Spread-your-wings, oh beautiful Jaybird!

          Placing seed outside my window

       Bringing close to view

     Amazing birds!

   Winter at SMC.

  Nuthatches, Juncos, Mountain Chickadees

 Magpies, Woodpeckers, to name a few.

Arrive before daybreak

Stellar’s Jays.

Skittish

merest reflection in my window glass

 and

   Off,

      off

         with rounded wing,

             seeking shelter

                in  Ponderosa branches.

— Richard Swaback

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Naturalist, photographer, creative person, Richard “Dickie” Swaback, long time resident at Shambhala Mountain Center, is fascinated by the inhabitants of the natural world, large and small, whether it be microorganisms, plants, insects, mammals, birds or amphibians that reside at SMC. “Dickie’s” curiosity knows no bounds as he explores the dynamic interrelations of life at SMC . He recently published a 30-page booklet “Biodiversity at Shambhala Mountain Center”, a brief photo essay of some of the life forms at SMC,   Next up for 2017 is a comprehensive study of the life of the Riparian Zone along the stream that flows through the land at Shambhala Mountain Center. “The Headwaters of RIO RMDC and Life in the Riparian Zone: a photo essay and narrative.”  Future projects include Biodiversity of the Soil.