I would like to thank everyone that has donated or otherwise supported Nature is my Jam by liking, following, sharing and/or subscribing to the podcast. Your support goes directly to creating future episodes and allows this podcast to be ad-free and 100% listener supported. Your kindness means the world to me and I hope you might feel inspired to explore the natural areas where you live.

By most measures, 2022 was not kind. I still can’t bring myself to talk about it, but my sidekick and constant companion, Bella (Boo Boo) lost her battle with cancer. If you were ever on a conference call with me, then you most definitely saw her sitting on my shoulder. She was a constant presence and I miss her dearly. She was tiny but mighty, never hesitating to yell at me if I wasn’t paying enough attention to her. We also lost Scruffy, our adventure cat, a few months ago. As if that wasn’t bad enough, our beloved Black Lab, Jasmine, also passed away at 12.

Unexpectedly, I lost my job in February because of my position being eliminated. There isn’t a need to go into detail, but that event caused a short-term panic and an opportunity to reflect on my 25 year career in information security and risk management. Having the misfortune of working for a bully and a coward, I was relieved to no longer have to deal with their incompetence ignorance style of “leadership”. However, it saddened me to leave behind co-workers that had become great friends. I was also leaving behind a career that I truly loved and hoped to continue doing until retirement. I’m still angry with the company that allowed it to happen, but it turned out to be a new opportunity to try something new.

With the support of my wife, Rhonda, and hours of financial calculations, we made the decision that I would take a long break from my career and look for a new path forward. This podcast results from being given the opportunity to try something new without the stress of reinventing myself at another company. The joy of learning something new every day and seeing improvements in my recording has been the best gift. I can also jump back into my abandoned love of photography and film. Am I officially retired? Time will tell, but for now, I’m extremely happy to be where I am and doing what I love.

As we head into 2023, I want to devote this episode to my feelings of gratitude. I have compiled the best bits from each episode in 2022 to create a retrospective of sorts. It was a mix of fun and cringe as I went back to the beginning of this journey. My early recordings were not good, but had great intentions. I committed to a goal of improving every week and seeking help from other field recordists. I like to think that my recordings improved with each episode and I am happy that so many people helped me along the way. 

I start each morning by writing out three things I am grateful for in my journal. It always starts with Rhonda. Always. Simply, she is the reason I have this podcast and the latitude to pursue this fresh path. She has never doubted me and is always there to cheer me on. Her support means the world to me, and I will forever be grateful that she is in my life. The other two items vary each day, but there will never be a time where Rhonda isn’t the very first name in the journal. 

I am also grateful to YOU. It means so much to me, giving up a few minutes of your time every week to listen to the podcast and share your thoughts. As I’ve said before, I started this podcast because I felt I had something to say but didn’t know how to say it yet. Recording nature sounds gave me a voice that I desperately needed, and it was a giant leap into the abyss to publish that first episode. I didn’t tell anyone about the podcast until the third episode and did not know what to expect. I could imagine people saying, “What gives? A podcast with no one talking? That’s really weird, dude. Really weird.” 

And perhaps a podcast without talking is weird, but it clearly resonates with many people. I can’t say thank you enough and while I have been saying this from the very beginning, it bears repeating. Thank you for listening. I would like to thank you for your encouragement. Thank you for your generosity. Most of all, thank you for your time. Time is precious and I don’t take it for granted that you choose to spend some time with this podcast.

Much Love, 

Darrin