
• science
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

I read mostly non-fiction, but every once in a while, I indulge in my favorite author, Barbara Kingsolver, for novels. My favorite musician is Joni Mitchell.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

A night hike in Costa Rica encountering gorgeous amphibians and reptiles. Hiking in Zermatt in the pouring rain. Botanizing in Lausanne, Switz. Canoeing and kayaking with manatees and alligators in Florida. Hiking the Camino de Santiago from St.Jean to Santiago.

Teach, Learn, Share

I want to learn as much as possible about the natural world, the birds, trees, and plants of the regions and countries I visit. And I want to share that knowledge because we can only love and care for that which we know.