Rested and pretty much over my illness of the last week, I'm about to take another shot at my mission to walk to the Outer Banks of North Carolina from Virginia Beach.

First I'm in Washington DC tonight ahead of a presentation on invasive species that I am scheduled to deliver at the State Department tomorrow afternoon. The State Department isn't the first arm of government that comes to mind when we think about work against invasive species, but State has an important role in negotiating cooperation with other countries in preventing the movement of invasive species.

Then early Friday morning I drive down to Virginia Beach to start my hike. I'm running out of time to meet my deadline for this piece -- its due by the last day of the month.

Then what? My new book proposal is just about finished, I've been approached yet again about doing a TV show, and I'm looking to line up more book signings and speaking appearances throughout the summer before the book tour for 'Eating Aliens' starts.

Right now its getting to be make-or-break time for my future in this line of work. If I can't get another good book deal, TV offer or something similar then I'm not sure how to keep paying the bills at the end of the summer. I've put an awful lot of time and work into building a career as a hunting instructor and as a public advocate for sustainable hunting. Hopefully this isn't going to be the end of the line. If there is any environmental non-profit out there that would like to start funding work against invasive species, I'm your guy.

[Photo copyright 2012 by Jackson Landers.]