PLACE OF BIRTH – Hood River, Oregon.

HEIGHT – Five feet  six inches.

BUILD – Lithe, athletic. Shapely hips and bottom. Beautiful in a fresh, outdoorsy way.

HAIR COLOR – Light brown, long hair, often in a pony-tail out the back of a baseball cap.

EYE COLOR – Green

DISTINGUISHING MARKS – Fine scar on left cheek.

FAMILY – Partner – Colonel Jim Johnson since 1984

• Father – Gus, accountant manager turned small town minister.Often took Heather with him when he went out to parishioners farms and ranches. Where she developed love of animals and the countryside. Kindly dreamer.
• Mother – Anna, housewife who ran the household. Strength of character that kept the day to day family together. Keen gardener.
• Sister – May, older than Heather. Pharmaceutical rep. Married to Bob who worked with father in the same firm as he did. One son, Dougie.

PERSONALITY – Innocent, naive, sheltered background. Believes people are intrinsically good. Curious, intelligent, capable, loyal, friendly, sociable and caring. Feisty. Loves all living things; animals, plants, trees, the environment. Talkative. Devoted to Jim even as she struggles to understand him.

HOBBIES – Hiking, llama packing, writing her journal and poetry. Research into the impact of certain phenomena, particularly wildfires, on plants. Research into Microcolonial Fungi (MCF) on desert rock surfaces.

PETS – Loves animals. Adopts strays. Considers all the animals on the ranch her pets.

EDUCATION – Reed College, Portland Oregon. PhD Botany, Oregon State University.

OCCUPATION – Field botanist with Forest Ranger Service. Takes care of the animals on Wolf Canyon Ranch. Occasional llama packing guide.

CAREER –  Employed part-time by the Forest Service and the Okanagon County as a field botanist since obtaining her PhD.

1985 – present. Watching over the ranch animals, giving shots, helping with deliveries.

Occasional llama packing guide, particularly for groups of women wanting to explore the wilderness.

MODUS OPERANDI – Trust until you are proved wrong. Leave as light a footprint on the earth as possible. Be kind and do right. Think and feel.

BOOKS APPEARED OR MENTIONED IN – Character in RS Perry adventure books – Off The Edge, Over The Line, Out Of Time, Ecuador.

OTHER INFORMATION – Good cook. Like’s receipts and natural ingredients.. Aka The Llama Lady. Often asks back to back questions.

Favorite llama- The llamas on the ranch originally belonged to her. Shasta and Pipestone are her favorites but she loves them all.

Favorite music – Rolling Stones, especially Bridges to Babylon, Dire Straits, Sting, Santana, Ella Fitzgerald, Satie.

Favorite weapon – None! She has a Walther PPK 380 that Jim gave her. Keeps it hidden.

Favorite books – Lewis and Clarke’s Plants of the Northwest. Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth. Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer. Robyn Davidson’s Tracks. Julia Alvarez’ In the Time of the Butterflies.  RD Lawrence, all of them.

Favorite Movies – The African Queen. Annie Hall. Dr Zhivago. West Side Story. Miracle on 34^th St. It’s a Wonderful Life. To Kill a Mockingbird.

Favorite Car – Volvo 240 station wagon.

Favorite Plane – None. Fear of heights and not keen on flying.