Watching for Quixote

Our new windmill, installed a week ago, will pump air through tubing down to the pond where it will exit two membranes in tiny bubbles. This much-needed aeration will bring a healthier ecosystem to Frog Song Pond. Plus, as my Dad said, "It will look cute on your blog."

Do you agree? Let me know! And for more pix, including the installation, check here.

I'm financing this project (hopefully!) with a new book, Pond Babies, which will be released next spring from Down East Books.

Searching the web

I've spotted several of these gorgeous black and yellow garden spiders around this year. Their distinctive markings, as well as their size (torso is about an inch to an inch and a quarter) make them look a bit scary, but they are harmless to humans. The females weave a zig-zag pattern into the middle of their large webs, thus giving them their other name---writing spider. There are lots of theories for why they do this. I wonder if E.B. White was inspired by these clever creatures when he created Charlotte. Look closely: Can you see "radiant" written in this web?

I made one of these lovely ladies from cut paper for my book, Scoot!, a few years ago.

Garden Bounty

First tomato! Yum!

A froggy in the garden

Today I will pick the first ripe tomato in my garden! This year I'm also growing peas, beans, lettuce, cukes, peppers, basil, carrots, squash, and maybe eggplants (if they get their act together), but tomatoes are why I plant a garden.

I've proposed a garden celebration book to a publisher---we'll see what happens!

If you have a surplus in your garden this year, consider what my young UU friend here is doing. She and her mom and brother stop by the farmers' market each week at the end of the day, gather donations of unsold-but-still-delicious produce, and take them to the local soup kitchen. Healthy food for the hungry, and a great way for kids to get the Big Picture.

from Mystery Vine, 2009.

Bzzzzzzzzzz......

A bird feeder that hangs from a pergola post near our back door has become a perfect home for paper wasps. These little critters are welcomed around here because they go after some of the nasty pests that attack my garden.

They also leave behind their gorgeous nests which they construct from plant fiber and saliva to make paper. I've used this lovely material for collage in a couple of my books. The tree branch on the cover of Scoot! is made from wasp nest paper.

I shot this little video of the wasps at work. Sorry for the jerky quality--I don't have a tripod.

Tree House Lunch

Summer is the perfect time for lunch in the tree house by the pond. Three small friends (grandchildren of a friend) came to visit last week. We had lunch and games, and made turtle puppets. For more on the arts & crafts activity, click here for my Artful Acts blog.

Babies at the Pond

Tadpoles are growing fast! Little legs have sprouted, propelling their bodies around the pond.

I've been searching for other "babies" because Down East Books has agreed to publish my new picture book for toddlers, Pond Babies, next Spring! Ta-da! Should be fun.

I photographed this adolescent loon chick last summer on No Name Pond, about 50 miles north of here. Click HERE to HEAR the loons on my Frog Blog.

turkey prints

Once upon a time, a long, long, time ago, I graduated as a printmaking major in the BFA program at the University of Connecticut's School of Fine Arts. A strong sensitivity to ammonia had driven me away from etching and engraving, but woodcuts and lithographs had stirred the ink in my blood. That same ink became a regular part of my wardrobe and makeup for my student years, but after graduation my only printmaking was done while teaching children's art classes.

Now here I am, decades (wince) later, and I've once again started making prints. A recent series of printing workshops with kids (click here and scroll) inspired me to think about a new approach to my own picture book illustration work, which has been exclusively paper collage. I'm now experimenting with cutting blocks to produce line, and then printing these over the paper collages. Still fooling around with it, but having a grand time in the process!