Before achieving success as a novelist, Jonathan Franzen couldn’t imagine doing something just for fun. But now, he’ll spend an entire afternoon dodging puddles of manure for the pleasure of looking at birds, “these very visible, very beautiful, very intelligent bipeds who are a lot like us.” Through the “portal” of birds, Franzen says, we can get to know the natural world. He took our producer Rhiannon Corby along on a trip to MoonGlow Dairy, near Monterey Bay, where the birds are as plentiful as the cow pies. Watch your step!