Welcome! I'm so glad you're here!

My name is Terri Hawke, but you probably already figured that out. I am a naturalist, animal communicator, energy healer, nature photographer, national parks geek, birdwatcher, and human being. I am also a writer, not a famous writer, but definitely a writer*- technical, business, curricula, creative, you name the type, I've probably written it. My creative writing inspiration comes from Henry Thoreau, Jane Goodall, John Muir, Rachel Carson, Terry Tempest Williams, Robert Pyle, Aldo Leopold, and so many more. I live on the ancestral lands of the Snohomish, Stillaguamish, Coast Salish, and Tulalip peoples in Washington State.

I spent my childhood playing in the forest and the marsh not knowing at the time, that that's where I went to heal from the chaos of our family dynamics and connect with the beauty and wonders of the natural world. My curiosity has never stopped leading me to learn new things everyday, including the names of our animal and plant neighbors. As an adult, I've spent even more time in nature through camping, hiking, rockhounding, connecting, and wandering. I travel on my own with my trusty dog sidekick. Traveling alone provides a sense of freedom and adventure. My most recent big adventure was hooking up my small trailer and taking a road trip to Denali National Park with my little dog. Check out my blog- 3weekalaskajourney.blogspot.com.

I'm also an animal guardian. I've always had a dog or cat in my life as my companion. Currently, I only have 1 dog and 1 cat. That's a low number for me. There was a time that I had 6 cats and 2 dogs, and a few chickens! Probably not going to do that again.

I've always had a deep connection with animals and the natural world. Quite the little tree climber and fort builder. After a lot of ups and downs (which you'll read about here) I decided to find a way to get paid for birdwatching. I had found a passion. This led me to pursue a B.A. in Environmental Education from The Evergreen State College, which included many environmental internships. After that, I had many jobs working in nature. I've worked as a Naturalist for North Cascades National Park, Washington State Parks, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and Edmonds Parks and Recreation. I had contract work as an environmental educator with the North Cascades Institute and local Audubon chapter. I also worked part-time for an animal shelter. At the moment, I getting ready to retire from a 21+ year career as an environmental planner for local government.

A few years ago I was at a fair and stopped by an animal communicator. She told me things about my little buddies’ behaviors that no one else knew. That lead me to falling into studying how to become an animal communicator. Learning to communicate and doing energy healing with animals has given me a deeper understanding of their souls and how to connect at a much deeper level. Check out my website- www.critterchatwterrihawke.com.

In this blog I hope to inform and inspire my readers. I hope to make you laugh, cry, ponder, inspire curiosity and exploration, and understand relationships to others- including amazing wildlife, intriguing insects, and maybe even slugs.

* https://www.stickk.com/blogs/author?category=expertWord&authorId=30