March is Reading Month: CONTEST GOES WILD!

March is Reading Month! To celebrate I am giving away to one lucky winner a copy of the Manatees Gentle Giants in Peril by Mary Unterbrink (the very same book shown in my last Florida blog) and a signed copy of Holly Wild:  Bamboozled on Beaver Island (Book 1)!  *See details below!

Why? To celebrate March as a month of reading, a month of learning, a month of entertaining--and reading! Also, to celebrate the editing process, beginning today, of Holly Wild:  Let Sleeping Bear Dunes Lie (Book 2). Aw heck, it's to celebrate knowledge...(and the fact that I bought a repeat copy of the Manatee book) as well as to celebrate that sharing is fun!

Why give away that Manatee book that I read in my tent in a storm in Florida? Let me tell you. It was the very first Earth Day many years ago when I, Lori Eiden (Taylor), was in 5th grade in North Sashabaw Elementary in Clarkston, MI (ummm over 40 years ago) that I heard of the Roseate Spoonbill and Endangered Species. Both sounded so far away and unknown to me.

Since then I have researched, reported and read about many endangered species, used guide books, read magazines and children's books about wildlife and gone out fully-equipped with knowledge (sometimes!--see alligator photo from last blog post) to meet them on their own turf. I do this to learn, connect, and share this experience with others. A mighty fine job indeed!

"Rosie the Spoonbill" in bottom right corner.

My trip to Florida, my new love of manatees and my continuing desire to educate, entertain and spread the "word" on endangered species has inspired me once again. That and my new souvenir Ron Jon tshirt that reads: "We All Live Under the Same Sun". According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species Report there are "118 Florida Animal and Plant species listed (based on published historic range and population) ", out of which there are 53 endangered animals. Here is my list of the ones I've been lucky enough to see on recent Floridian vacations (most of which were found alive and well in State Parks and wildlife preserves--I'm sure there will be a Celebrate Parks Month giveaway in the future):

Drawings, sketches and illustrations help TELL the story!

• American Alligator (Alligator mississipiensis) Status: Species of special concern (state listing); threatened species (federal listing, due to its similarity in appearance to the endangered Florida crocodile).
• Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja) Status: Species of special concern (state listing)
• Florida Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis pratensis) Status: Threatened species (state listing)
• West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)  "Also called Sea Cow" Status: Endangered species (federal and state listing)
• Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) Status: Endangered species (federal and state listing)
• Southern Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocphalus leucocephalus) Status: Threatened species (federal and state listing)
• Caracara, Audubon's crested FL pop. (Polyborus plancus audubonii)
• Florida Scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens)

*DETAILS:  So how does this all tie in to the contest? The contest! Prizes! Books! Stuff! I will draw the name of one lucky poster to this blog out of my backpack on March 31--at midnight, to make it even cooler and spookier--and announce the winner immediately on this blog! 

You start by posting a blog comment on this page or answer the following question, then sign your name and city/state where you reside.

WHO or WHAT inspired you to read, write or draw

about the world around you?

Starting today, March 1st, tell your kids, your friends, your teachers, your librarians, your scout leaders, your family to post here to win. It's just that easy and even more exciting!

I will send the winner the aforementioned books with signed copies of my Florida trip sketches and whatever else I can think of to throw in the package. (Batteries, dead things and Florida manatees are not included.)

My NookColor sketch of Me and the Manatees (Feb. 20, 2012)

Whether paperback, hardcover, sketchbook or ebook...

Keep reading, writing, drawing and READING!

(More Florida endangered species info here: http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/education/splash/endangered_species.html )

WILD Time in Florida!

The first time I went to Florida I think I brought home two bags of shells, bits of dead things, sand and over 300 pictures and never touched my sketchbooks. This time, my third time, I came home with two notebooks of sketches, 120 carefully chosen photo subjects and four specially selected shells.

Oyster shells make a fine paint
palette and water bowl. Here is a quick
tiny "dummy" book to keep a first
hand manatee experience fresh!

On this trip, Lisa and I once again took our kayaks and Marie traded in her kayak for a 12' canoe so we could haul gear to camp on Orange Island. What a wild time it was and it is always hard to come back home after a great trip. So here is "WHAT I DID ON MY WILD WINTER VACATION!" Hope you enjoy!

First stop, Blue Springs State Park. There we got to meet the good, the mad and the ugly. And this gator was not happy with me. "No pictures, please!" Kids don't try this at home.

Lesson Learned! Beware of alert gators--they move super fast! This fella was
about 12' feet away, if that, when he made a WILD dash for me in my kayak.

Marie reenacts a tense moment and points to where we had landed unbeknownst to another
gator who was resting--near us, maybe 9-10' feet away. CAUTION:  Look before you land your vessel.



On to something LARGER yet SAFER! Manatees! The first time I ever saw manatees--from shore-- they looked like inert blimps of suspended blubber--kinda like my new sleeping bag. Ehnh! But this time, we Bear Track girls were right out there in the thick of things in our kayaks, in the water, all up close and personal like. This day, the manatees were putting on a super performance as we sit mere feet away on the other side the flaoting safety-zone fence that keeps boaters out.

Across from us, people lined the shore to get a glimpse of the lovable aquatic mammals. How can you not love these big lugs? These sea cows of rolling, tumbling love waved, danced and came up out of the water for a bow. Tails, heads, and fins complete with finger nails! splashed and waved. I was tickled to hear a small boy from shore yell, "Hi, manatee!" as he waved back at one of the big beaties. 

The fence kept boats out, but manatees could come and go as they pleased. And they did! What a thrill and what squealing we did as a few 9-10 footers drifted up to inspect our crafts. Passing near us and under us and blowing out air. YOW! They were as curious of us as we were of them.

But my most favorite moment was when one manatee came up to the edge of my kayak and looked at me. Our eyes locked. (Lisa posted my FB comment that "you haven't lived until you've had a manatee look you in the eye.") Well, all I can say is that moment was incredible. To see those nostrils and those eyes look up inches below the water moved me. My first thought was, "What are you thinking right now?" These giant beings scarred from boat props, abused from pollution of fishing line, plastic bottles, bags and more and can still approach humans with such gentleness and curiosity is absolutely mind blowing. I would like to think that that little boy who yelled to the manatee would be as moved as I was and go on to tell people about awesome, amazing manatees and how to protect them.



Peek a boo! I see you!

That day was hard to beat. It left us feeling fabulous. But next we headed to the Canaveral National Seashore to kayak and camp on Orange Island. Site H1 (I thought the sign was welcoming us!) looked like it came straight right out of "Gilligan's Island". We were practicing with our brand new backcountry camping gear. 

Tent site on Orange Island. Brand spanking new Big Agnes tent. I
think I repostioned and reset the ties at least four times--before the
big storm hit that night.

We set up tents, had a few moments to explore the island, gather firewood and headed out again into the water for a quick boat trip. But with an impending storm and dark horizon we headed back to zip into tents early with a cold dinner (granola bars, jerky and bagel) ready for wind and rain to last all night.

Snake-like, tree-climbing cactus

Horse-shoe crab!



Indian Breadroot



So I sketched, painted and researched manatees in
my tent during the storm. Big Agnes kept me, my
 sketchbooks, clothes and sleeping bag dry all night.
Thanks Big Agnes! 

After seafood feasts, birdwatching and more, another WILD FLORIDA VACATION comes to a close. In the van, I painted memories using my oyster shell bowls that were picked up on the beach and watched the scenery go from June green to February browns. Until next time!

Books and More BOOKS!

I wrote in my last blog how my granddaughter, Kyah, fuels me to continue writing my Holly Wild series for kids. I originally had wanted to write more about how I started on this writing path because I was around her age when I really got into books. But I figured that subject deserved its own blog, just as Kyah deserved her own blog. So to celebrate the completion of my first draft of Holly Wild Book 2 today, I dedicate this blog to those who helped set me upon this bookly path!

Today, Lisa was on her way to the Pinckney Library to pick up my books for me when she came into my office and said, "Whoa, we have so many books." My response:  Yes, we do.

We have a library on every level of the house. Just yesterday, Marie jput a new book shelf in the living room to hold more! Yes, books we have. Books on nature, art, science, kid's books, picture books, fairy tales, Native American legends, philosophy, poetry, nature guides, painting guides, nature writers, nature artists, writing, animals, wild and tame, cats, chickens, crafting, skinning, hunting, fishing and how-to-do all of the above books, and the list goes on and on. I think books are holding this house together. I told Lisa, "I don't trust a house without books."
When did this start, how did it all begin?

Baby Lori, Dad, and 101
 Dalmations

One Hundred and One Dalmatians. My father read this to me. It is what was done before bedtime, bathroom time, anytime. I craved more story. Bobby Dog and Tommy Goes Camping. Picture books were a an important staple. We lived in Pontiac until 1964, when we moved to Clarkston. And during those days in the city of Pontiac, my mother made sure my brother and I had outdoor adventure. Picnics were had in our yellow Lone Ranger Pup Tent. So this is where our adventure was born as well as the love of tents. (My brother, Mark, grew up to be a Ranger in the Airborne and did all kinds of nifty outdoor adventure.) We owe it all to the Lone Ranger.



Then on to Clarkston we went, a wildlife and wooded wonderland. Five acres of ponds and pines to play in and camp in. At age 9, my mother took me to the Clarkston Library (in a small white building today next to the old township hall) where sunlighted streamed in through the windows and shone upon shelves of many books! Glorious books! (I worked as a Page for the Goodrich Library in 2000--their little library reminded me of this tiny library that had had such a great impact on my life).

The first books I checked out were Paddington Bear (I ordered an Anniversary copy today--I love the original art) and The Waterbabies. I poured over the illustrations repeatedly and checked out the mximum limit I could get. We didn't have many books at home, so when my mother went shopping she would bring home an encyclopedia or a sale book from the local parochial school. (We had ten encyclopedias A-Am, and I learned to speak German from that sale book). On those shopping trips she might find magazines for us and I got Jack and Jill Magazine and Mark got Golden Magazine. But I usually took his magazine. I was so desperate for the written word that I once pulled his arm of socket on the way to the mailbox to get the summer Weekly Reader.
Storytelling ran strong in my blood and brain. These books helped that along I think. My imaginative tales once had my sister and cousin quivering in a corner when they babysat my brother and baby sister, Lisa, and me. After coming up with a whopper of a tale and seeing their panicked response...well, a storyteller and performer was born.

Lori age 4, Mark age 3, in Pontiac

I was a book junkie. Fifth grade brought Charlie Brown Peanuts Treasury and book fairs. We had a real, live poet come in to school and I bought a signed copy. It's still on my shelf today. Then came Jean Craighead George, My Side of the Mountain (I went to an Illustration talk at Kendall last week and heard that Jean still writes, traveled to Alaska for her latest book and she is 92 years old!) A book of adventure in the forest. I lived in a forest. And it was a chapter book with pictures! Love it. I reread it last year and the sequels, too.

In 6th grade, my teacher Mrs. Jordan helped push me onto this literary path. I can still see the green construction paper-covered Twelve Days of Christmas book I made in her class. But I will never forget her words. She told me that this is what I should do when I grew up. I have held on to those words for an entire lifetime...watch what you say to children, you just might affect their lives and plant dreams!
My grandmother brought National Geographic magazines when she visited me and also gave me books every Christmas--those books were gold to me. I still can see their covers. Lassie and Bobbsey Twins. Birthday books I remember;  one from my sister, Joan, Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. (I treasured that for its art and lyrical writing. It may be the first book that got me into myth and legends. I wish I had that version today) and 365 Short Stories Book from my friend Connie (see below).

As an adventure loving, nature child, storyteller, art making child (I made puzzles, mazes, board games and books from scratch) my life was steeped in the world of story and secret language. I partly took shorthand in high school because it's cool to write and have no one else know what you wrote. They should bring that back! Secret languages also includes petroglyphs and runes--but they came later as an adult. While I'm on the subject I won't even mention my love for secret decoding or the fact that I "borrowed' my friends secret PF Flyer (tennis shoes) decoder ring as a child. Sorry, Connie. Such was my desire for the written word--secret or otherwise. Oh, and I always wanted to be a comedian as a kid and adult and perform. of course, it's all about story and delivery.

So by taking all those things and dumping them in a bucket, I came out a children's writer and illustrator. I can crack corny jokes about scientifical things and draw pictures to help kids learn about the natural world. It's a perfect fit. And all these people and many more, helped me in small ways. This is why with every book I sign, I want to say something that will connect with the reader. Something that will give them some word of encouragement--just like those who encouraged me.

Lori Eiden, Kindergarten,
Andersonville Elementary

So remember those who gave you a special book.

A book that impressed you, made you laugh, made you cry, that taught you something, made you feel something or care about something and then tell that person thank you. Send them an email or better yet a card with stickers and drawings.

Now say a silent thank you if they are no longer here.

Thank you,
Love,
Lori

Happy Birthday Kyah!

Just like the days when it was hard to sit down and work on a painting, there are days when it is hard to sit down and write. Writing a book is not easy. But with teamwork it gets easier and gets done.

Writing is hard work. Beside multiple revisions, spell check and grammar check, planning and layout, not to mention promoting and marketing--there are a lot of hats to wear. (It's a dang good thing that I like to wear hats. I have a special hat hook in my office and studio just for them.) Anyway, throw in all of those jobs and then the illustrating part when you are author/ illustrator. Toss in part-time job and a pinch of family time, and I find my days, weeks, months are full.

Then I hear my granddaughter, Kyah, say something like, "Gram, my friends and I started a GeEK club in school." It melts my heart, melts my stress and makes me crawl back to the computer and continue writing. And I think, "This is what--or better, who, inspires me to write my Holly Wild series."
It is Kyah, and kids like her, who inspire me to write. She is so caring, so full of life and full of love. For family, animals, anyone she meets. She is my shinging star, and I am thankful and grateful for her every day.

She has had a tough time in this world, not the easy going life like my kids had. This kid started off a fighter as an infant. I rmember, the doctor coming in the room after her birth, that she had serious doubts of things coming out OK. Scary business!

Then Kyah went on to handle all kinds of familial issues and strife throughout the seven years of her sweet life. But always, she was strong, forgiving, accepting--loving. It helps that she's had a pretty danged good team help raise her. From ALL of her grandparents, to aunts and uncles and friends, Kyah has had undying support of those who love her--and what's not to love about a kid who has more wisdom, patience, intelligence and love than I've ever seen.

Kyah, is at the top of her class and is a pretty good dancer too. And being of artistic lineage--both sides of the family--she wows her family and teachers with her attention to fine detail. Already she is winning coloring contests in school and her drawings and humor sparkles. OK, you get it, the child is precious--like all of them. And so it is for her--them, I that I write. Kyah told me yesterday, as I called her for her 7th birthday, that she had to choose a favorite book in school and write and draw about it.

Of course, she chose Holly Wild. (Need to make her head of marketing that one!) She drew Tierra and Sierra and Holly--perfectly, she says. And that she drew Holly's hat button, "get up" and the others. Detail! I can't wait to see that drawing--it makes my heart skip. It also reminds me once again, that my books connect with kids.

For the few hours that I have their imaginations and minds, I had better say what I have to say correctly and in a humorous, loving way to teach them well. I am delivering story, art, nature and science and these kids will decide what they keep and what they will discard--so it better be good! These kids are the future stewards of the Earth, starting right now. This is an awesome responsibility and gift that I have to give. Gulp! Times ten! I wonder at times if I can deliver, but with my Team Wild behind me, I know they won't let me fail! I may trip or stumble on this book journey, but Kyah will help me up:) To that I say, "Thanks for being part of my team, Kyah!"

Happy Birthday Kyah! You rock!

Love,

Grandma Lori

Kyah "rocking out"

Putting the Pen to the Paper and Feet to the Ground

Happy New Fantastic Year of the Dragon 2012 to all.

Hatchling Dragon Illustraton by Lori Taylor

Time to blog again, oh how time flies! 2012--the Year of the Dragon. A year filled with luck and energy. Dragons are the doers of the world and don't sit and wait for things to happen, they make things happen!

I don't know about you but here is my Dragon Bucket List for 2012:

1. Apply for the Isle Royale Artist-in-Residence Program so I can get good stuff for Holly Wild Book 4.
2. Outfit myself and train and get fitter--er--fit for backpacking Isle Royale.
3. Use less 'em' dashes in my writing for 2012.
4. Stay focused on my books in 2012. Working on Holly Wild Book 2 and Book 3 is in the mental, as well as the notebook, works. Less art shows, more family fests.
5. Get out more, do more, learn more, see more, experience more--draw more. Oops, there goes an em dash! Pencil on the go this year.

OK, I guess that's a good start and not too much or overwhelming. I have to get the dragon-share of this done before my daughter gives birth to grandchild number two this August. Grandma may be running into the hospital with muddy hiking boots.

I've been working out and hiking--without a pack on for now. That comes next month. Right now I am waking up my knees and letting them know they have serious work to do. Also, I'm excited about Big Agnes and Lulu who will be going with me on my journeys this summer. They sound like barroom bouncers but in actuality they are my tent and sleeping bag.

I have been promoting Holly Wild and have classes coming up in February http://www.pinckneyschools.org/community-education/winter-brochure (that was on my list by I crossed it off ten minutes ago)--but who am I kidding--that's a full time, never ending job. I also revamped my website, another to do that got done!

THINGS TO DO and SEE! This weekend we are running up to Tawas to look for Snowy Owls. I also hear tell that there is a Great Gray Owl in Essex County, Ontario. Day trip!

When we get back there is an Illustration Exhibit at Kendall College in Grand Rapids and I still hope to get to the Great Lakes Zoological Society's new home on Jackson Road in Ann Arbor http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/GreatLakesZoo sometime this month to see their reptiles and amphibians. WHEW!

Sounds like the Year of the Dragon is going to keep me on my toes! What does your 2012 Dragon Bucket List Look like?

Rahhrr! Good Health & Good Energy!
Lori

PiBoIdMo Almost Over!

What a busy month for me! PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month), my birthday, going to Detroit for the Thanksgiving Day parade and general life around the Bear Track Studio den. PiBoIdMo was a blast and it all comes to a close tomorrow. I gathered many new and fresh ideas for future possible picture books. Here are a few:

The first colorful picture book character that came to mind was our new kitten who adopted us. Oskar Wilde Kat. OK, drawing him was like drawing a droplet of water bouncing on a hot skillet. Then I read about from PiBoIdMo folk how kittens and bunnies are overused in story land so I went on in my search for new, fun story characters. Ideas began to trickle in and then tumble in like crashing waves.

Nov. 11, 2011 "Pinky" Porcupine

One such idea stemmed from my birthday celebration when I spent the day with my granddaughter and son at Rain Forest Cafe at the Great Lakes Crossing.

Fortunately my granddaughter, Kyah, is full of songs and stories and made the day memorable. It began with her singing every verse of "I Got the Joy, Joy, Joy Down in my Heart..." and ended with ice cream at McDonald's because the mall had closed all of its ice cream stores and was far too crowded for our likes.

When I bought Kyah a blue-striped plush top hat with hot pink fur trim (snazzy, right?) it made her little six-year old going on seven day. She had been enumerating her first grade woes of not making many friends at her school. Ouch! That hurt my grandma heart. And so when she asked for the hat--what's a grandmother to do? She was wild with excitement and wore the too big hat in the mall making people smile at her. BINGO! Story gotten! Now I hate to use my lil grandpup's problems as a story but these are real big deals to kids her age and older. So I went home and sketched some scenes from our big, day out. I liked the idea of making us porcupines--one of my favorite animals that I've had a few run-ins with. Before I even wrote a single word the images came to mind. The hat, the day, the song.

Then along came Thanksgiving. It got me to thinking about being grateful and giving back. November was becoming an emotional month for me for many reasons and now was the time to be thankful for everybody and everything I have in my life and for who I am. So out popped, Pickles Possum.

Nov. 22, 2011 "Pickles Possum" is in the Pits

This time Pickles got more character development perhaps because the character was closer to home--me. I drew pages and pages and wrote words and dialogue and pretty soon a story was being born.

As the days went by I noticed things more, especially after reading PiBoIdMo emails and posts from other authors. From settings to unusual characters my mind raced. Which is why I haven't slept well in a month from my brain racing like the engine of a race car. Besides designing new creative art pieces for work I was doing this picture book challenge, writing the Holly Wild and prepping for an art show we are headed to on Friday--in the snow.

So I went for a short walk at Howell Nature Center in their Wild Wonders park and took photos of critters like opossum, coyote and beaver. Then went back the next day to draw the porcupine.

She and I had a nice chat on that warm day. Each of regarding the other. She hummed to me and I hummed back as I sketched. I must have bored her though as she yawned and stretched and turned her back to me. But then she looked back and gave me a nice profile. Porkies have an unusual face and oddly human eye and appearance as if she were wrapped in her quilt decorated with quills. After our session I left with sketchbook in hand to visit the flying squirrel. OK, so you can't actually draw a flying squirrel--he actually was like a drop of water on a hot skillet. Cute fellers they are.

So the month of story ideas nearly over has brought new settings;  Detroit, and weird characters; mosquito larva. Stories are buzzing in my mind and will boil over at some point--but for now I have them on paper--as sketches.

PiBoIdMo, NaNoWriMo and AnFaMigMo--OH MY!

"I'm doing PiBoIdMo starting next week," I excitedly told Lisa (BarTraStuWoGir--Bear Track Studio Wood Girl) at breakfast. She smiled weakly into her weakly weak coffee.
"I thought you were already doing NaNoWriMo. Is this new acronym an ancient art form of self-defense?"
"AHA! PiBoIdMo stands for Picture Book Idea Month," I shouted. "NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, that's different. See, I can write Holly Wild Book 2 in one month and get picture book ideas and short stories for magazines at the same time. Let things jump out at me and sketch and write notes about them."

I merrily made my way up the hill to scoop the chicken coop when it occurred to me that last month was AnFaMigMo--Annual Fall Migration Month. All month long I noticed migratory action of many species of animals preparing to head south for the winter. There were the late-leaving Monarch butterflies flitting in a line (only thing to sip on was that noxious invasive Spotted Knapweed to keep them on their journey). Noisy cranes, geese and tree frogs. Hummingbirds long gone, but snakes were still moving to and fro looking for their wintering hibernacula (many roadkills spotted on these). But the most fascinating migration I witnessed was last weekend in TC Traverse City and Empire, home of the great SLBD--Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Marie (BarTraStuBirGir--Bear Track Studio Bird Girl) and I (BarTraStuNuClo--Bear Track Studio Nut Clown) had spent the week in TC painting a mural at the Boardman River Nature Center and planned to do a little kayaking on Saturday with family coming to town. A nice break after a looong week.

http://natureiscalling.org/river-wall-mural-at-the-boardman-river-nature-center/

We had heard that Chinook and Coho salmon by the thousands had already been harvested and many more were still in the rivers. So we got to see some in the Boardman River whilst perusing the autumnal harvest of fruits and flowers at the Farmers Market. The mix of delicious fruit and dead fish was interesting.

But Wow! What a fish! I'd never seen such a large, colorful and hideous-looking fish. And to think that we were going to kayak among them on the Platte River in the SLBD--Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park was an extra treat--especially since my daughter who has a big fish aversion had not yet arrived to the said kayking rendevous place. (Oh, this would be a treat once she realized she would be surrounded by them.) She pointed out one smallish salmon when we entered the river. I chuckled. Just you wait girlfriend...heheh.

Once on the river, schools of the large shiny hook-jawed torpedoes shot past us--and move they did--you could hear a slightly audible "swish-swish-swish" as they passed. Some leaped from the water and the water was black with them at the Fish-Thingy-Ladder-Tower-Gate. (see photo)

"Yes, my love, that is exactly where I shall flip my kayak. Yes, down there with the salmon."

This spectacle of finned and gilled nature made my daughter anxious. It also kept her in her kayak. But, not so with my son-in-law, Matt. He felt he must join the salmon on their run and promptly took a river swim after tipping his yak among them.

It was a quick bonding moment. One he will never forget. Tipping into a river in summer is shocking. But in the FALL, with chilled water, not so fun. Fortunately for him my menopausal ways found me with many layers of clothes packed into my yak. He dressed in the prickly brush on shore in a variety of clothes while the others emptied his yak. He did look like a wild man emerging from the bush after two months on the river. In my fleece shirt, jacket, and water shoes; his wife's "beaver fur hat" and socks, and BarTraStuWoGir's pants (she was wearing long johns beneath them for those of you concerned--she did look like an elf when we got out of the water at the end of the trip).

So where is all of this going? PiBoIdMo and NaNoWriMo? Ummm, notice, experience, write, record, sketch and photograph the events happening around you so you have something to share.

Life in layers (keeps you warm).