Growing up as the only child of a woodcarver with a passion for birds was strange enough. But when I acquired a sibling, life got weird-considering that sibling was a museum.

The milestones of my childhood involved hiking through bogs, snipping foliage out of aluminum pie pans, driving an opinionated tractor, and handing out pamphlets as a child activist. Through it all was my father, Bob Spear, a force of nature disguised as a quiet man. He created the Birds of Vermont Museum through vision and will. He caught me up in his dream, and working beside him, I grew into myself as well. The museum and I were shaped by his guidance and thrived on his love.

And a lot of pie and ice cream.

All the pieces in this collection were previously published in Chip Notes, the Birds of Vermont Museum's newsletter, except "My Father and the Camp," which is brand new.