Sad news about a good friend

My friend and co-author of The Birds of Washtenaw County, Michigan John Swales died two days ago.

This has been really had for me. We had known each other since 1990, if not earlier. And he was the stimulus to writing the above book. Soon after we were not only spending time together with birds, both in the field and perhaps talking about them over a glass of wine, but we were also spending an equal, if not greater time together with butterflies.

By the mid 1990s we were often in the field with Herb Wagner, Professor of Botany at the University of Michigan. Our days were filled with laughter, learning and sharing. And always ending with a nice glass of red wine.

Over the years you drift apart and back together, and that was how our relationship was. But we were always just a phone call away. The last thing that we did together was attend the Ann Arbor Stamp Show. Earlier in his life John had been a keen collector of the postal history of Hong Kong. Later in life he transitioned to studying the postal history of British Honduras. We always had something to talk about.

So, I am sitting here on Dauphin Island thinking about friends, those that are near, far and gone. I think that it’s important to have these memories and to share them with friends and whomever listens to stories.

Back to nature later…