When I first started writing nonfiction, it was all about research and writing. Now I find myself doing a whole host of tasks that I never realized were in the job description:

1. I will be speaking at the Appalachian Mountain Club Annual Dinner in November.
2. I am once again volunteering at the CT Children's Book Fair. This time, I may be in costume. Think Clifford.
3. I filled out course proposals for two 3-hour hands-on science classes that I've taught before (subject to approval). Before I completed the paperwork, I reviewed my supplies in the cellar just to make sure they were all there. Wow, did I ever prepare a LOT of stuff for those K-2 students.
4. I am contemplating going to the National Science Teachers Association conference in Hartford.

Moments ago, while Walt counted turkeys, I hid behind the Honda and tried to get pictures of them parading through the backyard, single file. It was an eleven turkey evening.

Mount Higby, Middlefield

I will be speaking on November 12th in Cromwell, Connecticut, at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Annual Gathering. Click on workshops and schedule on the left side of their web page. The presentation evolved from an article I wrote for ChemMatters.

This week, I continued revising my latest chemistry article.  It was quick work when I finally realized what the editor had been looking for all along. He told me it would be published in February 2012.

These shots were taken last Sunday on a hike to Mount Higby. Mount Higby is in the background in the bottom photograph of my brother and I. With a wake the following day, it was hard to smile for that photograph. We parked at Guida's at the intersection of Route 66 and Route 147 in Middlefield.  It was a relatively easy hike along a traprock ridge with excellent vistas. I'd love to go back in a month or so and soak up the colors of autumn.

It's been a tough week. I'm dedicating this blog post to the memory of my mother.

She was an avid blog reader, but she only read one blog. Mine. After the early loss of my father, she raised 4 kids under the age of 6. Growing up, we heard over and over that we should take every opportunity because it won't happen again. That was the way she lived her life. She loved adventure, travel and her garden of flowers. I see myself in those words. Before she passed, I told her about an opportunity I had. She turned to look at me and her eyes widened with excitement. She will be missed!

I particularly like these photographs because, as my friend said, they show her living life.

Monday was a day where I sat out front instead of out back and it did me a world of good. It sure helped to be on a dead end where there weren't many distractions. Was it the change in scenery, the backyard activity that was out of sight, the decision not to disrupt my thoughts with a visit to a nursing home (I went the following day) or was I just at that point in the process where the words came easier? I don't know, but I have learned that I write best when I'm relaxed, well rested, and not worried. Easier said than done sometimes.

That one day, I finished the article I was working on and fact-checked probably 85% of it! Woot!(added to the Oxford Dictionary this year). This morning, the Big Kahuna went out the door, but not without giving me plenty of grief beforehand. I made FIVE piddly-buns changes before shipping it out. I read a book once about people that died hiking Mount Washington. It was called Not Without Peril. Why does the title Not Without Grief come to mind?

This, BTW, is a Rose of Sharon.

This whole week, pulling words out of me was like yanking a knotted skein of yarn. When I was pregnant with twins, knitting was about the only activity I could do during three months of bed rest. I would get up from my three hours of mandatory bed rest and go rake leaves.

Today, it took me all day to come up with 3.5 paragraphs at the start of the article, but they were 3.5 exceptionally good paragraphs. For some reason, I was working backward through the changes this time doing those that came last first. I finished a big chunk of these revisions already. The beginning was saved for the end because it needed a rewrite and I didn't have a clue. Not one clue.

I found this spider's web in the back yard. I was amazed at the spider who traveled from one rhododendron bush to another in a nearly horizontal line (bottom photograph). When I measured the distance, the spider silk stretched over nine feet across! There must have been a strong wind that day. That spider had a long walk home.

The past few days have been filled with plenty of worrisome distracting things. Despite the hurricane's howling winds, I managed to chip away at some revisions to a chemistry article. The chips were about as big as 10X sugar, but that's besides the point. I posted a few photographs of the hurricane. We were lucky, we never lost power and there were only sticks and leaves all over the yard. Local damage was in the form of downed trees, power outages, roads blocked off, and traffic lights out. The eastern portion of CT got socked with major power outages and on the coast, a few houses slipped into the sea. EEK!

Also, I spent some time pointing out and trying to get to the route of my mother's increasing confusion. Some bozo prescribed anti-psychotic drugs. GET HER OFF OF THEM NOW! I think/hope they've got a handle on the problem now, but geesh, you REALLY have to watch in these rehab/nursing facilities.

I took another look at the large project that I'm itching to ditch. I did some minor tweaking, stuff like jacking up the font size by one increment and indenting one whole space on a few lines. I did find one word that needed to be replaced. That one word made it all worth my while. It was a place and it didn't match the place I listed in the rest of the material. Phew! Spared myself some embarrassment (wow, that's a first!).

Some times it's a challenge to get any work done as a writer. In the work for hire world you have five days to get your changes in. If you don't get them in on time, then you don't get more work. There was a time in my life that this may have worked for me, but not now. Take this week for example. There was an earthquake, a pulled lower back muscle, a vasovagal response, and a night in the emergency room. If that's not enough, two kids were dropped off at college and a hurricane is on its way. I can see the little note in my file, "forget this one!"

My big project is done and ready to ship out! I hope this one takes me places. A critically important email arrived last week and boy was I ever excited to get it!

There was a turkey convention in my backyard and I slept through it. Drat! The bottom photograph is Melanie's new roommate at college, a handsome fellow named Zach.

Last night, at 2:43AM, ideas came churning out. I was unable to find my small notebook, so I ended up going downstairs to write down this growing list. Forget about sleep after that.

The to-do list can be categorized as:
1) Chemistry Article
2) Presentation related
3) Other writing

It's pretty clear that this writing journey is taking me in a direction far different than most nonfiction writers. I like that. I think it's much harder to break into the field of narrative nonfiction and stay true to writing stories versus writing nonfiction not in a story format. After hearing about the work-for-hire scene, I came to the conclusion that from a financial standpoint, it seems to me that fiction rewards bestsellers or those with literary merit and nonfiction rewards speed. What's with that?

Here's a photograph of my niece on a hike at the Worcester Ecotarium. I think these fish were expecting some food, instead, on a very hot day, she dumped her water bottle in to give them a drink. How thoughtful. Needless to say, a little while later she mentioned she was thirsty.

I got my article back again for a second set of changes. Hopefully, I can come up with a better beginning. I am about 97% done with another large project I'm working on. I plan to ship it off on Labor Day with or without the pieces that will surely make it stronger. If I get all the pieces, it will be one small miracle.
One.
Small.
Miracle.

Today, I volunteered to help at the NESCBWI conference next year. If it comes to fruition that would be great. A number of years ago, I volunteered, but was not needed. In 2010, I volunteered again, but oh what a year that was. A dump truck of really awful personal stuff unloaded as that conference was heating up. Like everything else, I have to keep on trying.

I came up with a great idea for another class for kids. I think (have to check on this) that it would be geared for middle school students.

We passed these bald eagles before entering the Worcester Ecotarium. Along the side of the cage, I was able to bypass double fencing and really get my camera lens between the chain links. Such a shame no one was there to stop me. Actually, the spot I was in was well worn so I wasn't the only one with that idea.

Recently, I was reading an article in Discover magazine by esteemed NASW science writer Carl Zimmer. I was really drawn into the article by the gruesome action packed beginning. It got me thinking. I had an action packed beginning in my chemistry article, but the editor replaced it with a summary. I know the American Chemical Society does a lot of reader tests to get feedback. I'd really love them to test two versions of the article to see which captivates students more--the summarized start or the action packed start. Personally, I think a better place for a summary is in the extensive teacher's guide they produce with each issue.

In New York, I picked up another tidbit of information from a marketing class presented by Mary-Alice Moore of Boyds Mills Press who grew up in here in Connecticut. She mentioned that people spend too much time on blogs, reading and writing posts. I definitely think I do and I've made a conscious effort to cut back on my blogging and focus on writing and research. Instead of posting every other day, I'm cutting back to about twice a week.

It's been three weeks since my return from the workshop and I'm just now starting to feel like I can relax a bit. I still have pages of notes, hours of recordings and piles of books to pore over.

I could have watched the river otters at the Worcester Ecotarium all day long. They were so cute I couldn't stop snapping photographs. Here they look like they are kissing each other. Some day maybe I'll write about river otters and submit some of the better photographs I took.

I've been moving non-stop since my return from Chautauqua New York. The queue has been jam packed with things to keep me busy. Yesterday, I emailed a revised article, so that's out of the way. In Carolyn Yoder's session, From Research to the Printed Page, I learned that words taken from other sources usually cost money, so I asked about the excellent quotes I found in videos. I was told they are usually not allowed, so I removed them. That was disappointing. Next up, I'll be digging a fat envelope out of the cellar and dusting it off. I can't wait to get back to this one!

About a week ago, I took my niece to the Worcester Ecotarium for the day and took these photographs of a boa constrictor. The snake's dirty laundry is hanging in the bottom photograph.

Roger Tory Peterson Institute

One evening while at Chautauqua a bus whisked us away to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown New York where we had a barbeque (the salmon was yum). Roger Tory Peterson created the "Field Guide to Birds," first published in 1934. While we were at RTPI we had the option of taking an architectural tour of the building and/or a tour of the archives. Mark Baldwin of RTPI showed us one drawer of extinct birds and held up an Ivory Billed Woodpecker and a Passenger pigeon, both extinct. I couldn't help but think how exciting it would be to be let loose in those archives to open the drawers, examine the birds, turn them over in my hands and feel their tiny feet, but that was a no-no.

The photographs of bird artwork were Peterson's first and last illustrations. He died in 1996. The unfinished illustration left an impression on me. It was a stark reminder of how quickly and unexpected death can be. He was so passionate about his work that he was doing it until the day he died.

If you're interested in getting other writer's opinions of Chautauqua or RTPI, I've assembled a list of blog posts from friends I met there:

Marie Powell-Mendenhall - RTPI
Betsy Devany - how I landed in Oz
Kathy Mirkin - 10 reasons to attend
Gail Handler - The charm of Chautauqua

Here's a place to find information about Chautauqua 2011 alumni

My final comments about Chautauqua have to do with the publishing marketplace. I heard from a nonfiction writer that nonfiction is not selling right now. I heard from picture book writers that picture books are not selling right now. I got the distinct impression that the publishing industry is partially paralyzed by the changes rippling through it from e-books. They are cautious and waiting, only taking on projects that they know will sell.

I've been revising a chemistry article that took some getting used to after the editor shuffled it like a deck of cards. After looking at it, I realized it's mostly my cards rearranged a bit. Actually, the edits aren't that extensive, so it's moving along.

Although this bee on a coneflower shot could have been taken anywhere, I took this macro shot at Chautauqua one day as I walked back to the hotel.

Chautauqua - the people

At Chautauqua, the disparity between "them" and "us" was negligible. The faculty and invited authors were approachable and they weren't there to further their own agendas. At meals, they spread out among the conferees. During one dinner, I was happily sandwiched between Sivu from South Africa and Jerry Spinelli. At another dinner, I sat next to Kathi Appelt. On different days, I had breakfast with Chris French Cully, Carolyn Yoder, and Andy Boyles. At a barbeque I sat next to Julie Ham, an editor at Charlesbridge. It was not so much what will happen from this workshop, but creating the possibility that it can happen by making connections. My roommate, Janet Lloyd Weber, and I were amazed at how gracious Kent Brown's family was to open their homes to us for barbeques on two separate evenings.

The bottom photograph was taken at my dinner table one evening. The middle shot is my totebag from the conference signed by faculty and authors. I had my mentor, Andy Boyles, sign front and center. In the upper left hand corner you'll find the cryptic signature of Tommy James (and the Shondells). The top photograph is of the last morning where I laughed throughout breakfast. So many happy memories of Chautauqua......

Chautauqua - the program

The program at the writer's workshop at Chautauqua was more intense than I expected. I was quite busy the whole week and that left little time to participate in the scheduled Chautauqua Institution lectures and programs. There were inspirational keynote speeches in the morning and in the evening. In the afternoon, I scurried from one pre-selected workshop to another. During lunch, there were optional Lunch and Learn sessions where I ate and listened to a speaker. I participated in two of these. One was a session on how teachers select nonfiction books and the other was about school visits. At times I found it difficult to focus because of the heat and because I didn't sleep well while I was at Chautauqua. It seemed many people were not sleeping well. We were all caught up in the excitement.

Prior to arriving at Chautauqua, I submitted a manuscript for critique. Critiques were either Mon and Wed or Tue and Thurs. I was real happy with my first critique despite having a critique group that I consider to be quite thorough, I received some great suggestions. The second critique meeting either involved new material or revisions to the submitted material. In order to get those revisions done participants stayed up till the wee hours of the morning or they cut workshops and keynote speeches (that would be me).

There was a lot of stuff crammed into one week. I signed up for an early morning nature walk that I really enjoyed. We found a dead bat (I wish I used the macro setting of the camera!) . One day we went to Roger Tory Peterson Institute and got a tour of the archives and their Ivory Billed Woodpecker. Other conferees participated in a history field trip. Sharon Creech was one of the keynote speakers. The top photograph summarizes the keynoters words of wisdom. What a great conference!

Chautauqua - the place

Chautauqua Institution is unique. I know of no other place like it. It's not really a town, but more like a gated village devoted to the arts. It straddles Chautauqua Lake. At the front gate, there's a schedule of all the events that happen during the week. Lectures, concerts, animal shows.....all occur in open air buildings. The houses have small yards overflowing with flowers. Jerry Spinelli told me he and his wife bought a house in Chautauqua because they loved it so much. My first impression was that it was quaint.

The bottom photograph is the amphitheater where we saw Tommy James and the Shondells. The middle photograph is the lecture hall where I sat during lunch and also met my mentor, Andy Boyles. Many times during the week I'd walk past the lecture hall and hear someone speaking. The top photograph is the view from the front porch of the Athenaeum where I stayed. It's a magnificent historic hotel that has had many famous guests.

Chautauqua - First Day

To get into the Chautauqua Institution you have to go through one of the gates. You'd think the President was coming with all the security they have there. Every trip in and every trip out requires a scan of a ticket.

That first day I wandered the grounds walking all four of the streets that ran parallel to the lake. When I found the bell tower, why of course I wanted to climb to the top, but that was no-no. Carolyn Benton, the chimemaster who wanted this job since she was five, asked me what hymn or fun song I wanted to hear from her lists. Since I was there for a writing conference, I selected "I Could Write a Book." Since I was not familiar with what I was requesting, she could have played any old thing and I never would have caught on.

Last night I returned from Chautauqua. I had a fabulous time. One of the questions I had before I left was what is it about this conference that makes writers love it? I now know the answer to that. I hope to explain that in a series of blog posts about place, program and people and include key photographs. For now, I'm digging out and working on edits to an article.

Asiatic lily and coreopsis

I've adjusted to the new reality by looking at things differently. Instead of standing in the street and gazing at the top of a skyscraper and thinking what a devastating fall, I stand in the street gazing at the first floor thinking you can do it. You can get there. One step at a time. It's the same with writing. When you look at the mountain top and see the happy faces they seem so unreachable, but taking one careful step at a time you will move toward that peak and enjoy the journey more. Hopefully, after a week at Chautauqua there will be noticeable improvements all around. I am SO looking forward to getting away, attending lectures, meeting new people, enjoying the arts, listening to feedback and most of all immersing myself in the writing world. I have much to discuss with a mentor.

The top photograph is an Asiatic lily. They are stiff flowers that last a long time in bouquets. The bottom is coreopsis, a profusely flowering plant.

I've carefully worded my editorial email and will send it out tomorrow when I'm a lot more rested than today. I'm afraid I'm going to make a stupid mistake. Chautauqua is on my doorstep and the suitcase is getting stuffed.

Melanie found this turtle wandering around in the middle of our backyard. Boy, did Walt ever startle me. I turned my head and the feisty creature was dangling real close to my ear. At first, I didn't even recognize it as a turtle. I screamed. I'm not a turtle expert, but I think it was a painted turtle. I picked up the muddy squirming creature and placed it at the edge of the wet woods. Now, I'm wondering if I should have driven it to a pond. It was quite a ways away from the pond in the woods and quite eager to get moving away from me. I can't say that I blame it. When I cropped one photo so it was only the head I noticed what looked like a snail on the shell. Maybe it was a chunk of mud?

Clematis

Lately I've been thinking big, big, big. Before I act, I have to do some research and make some decisions. Speaking of decisions, I'm real happy with mine and where they've taken me. I'm leaving for Chautauqua Friday morning and staying in Jamestown Friday night. The way bombs drop around here, I'll believe it when I get there.

This clematis has been creeping through the holes in the lattice and is profusely flowering on both sides of the railing. A fine vine indeed.

I'm hoping my suitcase can pack itself, so I can collapse inside it. It's been a busy couple of weeks shuttling to the hospital, painting the house and struggling to accomplish something. As a science writer I'm always asking questions. My mother has told me more than once that I ask too many. I shoot them out like gunfire. Yesterday I asked what a dense stroke was. You know, my mother was right.

Yesterday I met with my writing friends for 3 1/2 hours. We meet at an eating area of a grocery store. A sparrow (which I named Jack) flew around inside the store and eavesdropped at the next table. I wish I had my camera! My friend suggested a more inventive word in place of "big." The conversation tanked after that. It wasn't long before the guy in the next booth up and left. I am glad they made me laugh. Today, I spent the day poring over crit group suggestions and revising. I still have the last piece and those emails to finish.

More flowers today--day lilies and clematis.

Hydrangea

All the pieces of my current writing project are done except one. Hopefully, this week I can steal away some time to finish the meat of the thing. It's a powerful package.

Here's another recipe for busy writers. I made this yesterday and loved it. The apricots hold up real well and don't turn brown or mushy the second day.:

Cranberry Apricot Chicken Salad
- Use leftover chicken or grill boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used a grill pan).
- Chop chicken.
- Add chopped fresh apricots, dried cranberries and mayo. Season with salt, pepper and a bit of tarragon
- Serve over lettuce, between bread or eat it straight

I've been shuttling back and forth to the hospital all week. This morning, I picked a bunch of hydrangeas and brought them with me. Would I love them as much if they were pink? The soft blue petals are striking They remind me of fresh fallen snow.

Purple Iris

The bucket of life has spilled once again. I can turn the pail upright, but I'm not sure I can collect all that was lost (can you tell we've been painting the house?). I've been thinking a lot about what the future holds. Well, I don't have an answer. No one does. Despite what is going on with others, I've got to pursue what I'm destined to pursue. In the past, I've hobbled over obstacles by telling myself I'll find a way. I'll find a way. I WILL find a way. I always do.

Needless to say, I've been too distracted to send any emails and part of me is wary of a negative response or no response at all, but I'll get there. I will.

There is no better photograph for today than iris' that were given to me by my mother.

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Everything about writing involves making a decision. What topic to pursue? How to approach it? How to organize it? Which word to use? An entire career is made up of decisions, footsteps that propel a person in a direction. My resume reflects my choices.

As I look back on my years of writing I think about what I could have done differently to speed up the motion and reduce the frustration. I never pursued work for hire or an agent. Would that have helped? I never gave any thought to self-publishing. I don't regret that decision. Then there are those things that can not be rushed. Writing needs to season over time and with practice. Lots and lots of practice.

Anyhow, I made a decision, I have a direction. It was based on the question, where is the story? Now I need to ship out a couple of emails, one to a scientist or two, the other to an editor. Before I do, I need to give them careful thought so I include everything I need to include as I continue to move forward one tiny footstep at a time.

These photographs were taken at the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival at the Hill-stead Museum where a friend and I sat in a garden and listened to music and poetry. I sat behind this tall clump of statice.My friend brought these wonderful ginger cranberry rolls stuffed with chicken salad because she knew I'd like them. She was right.