Advice from a desert sage
He walked up the sagebrush-covered slope, gazing at me with large inquisitive eyes. Black forked horns framed his tawny head and dark muzzle. The white patch on his hindquarters reflected the desert sun.
The pronghorn strode towards me with intent, like he wanted to tell me something. I kept backing away; he kept stepping forward. I had to listen.
“Siobhan, tell our stories!” he said.
I stumbled backwards and stared at him in disbelief. “What! What did you say?”
“I told you to tell our stories. Paint portraits with words, artwork, and photographs.” He snorted, lowered his head, and pawed at the ground.
“I don’t know how…”
“Wrong!” His nostrils flared. “You do, but you’ve got to work at it.”
“Yeah, but…”
“No ‘yeah buts’. You’re 13 years old already. Get busy!” He glanced over his shoulder and bounded away.
So that’s why I’m here now. The pronghorn made me do it. So did the hot spring, the desert blossom, the robin I met years ago, and other wild things I’ve encountered. These kinds of encounters happen to me all the time so I’m here to tell their tales.
So now you know why I’m here, but what’s the blog about?
There are lots of places to visit and things to do near Bend, Oregon, where I live. Nature shines here in a frame gilded with history. Art is tucked into Bend’s nooks and crannies. See a small sampling below and on my post Tour of Bend. The Bend Branches blog shares unique stories with an overall positive tone.
I bend branches out of the way to reveal special places, residents, and events. Pictures, prose, and poetry highlight the details. The posts branch out to cover other favorite places of mine in western North America. For example, here are posts related to the Yellowstone tag on my blog.
Siobhan Sullivan in her natural habitat
I interweave my scientific and creative sides into the stories on this blog. Fact-filled posts may come from one of the High Desert Museum’s newsletters, where I volunteer. Other posts may include characters from my desert home that will be featured in future books. The pronghorn was right; I am a storyteller.
Putting my nose to the grindstone–with mixed results
So how did I get here? After meeting the pronghorn, I got more serious about school. I tried things on for size along the way. Art, photography, horticulture–nope, dropped out of all those classes in high school. History class was B-O-R-I-N-G. I kept looking.
Then I found science. Yes, that was interesting. I took every class available. Fellow students nicknamed me “Miss Science.” I earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in environmental science. It was a struggle financially. At one point I was so poor, I made “soup” from ketchup packets and hot water. Eventually I found work as a wildlife biologist.
Finding the rest of me
And those things I turned away from years ago? They’re now an essential part of me. I had roommates that studied photography, and they rekindled my interest in taking pictures. Doodles in the margins of my notes evolved into wildlife art pieces. Some are featured in publications. Plants I selected for my high desert garden thrived and blossomed. History surrounded and inspired me. Things meant to be often come back to you.
I hope you’ll visit Bend Branches often. This blog covers many topics and you never know what you’ll learn when you stop by. Sometimes it may be just the emotion of a place; other times there may be more to the story.
Stay tuned by following me. Thanks!
Siobhan Sullivan
Nice to meet you – I love anything nature or history related and will look forward to your posts from the other coast!
Thanks Sheila! Nice to meet you too. Thanks for following me.
Hi Shiobhan, I really enjoyed reading you article, thanks for sharing. Ross
Thanks for reading my blog Ross!
Nice to meet you! We enjoyed visiting Oregon years ago, and always love the desert. Your pictures are beautiful!
Thanks! I like your photos as well.
Nice to have met you on the McKenzie River Trail outing today – will follow your wonderful photography.
Thanks! Nice to have met you too. It was a perfect day for a hike.
Hi from a fellow Oregonian (Willamette Valley dweller). Your blog reminds me why I need to get over to Central Oregon more!
Thanks! Come over sometime – when the passes are clear. Lots of snow this year.
Tried Sunriver last month for Nordic skiing but got rained out! Will have to try again.
Hi Siobhan…
I have really been enjoying your blog and just nominated you for the “Liebster award”. Check it out here
https://byalannapass.com/
Best Wishes,
Alanna
Thanks so much for the nomination but I value thoughtful comments and occasional likes more than awards on this site. Nice blog you have there!
Oh I so get where you’re at! I wasn’t exactly sure where to go with that ball when it was handed to me….
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The most origingal ABOUT page I’ve read. Go you!
Thanks! 🙂
I am excited by your new direction! I look forward to seeing more of your photos and astute writing about nature.
Lyn
Thanks! Glad you liked it.
Aha. You’re from Bend. I lived there for a brief period. Very pretty place.
Yes, it is! Lots of beautiful things to photograph.
I’m so glad you listened to the pronghorn otherwise there will be no stories to tell and I am a sucker for stories. Be hanging around. Siobhan
Thanks for dropping by to hear and see my stories. 😁
Siobhan, I LOVED your Seeing Double response on Lens-Artists but there’s no ability to comment on it 😢. The owl shot is fabulous!! Glad it forced me here to let u know Now I know a lot more about you too!!
Belated thank you, Tina! I’m catching up on comments that WordPress put in “Pending.”
Awesome story! I have been to Bend and to the High Desert Museum! 🙂 💙
Thanks! Hope you enjoyed Bend and thanks for the follow. 😁
We were there last October, and it was cold, but beautiful!
Aha, so now I know your name! Nice to officially meet you Siobhan! Great Irish name! I lived in Beaverton for 2 years as a kid, from San Diego, then back. Although I’m a Cali native, hubby and I are retiring to Spokane by the end of this year! I will be so happy to be back in the PNW near our families.
Nice to meet you too, Terri. Hope you enjoy living in Spokane. Good luck with your move and [early] welcome back to the PNW. 😁
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Lovely to meet you Siobhan 🙂 We visited Bend briefly many years ago (mid 1990s) on a road trip around Oregon, and I remember loving the High Desert Museum – what a great place to volunteer! I love the way you tell this story. Yes, it’s true that the subjects that bored us in school sometimes resurface later as an interest, perhaps when we’re ready for them or when the right person sparks our enthusiasm. In my case that is history which bored me at school but which I now find fascinating wherever we travel 🙂 I’m looking forward to following more of your posts!
Thanks for visiting my site, Sarah! I’m glad you enjoyed your visit to Museum. They just a recieved a $6 million dollar grant so there will be more to come. Yes, history was presented in a “boring” way to me when I was in school. Glad you also find it interesting now.!
Love everything ABOUT this ! So excited to dig in to your past posts !
Thanks, Bonnie Rae! I tried to make it into a story.
I loved reading your story!
Thank you! I tried to write it like a story to make it more interesting. 😀
These words really touched me today: “Things meant to be often come back to you”. I feel encouraged, thank you.
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