The Unfeathered Bird: or, why I was in Laramie

Carlos Martinez del Rio, "cyborg naturalist", polymath, bibliophile, horseman, game cook, teacher, and doubtless a host of other things I don't know about yet,  is director of the Berry Center Biodiversity Institute at the University of Wyoming at Laramie. In that position, supervising an ever- expanding net woven between science, art, and nature, he decided to have a show based on  Katrina van Grouw's* incredible new book, The Unfeathered Bird, combining several talks and workshops with an art show. As Carlos knows everybody (you think I have a wide range of friends in my network?) he invited me to introduce her, as I had written a a glowing review of it for Living Bird, where I am a contributing editor. He also invited a bunch of us who correspond with him in what he calls "the Quilting and Gun Circle"; all will I hope get their due in the next couple of weeks-- "Old Gunkie" Jim Caldwell (also a computer honcho there); his wife Penelope, who has at least two professions, one of which is artist and whose startling work will appear soon here; novelist and writing teacher Brad Watson; bugman and philosopher Jeff Lockwood; Montana novelist Malcolm Brooks; Carlos's wife Martha, a chef or two, and probably someone I have forgotten. It was a brilliant and exhausting week and I hope it happens again real soon-- food, guns, nature dogs, art, and hilarity.

Here is Katrina's event.

*Rhymes with "How".

Katrina, flanked by two of her creations

Me, talking about the work

Jim and Katrina, looking like they are enjoying the talk

Katrina's manucode, showing why, as she said (shouting) it is LOUD. Carlos bought this for us; Penelope bought us a life- sized skeletal hummingbird, which I will show when I get it.

A little science afterwards

Libby and Penelope