Evelyn Horn

Evelyn Horn: Who I am!

I'm the "Naturalist-in-Training." Finally, after over ten years of providing weekly columns for our local newspaper, the Delta County Independent, and the publication of two books (Following the Sandhill Cranes in Colorado in 2004, and Still Following the Feathered and the Flowered in 2008), I've adopted the title of "naturalist."

Why did it take so long? Most of the naturalists that I know have a degree in biology or a related field. Me? I'm a retired elemtary school teacher with a mater's degree in English! But I have a passion for native plants and birds, especially for cranes. Now in my retirement years I've studied the local native plants and birds, and any creature that I encounter.

Since 1995 I've been the volunteer monitor for the Rocky Mountain Population of Greater Sandhill Crames as they stop over for a night's rest at a reservoir near my home. I've traveled to festivals and meetings in several states just to see the cranes!

My observations and study, the "training," is continuous now, as is the writing. In fact, much of the material for my next book (number four, but Volume 2 for the "naturalist") is already prepared. It is titled The Blue-Shadowed Mountains, and will include summer experiences in the San Juan Mountains and on nearby Grand Mesa.