Since I was a child, I’ve been running back and forth between the woods and waters and the kitchen, often with sketchbook or camera in hand … and a berry-picking bucket (along with my trusty gun and/or fishing rod, of course).

In between those activities, I graduated from Miami University with a BFA in graphic design and a second major in creative writing. Then on to grad school at the University of Texas at Austin, where I had a graduate teaching assistantship in the Communications School. From there, I went to work at Texas Monthly, where I honed my publishing skills and deepened my love of Texas. My passion for organic gardening led me away from the Lone Star State for nearly a decade to work for (no surprise here, eh?) Rodale’s Organic Gardening magazine.

Shortly after my return to Texas, I accepted the post of publisher and editor of Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine, becoming the first woman to helm that magazine in its seven-decade-plus history. Traveling around the state to interview and work with the amazing biologists at that agency ranks as perhaps the most rewarding part of my job.

This Field to Table project enables me to combine all of my passions—design, photography, learning and teaching, writing, hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, cooking—with my love of the wild world: All to share with you in the fervent hope that you will appreciate, respect, and conserve our natural resources as much as do I.

Come join me on a romp of hunting, fishing, foraging, and gardening through the seasons, and learn how to best utilize modern means and methods to give good old-fashioned results for delicious clean, wild organic foods—with simple steps for canning, preserving, smoking, pickling, and drying—and, naturally, recipes for delicious and healthy breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and snacks to share nature’s bounty with your loved ones.

Now, let’s get outdoors … and then let’s get cookin’!