Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams

 The author feels a strong connection to the beauty of the bird refuge, and more specifically the burrowing owls. She goes into detail about their lives, and how they have flourished, even though they are a "threatened" species. They are seen as strong animals through her eyes, that have gotten over many obstacles, but to me, it is hard to appreciate nature just for itself. There has to be something or someone that caused the author to feel so strongly about nature, and these owls specifically. As we continue the reading it becomes known that the connection the author has to her family, relates to her connection to the owls. Her family is the kind that spent time outdoors, camping, hunting, appreciating nature. She was raised to appreciate all life, not just her own. Her grandmother is the reason she feels so strongly about the owls. Her grandmother explains the black and white ibis, and even as a child she sees the birds as bridges of culture. With age I think this view expanded, so when the author sees the burrowing owls she sees her family, she sees life, she sees her grandmother, and she sees them as bridges of culture in their migrations. When she discovers that the refuge has been replaced by ignorant hunters who couldnt appreciate the the lives of the owls, or appreciate them, she is appalled by their actions. It is easy to understand this reaction, once you understand why the author is so connected to the owls themselves, which brings us to the theme that everything on the earth means something, whether it to be to another animals, person, plant etc. All living things are connected to one another, in some way, and by destroying nature, we destroy an important part of the whole.