The first sign of spring in Essex County is not the Robin—it’s the Red-Winged Blackbird that keeps showing up earlier every year. Climate change? You bet!
Birding is a big thing in the county. Holiday Beach, Hillman Marsh, and of course Point Pelee are all excellent places to see the newest migrants. Our bookshop is ready to help you birders with an excellent selection of titles. Picking out the various warblers can be a real challenge even for the pros. I really encourage you to read one of our new titles, Force Of Nature by Ann E. Burg. It’s a beautiful portrait of Rachel Carson, the author and scientist who is credited with advancing the global environmental movement. Especially her book Silent Spring, which ultimately helped enact the ban on synthetic pesticides like DDT.
We are also looking forward to having “birder extraordinaire” Phil Roberts back to speak on April 17th. Phil is the only speaker we have had present at the shop three times and each time he has packed the Hole in the Wall. This event is in partnership with the University of Windsor Alumni Association, as part of our Alumni Meet-Ups. All are welcome! In-person and Zoom options are available. To register and save your spot, visit this link: https://uwindsor.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a59FnJLzORsI8XI
In addition to our birding titles, we are very pleased to have added Metalbird to our bookshop collection. From a New Zealand street art project, it has grown into a sprawling global art project. These beautifully crafted life-like metal silhouettes will transform your backyard or garden into a work of art, bringing joy to anyone who encounters them.
We put up our first Metalbirds at Magnolia Pond over four years ago and I love looking at them every day. To check your interest in them, we have brought in a few best sellers. But if you are interested we can quickly get more—just ask to see our list of Metalbird choices and we can order them in just in time for your backyard visitors.
“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”—Maya Angelou
Richard
Long time birder and art collector