I recently learned about nature journaling as a tool to connect kids with the natural world. It wasn’t long before I decided that it would probably benefit me, too. I often feel overwhelmed with all that I want to learn, and nature journaling seemed like a fun, creative approach to focus my attention and learnContinue reading “New to Nature Journaling”

I am newly obsessed with beavers. Aquatic rodents, ecosystem engineers. They are fascinating animals. I keep coming back to the same thought, “Apes don’t do this stuff! I am a primate person and a rodent is blowing my mind!” They are social, monogamous, cooperative. Busy and eager, sure. They are efficient builders, eating, constructing with,Continue reading “Beaver Believer with Beaver Fever”

It was International Macaque Day 2018 in the Brown Bears (three-year-old) classroom. I showed my students pictures of different kinds of macaque monkeys and told them about how I lived across the world and took pictures of animals who ate fruit that people grew in their gardens. I showed them an article in a kids’Continue reading “International Macaque Day: Preschool Edition”

One day I heard from a teacher (I’ll call her Ms. Kasey) at the preschool where I used to work. She told me that one of my former students (I’ll call him Cody) was stung by a wasp while trying to pet it on the playground. I immediately felt guilty. I am the one whoContinue reading “When Encouraging Kids to Love Nature Backfires…or Does It?”

I was on a bike ride with my mom over the holidays, during my visit to Florida. I screeched to a stop on the sidewalk at the sight of some black-bellied whistling ducks. I was so excited. Whistling ducks are the cutest kind of ducks! “Do you have your phone? Take a picture!” “Leave onlyContinue reading “How Do I Leave Only Poetry?”

I like listening to Christmas music. It puts me in a good mood and brings back good memories. I have a handful of favorites, that I listen to on repeat every December, that includes: “Christmas for Cowboys” by John Denver The Smoky Mountain Christmas version of “I Saw Three Ships” James Taylor’s version of “GoContinue reading “Merry Christmas, fellow primates!”

Once upon a time I was absent on my blog because I spent the month of November participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I wrote more than 50,000 words, most of the first draft of a young adult novel, in 28 days. It was an exercise in time management, determination, shutting up the innerContinue reading “NaNoWriMo Break”

American scarecrows are adorable. These days they seem to be used for decorative purposes in the fall, but I assume they once functioned to scare actual crows (and other critters). Do they still? If so, acting as stand-ins when farmers are absent, scarecrows are literally and metaphorically the middlemen when it comes to human-crow interactions. ThisContinue reading “Thanksgiving Scaremonkeys”

It’s been autumn for weeks now. I’m watching the leaves finally blow from the branches and fall to the ground, and I feel a sense of panic. The reds, yellows, oranges, and golds comfort me. The sudden suggestion of bare winter branches makes me feel cold, uneasy, and exposed. To what? I suppose the changingContinue reading “The Leaves Must Blow”

On this particularly stressful election day, I find myself thinking about small, everyday acts of resistance. Here is a silly, lighthearted example for a dreary day. I have a growing collection of bonsai trees. Mostly tiny ones that I proudly managed to successfully plant myself. I have one ficus that is…maybe almost ten years oldContinue reading “Bonsai Liberation”

I just finished the book Endangered by Eliot Schrefer. I have become recently aware of his work and inspired by the way he challenges young adult readers to think differently about their relationships with nonhuman animals, especially other primates. (The book was promptly added to my list of recommendations for children’s books about human relationships withContinue reading “Mourning on the Metro”

I love West Virginia. It is so near and deer (pun intended) to my heart. To me, West Virginia is family history, natural beauty, and joyful childhood memories. A couple of weeks ago I woke up to the most delightfully sunny, crisp, cool, fall day. And my impulse was to go to West Virginia. IContinue reading “Almost Heaven”