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December's 10th Anniversary SPECIAL

To celebrate the Tenth anniversary of the Store here in Parker. We are having a MEET the LOCAL AUTHORS MONTH. These authors have an impressive resume of publications which deal with Birding and Gardening in Your Backyard and beyond. Plus check your local newspaper for Coupons worth 15% off any one Item. The Coupons will be in the Parker Cronicle, Castlerock News-Press, Elbert County News or the Douglas County News-Press.


Hugh Kingery - December 6th 10:00 am to Noon

Author Hugh Kingery has watched birds since age thirteen and participated in myriad activities connected with his avocation. He directed the compilation of the 'Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas' and edited its publication in 1998. He has served as president of the Denver Audubon Society, Denver Field Ornithologists and The Colorado Mountain Club. He edited the 'C. F. O. Journal', published by the Colorado Field Ornithologists for four years and 'Trails and Timberline', the monthly magazine of the Colorado Mountain Club, for six years.

In 1993 one of the editors of the prestigious Birds of North America series sponsored by the American Ornithologists asked him. 'What are your favorite birds?' The result: Hugh researched and wrote two monographs for the series, on Pygmy Nuthatch and American Dipper. When Colorado's First coordinator for the Breeding Bird Survey (sponsored by US Fish and Wildlife Service) wanted to retire, Hugh took on this task. Within ten years the state quintupled its number of routes.

The Denver Audubon Society, Boulder Audubon Society, Denver Field Ornithologists and Colorado Field Ornithologists presented service awards to him. He conducted a twelve-year census of breeding birds in a cottonwood stand in Chatfield State Park, which led to the US Army Corps of Engineers awarding him a Civilian Service Medal for bird-watching! Through the the Denver Audubon Society, he and his wife Urling, who helped prepare his latest book 'Birding Colorado, 180 Premier Birding Sites at 93 Locations' teach a class for beginning bird-watchers (twice each year since 1979) and lead a monthly bird walk for the Audubon. For twelve years, he has written a column for the bimonthly Audubon newsletter called Backyard Birds.

Hugh's Latest publication 'Birding Colorado, Over 180 Premier Birding Sites at 93 Locations' is a wonderful compilation of birding sites in 9 different regions of Colorado. It is further divided into individual sites, which contain habitat information, directions to the site, accommodations and a very good description on what to expect. Each site entry also contains contact information if you should want additional info. Come in to the store on December 6th, meet Hugh and buy a signed copy of this book.


John Cretti - December 13th 10:00 to Noon

John Cretti is known regionally and nationally as a Rocky Mountain and High Plains horticulturist who hosts the popular 'Gardening With an Altitude' radio and television program. He is a former home horticulture specialist for Colorado State University, and is an author, lecturer, award-winning garden communicator, and, above all, down-to-earth gardener.

He is author of the 'Colorado Gardener's Guide, the Rocky Mountain Gardener's Guide', and the new 'Month-by-Month Gardening in the Rocky Mountain Region'. John has been long-time host of the 'Winter Gardener' on HGTV. He's published hundreds of articles for garden magazines, including 'Horticulture', 'Flower and Garden', 'Colorado Boulder County Home & Garden', 'Green Thumb Extra', 'Garden Talk', and 'Mature Living Choices'.
Gardeners who live in the unique and challenging climate of the Rocky Mountain region, where fluctuations of temperature, wind, lousy soil conditions, critters, and more are the norm, will benefit from the practical wit and wisdom that John serves up. Many tricks and remedies that John recommends come from his degree in the horticultural sciences from Colorado State University and from his Italian grandmother who taught him old fashioned remedies for pests and diseases that are still effective today.

John's passion for home horticulture has not gone unnoticed. He has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Award of Excellence and Quill and Trowel Awards from the Garden Writers' Association, the Scott's Horticultural Professional Improvement Award for lawn and garden communications, and the National Association of County Agricultural Agents Award of Excellence in Horticulture Communications. He also was recognized for outstanding community service for garden and education programs by Xeriscape Colorado.


Mary Taylor Young - December 13th 10-00 to Noon

Award-winning and best-selling nature writer Mary Taylor Young spent her childhood summers roaming the Colorado Rockies from her grandparents' cabin in Estes Park. 'We awoke to mule deer peering in the windows and hummingbirds buzzing the feeders,' she says. 'I think the scent of pine trees in the sunshine and the mica sparkling in the granite rocks hooked me on Colorado forever.'

Her love of wild things and the outdoors led to a degree in Zoology from Colorado State University and a life devoted to nature and the environment. Studying animal behavior, she hand-raised two litters of coyote pups and helped a graduate student in studying their learning behavior. 'They're smarter than we are,' she says.

Her nine books range from 'Land of Grass and Sky: A Naturalist's Prairie Journey'
, a story of spiritual growth inspired by the landscape of the High Plains, to the Watchable Birds series.

Mary's 'Words On Birds' column has appeared in the Rocky Mountain News of Denver since 1993. She has published hundreds of articles in periodicals such as Ladies Home Journal, Outside and Wildlife Conservation. Mary has done extensive nature interpretation and writing for such agencies as the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Forest Service and the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

Mary is a board member of the Colorado Authors League, a past board member of the Audubon Society of Greater Denver and the Colorado Bird Observatory. She has taught nature writing at Rocky Mountain National Park for 19 years and presented workshops at numerous conferences.