Sliding in to the finish

After many months of work, I am very nearly finished with the art for Gobble, Gobble--a picture book about a curious child who watches a flock of wild turkeys throughout the year.

Dawn Publications will release it in the fall.

Although the antics of frequent turkey visitors are what inspired me to make the book in the first place, they haven't been around here for a long time. This past week, however, a flock of 15 or so have congregated around our front porch every day. I like to think of them as my cheering squad---boosting me along to finish the last pages of the book.

Scoot! Through the Snow

As part of their Family Wellness Night activities, Narragansett School in Gorham, Maine, set up the Scoot! StoryWalk out on the playground. Kids and their parents strapped on snowshoes to follow the pages of my book. A nearly full moon was augmented by flood lights provided by the Gorham Fire Department. Although the snow was a little crunchy, readers enjoyed their scoot through the book, and a good time was had by all.

Valentine

A valentine from Frog Song Pond. Share the love in your heart today.

Recess

Working away in my studio on the art for Gobble, Gobble. Lovely day beckoned, however, and I decided to take a break for play.

Turkey print

Just can't resist one more! This one is from a wild turkey. There were several more around the same area, near a stand of pine and spruce. You can clearly see the tail print here, and a bit of the wing on the left.

Here's a part of one of the illustrations for Gobble, Gobble that I'm working on (Can't fit the whole thing on my scanner). This is the one I was carving in a previous post.

Wing prints

Soft fluffy snow records the most delicate impressions. These prints are just beneath our bird feeder. Lovely!

Snow Prints

Squirrel footprints and leaf impressions in snow

Birdie feet

Trails of wild turkey footprints lead to the pond

Carving wild turkeys roosting in a tree

I've been doing a lot of printing for the new book about wild turkeys--carving away, paying attention to positive and negative spaces. So it's a delight to find "prints" in nature.