Visiting Schools

I recently visited three schools in Granite Bay, near Sacramento, CA. Speaking to children about being an author and about the adventures my work takes me on is always a great pleasure. The enthusiasm I see in the students about nature and animals gives me hope that they will help keep our planet healthy enough that we can continue to share it with the wild world.

I stayed at a B&B in the countryside. There, on the outskirts of a major city, I saw springtime nature thriving, with tadpoles in the ponds, butterflies in the air, and birds like this egret fishing. I felt like my own childhood self again, exploring nature and being delightfully surprised by what I found. It was wonderful to see nature alive and well both in the outdoors and in the spirits of the children in the schools. I hope that the children, too, get opportunities to go outside and explore, to make their own discoveries about the wild world that shares their world.

It's been too long since I've added to my blog. A few days after writing my last post, I watched the morning unfold from my bedroom window--yes, I do have this view!--and realized that winter DOES have color at times, even beautiful magical color. Now we're into the beginnings of springtime, with returning geese, ducks, and songbirds. A pair of blue birds has already claimed the nestbox on the meadow near our road, and small flocks of birds rise up from the trees and speed their way to another perch. Soon, the first shoots of daffodils and tulips will peek out from the soil and I will know I can look forward to the blooms of spring.

The importance of color

Here I am, back in my home in Montana, happy to be back, but missing color in my environment. I look out my window and see the snow white meadow, with bunches of dead tan grass sticking up through the snow, and the blackish green ponderosa pines scattered about and forming the forest on the mountain. Instead of showing you a photo of this scene, I'm using a photo from our time in Hawaii, land of gorgeous color. Between sunsets like this one and the tropical flowers that blaze in gold, orange, cerise, and crimson, the island is awash in color. My love of color is one reason I've taken up watercolor painting as a hobby and been attracted to painting Hawaiian flowers. While we were there, I didn't lift a brush, except to paint the cabinet interiors of our condo. But now that I'm here, I am eager to paint again, maybe to conpensate for the lack of color in my environment.

Beautiful Hawaii

We're now at our condo on the beautiful Kona coast on the Big Island of Hawaii, right on the oceanfront, where we can watch surfers, green sea turtles, and spinner dolfins every day. What luxury! We rent the condo out most of the time but reserve the month of November for ourselves. I see Hawaii as a place of special beauty--the flowers, the music and dance, and always the ocean. Then there's the drama of the volcano, Kilauea, which has been active now for about 20 years. While I'm here, I've been giving workshops and talks, too, so it's not all relaxation!

More travels

A long time has passed since my last posting. I was on the road from mid-October, first for the wonderful Author Festival in Eureka, CA, where I spoke to children about my adventures with and books about wolves at Cutten Elementary School and Pacific View Charter School. The students were great! I also enjoyed seeing writer friends and making new friends and seeing the beautiful redwoods.
The volunteers who run the Festival are great--well organized and enthusiastic. I've been part of the Festival now for many years, and I always look forward to the next time. It's important for children to meet authors. The names on book covers don't mean much, unless the children can see that they are actual real people, with real lives. Meeting authors sparks interest in books and in reading, which is so important, and more difficult to promote to kids in this highly visual age.

Creative Break

I've just received the first proofs for my book, "When the Wolves Returned: Restoring Nature's Balance in Yellowstone," which will be published by Walker this spring--it looks beautiful, loaded with photos by Dan Hartman and his daughter, Cassie. Here's the image that will appear on the dust jacket:

This book is my last contracted book. I've been taking a long break from book contracts and have only done short pieces for various venues for the last 18 months. I'm banking on this being a good way to revive my enthusiasm for writing, and it seems to be happening now, with a few ideas percolating. Significant rain finally came yesterday, clearing away smoke and worry, which also helps.

Smoke and Heat

With the beginning of a new month, the figures are out about July here in Missoula, Montana--hottest July ever, 11 days at or above 100, new all time high of 107, and so forth, all accompanied by 0.03 inches of rain, when 1.04 inches is normal. I don't see how anyone can doubt climate change or deny that humans have something to do with the speed at which this is occurring. Sure, the climate has changed often in geological history, but now it's happening at an accelerated rate, way too fast for nature or humans to adapt. For example, when we moved to Montana in 1972, forest fires anywhere within the area were very rare. Now they are an annual occurrence. I'd be interested to know what other people who have lived in one place for a long time have experienced as changes in recent years.