A Few Words About Me
The first turn was quitting an unsatisfying job and starting University at 30. I finished my PhD in phytochemical ecology in '97. The second turn was managing a biology station and research lab in central Texas for 10 years. The third (last?) was returning to Canada, to a new Nova Scotia home, and to a life filled with music...
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Imagination...& Reality
Albert Einstien once said that "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." John Lennon then observed that "Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." My worldview (or philosophy...being a Phil, of course, I must have at least one) is strongly echoed by Michael Hedge's song "Follow Through," that is, without imagination, reality (and life) is pretty boring.
What keeps life interesting is staying curious, continuing to learn something new every single day, and being imaginative. The possibilities are indeed endless and embracing the possible means the probable will be more satisfying. Stay malleable, be flexible, consider the alternatives, then try to imagine a reality where the world IS your oyster. Let imagination lead...
Since completing my self-directed "dissertation by publication," I have written two books (A World for Butterflies: their lives, behavior and future, 2000; Monarch Butterflies: saving the King of the New World, 2004), numerous papers, reports and articles, taught undergraduate Ecology, Field Biology and Conservation Biology, and managed a biology station and research lab, in Texas, and finally have taught undergraduate courses here in Nova Scotia (Flora of Nova Scotia; Field Methods in Terrestrial Biodiversity). Along the way I've edited and produced newsletters, journals and occasional publications for organizations and clients, worked with rare and endangered species in Ontario and Texas, and am still proud to be a "natural historian."
