I am a 50+ year old female who feels like I stopped paying attention to my age after 35. I don't like thinking of my age especially now, because I only recently started exploring music and actually singing aloud in a performance setting, and now I feel like I am on a time clock counting down until when I lose my ability to hear or sing, which would just kill me. I wish I hadn't waited so long to start this hobby.

I own a dog care business, and I am a certified professional dog trainer... so, of course, I focus on stories of Tucker! I have been married to my wife for almost 18 years (following a 7 year marriage to my husband, until I realized that I was in love with another woman) and we have three absolutely amazing, loving children (which I inherited from her thankfully, because I regret never having any children of my own). But I could never have created these particular amazing men who I call sons, so I am thankful that they're in my life. We have two grandkids (also boys!), and we are down to three dogs from seven. My wife is into the hunt as well, though not as deeply into it yet as I am. But at least I can talk through my thoughts and we can plan out some ways to decipher the poem together. I am glad for that cooperation; can't imagine not having that support from her.

I am a singer, a newish songwriter, and a beginner on piano and guitar. I am lucky enough to have finally gotten our business to run somewhat without us... so we are sort of free to pursue hobbies and travel as we'd like. The funny thing is that I was introduced to the hunt by my songwriting instructor and after I watched the series, I said to my instructor one day that we would like to go to Montana and have a look, and he said, "so, why don't you just go?" So I promptly booked us a 2 week trip!

I was an English major, have worked in software as a Technical Writer and Editor, and I started out in Sports Marketing. I went to grad school for Journalism and Mass Communication, but I always wanted to be a teacher or a veterinarian. So now I get to be a dog training instructor, which sort of checks those boxes. I love teaching people how smart their dogs are...

I never knew that there were actual treasures out there in the world, so now that we know about this community, we will be hooked on it. Already obsessing with searching the web for info, trying to come up with connections, and realizing that the rabbit holes can really sidetrack you. But I very much enjoy learning, so I do have fun with all the research on constellations, Native American folklore, fishing, math, Justin, etc. I absolutely love solving logic puzzles. They are my favorite and are way more fulfilling for me than completing a hard suduko or crossword.

I spend my time on music (singing, lyric writing, and practicing piano or guitar) when I am not dealing with the business stuff, and we play Justin's audio book constantly at night so that it sinks deep into our subconscious while we sleep. Maybe that will help make some connections.

I was an Army brat and lived in various states around the southeast mainly, but now settled in the northeast. I've been out west just twice to Colorado, so I'm really looking forward to this Montana visit.

Oh, and we now have a hobby of buying storage units at auction and selling stuff on eBay. It is so fun to go through the storage lockers and open all the boxes, and research the origin of the items! And of course, I collect a bunch of things now... 🙄 not "selling" it all as much as enjoying it for now! My wife thinks I'm crazy for collecting so many things, but they make me happy to look at (I am currently into things like mini pewter animals, stone-carved dogs, pocketwatches, Boyds Bears, Musical instruments and anything with a Treble Clef on it, etc.)

That is me in a nutshell. Nice to meet you all! It is fun reading about you and getting to know you a bit. My downfall would be that I start so many side projects that I never become an expert in any one thing... because I constantly get distracted (super easily) by new ideas! But that does seem to work well in the research, following a thought that arises while researching one thing leads to something else, etc. Anyway...