Lanham uses nature for his work as both an ornithologist and an ecology professor,. In his essay, Hope and Feathers, he introduces the reader to the trip he will undertake to North Cape as a “coleader, the trip ornithologist, and designated birder” (Lanham 77). In order to portray how nature is essential for his work, he hauntingly says, “Cleverly disguising myself as a wildlife ecology professor, I’ve gamed the system, teaching the field of ornithology and researching bird habitat relationships, at times going to ‘work’ to do things most folks only find time to do on vacation” (Lanham 77-78). When Lanham says that he has “gamed the system” he refers to the general idea that one’s job must feel as something unenjoyable, imposed, therefore,