I am an artist, writer, philosopher, and naturalist who lives in Northern Virginia with her husband of 30 years, 2 dogs, and an aquarium of tropical fish. I hold degrees in fine arts and philosophy, and I’m currently working toward a BA in biology degree and contemplating graduate school.

I have worked as a book department manager for a wholesale distributor, a teacher of creative writing, a production operator at FedEx Kinko’s, and, most recently, as a National Park Service Interpretive Naturalist at Prince William Forest Park. Working for NPS is by far my favorite job ever.

I also do volunteer work with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club and the Friends of the Potomac River Refuges as well as participating in bird banding and other outdoorsy things.

As an photographer, I take hundreds of photos of the natural world, some macro shots of tiny things I find interesting, and many of birds and colorful insects.  I take pictures not only in Northern Virginia, but everywhere I go.  Some of my photos get put on my Flickr pages.  Each year I create a calendar of of my 13 best shots.

As an artist, I typically do portraits of people or animals who interest me, in either colored pencil or oil pastel.  I occasionally do still life but only of unusually juxtaposed objects, and rarely do landscapes.  You can see my arts & crafts at Wild Pines or on Etsy.

As a writer and philosopher, I base all my words and thoughts on the concept that the universe is 100% natural, even if there are things which we cannot yet explain and even in the face of some really bizarre organisms.  What does it mean for us that we live in an 100% natural universe?  That’s the sort of question I love to ponder.