East Wenatchee resident and Wenatchee Naturalist, Keith Minard,

enrolled in the fall 2018 course as a retiree, wanting to rekindle his childhood habit of keeping a field journal. He dug up his youthful fishing journal from 1961 with detailed notes about his catch, including a clipped fin for each fish.

He has dabbled in nature journaling off and on as he walks the Apple Capital Loop Trail along the Wenatchee River.

After spending a class session with the entomology collection and using magnification to look at insects, Keith created a more detailed sketch of this cranefly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each week, Keith visited his field site along the Columbia River and recorded his observations, using sketching, water color painting, and hand-written texts.  This open journal page shows his mid-October class field trip observations along the Entiat River at the left, and his own field site observations on the right.

 

In 2019, Keith has continued his practice of learning by drawing and adding color as he studies our watershed’s native conifer species.  Keith is a great example of life-long learning that is a centerpiece of the Wenatchee Naturalist program design. Watch for Keith any day of the year on the loop trail, strollng and observing what is happening along the Columbia River!