Announcing the Birth of Rare Bird Eclectic
October 20, 2024
"To imagine is everything, to know is nothing at all." --Anatole France
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| Photo by Claus H. Godbersen on Unsplash |
I retired in 2012. Back then I had to reinvent myself, to rebuild my identity away from a 40+ years in Aerospace and IT careers. It really wasn't easy back then to re-define myself.
Since then, I've reinvented myself several times and it is becoming increasingly easier to focus on the things I love to do and shift directions and embark on something new. Some of my past "life-times" post IT career:
- Volunteered at Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden starting in 2011. As School Docent Co-chair (working with Chris Orosz and others) created a booking website to enable more kids to visit the Arboretum on field trips. I loved the whole process. Setting up the website, scheduling the 30+ school docents... And I loved giving history and plant tours to the school aged kids. The booking website and school tours by volunteer docents came to an end with the pandemic shutdown and a change of staff. The end of the school program post pandemic has been heartbreaking for me.
- Created a website for the Warner Bros. Retirees Club. Editor of their newsletter for several years.
- Editor of the "Canine Post" for Hollywood Dog Obedience Club in 2020.
- Learned to be a Cookie Artist, BabaBakesArt.
- I had even taking a writing class and joined a writing group for a bit. Humbling. I learned stuff.
- With the edition of Callie to our family in 2016, I pursued learning about positive reinforcement dog training. That transitioned to training for "Canine Freestyle." We earned our Dogs Can Dance Championship title in Nov 2024.
"When God closes a door, he opens a window." Life continually changes...
Once again I feel I'm embarking on another new chapter of self re-invention...
In college, I took “Art for Non-Art Majors” in 1979 with Dr. Betty Edwards, author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. After retirement in 2018, I took a few art classes and was drawn toward nature subjects; the drawing skills I learned in the 1979 college class were rekindled! I had also taken college classes in graphic arts design. Did not directly use the skills from these college classes in the course of my technology careers.
I learned about Nature Journaling through JohnMuirLaws.com and studied Jack Laws' books and took classes. Unable to find local Nature Journal Clubs, I started the Shadow Hills Nature Journal Club in 2020. In 2024, I became a Wild Wonder Foundation Ambassador and have done outreach events to share my enthusiasm of Nature Journaling with the community. I give presentations and lead nature journal meetups at various LA area locations. I try to attend other nature journal club meetups too.
Through my nature journaling journey, I started a series of nature journal pages of birds. I'm really loving them. I showed my journal pages to a friend, and she asked, "What are you going to do with them?" Well, I thought my pretty birds shouldn't just live in a book on a shelf. They should be shared. And that has spawned this journey to "Rare Bird Eclectic." I also want to return to making jewerly and my special "Treasure Bracelets". And I love sewing creative gifts too. More to come...
Begin With The End In Mind
Whenever I start a new project, I envision a finished product--"begin with the end in mind." The vision changes over time as the project evolves. I am excited for this journey... the birth of an idea--Rare Bird Eclectic. I envisioned the concept and created a skeleton website and brand identity idea during the 4th week of Oct 2024. Ready, get set, go...
Update June 2025
-Terri Mando