North Country Voices: Paul Hetzler
This installment of North Country Voices is a little different than usual. You might recognize the name Paul Hetzler from any number of articles posted to our page about different features of North Country nature, and you may remember the articles for their jokingly light yet incredibly informative writing style. Paul recently finished a new book titled Birds of Happiness Aren't Blue and we thought it would only be fitting to help encourage folks to check out his professional writing too!
Longtime North Country resident and Cornell Cooperative Extension Educator Paul Hetzler used to spend his days embarrassing his children, but they grew up. So now he writes about nature for The Saturday Evening Post magazine and The Québec Farmers’ Advocate. One of his essays was recently longlisted for the 2024 CBC Literary Prize for Nonfiction, and his work has appeared in Highlights for Children magazine, The Lancet (really), and on the website of North Country Public Radio. His daughter Heron graduated from St. Lawrence University in 2016. Paul has lived in western Québec since 2020.
Book descriptions:
Paul’s three books – Shady Characters (2018), Head of the Class: Smart as a Slime Mold (2021) and Birds of Happiness Aren’t Blue (2023) – take readers on a series of fast, zany rides into the wild and weird natural world around us. Each humorous nature-based essay teems with fun – occasionally gross – facts about stuff like photosynthetic frogs, worms with copper teeth, trees that bleed blue, and woodpeckers that compulsively decorate.
Plus, you’ll get useful advice on things such as how to prevent oak wilt, ways to help trees recover from drought, and how to best support pollinators. You might even learn to speak Pine.
Entries can be read in any order, which is great if you’re disorganized like he is. At about five minutes each, they’re perfect for when you want a break from phone-gazing. But be warned: these essays are like popcorn – it’s real hard to stop after just one.
If you’re a nature-lover, you’ll devour these books. If you’re not a big fan of nature, well, you’ll still get a kick out of them.
They are available online through the links provided above, as well as at Nature’s Storehouse and The Brewer Bookstore.
Dan French is a 2021 graduate of Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. While there, he majored in Sustainability with minors in General Business and Management. As an undergrad he had the opportunity to intern with the National Park Service's Office of Policy in Washington D.C., conduct self-led research on the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid's impact on North American species of Hemlock, and was elected sectetary of his universities ultimate fresbee team, Bentley Icehouse. A native of Potsdam NY, Dan spent many summers cultivating his love for outdoor education at 4-H Camp Overlook where he was a camper turned staff for a total of 14 years. In his free time, Dan enjoys hiking in the Adirondacks and skiing when the snow allows. Most recently, Dan returned to the North Country after a one year term of service as an AmeriCorps member in Montana. He served as the National Wildlife Federation's Garden for Wildlife (TM) Coordinator in Missoula and the surrounding area. Now that he's back, Dan hopes to expand his connection to the environment through whitewater kayaking, backpacking, and expanding access to the wonders of the North Country to anyone and everyone who wants to tag along.