If we’ve ever hiked together, you’ve seen me pull a yellow notebook out of my back pocket to jot something down. That long-standing practice has been key to my development as a naturalist and writer, so here’s the lowdown on those notebooks.
As long as I can remember, I’ve kept track of things. My first job at age 14 was as the official scorekeeper for Little League Baseball tournaments. When I later coached youth basketball, I kept meticulous records of shooting percentages, rebounds, and other statistics. It was only natural that once I became an avid birdwatcher that I’d record my sightings.
On a Christmas Bird Count for the National Audubon Society in the early 1980s, I noticed a fellow birder scribbling notes onto a small pad of paper. What a great idea! I soon purchased a Rite in the Rain notebook from my local office supply store and began making lists of birds, their behaviors, and other notable field observations.
During summer breaks from teaching school, I often supervised trail crews in national parks and forests throughout the western US. The notebooks were perfect for making notes on trail building specs and sketching plans for foot logs and rock staircases.
On road trips, other wayfarers suggested scenic campgrounds or tasty diners. In the days before cell phones and GPS, these tips all found their way into my notes.
It wasn’t until I began teaching at The Evergreen State College that I learned that my field notes were actually a poor imitation of the Grinnell System, a precise method of recording field observations developed by Joseph Grinnell. A noted field biologist, Grinnell’s way is a bit rigid for many naturalists and scientists today, but recording data, taking notes, and making drawings in the field is a widespread practice. A favorite part of my Evergreen teaching was introducing what we called “nature journals,” modeled after Grinnell’s work. Students created notebooks from their field observations, and when I taught with a visual artist like Lucia Harrison (whose drawings grace Tahoma), students incorporated their artwork, making some journals downright spectacular.
After nearly 40 years of keeping field notes, some favorite stories rise to the top. On a family birding trip to the Everglades in the late 90’s, we drove down a narrow dirt track, hoping to catch a glimpse of Greater Flamingos. A very rare North American bird, seeing zoo-raised or escaped birds “don’t count” on one’s life list. We luckily found the birds, tiny specks on the horizon through our spotting scope. When we returned to the main road, I realized I’d dropped my notebook somewhere on the trail. Ever the gamer, Valerie resolutely drove back up the dirt road until we found the notebook. Tightly lined with trees and shrubs though, the road was too narrow to turn the car around, so Valerie drove in reverse for three miles back to pavement.
A few years ago, I was enjoying lunch in the kitchen when I heard a scream from the back of the house. Expecting to find Valerie in hand-to-hand combat with a rat or other intruder, I found her holding a sopping wet Rite in the Rain notebook, fresh from a trip through the washing machine. Crumpled and coverless, it looked hopelessly damaged. Undeterred, we dried the notebook over a heat vent and then flattened it under a heavy stack of books. Remarkably, every page remained intact, every word legible, and it was still usable.
Amazed with the notebook’s resilience, I emailed the company to compliment them on such a wonderfully durable product. In his response, the company’s marketing director asked to see my collection of 40-some notebooks. A week later, when he laid eyes on the notebooks filling our kitchen table, he said, “Oh my. I’ve never seen anything quite like this before.” Enamored by the books, he spent the rest of the morning thumbing through them and asking questions, which resulted in a short video clip that’s now at my website: https://jeffantonelis-lapp.com/projects.
Besides species lists and field notes, quips and quotes pop up that only happen when you’re outdoors enduring the elements and enjoying the natural world. Here are a few samples:
- Hiking the Wonderland Trail, Dimitri said, “Backpacking is like one-night stands, but you don’t feel bad about it in the morning.”
- A local Coloradan, telling us about a remote place at Rocky Mountain National Park: “Only people who have been there go there.”
- From a birding trip with our friends Josh and Ali Laughbaum: “There are no birds here. This place is like Elvis. Dead.”
- Of a mega road trip that included eastern Canada: “I guess you could call us Meanderthals.”
When I began working on Tahoma and Its People in 2009, my habit of keeping field notes served me well. In over 250 days accompanying archaeologists, biologists, and geologists, I filled 658 pages across 20 notebooks. Scientists LOVE to talk about their research, probably because family and friends long ago became bored silly hearing of their work. Sometimes I’d fill half a notebook in a day, scratching furiously to keep up. Upon returning home, I curated my notes and added them to chapter outlines.
This year, there’s a good chance that I’ll complete notebook number 50. I’ll celebrate that milestone by creating a special commemorative project, but more on that later. In the meantime, keep your boots dry and your spirits high.
2 Responses
I don’t know whether it’s just me or if perhaps everybody
else encountering problems with your website. It seems like some of the text
within your posts are running off the screen. Can someone else please provide feedback and let me know if
this is happening to them as well? This may be a issue with my internet browser because I’ve had this
happen before. Many thanks
Hello Janna,
Thank you for your comment and for making us aware of potential problems. After viewing the blogs in four different browsers (Chrome, IE, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox) I was only able to find viewing issues with Internet Explorer which has been replaced by Microsoft Edge. I would suggest that you make sure browser is fully updated. If you continue to experience problems, please let us know and include what browser you are using. Regards, Bill – site administrator