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Land, Legacy, and Birds Bringing People Together
836 Plays13 days ago
This week on the Bird Joy Podcast, Dexter and Jason sit down with Christopher Joe, a farmer, conservationist, birder, and founder of Connecting with Birds and Nature Tours in Alabama.
Chris is a native of Greensboro, Alabama, and the steward of Joe Farm, a 200-acre Black Angus cattle farm in Newbern that has been in his family since the mid-1800s. A graduate of Alabama A&M University with a degree in Agribusiness Management, Chris now serves as a District Conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. His life’s work sits at the intersection of land stewardship, conservation, and community.
In a region where Black land ownership has faced generations of intimidation and loss, Chris understands just how sacred land can be. Through birding tours hosted on his family’s private property, he has created a rare and powerful space. A space where people from all walks of life can gather, feel safe, and experience nature through joy and connection.
Joe Farm has become especially known for the breathtaking arrival of Swallow-tailed Kites each year during hay cutting season — a spectacle that draws birders from across the region and opens deeper conversations about access, representation, and belonging in the outdoors.
In this episode, we explore Chris’s childhood roots on the farm, the responsibility of carrying generational legacy, and the challenges of building an ecotourism business in Alabama. We talk about what it means to often be the only Black person in conservation spaces, how the national conversation around race and birding has evolved, and how hosting Christian Cooper and National Geographic on his property shaped his journey.
At its core, this conversation is about more than birds. It’s about legacy. It’s about ownership. It’s about community. And it’s about what becomes possible when people experience nature together.
Plus, stay tuned for a joyful lightning round where Chris shares his favorite bird to photograph, the sound in nature he loves most, and what “Bird Joy” truly means to him.
You can learn more about Christopher Joe and book a tour at Birds and Nature Tours.
Remember — Bird Joy is for everyone, even YOU.
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Transcript
Season Introduction with Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to season four of the bird joy podcast. Your hosts Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall are back with more birds, more bird joy and plenty of laughs along the way.
00:00:11
Speaker
Each episode brings new stories, fun conversations and a whole flock of good vibes. We're happy you're here. We really miss the homies and we hope you enjoy this season.
00:00:23
Speaker
You ready? Let's go. All right, we are
Meet Chris Joe: Conservationist and Birder
00:00:27
Speaker
back. And today's guest is Chris Joe, a farmer, conservationist, birder and ecotourism leader from Alabama. Chris is a native of Greensboro, Alabama, and the founder of Connecting with Birds and Nature Tours, a business located on the Joe Farm, a 200 acre black Angus cattle farm in New Bern, Alabama. Is that correct, Chris? New Bern?
00:00:50
Speaker
Yeah, that's right. All right. That has been in his family since the mid-1800s. Talk about legacy. Chris is a graduate of Alabama A&M University, where he earned his degree in agro-business management and currently works as a district conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation nation Service. His professional work and personal mission sit at the intersection of land stewardship, conservation, and community building.
The Mission of Inclusive Birding Tours
00:01:19
Speaker
In a region where Black land ownership has faced generations of intimidation, loss, and displacement, Chris understands how sacred land can be. Through birding tours on private land, he has created a space where people from all walks of life can come together, feel welcome, and experience nature in a way that centers joy, safety, and connection.
00:01:41
Speaker
The Joe farm has also become known for the annual arrival of swallowtail kites. During hay cutting season, a moment that has drawn birders from across the region and sparked deeper conversations about access, representation, and conservation in the outdoors.
00:01:57
Speaker
At its core, Chris's work is about more than birds. It's about legacy. It's about
Shaping a Passion for Nature and Conservation
00:02:02
Speaker
community. And it's about showing what is possible when people experience nature together.
00:02:07
Speaker
Chris Joe, welcome to the Bird Joy podcast. It's a pleasure to be here, gentlemen, and this is kind of something that i always wanted to jump in on. And the more that you all do this and the time that passes, it's like, yeah, I got jump in here because this this is getting hot. This is getting to the point where I gotta got to put my little span on. And here we are.
00:02:27
Speaker
Here we are. It's incredible, man. Like we were talking before the podcast, Ben, Ben, I've been a fan for a while and just really appreciate what you're doing. And I think we want we want to kind of take folks maybe a little bit through the legacy in the process. So let's let's kind of start at the beginning here. as a kid, you grew up.
00:02:46
Speaker
you know, close to the farm, nature was part of your life. Sounds like when did that really start to shape itself into being like a ah pivotal part of your existence, of your personality, your being like, you know, being into nature?
00:02:59
Speaker
Wow. I mean, really, it has been one of those things that you don't realize it until you get to a certain age in this life. I've really been outdoors my entire life. Like I said, we're third generation Black Angus cattle farmer. Being a ah Black Angus cattle farmer, third generation,
00:03:17
Speaker
We were outside early. I have siblings. I got two older brothers younger sisters. So being outside those Saturday mornings, we think we're going to go down and ah play around, but it was actual work. You know, hey, Saturday morning. Nah. Didn't get a chance to do a bunch of that. But it was it was something that I really think molded me now with the passion that I have for outdoors and then my career.
Farming Operations and Agricultural Adaptations
00:03:44
Speaker
finding the career that I have now that allows me to still do what I'm doing. It's just one of those, this is what your life was supposed to be about. So growing up on the farm, we had about 200 acres, six miles of trails, natural trails throughout.
00:04:00
Speaker
And the area that we're in is called the Black Belt of Alabama. So you want to do your history and dive into what the Black Belt was. Basically, the Black Belt soils grew cotton very well. So we all know where cotton, cotton is king and slavery and the whole nine of how common it was back then. So our property, and I went back years and looked at maps, basically it was cotton on our property as well. So everything was flat. This land floods frequently. and We do have wetland soils on our property. So if ill I've seen water as high as your waste
00:04:37
Speaker
I got game cameras actually with great egrets on a ah deer feeder that we had that was underwater. So it gets up pretty high, stays probably two or three days and then it'll go down. But that allows that nutrient rich soil, all that's replenished. and next thing you know, you just can grow pretty much anything down there. My family on my dad's side raised Black Angus cattle.
00:05:01
Speaker
Well, we did vegetable. Most of the the older generation did multitude of of things. There was not one specific thing that you had to do. Yes, they were in cattle, but it was also in vegetable production.
00:05:12
Speaker
uh, hogs. So it was a myriad of stuff that you had to
Integrating Birding into Farm Life
00:05:16
Speaker
do down at the farm. So that required labor. So, and, uh, my dad is one of 10. And was like, wow. So you had to have some, had to have some farm hands and some help. And, uh,
00:05:28
Speaker
Fast forward that to us and my siblings and dad, and we're basically pretty much we got out of the whole vegetable link to that. That requires a lot of work. So we strictly went to Black Angus cattle. And the reason behind we choosing Black Angus cattle, they're a lot more docile than some other breed of cattle because you can get into some, I want to put a lot of meat on the cows,
00:05:49
Speaker
fast to sell it to market or sell it to another landowner, which is what we do. Cow calf operation. Some of those animals and their breeds have a little more aggressive nature to them. So you don't want a risk of injury. And I don't want, you know, people getting injured while down at the farm. The black angus is kind of one of those and they easy calves. So you don't have a lot of issues with calving time. So I think we might have pulled physically pulled a calf out maybe once in my life.
00:06:16
Speaker
I mean, I was high school. I remember that night because it was cold. And we had to go out there and and get a calf out. The mom lived and yeah, that was, that was quite something. So the outdoors has always been a part of what we've done. And I think the more that we're doing what we do now, that passion shows and people come down there, it's just like, they're part of the family. Hey, I, we got lost down there or we went, Hey, that's my favorite area to go see this type bird at. It's not like a park situation where somebody hand you a template and you just, you're on your way. It's like, no, Chris,
00:06:49
Speaker
has lived here. And you see all of us here, like my my brothers, my sister, my mom and my dad. So it's a family affair that we we do this and it's just not, you know, me doing it.
00:07:01
Speaker
That's incredible, man. that's like yeah mean I think your story is a little bit more OG than everybody else. You're like, yeah, I was out in the middle night snatching calves out. You know, i was throwing, hey, like what was y'all doing? Y'all was out burning.
00:07:15
Speaker
I was out birding in high school. Like that's what I was doing. I wasn't. Nah, it was like, it was, uh, I got the barbed wire scar to prove it, man. Yeah, man. Like that's, and that's, it's so, it's so interesting though. Cause like, how did the birds come about? Were you out one day or did you always notice them? Did your family talk about them? Like, how did that roll into this whole picture? And that's, that to me, I think it's the funniest thing that I always tell people that I didn't, I didn't go to school for anything related to birds. I was,
00:07:41
Speaker
agribusiness. i was I knew I wanted to be in the ag field, but anything specific to birds, I'm like, yes, we grew up. Yes, great blue herons, great egrets. We'll see cattle egrets, bald eagles. And it was just one of those things. I saw birds and I just you know went on. It was nothing like, oh yeah, i can I can go out here. It really didn't hit me until like 2018.
00:08:01
Speaker
eighteen And when i actually was looking in order to, how do I diversify the family farm?
Launching Successful Bird Tours
00:08:08
Speaker
Yes, we have cattle, but dad was like, What do y'all want to do on you know on the farm? And we were thinking about stuff. And i mean, it just hit me like a light bulb. Like, hey, look at what can we do with tours? And I talked to a gentleman from the University of Alabama Economic Development, and he came down to the farm.
00:08:26
Speaker
And at the same time, I was going on a Friday and Sunday, the Alabama Audubon came, which the crew that I'm with, they came down. their board president and then one of their members. So during that talk with the economic the developer, he was saying, you know, Chris, I think we can, you know, you got some activity that can be done out here. You got some nature walks. You got plenty of good trails, well bird watching, horseback riding, four wheel ATV stuff. And I'm thinking, oh man, I was like, go back. What'd you do? He said bird watching. I said, I ain't never thought about that, man. So people will pay money to see birds. Yeah.
00:09:02
Speaker
said chris you have no idea wow and i was like okay so i and i said he just tagged along me we was just throwing out ideas looking at places and then the day after autobahn group came and this is one of those this is how you know it was meant to be kind of thing so they got down there and they were laughing and i met them and it's funny because that's when i started getting heavy in social media on instagram and i actually met the uh the girl that's over the uh social media. And I sent her message hey, would y'all like to come and meet and talk about some things? And when they got down there, I mean, they were just giggling to What y'all laughed about it? said, Chris, you have no idea. We used to watch you all cut hay from the road when the kites were coming around. And I never saw nothing about it. They were already peeping on you. They were already peeping. I'm like, so y'all were the people down there with those binoculars? Yeah, we were talking. We were trying not to be, you know, be discreet, but dad would say, you know, people down there, they watching us. Who are they? And that was them.
00:10:06
Speaker
It was them. it just gave me boost. Because like, this is crazy. Y'all, so y'all been trying, they said, we were really trying to find a way to break the ice, to ask, hey, can we come on your private land and bring our bird watchers? So that's how we got started.
Legacy, Land Ownership, and Education
00:10:21
Speaker
And we was just And they said, hey, man, let's,
00:10:24
Speaker
Let's try to do a bird tour down here. So that was our first tour was February. i' never forget February 14, 2019. So we walked around in the cold that December looking, scouting places.
00:10:35
Speaker
And they were like, yo, let's just let's just go. And we had probably 25 students and a few of their board members that came down. And that to me, that let me know that this was something that could be continued. It wasn't a fly by night thing.
00:10:49
Speaker
And I was blown away. My dad was ah he was laughing. OK, OK, this is working. This is working. And then we started doing the dry run for what's now off the fifth year of the ah Black Belt Burning Festival. And Dr. Drew, he came down. He just i don't know if you all know him, but. Oh, yeah.
00:11:07
Speaker
Okay. So he is, it's like, he's like my dad because they, their group, they grew up same type country working farm. He goes out there he just said, Chris, this just looks just like my childhood.
00:11:18
Speaker
And a lot of people that come down to the farm, yes, birds is like the main draw. I i tell people I use birds as the hook to get you there. But then I started talking about education. I talk about entrepreneurship, especially with kids, entrepreneurship, letting people see a person that looks like them doing something other than your normal.
00:11:37
Speaker
things. And Dr. Drew would always just look at this and yeah, this is this is my my childhood. This is what farming looks like. And from then on, it's just been, how do I get more people coming down to share this experience with us? Because it's not It's unique because, like I said, you're seeing the people that grew up here that worked this land for you know decades. And like said, my dad's here.
00:12:01
Speaker
He's a retired agribusiness teacher. So we're we're educating people in ways that they normally don't get from going to college. let's say I'm going to a bird workshop or we go into a bird tour. We did the bird walk, get a snack or something, then we go home. you're learning You're learning family history. You're learning dynamics. You're learning what it takes to survive this long as as a multi-generational farm because not a lot of us still have property. it Yeah, we were kind of a unicorn.
00:12:28
Speaker
I feel like me being a unicorn, we we gotta got to show off to let folks know. And then even in my my work career, meeting with, with black landowners, let's say grandparents that are, Hey, this land is,
00:12:43
Speaker
we need to have a plan for it. And I'm glad more of us are getting to that, to that idea. I can't tell you how many families I sat down at our conference table with and I'm like, Hey, this is what we need to do this. And then when they find out about what I'm doing, it's, they just like, look, I knew I was in the right place. So yeah I feel like if I can convey that land ownership can be a plus and not just, Oh, I got to pay taxes on that land. Oh, I got do this. Like, you you're sitting on something that you can squeeze more than just a dollar out of. You can squeeze generations. Giving them a leg up. My nephews and nieces, I mean, people coming in and looking at us and like, wow, I can't.
00:13:26
Speaker
believe this. I mean, even now me talking now, i' so um'm I'm living it, but it's one thing that i I reflect back on. And then I look and a lady told me this in the crowd. My brother was sitting in the back and I was, I had just got through presenting and she's white lady. And she said, ah she said, I don't mean this to sound all funny or nothing, but I just,
00:13:44
Speaker
you as a black man, sit standing up there talking about things that y'all have done on y'all farm, it is blowing my mind. She said, I cannot. She said, I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about the stuff, the impact that you're making, just doing what you're doing. And a lot of times I don't look at it like that. Like I'm doing, I'm just, hey, little on me here in Alabama. Living your life that you've been living. that's what I'm doing. So I think we're taking taking off a good bit and more people that find out about us. And I feel like the platform that you all have That's something that we can spread it out that, hey, and I consult also with a lot of people, too. So ladies say, hey, can you look at my map and tell me kind of and I give them, you know, it's easy because I do this for work anyway.
Opportunities in Conservation and Tourism
00:14:27
Speaker
So I have the maps, I have the soils, I have the know-how, give resources, point you right direction. And now I have a few people that are kind of they're doing their first tours. a lady in Kentucky. And she said, Chris, I thank you for putting me on. And I feel like I don't, this bird world or ecotourism world is big enough that I don't have to gatekeep because I can't.
00:14:48
Speaker
I get hits on my website all day long about coming to do tours that I can't. yeah So, I got i gotta to let other people private land on is like, hey, there's ways that we can do this slide up in here. Let's go. Yeah. Like, come on. It's coalition.
00:15:04
Speaker
chris is it's zipa Chris, it's Chris. It's I'm so happy that you mentioned Dr. J. Drew Lanham. We actually had him on last season and i actually had a conversation with him about my family history and how we lost our land in Mississippi. Yeah.
00:15:19
Speaker
And it was very heartbreaking for me because and you mentioned it is my family didn't have a plan. They didn't. You know, and then along the way, just a generation is gone. it's gone Right. And I wish I wish there were people like you there that educated my grandmother and my uncles and my dad. and And it was really is heartbreaking for me, you know, as I now where I am in my life and thinking about how I want to try to build a legacy for my family. And I'm thinking about man, I could have been down there on my family's land in Mississippi building on what they started generations ago. My dad was telling me, you know, he's getting older too. So like the conversations I have with him are about how he grew up and what they did on that land. He talked about how they raised hogs and did all these different things. They in Memphis now, most of my family, but they grew up on a farm and and in Tunica, Mississippi and in law They lost that. They lost that land. And I just when I see the legacy and I hear you so passionately talk about your father and your family, your brothers and everybody all working on this together generation after generation.
00:16:30
Speaker
As you look at where you are now, what responsibility do you feel like do you feel carrying on that legacy? Because I know, like you said, nieces and nephews like this is bigger than you. This is this is this is your name. This is your family's legacy. What's that responsibility mean to you?
00:16:47
Speaker
Man, ah you must have been in the truck with me and my other brother the other day. We talked about my second brother, Timothy Joe, and y'all going to have to get him too. He's a mechanical engineer, but also he's an artist. So self-taught artist.
00:17:03
Speaker
So he does, I do a lot of photography and I'll send him pictures and he'll paint it. So we we always talk about, you know, this farm being in the family, the leg up that we have that most people don't have.
00:17:15
Speaker
It's our responsibility to carry it to the next step. And like said, kudos to dad, because he basically said, this is y'all have opportunity to do whatever you want to make the most out of it. What I need to help you with. And i was just like, dad, I already know some people. Let's, you know, let's get you going.
00:17:32
Speaker
So in in five years time frame, we've magazine television stuff. It's like we're boom. And now I got to go back and backtrack and build the infrastructure to support all of this now, which we do. We received a grant from the Conservation Fund. And now there's we are currently constructing a 35 by 42 facility with a classroom, bathroom, kitchen slab, everything slab done, the water, the plumbing is already hooked up. So we'll be starting that the next month or two.
00:18:07
Speaker
Wow. I'm like, I'm not wasting time at all. So now I got to wear another hat of a fun builder generator. So that's another thing that I've never done. Yeah. You got it. You got it. Yeah. that Wow. Because of, and the reason that came apart, because I was connected with the ah Alabama Black Veil Adventures.
00:18:27
Speaker
They're a ah organization here that I'm on that the main lady that I met, Ms. Pam Swann, and i always, I always give her props because it was trail and tourism workshop that I went to of hers to where that kind of gave me that spark. And ever since then, she's always, hey, Chris, you need to go talk to this person. You need to talk to this group. Hey, this group got some money.
00:18:49
Speaker
And that was the, all and I call it alihut. I'm going to use that term a lot. Man, we always take those alihut. I mean, there, I know sometimes we think about life and like, man, I got to go find out this. I got to go do that.
00:19:02
Speaker
A lot of times, the opportunities that I have, they've been alley hoops from other people. She threw me an alley hoop and I said, I'm going to dunk it. I'm going to Michael Jordan from the Tito line. Let's go. I'm out. We always say the people that are collaborating are the ones that are winning. I love the analogy of the alley hoop. You throw me one. I'm going up there. I'm going to put that thing down and I'm going to put it down in style. Hey, Chris, you want to come? Of course I do. I'm not going to no to that because I never know where that leads. That's right. One of the funny things, even with the travel stores, with the BBC that came down, I've heard, I call myself kind of renaissance person. I've been around
00:19:54
Speaker
a lot of places, but seeing people, British folks actually in your face, speaking and sounding like they do on the movies. it it being yeah chris oh just Did you feel official? Did you feel official? and I was like, this is a wild. But I had asked the producer of the show called Travel Stories. And Chris, you know, i I heard about you and he contacted me like,
00:20:21
Speaker
a year and a half ago in order to do the prep show. He said, I read about you in the Bitter Southerner magazine. And he said, i I got to contact you. And I mean, I get a call. It was like weird numbers. i ain't never seen plus four, four, three, two, three.
00:20:35
Speaker
what what I wasn't going to answer it, but then that was him. Who this telemarketer? Yeah, man, this fam is getting more creative by the day. But he really just said he loved the story and and it needed to be told over in their area. So we've been to some international UK stuff i've I've seen here, television show and publication. So it's And I say that to to the people that are going be listening to this, is that you'd never know where your story is going to be told at. And somebody is going to pick it up and then gravitate
00:21:11
Speaker
towards that. Hey, I remember doing that interview for the bitter southerner. That was a while ago. You never know who's going to pick it up and look at it. And that's just how it grew. So my responsibility and my brother, we, we always talk about how do we leave a legacy?
Inspiring Future Generations and Community Engagement
00:21:25
Speaker
And I just want, Hey, when Chris leave up out here, y'all said, man, Chris, he did something. And I think that's if we can get more people to look at life, like what did you leave behind you? Yeah. And you can accumulate, you can accumulate. I, I, I don't,
00:21:39
Speaker
I'm not knocking that when it's all. yeah And you know, those stories, that's that glass of bourbon. When you sit down and talk, like what did I really do? And if you can't answer that truthfully and then like, hmm, there's a piece of you that's going to be like, um I missed out on doing something that I sure. Sure.
00:21:57
Speaker
Yeah. I'm not going to let that feeling hit me. Yeah. And you kind of were sliding through it there. But but that that sounds like that's your one your primary levers. for keeping your land in the family is to be finding new things to do with the land in the family. Like you mentioned Timothy Joe's art. It's incredible, folks. tim Was it TimothyMJoe.com? Yeah, Timothy MJoe.com. It's moving.
00:22:21
Speaker
The landscapes, the oil paint, gaucho on paper, right? Like i don't even know what that is, but it looks incredible, right? Everything sold out. Yeah. In the video that I had posted with, um I was sitting in the back of the room recording and watching him in i tell I said, I remember him starting this when we were kids and then look at what he could do now.
00:22:42
Speaker
And he slows down. He was in the class and he was like, yeah, he was talking. And they were like, well, you're going to start painting or something? He said, yeah, he ain't going to take me back. I mean, literally. And when he started doing a lot, he did a belted kingfisher. Nothing on the paper. Then all of sudden he did.
00:22:57
Speaker
I'm like, I'm looking at that. There's a couple of things. It's like, yeah, it's incredible. um I get crazy every time. to like I'm watching him do this. He's telling his story in art, too. And then down at the farm, we had ah he had a painting, too. So like I i had the first bird watching.
00:23:13
Speaker
He had a first, he had probably five or six painters. We was riding around at the farm. They was going in different areas, painting landscapes. So that' that right that's just a little bit of what we can do camping. We had our first group of campers, nature walking, journaling, school groups. So, I mean, is it's really a testament to what land ownership should be, honestly, and not and like, you know, for for people in general, but more specifically for black and brown families like this is what they should be thinking. It's really incredible to hear, man. i Like, I can't wait to see what y'all are going to do next.
00:23:45
Speaker
And also, when you mentioned land ownership, I have to put this plug in there as we need to be more mindful. And not I know I don't know how y'all are, but ah I know y'all heard this term before. You got to get We got to start talking our business with the younger generation. I know a lot of you got to get that hand your business, handle that business. We don't like to talk about death and we don't like to talk about trying to ride a wheel or doing anything with it.
00:24:12
Speaker
But I tell you, that is the Achilles heel that we have that I wish we got to we got to do better because heirs property. grandma and granddaddy got land. They died. Nobody has put a name on paper or nothing. there You got nicknames. Sometimes we don't even know what our real grandfather's real name is or their uncle Junebug.
00:24:36
Speaker
Anybody know uncle Junebug's real name? Right. Nobody knows who their real name is. got an uncle Junebug. ah The funny thing, when I, my great aunt, she passed her, she stayed right next. So our,
00:24:50
Speaker
family land. It was siblings all in in a row. So my great aunt, she passed at 103 104. She still lived at her house at 101. And you'll see her outside, but she stayed at. I took my scanner, my laptop, and I went up to her house and I took photo albums. And I just, I scanned, I got pictures of people I've never even known of.
00:25:15
Speaker
I have obituaries. And that's another thing. Obituaries are where you're going to find those, your their real name. So Uncle Cliff, what was his real name? Oh, it was Cliff and Joe. So now that I can put that piece here and that puzzle fit. We have to build this. Okay, well, whose name's on the deed? Go down to courthouse. Find out whose name's on what. Okay, well, we don't have nobody all. Let's let's form an LLC. Let's form something to where this land is going stay entire 200 instead of there's a 50 acre here, there's a 10 acre here, there's a two acre here. Somebody put the trailer in the middle to where um I can't go.
00:25:47
Speaker
All that stuff has to be talked about. So please, please talk to grandma, talk to grandma, and talk to the parents. I know these subjects are touchy-feely. I think we're we're losing a lot because nobody knows. And trust me, you can go online right now and go to... the tax website and you can go buy a property where if somebody stopped paying taxes on I can go in there and pay a year or two and I can get the opportunity to own that land right up under you. Yeah. um Like I mentioned, I've seen it happen with my own family and then And it literally broke my heart. You know, it really broke my heart. And I think about what you're doing and and thank you for pouring into the next generation. Thank you for valuing the legacy that you've been blessed with.
00:26:29
Speaker
You grew up different than a lot of folks. And look as you look back on it now, Chris, how rare do you think, how rare do you realize that your upbringing really was, you know, like. core Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:43
Speaker
Even my friends and my closest friends, like literally across the street from us, they didn't have a farm. We were on... i Out of our entire school, and we went to I went to the integrated school, and that's another thing. what we went to the integrat that was We had an integrated school, we had all-black school, and we had a private white school. So we went to the integrated, black and white.
00:27:02
Speaker
And some of my friends, out of that out, we may have been the only ones that owned a farm. Some of the other, my friends, they their parents worked the catfish house and the chicken house, and that was their only industry. There was like, job-wise, there was no jobs. That was the only thing you did.
00:27:17
Speaker
and us having a farm and we're selling cows, everybody thought we were rich. And i even the, even like did, it kind of, it kind of felt like, you know, yeah i was, I knew I was different. We were different from everybody. Like I said, my dad was educated teacher and my mom was, she, she did a substitute teacher. So we know we, we live different or we were, our upbringing was different and what we were taught and what we were exposed to was different.
00:27:40
Speaker
Now, looking back at that, I think Me showing the kids that come down from Selma high schools and it's high poverty. Like I said, there's not a lot to do, but if I can show, i had the football team, ah all black boys. It was probably about 16 of them. And they walked beside, I walked to and walked beside me and they said, man, this is just so 16 year old, 15. Y'all know how we were at 15, 16. Yeah. and english is like They're just like, man, this is so cool. I i really enjoy outside. Another guy's like, yeah, man, i I like going, I like taking walks too. And I'm like, how comfortable they are in saying that where it's not an, oh, man, you can't do outside, man. That's that girl stuff, man. You're out here enjoying nature and stuff. that Yeah.
00:28:20
Speaker
and they they're seeing me they see me enjoy they see me doing cattle stuff my dad talked about the cows talking about land ownership talking about starting a business for yourself once you start plugging in those seeds man i i'm just i felt like i i've done my job that's yeah yeah yeah if we can look at doing our job and letting the rest take care of itself i can't follow this kid 10 years in the future and finally you know what yeah i helped no my duty is to hey show you this right now plug in something You may leave out here and not say nothing, but man, it was fun going out nature. That may spark something else.
00:28:56
Speaker
And hey, I've done my job. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think Dexter and I have both experienced that where we have young men and women out from communities that don't get exposed to fresh air, the ability to walk, the ability to, we were just interviewing another guest talking about finding the enchantment in nature, even through the struggling parts of life, right? And like, that's really the connection. It's not always, um you know, what what the movies make it seem. And and I wonder, like, that that sounds like it's something that you probably experience pretty often, but probably took some work to get there. So like going into hosting bird tours or just even nature walks on private land,
Overcoming Logistical Challenges in Bird Tours
00:29:31
Speaker
right. It's obviously rare in Alabama. What what were some of like the logistical challenges that came with that when you started doing it? Cause I, you know, i don't want people to think that, I mean, you make it look real easy, but like, I don't want people to think like, that you know, you got to do stuff. So like, how was that getting into that? And like, when did you finally feel like, all right, this is locked in I understand it. Like we're good. It started, started clicking because I,
00:29:53
Speaker
And I always tell people, you have the skills already in you. It's just, how do I go about making that skill pay off to where I can do this time after time? And it runs like it's supposed to.
00:30:06
Speaker
The skill that we grew up with, farming, driving a track, yeah I can drive a tractor. I can park a trailer with my eyes closed, reverse parallel park, everything. I can do all that. And I got to thinking about, okay, we have all this land.
00:30:19
Speaker
How do we get people to around this property? I know i I'm pretty good shape. I don't, everybody's not as mobile as you think. terrain has our land is flat, but still walking terrain, walking and yeah in impact. How do I get people that are of age that have mobility issues, handicapped little kids? How do I get them around to experience nature without a being a chore? And that's when I'm like, Hmm, I need to get a trailer. Hmm. Hey, ride.
00:30:49
Speaker
Hmm. When I actually wrote a grant for the trailer that we have now and got a custom built. It's 18 foot spring loaded. Um, rear gate lets all the way down. So we have wheelchair people. And that was something to see too, because she was like, Chris, a lot of people don't think about wheelchair bound people. And she go, we were had her all down in the deep woods and she was, you know, she was living life. Burden's just all the same. So let's go.
00:31:18
Speaker
That was really, I was just trying to find ways how to get people around. And then the term birdability came up that I saw on Instagram. like, huh. And then like, Chris, you're here to you're a picture perfect example of being a birdable place. And i'm like, I never knew that because I was just trying to get folks around without walking this whole thing. Us doing that, me driving the trailer.
00:31:40
Speaker
going to different spots on the property. So we can, you can park your car and you don't even have to get off if you don't want to. I'll just, I'll traverse you through the property. A lot of times people just love, they they get, man, their eyes kind of change. One lady said, this reminds me of my, ooh, I remember being a little girl and we were doing a hayride and my granddaddy, and I'm like, there you go. and I'm connecting folks to old memories. People that passed away, they're they're happy.
00:32:08
Speaker
And one girl, this was during ah Black Belt Bird Festival, during the kite show. and my dad's out there cutting grass. And I try to talk to everybody. And that's one thing people would laugh at. They say, you're real dude. You actually talk to
Emotional Impact of Birding Experiences
00:32:20
Speaker
folks. I'm like, ah It's not any different. They're like, oh, you're a celebrity. like to do that. Don't throw terms like that at I would walk the crowd and I talked to people. And I saw this one girl and she was on, we have people on the fence line. So when y'all come back, y'all where when y'all come, we have them on the fence line. People have lawn chairs, they're laying on blankets. I mean, the kites literally come over your head. And one girl, she was there in tears were coming out.
00:32:52
Speaker
So I walk over there and like, you know, is everything all right? She's just like, oh. I can't. She said, you have no idea how much this means to me. And I'm thinking, like oh, OK. So we and me being the and I'm a people person, so i I can talk all day long, talk to anybody about anything. And we um you're going to know me by the time we finish talking or going to feel like you know me. So I'm like, man, OK, Chris, let's use these these skills of of of communicating. So I started talking to her and she said, you have no idea how happy I am. She said, my mom had COVID. This was
00:33:25
Speaker
COVID era. My mom had COVID. She was, ah think she, she said she was close to dying twice. And she said she had booked a trip to come down. She came from Arkansas.
00:33:36
Speaker
She said, i wasn't going to come, but I just needed to get down here. And she was, I mean, she was bawling. She gave me a hug. She said, this means so much to me right now. i feel uplifted just seeing all these people. I made new friends. I'm taking, I mean, people take selfies out here. People exchange their numbers. So it's just not, you know, it's a thing. People get connected at at the farm and there. I see them post stuff like, oh, look at us. We're out here
00:34:03
Speaker
That's exactly what I'm going to do when I come down there. That's exactly what I'm going to It's really something to see, but she really kind of just hammered it home that I'm doing something that is making an impact. and i don't need like that You don't know what a person is going through mentally that is like, I just need to get out, see somebody that cares for me, may not don't even know me, but they care about me. Good job, girl. Good job. so she's dress She dried them up, but she she really was like, this this means so much to me right now. so
00:34:33
Speaker
You know what that was? was That was bird joy. It's kind of crazy when you think about what I've seen those moments with people too. yeah And we've talked about it, jason Jason and I talk about this all the time. We talked about this on the podcast. It's those moments of community that we're seeing when we're we're leading walks and then we see like a couple people that are out there and now they talking and then next week they out birding together.
00:34:59
Speaker
You know, like those, like they done found some, some friends. And, you know, I always talk about how birding isn't about the birds. Oftentimes it's the community that you get connected to and the people, some of the best people I've met in my life, I met through birding. And it sounds like with these swallowtail kites, I'm going to tell you, I've only seen one and it was for like five seconds. This thing was hiding in the trees and then it banked across the the street and went back into the trees and never showed its face again. Cause they don't come yeah and I already know. I mean, we counted 15. And when I say they come over you, they bank over you. And it's, yeah, I mean, they're you were huge. Yeah. So they, those swallowtail kites, they've become this like huge for your tours, obviously. And yeah people come in to see them.
00:35:50
Speaker
What is it like, you know, you mentioned them just seeing how low and they're banking around people's heads. Like, what's it like witnessing people see that spectacle? Like, are there, you know, you talk about this woman crying are there other reactions from guests that stand out to you from from those moments it's it's really crazy because i i canvass the crowd and i talk to everybody and like said ma you can you can see the anticipation it's one thing like said it's one thing that to know about to know about them but like actually seeing them and then them close and then them following your dad around cutting hay and they're like
00:36:26
Speaker
No, we there's food. We're going to follow you around until you finish. And even after we're finished, they they're still around in the area low. And you can see the anticipation of people. They get out the car. They get ready. They got the cameras. They like me. They got the camera. They getting strapped up. Yeah. They're ready, man. I'm ready. I ain't never seen one before. And when they get down there, and this year was funny because, I mean, last year was funny because they they made us wait. Now, that's another thing.
00:36:56
Speaker
And it's fun. It's something that is stressful to me, too. You like that night before? Man, I really I sleep, but I don't sleep that sound. But it's it's one thing that people come from across the country to come down to for one day. Now this I got to get this right. That's man. So we we get started. Dad, he fires up the track and he goes down there to the area where we're going to cut. I start hauling people down there to the far. I mean, to the field. They get out, they get set up, they get their spots. And he's like, OK, that's going around.
00:37:25
Speaker
Nothing still. Five minutes past. Ain't nothing. Ten minutes. It's like 25 minutes. Ain't nothing going on. Oh, man. Come on now, y'all. It's like 30 minutes had passed. I mean, you you can see people kind of sweating. Willis over there. I'm like, oh, my God. I'm over here playing playing a speaker like old buddy, begging the girl come out of the side. I'm i' blasting kite sounds in this air.
00:37:50
Speaker
And, man, next thing, all of a sudden, Hey, y'all, there's one. And it's like, I mean, you have no idea, man. It literally like a weight off of me. I can breathe and then I can go and start being the Chris and talking and doing that. But yeah, it's it's a nervous thing waiting on a particular bird to show up that you know is in the area. It's nothing that they're not going to be there. It's when and are they going to come that day?
00:38:15
Speaker
So seeing that, and it's creepy because like you'll see one, the next thing you know, there's like 10 all of a sudden, it's like, where did y'all just come from? And they drop out of the sky.
Navigating Racial Dynamics in Conservation
00:38:27
Speaker
and And then you can kind of see the pecking order because the Mississippi kites, they come as well. So we have swallowtails in the Mississippi. So they both feed at different times. So you'll get a mix. You'll get them kind of. And then this year, the cattle, the cattle, they followed that around. on So there was like a group of, and I can think I got pictures on there. There was a group of probably 20 of them that floated around in the field while the kites were above. They were down low. And I don't like and um an Audubon guy said, have you ever seen that before? I said, no. So I didn't know.
00:38:58
Speaker
I guess the dinner bell was too loud they couldn't resist. Another guy, he was saying, Chris, I, he's at, and it was like you, uh, Dex, I seen him up high. He said, I've never seen one close.
00:39:09
Speaker
And he said, his eyes were just dark. He said, this is ridiculous, man. he Another older lady, she was like, I lived in Florida and I see them in Florida. But like said, they were always up but up way up high. And she said, I am amazed. And then when people actually see how large they are, and and that's another thing that catches a lot of people off guard. And then the number of them. So it's not this one, oh, I got got one out here.
00:39:36
Speaker
mean, like 50. 15 at one time, then they get so full, they go sit right up in the tree right by you. So like they're up there and you're like, man, so they just, that's incredible, man. The more that, that I think they're seeing that in front of them, seeing the activity, see the, the frenzy.
00:39:54
Speaker
Because when that circle, what I feel, it's like a rectangle. So we kind of cut rectangles. So once once dad gets, all the insects are in the middle. So they'll they'll work their way in. So when he gets to the middle to start cutting, it's like, I mean, you can see the cloud. It's like funnel. Yeah.
00:40:09
Speaker
Yeah. That's wild, man. They just go everywhere. And you think they would hit the, I think my dad got a selfie with him and one is in the, in the back behind him. Oh, that's gangsta. That would be my, that would be my Facebook profile picture. for i like Wow. And I got him pretty good with a phone now. So he's pretty good, man. They're down here now, Chris. I said, okay, that's good. all they show Oh, man, and that's great, man. and i I know what that's like sweating bullets where you're trying to get people certain birds. and like it's even It's even different if you own the property. But, you know, I'm wondering because you're not just having the property, bringing people to your property, right? You're out. You're at ah birding festivals. You're in the community. You're doing things. And I imagine that in a lot of those places, those conservation spaces, you may be the only black person in the room. I was. Yeah. Yeah. And like, how was that? How was that? Right. Because we've talked to other folks about being the, you know, quote unquote, tip of the spear in terms of entering the space. Like how is being in that space and then building it out for other folks kind of shaped your own career? And are you know are you feeling like in your spaces, some institutions are still getting some things wrong about representation or are they?
00:41:17
Speaker
Have you kind of kind of got people into shape to understand exactly what it means to bring different communities into that space? To me, what I've been... it's No, this's it's a good lift. on What I've been noticing, him it and my brother Tim, me and him talk about this, because he's he's painting. He's doing stuff that not a lot of Black people are doing. like for sure You have to be wary of where you're going or, hey, I'm going to go stop and bird watch on the side of the road.
00:41:43
Speaker
well Okay, where are you going to go first? Second of all, you know what I'm saying? It's safe. My brother's like, man, I can't just pop up on the side of a road somewhere and start And then don't let me have on something to where you really can't see my face or something. Or I'm walking around with something like this and I'm holding, you don yeah yeah i know, I'm real cognizant of where I am and what I'm doing. More example of why I have my own space and I can do what I want to.
00:42:10
Speaker
i'll have I don't have to worry about that. So I got, I have my safe space, but while I'm out, I'm still, I'm still very aware of, of, where I am and being in the South, being in areas to where you don't just randomly show up because a lot times people aren't ready for you to be where you are.
00:42:29
Speaker
on a nature trail at whatever time of the day or first thing in the morning, you see me sitting on the edge of the pond hunkered down. um You trust me, I'm going to get a drive-by call. I've had this happen.
00:42:41
Speaker
I was out in the field. actually working i was actually working. So i this i' even birdwat this is me doing my day-to-day job. I'm out on the edge of a crop field measuring crop residue, doing my stuff.
00:42:54
Speaker
I get one ah silver truck passed by and you kind of can tell when when somebody's going to double back on you. I got to get my speech. All right. Come back around again. And they roll to window down. They just act like they want to have a conversation with you. But they're really how you are. So it's like, OK. And then I just make up, you know, hey, I'm out here. I'm with I do conservation stuff. You got some land, too. And then the whole conversation changes because I'm.
00:43:19
Speaker
Coming to him in a different way that it's not going to be confrontational. It's not going to be like, man, what you got coming over here? You don't know me. First of all, I don't i don't i don't like that way of communicating. Too aggressive. if i meet If I meet your unknown with aggressive, that's where we're clashing. So if you you don't know who I am.
00:43:39
Speaker
But I'm going to come to you and, oh, this is what I'm doing. Hey, y'all seen the timber? You know, they're burning, you know, on so-and-so land they're doing. And now he's relaxing. Oh, man, he hanging out the window. And yeah, matter of fact, can I come to your office? I need some help with my cows. Yeah. Boom. And I just broke that. So the the more I'm starting to interject how I am in spaces, more people are, so they're kind of more relaxed. I've been to different South workshops.
00:44:09
Speaker
Speaking on land ownership, like said, the only person there, but me as a conservationist, I know what I'm talking about. I can, I'm in that space and they're like, huh, yeah, he knows what he's talking about. Yeah, I'm a black guy, but he also knows what he's talking about. So if if we, we have to know us and like said, telling my story, you won't take Chris, tell your story, how you got started. I can tell you that story.
00:44:32
Speaker
with confidence. But if, if we're going to spaces that not ready or not used to seeing us in spaces and we're not, don't have our game together, it's going to look, it's going to be perceived as ah they're not even supposed to be here kind of thing. And now we got problems.
00:44:48
Speaker
But if you come in there like, Hey man, we're bird watching this group of gardeners. They never older white ladies, never talked to a black person before. And now you're here making them laugh and they're having fun. new You're,
00:45:00
Speaker
And now they want you to come back and talk again. So it's, I feel like I can, I'm, I'm supposed to be the the change agent. You are whatever, whatever. Yeah, you are. If I know I'm the person that everything is going hinge on how I react to the situation. Now it's like, Oh, it could been a whole lot worse. We could have nosed out quick in certain places. I got everybody laughing. Folks are talking. They're inviting me to come talk. They're, uh,
00:45:29
Speaker
weird request. I had to talk to a a Chamber of Commerce Tourism in way South Alabama. And like I said, the only one in the room, but the lady that introduced me, or i mean, big up me like she'd been knowing me forever. And they have known folks. After I got finished, the owner even, he even came and was talking to me about stuff they did as kids. Yeah, I remember my granddad. And it's like, wow. So I don't like to tell people, oh I don't see color. No, I think that's the wrong way to look at it. It's how do I...
00:46:01
Speaker
How do I show you my background, my upbringing to where you can relate to something that I do? And now that we're we're relating to, yeah, I remember doing we used to work cows and man, almost got kicked, man. I remember getting crapped on and now we're laughing. That's why I tell you I said, no, more than likely, if you don't like me, it it's something, man, it's something wrong with you because I'm we're going to meet at some level because I can I can.
Breaking Barriers with Interpersonal Skills
00:46:27
Speaker
pretty much find out something about you in this conversation that we're going to be friends after after i leave. Jay, you know what this reminds me of is when Liz was talking about interpersonal skills, when she's out and she's on like a work site and she has to learn how to talk. talk to all these different people and the construction workers and you clearly have that, Chris, and you talking about how we we have to be different in certain spaces. You're in the deep south here in Wisconsin. When I go to rural areas, it's different for me and and I have to be ready for that. And I similar similar things. When people see me, I just tell them my story or if I'm in a scope, Jay, we've talked about this um and I'll say, hey, you want to see what I'm looking at? And immediately you just break the barrier with them because they're like, whoa, I ain't never seen one of those was up close. And I know those rural areas around Philly get pretty, you know? Yeah.
00:47:21
Speaker
Kind of similar. So yeah I love that you talk about those spaces and we do have to think differently as black men when we're in those spaces. And I'm thinking about I'm thinking back to the Central Park incident that involved Christian Cooper and.
00:47:36
Speaker
That really sparked a lot of conversations about race and the outdoors and and it kind of spread nationally. And you actually had him come to your farm and they filmed the episode for Extraordinary Birder down there in Alabama with you. What what did that do to you? Like what? I mean, I know people started reaching out to you and things changed. Like that episode is fantastic. um How did that visit by Christian who was also, he's a dear friend and he was on this podcast as well. How did that impact you and the farm and your vision? I'd love to hear your, your take on that.
00:48:17
Speaker
And it's, it's funny because that it actually started. Okay. So I can't even remember years running together. But he actually came prior as a guest, a special guest from the Alabama Alibaba and basically paid for him to come and be a special guest birder. So I met him and Karina. Yeah, him and Karina and Al. ah Yeah. So all three of them came down department. I think I sent y'all that picture. It's Google Drive. Meeting Chris, and this was his first time.
00:48:50
Speaker
I want to his first time in Alabama. He had folks from the South. So He kind of was nervous. And we went that night prior when he got there, he stayed in Selma. at a bed and breakfast that one of my friends has. And that's another thing about partnerships, knowing where, you know, hey, she has a bed and breakfast, they come bird watch with me in the morning, and boom, we're all making money. But he came there, and we walked across Edmund Pettus Bridge, and we went and looked at a lot of the civil rights foot soldiers, and he was just in awe. He's like, man, Chris, I i feel like y'all actually taking care of me. It's not, because I was, he said, i couldn't, I was, I was kind of nervous about coming down to the South. I didn't know how they were going to respond to me or how I was going to be received. And when he came down to the farm the next day, you know my mom, my dad, you know and my siblings, everybody is just treating him just like one of us. and
00:49:42
Speaker
not worried about, oh, well, you're you're this or you're that or you're sexual orientation or this. Oh, you don't deal with that. We're, uh-uh. We don't even allow that. You come down, we're taking care you, period. And he had the best time, like I seeing the kites too. So the kites, I use the kites to bring people in. But once they get there and they start to to see what's more to it than just the birds, they get the family
Expanding Impact Through Media Projects
00:50:05
Speaker
orientation. They get the actual, somebody actually cares about me as a person. And So we got through with that. I didn't think nothing of it. We we took pictures, we laughed, we made videos. that We went chimney swift hunting that night prior, watching them go into the neighboring building chimney. So we were chimney swift chasing. Saw a night hawk too. He was just, he enjoyed But then, bird the next day, got famous.
00:50:31
Speaker
Everybody went their separate ways. I get an email. So we finished that in August. I get an email, probably Stebbyware, from the producer and was like, hey, first of all, saw Disney. was like, uh-oh. Disney production. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up, hold up, hold up. we had a great time down at the farm. And Chris said that we needed to reach out to you to see if you were interested in being a part of filming for The Extraordinary Burger. And I was like,
00:50:59
Speaker
are you serious? How fast did you hit that reply? Oh man, I wrote her back so quick. I And even to this day, I think there's something just that's the other day and it was just like, thank you so much for it. And she said, Chris, that was that was a fun trip. She said, I really enjoyed it because y'all made, we had the scheduling stuff and she said, Chris, y'all were so flexible and worked with us because it's not just him coming. that's I've been a part of you know film stuff. I was in uh, I was an extra uh, Selma, Ava DuVernay's.
00:51:34
Speaker
And I did all the shoots with them. So I kind of see what a full production. You're, you know, meeting Oprah, you're meeting Ava, wiping sweat off your face. You're meeting Ruth telling you, come in here, boy, i need to put you in some overalls. And it it's crazy. It's crazy. And, and having that experience and then Christian Cooper and the crew and then those guys coming in right now, I'm, I'm cool friends. And I would, uh,
00:51:58
Speaker
one of the guys that's a videographer for the the show. So they came down there. My dad, Bob, everybody just came to the farm. We had some friends that they wanted to come and meet. And it was funny. like, oh, we're really doing this out in the middle of nowhere. Because you wouldn't be able to find us if I just...
00:52:19
Speaker
pointed on a map, you probably still couldn't find it. And it was just funny to see them come in, bring all their production stuff. I tell them to hop on on the trailer, we go down to the field. And my dad, I'm telling you, don't know if y'all are hearing, but my dad is so guarded with that tractor that I was, I didn't think this was gonna happen because the producer like, yeah, we wanna have Christian drive a little bit. You know, he wants to cut some hay and He's going to drive tractor. I haven't even driven a tractor. I haven't even driven. I drive the old tractor. Dad drives the new tractor.
00:53:11
Speaker
Man, it was something. I laughed my butt off. I don't know y'all got this on the show. was like, hey, man, you got to straighten up more than that, man. It was like one of those things where we're on five heartbeats where the dude was playing the music wrong and he had to go knock him off the piano.
00:53:31
Speaker
So dad, Dan had to knock them off, his off the controls and and cut that it. out Yeah. But that was, that was so much fun to do that and, and to see.
Vision for the Farm's Future: Legacy and Conservation
00:53:42
Speaker
And, um, Chris just really tell us how much he appreciate what we were doing, you know, and even on that show, the rest of the people that are on the show, I know them personally. And, um, That's another cool thing that I think Alabama, that episode Alabama, it was really filled with people that are actually know each other, that actually in that realm. It is not like yeah we're strangers. Dr. Fareed, she brings her students from Tuskegee to our farm every year. The other gentleman, me and him, cool friends, the other girl that works with Auburn,
00:54:11
Speaker
Raptor Center, I actually took pictures of Independence. That's the bald eagle that they used to do the flight. Yeah, yeah, sure. So it's like, I i know these people firsthand. And him being, you know, so trusting of us to to allow him to do that. And I said, nobody got hurt, even though he that was his first time driving. Dad, you know, we did a crash course and in how to drive the tractor. And ah it made it work. And like I said, I really think that episode...
00:54:35
Speaker
catapulted us because i still to this day hey we saw you on the on christian cooper show we i want to come down there i want to and that that really has done more for us you know i don't even really have to advertise i just put up a flyer hey we're doing birdie i'm getting people yeah you know what i got a chance to come i'm gonna come this year don't let other people start uh bonnie she's that think she's a country musician and she posted some stuff and my DMs got flooded. Hey, when the next time you doing something? Oh, Bonner Black? Was it Bonner Black? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So she came down and she was just laughing and she's like, this is freaking amazing. And I'm like, yeah, it is. And I said, was incredible, man. You are amazing, Chris. It's crazy, man. It really crazy. He actually said that was his favorite stop. Yeah. We interviewed him on the podcast and he talked about going back to Alabama and connecting with his family history. And it's just beautiful to hear you talk about it from your angle as well. To see those connections to that trip is just absolutely beautiful. Incredible. It's incredible. He was just blown away it. But like I said, I feel like once you kind of show people a side that they really don't see in their day-to-day, you don't really get a chance to see a full family doing something all together, pushing in the same direction. And I don't mess with that side of the family because they don't. And it's like, nobody's doing that. You see our, we all got t-shirts, we're all organized. And it's like, this is how you're supposed to do stuff. You're supposed to hone in your craft, make it to where somebody wants to come back again. Somebody's going to tell somebody else again and make their experience. I had fun too as well. And now it all meshes together. No, it's nothing. Yeah, man. Y'all doing it. I found out my groove. And man, I can get down there. leave my house probably 530, get to the farm by 7, hook the tractor up, put the hay on the back, park everything, put the stuff out front. Boom. I'm ready for people to show at 830. Let's go. Let's go, man. love to hear it, man. I love to hear Listen, I got a good deal. We are at my favorite part of the podcast episode, which is the lightning round. So we're going to give you some quick questions. We need quick instinct only answers. Mm hmm. I don't want none of this. Oh, both or all of them. I want specific answers. All right. You're on the hot seat. OK. All right. The first one is going to be rough. All right. I maybe don't know your favorite bird to photograph.
00:57:07
Speaker
Rachel the hawk. Beautiful bird. Beautiful bird. A sound in nature you love. Morning, though. OK. Camera or on this. You on the ground. I can see it right now. My eyes closed up at my mom's dad's house. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. All right. Yeah. Camera or binoculars first.
00:57:27
Speaker
Camera. Morning light or evening light? Evening light. One word and one word only to describe the Joe farm. Beautiful. Solo birding or group tours? Solo. Place you want to bird next? South America.
00:57:44
Speaker
An animal you relate to the most? Jaguar. Oh, wait a minute. All right hold on. going to give you this last question, but then we're going to back to that jaguar real quick. birdjoy Bird joy. Bird joy means blank. My freedom.
00:57:57
Speaker
Wow. Amen. free ah That's good, man. That's good. that's Listen, Jaguar, just explain like 30 seconds or less. Like, give me what's the i up with the Jaguar. i I'm kind of a loner and ah I don't mind being by myself. And that's kind of what the Jaguar strand. I i can go hunt. I can go get what I need. i Hey, I don't need a whole pride behind me. I can take care it. And my personality, I'm a, I'm a loner, but I'm a people.
00:58:19
Speaker
I love that, man. That's incredible. Man, Chris, this, I knew this was going to be good. The power of legacy and the education and the knowledge that you're passing on to next generations, the joy that you're bringing into people's lives as you open up your private space, which has been built on generations and generations of your family's legacy is truly like it's just so inspirational. It really is. And I encourage people out there to go check out your website, connectingwithbirdsandnaturetours.com. Check you out on Instagram. We're going to link all of this in our show notes and just really, really want to encourage people to follow the work and support the work that you're doing. But thank you, man. Like today was beyond expectations. And and we're really, really, really grateful that you spent some time with us today.