Exploring Nature: Two Suggestions

I have two suggestions for all my birding friends – buy some shade-grown coffee and get to know Keith Hackland.

First, about the coffee. I recently purchased several packets of instant coffee produced from beans grown in the shade of trees. It is good stuff, and I feel good about protecting the environment because shade-grown coffee not only enhances the soil by fixing nitrogen, but also provides a good place for birds to hang out.

And, completing the equation, the birds provide natural insect control so there is no need for poisonous insecticides.

I purchased a brand called Waka Coffee; other varieties include Java Planet, Klatch Coffee and Camano Isla.

I’m told the most expensive coffee in the world is produced from beans that have passed through the digestive tract of civets, a wild feline. Also expensive are beans that are dug out of elephant dung. It seems there is something about moving through the digestive tract that produces a “nutty, rich, earthy flavor.” A cup of coffee from these beans can cost $50.

Now about Keith Hackland. He is owner of the Alamo Inn in Alamo, deep in the Rio Grande Valley, and recently posted this message: “This fall at Alamo Inn is shaping up well. We have received steady rains since mid-August. The habitat is looking beautiful. We are enjoying flurries of hummingbirds at the Inn garden and Mary Beth is guiding birders in the field with great success. The border region in the Valley here is safe, it is calm, in fact it is quiet and normal. Please let your birding friends know this is a great fall and winter to bird the Valley, and to attend the RGV Birding Festival which runs November 6 through 10.”

Keith runs a very birder-friendly establishment and can be reached by calling 956-782-9912.