I grew up in South Texas but took little interest in anything outdoors beyond snails and yard maintenance until, at 17, I saw a toad eat a redbird on its first flight out of the nest. I resolved to keep ignoring such matters. In September 2001 I was living in New York and, abruptly unemployed, with time to walk in the park, discovered trees -- and, somewhat later, birds. Realized I'd seen green jays somewhere before in Texas; it was downhill from there, and sometime later I was reborn as a naturalist, a cyclist, a native landscaper, and a conservation specialist with San Antonio Water System.