A hidden side of the creative process When we believe in ourselves, we produce better work, but what happens when we can’t find that belief? Have you ever had a crushing life event that took the wind out of your sails but you still had to find a way to go on because your livelihood […]

There was a BEFORE, before there was an AFTER. This is how the story was made. After fleeing abuse in 2013, I returned to my creative passions, so I applied to Hollins University. My daughters and I our first roadtrip to Roanoke, VA in 2014. In 2016, what is now called THE ROAD TO AFTER […]

National Poetry Month BROWN GIRL DREAMING by Jacqueline Woodson BROWN GIRL DREAMING sparked my love of novels in verse. I appreciate all the sensory details, like drinking water out of scooped out gourds and the sounds of her surroundings. I felt like I was there with young Jackie as she navigated the changing landscape around […]

plus a Q&A with Heidi Stemple, author of COUNTING BIRDS Each winter since 2017, my daughters and I have participated in the Christmas Bird Count. This year was no different. After our first year in the CBC as feeder counters, at the end-of-day compilation, we met new birder friends. They happened to have a club […]

Day 1 Day one of Maine Audubon’s Brush with Nature was exciting. My car was packed and I was ready to go, after I tended to the monarchs I raise. I had been looking forward to this event for weeks, so a little rain didn’t stop me, and it set the mood for a lovely color […]

My 2020 Monarch season: 154 releases (73 females / 81 males) Survival rate: 93% In the wild, the survival rate is only about 3%. I kept a log book this year, journaling my observations, release data, and what we named each butterfly. This past year was hard, no doubt, but it also taught me to […]