Finding winter fruits, birds, and more in Greenough Park

Missoula, Montana's Greenough Park is an urban natural space near the edge of the city: an interesting mix of wild and domesticated, native plants and garden escapes. In mid-November, I joined a group of naturalists, led by Ser Anderson of the Montana Natural History Center, in a wintry "naturalist saunter" through the park. We found a variety of fall and winter fruits, checked out a rock outcrop that's over a thousand million years old, found some cedar and Bohemian waxwings, and saw signs of some more-elusive mammals. This is yet another story about the diversity of plants and wildlife we can find practically in our backyards - and how, when we can learn from each other, we can deepen our connection even more with the places where we live.