Me

I really don't like writing about myself but will sum up what makes me tick in a few sentences. My educational background includes degrees in biology and medical technology as well as post graduate studies in botany. I have had the opportunity to live on three continents -- North America, Asia and Europe and am very fortunate to be able to travel to and experience nature in many places on this planet. Beginning in 1988, my husband and I lived in Southern Maryland for 19 years and in that area of natural beauty and richness, I became a much more well-rounded naturalist. In mid-2007 we moved to southeast Arizona and we now live on the western slope of one of the "Sky Islands" in the Dragoon Mountains, Cochise County. In this beautiful state, we continue to marvel and partake of what nature has to offer.

Why I created this website

The Nest Box began as a whim on a snowy evening in January 1996. There were no photos, only a few crude graphics that I found on those free graphics websites. You know--the colored arrows, cartoon-like animals, animated icons, etc. At the time, I thought they were so impressive! There was really no direction or intent so I focused on my natural history interests, mainly birding. I soon realized that the addition of photos would make a big difference in the appearance of the website  so I purchased a scanner and bought lots of film for my camera. Over the years this site has expanded to include a lot of my nature photography. I don't even want to think of the cost of this project--especially when you include all the digital camera equipment I've gone through in recent years. Was it worth it? Most definitely!

When one has a deep passion for something, it's only natural to want to share it with others. It is my hope that the content on this website including my photographs might help raise awareness and create appreciation for the beauty and fragile nature of even the tiniest living creatures. With humankind over-populating the planet and the resulting loss of habitat and concurrent pollution and depletion of natural resources, survival becomes difficult if not impossible. It's easy for us self-centered humans to overlook how other organisms must struggle to survive, in large part, due to our dominance on this planet. Respect and reverence for the natural world that surrounds us are the first steps we can take to begin protecting the treasures that still remain.

Photography

On September 4, 2000 I abandoned film forever with the purchase of a 2 megapixel digital camera. Quite a few cameras and megapixels later, I can say I have never looked back! All of the photos on this website are digital except for the trip photos taken prior to converting to digital.  A few of my photos were taken in a unique manner. They were taken through my spotting scope with a Nikon Cooplix 4500 attached to the eyepiece of the scope.  Those photos have the word "digiscope" in the photo description. Digiscoping was and is a fine hobby in itself.

As I feel listing equipment is a bit boastful, let's just say I have some nice  camera equipment (digital SLR) that has made me a better photographer than I ever dreamed I could be.

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