From the back cover:

                A compendium of local and national bird news but also a backdoor look at a family’s outdoor memories, Barb Gorges has compiled 25 years of favorite Wyoming Tribune Eagle “Bird Banter” columns in “The Best of Cheyenne Bird Banter.”

                Watch how the digital age creeps into the birdwatching community with eBird, a place to make personal bird observations public and available to scientists. And now there’s Merlin, a phone app identifying birds by sight and song. But at the same time, Barb documents more and more human intrusions into bird safety.

                Leavening this collection are stories: the bird family drama playing outside the kitchen window, the hidden house sparrow nest that could have started a house fire, the rosy-finches that can only nest on cliff faces at high elevation and attract researchers risking life and limb.

                “The Best of Cheyenne Bird Banter” is about wild birds, and the people who love them.   

From the back cover:

“Garden Gossips” is the name author Barb Gorges gives to the more than 100 experienced and enthusiastic Cheyenne gardeners she’s interviewed.

• Whether you are a new gardener or not, you’ll find ideas for adapting to the High Plains challenges: short season, high elevation, alkaline soil, antelope, cold, drought, hail and wind.

• Beyond the typical vegetable, fruit, herb and flower gardens, the Garden Gossips introduce water, rock, rain, container, hoop house, straw bale, bee, native plant, raised bed and vertical gardens.

• Learn how to plant and take care of trees. Learn how to have a lawn that needs little water or work. Or replace it with ground covers and native plant and pollinator gardens.

• If you live “out in the county,” learn how to have a Firewise home and how to care for your piece of native prairie.

• There’s advice on winter sowing, creating winter interest and growing houseplants to keep your thumb green over the winter.

• Peruse 270 photos taken almost exclusively in Laramie County, including the Garden and Plant galleries. Look for the Plant List, Barb’s Bookshelf, Resources and the Keyword Index.

Cheyenne Botanic Gardens founder and director emeritus Shane Smith wrote the foreword—and contributed little nuggets of wisdom sprinkled throughout the book.

Author Barb Gorges started gardening in Cheyenne in 1989. She’s been writing the Wyoming Tribune Eagle garden column since 2012. Her gardening successes are thanks to the generosity of the Cheyenne Garden Gossips. 

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Two of Cheyenne’s well-known birdwatchers have collaborated on this celebration of 104 of the Capitol City’s most-likely-to-be-seen birds.

Cheyenne Birds by the Month: 104 Species of Southeastern Wyoming’s Resident and Visiting Birds, by Barb Gorges and Pete Arnold

Photographer Pete Arnold, often found birding local hotspots camera at the ready, shares his art. Author Barb Gorges, bird columnist for the Wyoming Tribune Eagle for 20 years, shares insights into our avian residents and visitors.

Each of the 104 bird species gets its own page, two-thirds color photo and one-third bird blurb. Included is a checklist of all 326 bird species that may be seen in the Cheyenne area, plus a list of birdwatching resources.

Available online and locally, including the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, Cheyenne Depot Museum, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming State Museum, 307 Made, Bonsai Books and Riverbend Nursery. See Buy.

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Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice: How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100 by Barb Gorges

Available on Amazon and at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, https://www.rmqm.org/, in Golden, Colorado.

In Cheyenne, find it at 307 Made, 1721 Carey Ave. and Barnes and Noble, 5116 Frontier Mall Dr., #400.

If you’d like to order multiple copies at wholesale prices, contact Barb at bgorges4@msn.com. Allow 3 to 4 weeks for printing on demand and shipping.

Barb Gorges is a ribbon-winning quiltmaker, quilt teacher and designer of the Gorges Quilt Label.

Quiltmaker or quilt owner, decide how to take care of your quilts:

“follow good care and use practices and avoid accidents…but if quilts have been loved to pieces, what more could we ask for?”

Learn how to use, display and clean a quilt safely, how to make a strong quilt and how to safely store and ship it.

Convince future owners of value by documentation, appraisal and insurance.

Find the experts for caring for art and fragile antique quilts.

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