Compare and Contrast: Maple Tree Foliage
October 19, 2016 Longtime readers of this blog may remember that back in 2009, my Monday strand was called “My Little Maple.” Each week I photographed the sugar maple tree outside my office window and made some observations. At the end of the year, I used all the images to create this video, showing how […]
Friday Fun: Why I Love Social Media
I’ve taken the summer off from blogging, so I thought I’d gently ease back into the groove with a fun post with cool insect photos. Last weekend, my husband and I headed to our favorite getaway, Mount Washington in New Hampshire. As he was loading the car, I noticed this gargantuan beast hanging out (literally) […]
Friday Fun: A New Friend
Last week, I enjoyed four glorious days in the Poconos Region of Pennsylvania as a mentor for the Highlights Foundation’s annual Science Writing Boot Camp. I worked with three talented students and enjoyed hanging out with an all-star faculty that included Highlights Science Editor Andy Boyles, photographer and former Ranger Rick Editor Gerry Bishop, highly-respected Canadian science […]
Take a Look: My Secret Hideout
It’s warm enough now to start spending some time writing in my secret office. It’s tucked away under a big old Norway spruce in my side yard. Nobody knows I’m there—except the occasional mosquito. This is a place where I like to throw caution to the wind and experiment on crazy ideas that have been […]
Take a Look: The Sparrow’s Perspective
Last fall, I wrote several posts about the same experience in nature from different points of view. Initially, I wrote from the “wondrous first person” and “serious third person” points of view. Later, I included a couple of entries written from what I imagined to be the perspective of the creature I observed. This week, […]
Take a Look: A Scientist’s Description
Last fall, I wrote several posts about the same experience in nature from three different points of view–wondrous first person, serious third person, and the perspective of the creature I had described in the first two posts. Not only was it fun, it was illuminating. So I thought I’d try it again. Last week, I […]
Take a Look: It’s Spring
During a recent school visit in Clinton, MA, I saw the first undeniable sign of spring. As I ate my lunch in the warm sun, I watched a hard-working little house sparrow gathering materials for its nest. The bird returned again and again to a patch of loose, dry grass where the school lawn met […]
Take a Look: An Adventure
Last week I was in Salisbury, Maryland for the Salisbury University Children’s Literature Festival and Green Earth Book Award Ceremony. In between school visits and book signings, some of us snuck off to Assateague Island National Seashore. What a wonderful place! Not only was the landscape incredibly beautiful, it is home to an amazing array […]
Take a Look: Ring Around the Tree
Last September, I optimistically began this “Take a Look” Monday blog stand to “encourage us all to look more closely at the world around us.” I was hoping that it would force me to explore the winter world of New England more than ever before. Well, that didn’t happen. Through the cold winter months, I […]
Take a Look: Backyard Visitors
Lately, what I’ve been looking at outside is a whole lot of snow. And lots of snow means lots of shoveling. But the good news is that fresh snow can reveal many hidden secrets, like who is visiting our yard at night while we are asleep. The other morning when I headed outdoors, I saw […]