During my childhood, my backyard was an overgrazed pasture covered with sheep laurel, hardhack and juniper. As a young boy, studying clouds and weather watching fascinated me. My jungle gym was an encroaching forest of white pine trees and my boyhood playground was a swamp and beaver pond. I developed a love for nature and a passion for the out-of-doors that culminated with a forestry degree from the University of Montana in 1973.
I spent my life working in the woods as a technical or “dirt” forester. I worked in the woods in all four seasons in any weather Mother nature delivered. Nearly every day was “take my dog to work day”. Throughout my career I maintained detailed work and travel records and chronicled extreme weather events.
