How Do I Leave Only Poetry?

I was on a bike ride with my mom over the holidays, during my visit to Florida. I screeched to a stop on the sidewalk at the sight of some black-bellied whistling ducks. I was so excited. Whistling ducks are the cutest kind of ducks! “Do you have your phone? Take a picture!” “Leave only […]

Merry Christmas, fellow primates!

I like listening to Christmas music. It puts me in a good mood and brings back good memories. I have a handful of favorites, that I listen to on repeat every December, that includes: “Christmas for Cowboys” by John Denver The Smoky Mountain Christmas version of “I Saw Three Ships” James Taylor’s version of “Go […]

Winter Solstice Haiku

Winter showers, even the monkey searches for a raincoat -Basho

NaNoWriMo Break

Once upon a time I was absent on my blog because I spent the month of November participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I wrote more than 50,000 words, most of the first draft of a young adult novel, in 28 days. It was an exercise in time management, determination, shutting up the inner […]

Thanksgiving Scaremonkeys

American scarecrows are adorable. These days they seem to be used for decorative purposes in the fall, but I assume they once functioned to scare actual crows (and other critters). Do they still? If so, acting as stand-ins when farmers are absent, scarecrows are literally and metaphorically the middlemen when it comes to human-crow interactions. This […]

The Leaves Must Blow

It’s been autumn for weeks now. I’m watching the leaves finally blow from the branches and fall to the ground, and I feel a sense of panic. The reds, yellows, oranges, and golds comfort me. The sudden suggestion of bare winter branches makes me feel cold, uneasy, and exposed. To what? I suppose the changing […]

Bonsai Liberation

On this particularly stressful election day, I find myself thinking about small, everyday acts of resistance. Here is a silly, lighthearted example for a dreary day. I have a growing collection of bonsai trees. Mostly tiny ones that I proudly managed to successfully plant myself. I have one ficus that is…maybe almost ten years old […]

Mourning on the Metro

I just finished the book Endangered by Eliot Schrefer. I have become recently aware of his work and inspired by the way he challenges young adult readers to think differently about their relationships with nonhuman animals, especially other primates. (The book was promptly added to my list of recommendations for children’s books about human relationships with […]

Haiku from the Field #2

the gecko on the wall says cicak! cicak!

Almost Heaven

I love West Virginia. It is so near and deer (pun intended) to my heart. To me, West Virginia is family history, natural beauty, and joyful childhood memories. A couple of weeks ago I woke up to the most delightfully sunny, crisp, cool, fall day. And my impulse was to go to West Virginia. I […]