Kate Marianchild

Thirteen years ago I moved to a piece of land in Mendocino County that rustled, hummed, and sang with the sounds of wild things––snakes, crickets, coyotes, birds. The hills were studded with oaks--gnarled old trees as well as middle-aged and youthful ones--and a medley of companions---madrones, buckeyes, bays, toyons, and others. I wandered on deer trails, ducked under old-growth manzanitas, and clambered around poison oak. I crouched by woodrat mansions and bounced on moss-covered limbs. Once I glued my binoculars for four hours on a screech owl perched in an oak hollow. Little did I know that soon I would be writing about the marvels I was encountering--lizards with third eyes, squirrels perfumed with "eau d'rattler," and fungi that manage forests... (The above is the beginning of the Introduction to my book. Below is the author's bio that's in the book): When Kate Marianchild migrated to the oak woodlands of northern California in 2001, she fell in love with an ecosystem. After writing for her local Audubon chapter and other nature-oriented nonprofits for several years, she began the research that grew into this book. Marianchild studied Chinese language and literature at UC Berkeley and New Asia College in Hong Kong, graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Berkeley with a degree in comparative literature. Following years of grassroots political activism, she moved to Mendocino County in 1980 and supported herself as a carpenter while founding and running Rising Tide Sea Vegetables, a company that is still thriving today under new ownership. For the past thirteen years she has lived in a cozy twenty-five-foot yurt with no indoor plumbing except a sink and a two-gallon hot water heater. In addition to watching wildlife, leading nature walks, and giving slide presentations, Marianchild sings with two community choirs, kayaks, swims, and participates in the events of her beloved community. (Kate Marianchild was known as Kathy Roberts before she changed her name to honor her deceased mother.)