It’s so thrilling to know the birds are on their way south! Follow along with the raptor migration over Hawk Mountain here! If you can get up early and look and listen in your own backyard, it’s worth it. Get real time bird migration maps at BirdCast!
Inspiration
Finding a Mentor or Inspiration – Alhazen and Leonardo da Vinci
When I wrote my book The Science and Technology of Leonardo da Vinci, one of the things that really captivated me was how Leonardo learned a lot from an early scholar and scientist, Alhazen. I’d never heard of Alhazen before, but he did a lot of exciting work. It turns out Alhazen is the Latinized… Read more »
What’s the name for learning something connected to your main topic?
What’s the word for when you’re learning about one topic, you need to learn about several other things to help you understand the main topic? I’m learning a lot about birding. This means I also have to learn the names of local trees and plants so I can better understand what birds are in a… Read more »
Ideas for Bored Kids
Need some ideas for bored kids? Many years ago, I sold an essay to Family Fun magazine about a “what to do” idea cube. My kids took an old box and covered it with construction paper. They wrote six ideas, one of each side of the cube. They rolled the cube and voila, they did… Read more »
How to Write a Good Story and Bake a Good Pie
I’ve baked lots of things that taste better than they look. But about a week ago I baked something that looked better than it tasted. It was my first meringue pie, and it did look very nice. I was so proud. But it wasn’t quite as sweet or spiced as I hoped. It was a… Read more »
Good Board Game: Mariposas
I really love a good board game. One of my favorites right now is Mariposas by Elizabeth Hargrave (aka The Board Game Genius). Mariposas is based on the generational migration of monarch butterflies from Michoacán to Canada and back. There are only three seasons and each season has a limited number of turns. It’s fast,… Read more »
The Gift of Gratitude
What’s the best part of writing conferences? Is it the chance to pitch? Is it insider information? Is it awards or the free food? I think it’s the people. The connections. That’s what I miss most about going to conferences. The last big one I went to was the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York… Read more »
The Repair Shop for Writers
Are you watching The Repair Shop? It’s a soothing, satisfying show on Netflix that features repairs of cherished family heirlooms. I love this show. It’s not without its problems, specifically that almost every single family bringing a valuable item is white. There are too many families that had their connections to their family history torn… Read more »
Meet the Northern Saw-Whet Owl
Are northern saw-whet owls the cutest birds in the world? Maybe. Earlier this year, my family adopted a northern saw-whet owl for me. I couldn’t wait to meet the little critters in person, plus participate in some community science. So I waited for the announcements from the National Aviary to join in Project Owlnet. Unfortunately,… Read more »
Writing Stories is Like Ice Cream
Some days, writing stories is like ice cream, the hard kind you scoop out of a container and it is still so frozen it bends your spoon. It can be a lot of work to get that story out. Usually it’s amazing after you’re done. You feel like you earned it. Other days, writing stories… Read more »