Purchased for My Shelf

 Mammals of Colorado by Stan Tekiela

I bought Birds of Colorado for my trip to the Rocky Mountains.  There I spotted all sorts of little (and big) birdies and had such a great time checking them off like a live scavenger hunt that I decided it might be fun to add even more things to the mix.  Stan Tekiela not only does bird guides, but also flowers, trees, fish, and mammals.  Since I found animals to be the most fun to see, while in Estes Park I popped into Macdonald Book Shop and nabbed a copy.  Yeah, I know - I work at B&N and I could have waited until I got back in order to get my discount (I am cheap, after all), I like playing in little bookstores and I like to support them.  Besides, I didn't want to wait until I came home, lest I forget some of the critters I saw.  Some of them need to be looked at right away if you want to get them right the first time anyway.  There's even a checklist in the back of this one just like the birding one, so I started checking off animals right away.  I marked them even if I hadn't seen them on this particular trip, since a Colorado sighting is a Colorado sighting.  Like the 14 bighorn sheep that came down the same hiking path my father and I were heading up one year.  Out of the 130 creatures in the book, I was able to mark off 18.  Not too bad if you ask me - especially when some of them go strolling through your campsite on a regular basis.

So if you ever find yourself in Estes Park and looking for something to read, be sure to pop into Macdonald Book Shop.  It's as cozy as can be and perfect for a little mountain town...hmm...I wonder if they're in need of any extra help for the rest of the year...and the year after that....and the year after that...

Notes from the playlist: "The Man Who Never Lied" by Maroon 5