Here is Cindy with our completed Eagle Optics booth! We just learned this morning that our new Ranger SRTs were voted a “Hot Product Pick”. Whoot!
Oh how handy! Adventure Publications (who are debuting an awesome new loon book--amazing photos and loon cd--just loon sounds and nature to relax to), the people who publish my calendars has a booth right across from the Eagle Optics booth at Wild Birds Unlimited Vendormart! So, being the shameless self-promoter I am, I have been sure to note name tags and store locations. Any store I see in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois or Indiana gets the pitch.
“Oh, I see your store is in Indiana. Did you see that calendar across the way? It’s got Indiana bird information and trivia and it’s written by one of our staff so it has to be good!”
Shameless, I know. I’m not just out for me. Houghton Mifflin is kitty corner so I of course have popped over and promoted Letters from Eden too. That is a great book, I had the pleasure of reading half of it at the Bangor Airport when Northwest Airlines’ computer system quit working for an hour. Right now, my mother is reading it while I’m working, I’ll probably have to finish it on my flight home on Thursday.
Speaking of things Thompson, the Bird Watcher’s Digest booth is just to our left. I stopped by to say hello to Elsa, Andy and Nat. No BT3 at this one, he’s home sensibly resting. I did however get to see a new side to Thompson family talent. I was aware of the writing, artistry and music, but I was not prepared for this feat. Here is young Nat rockin’ this odd ear trick of shoving his outer ear into his inner ear:
Before:
Yeeeah! It's incredibly disturbing, yet I can't look away. And with a quick blink of his eyes, here comes the after (you have to watch him do it, because he can do it so fast. If you blink you miss the ear popping out):
Hm. Who knew? There appears to be a hint of carny in this family. If anyone attending Vendormart is reading this blog, stop by the Bird Watcher's Digest booth and have some chocolate and ask to see this. It's...well it just has to be experienced.
Some my have heard me poking fun of Tilley hats. I think they had an ad campaign saying they were durable and stylish (I had issues with the stylish aspect). They have some new models, you be the judge:
Hm, I wonder if this hat will inspire Non Birding Bill to sing the Tom Jones version of "You Can Leave Your Hat On?"
This one reminds me of Duran Duran circa "Her Name is Rio and she Dances on the Sand."
More product photos coming in the next day or so...Woodlink is working to be more colorful and arty with their feeders. The ones they debuted in January at Birdwatch America were...odd (orange with yellow and green polka dots just reminded me of the morning after of a frat party). But here it looks like they've gone back to the drawing board and come up with some very creative feeders. Here's a hint:
This, I like. It's modern, stylish finch feeder. Go, Woodlink, for pushing those creative boundaries!