Wild Notes: Observations over time about birds and other fleeting things

Wild Notes chronicles several year’s worth of daily observations written in a logbook style by a regular guy who happens to be a bird watcher, among other things. In the tradition of wilderness junkies like Ed Abbey, Annie Dillard and even that odd old hermit, Thoreau, the author is hooked on the elemental kick that starts with an easy-going interest in birds and goes beyond to an interest in all fleeting things. Bird watching, once considered a gentle hobby, is now known to be a wilderness adventure enjoyed by rough and ready men and women of all ages. Hard-muscled, hard-bitten, bug-bitten explorers who bushwhack trackless wilds. Or ordinary folk who stalk neighborhood nature trails. Whichever kind you are, you’re out to find animals that are not only accessible, but entirely wild. They could be avian migrants newly arrived from a South American jungle to spend summer with you. Or winter vagrants that flew across a thousand-mile tundra to visit your neck of the woods. Birds, like uninhibited thoughts, go where they want. From them you can acquire a “life list” of sightings, but you can also get insights that would never have occurred if you hadn’t lost yourself in the woods for a bit to stalk things that fly in and out of your life. Throughout “Wild Notes,” the date shown on the left page indicates a true moment in time. The right page explains what happened then: what was seen, thought about and what was worth sharing with you.

Mike Lubow is a former VP Creative Director of a multi-national ad agency and founder of a mid-sized Chicago ad agency. (Actually, not mid-sized. Smallish, really, but big of heart). He's written a popular column called "Got a Minute" for the Chicago Tribune, and has published fiction and non-fiction in a variety of national magazines from the literary to the glossy, some in Australia, New Zealand and several European countries. One of his stories was translated into four other languages. His newspaper columns have been collected in the book "In a Chicago Minute," and ten of his published short stories have been collected in the book "Paper and Ink." Both books are available online or through bookstores. He's also creator of the online magazine "Two-Fisted Birdwatcher." The author lives in the Chicago area. He's a husband, father, grandfather, and could've played pro basketball if he were only a little taller.