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Here in Maine, Mother Nature kept teasing us! In early April, there were a couple days of warm temps, and we happily watched the snow melt. I put my shovels away and took out my rakes. But before I could dig into spring clean up, eight inches of snow covered the lawn and I was reluctantly reaching for the shovel. Of course, it melted fairly quickly, but before I could rake it snowed again!
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One of my favorite spring things is to watch for migrating birds. This week the Hummingbirds have been pairing up and fighting over territories. The Phoebes keep trying to build a nest over our living room window under the eaves. The male Cardinal is courting the female, and our Baltimore Orioles returned for oranges.
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I've managed to kayak once, and have been shaping my gardens between rain storms after school. It's really hard to stay at my desk when the sun is shining, birds are singing, and the temps go up. I love all of Maine's seasons, but spring is definitely my favorite. Even raking and bark mulching can lift my spirits.
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Spring is also a busy time as an educator. There's many year end activities during and after the school day, field trips and alternate schedules. You might remember that Mrs. Shanning's class, in which I assist, has been reading Mystery Of The Lost Lynx. We're in the final chapters and it's so much fun to see them putting clues together, and to hear their predictions. (They've been very creative in trying to trick me, wanting to know who the "bad guy" is!) This past Friday, I showed them pictures of Maine's B-52 Memorial Crash Site on Elephant Mountain and explained how it inspired me to create a fictional Hercules Memorial Crash site on Piehl Mountain to the story.
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With all of spring's distractions and to-do's, it's a wonder I have any time to write at all! Yet, when I don't write, I feel as if something is missing in my life. For the first time in a long time, I have three very different projects in different stages waiting for me to return to them. My agent, Katie, has been tremendously supportive and very patient as I slowly make progress on them all. I'm hopeful that in the next newsletter I'll be reporting to you all about how I'm on summer break and writing more regularly.
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Read on below to hear about the Maine Wildlife Park, one of my favorite places to visit for inspiration. You'll learn how the gamekeepers there helped with Mystery of the Lost Lynx and Mystery of the Bear Cub. You'll also find pictures of our backyard spring visitors, get picture book recommendations and learn about an exhibit honoring their author, Chris Van Dusen.
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Click my books below to learn more about Cooper and Packrat's adventures. They're perfect for spring days reading by the lake, on a campsite, by the campfire or under a tree in your backyard.
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Fun Fact!
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Chick-a-dee-dee-dee
Did you know the more dee's that are added to end of a Chickadee's call, the bigger the danger? Try counting them some time! I've read that their calls tell other birds how rapidly the predator is moving as well as how big the threat is.
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I've noticed that sometimes there are more dee's when I fill the feeders. Once, I rated eight dees! I must be very scary indeed!
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Read And Read S'more!
Honestly, I could recommend any picture book by Chris Van Dusen.They're all wonderful. But I really enjoyed introducing my granddaughter Emily to these two books in the exhibit honoring his works at the Maine Maritime Museum.
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Much of Hattie and Hudson takes place in the middle of a Maine lake, which in itself makes me want to share it with Em. She lives in Massachusetts, so my husband and I love adventuring with her in our little corner of the world when she comes to visit.
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In the story, Hattie's singing from her canoe attracts an elusive, massive creature to the surface of the lake. Hattie is intrigued. The townspeople are frightened. Can Hattie and Hudson ever be friends? Can they figure out a way to change the townspeople's minds?
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The Circus Ship is such a fun, interactive story! In it, the circus animals find themselves stranded on a small island due to the selfish actions of their circus owner. Over time they find they like island life and they bond with the townspeople. So when their greedy owner comes looking for them to take them back to work, they team up with the town to outwit him.
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You and your reader will have fun trying to find the hidden circus animals within the pages of The Circus Ship.
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If you find yourself in Bath, Maine, try to add the exhibit Upon That Isle In Maine: The Story And Works Of Chris Van Dusen, to your must-visit list. Even at one year old, Emily really enjoyed seeing Chris' characters become larger than life. There were several interactive activities as well. It's fun for all ages.
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Don't forget to check out the rest of the Maine Maritime Museum while you're there. Not only do they have several exhibits, but there are many guided tours and cruises. There's so much history to see!
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Maine Wildlife Park
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Another Maine treasure is the Maine Wildlife Park. Since we moved to Maine in 1991, my family has watched the park expand and improve, mostly through amazing volunteer work. When we owned our campground, it was the number one place we'd recommend our customers visit. It was a favorite of our family as my children grew, sometimes we'd visit several times in one season. And now we get to experience it through the eyes of my granddaughter too!
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The Maine Wildlife Park is home to approximately 30 species of Maine wildlife. The animals you see there cannot be returned to their natural habitats. They were brought in because they were orphaned, injured or human dependent – which means they were raised, sometimes illegally, in captivity.
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The goal of the park is for their wildlife to be ambassadors, teaching visitors about their behavior and the threats they face. Hopefully, the animals will also spark a lifelong interest in nature, and environmental awareness.
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A beaver eating a slice of banana
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When I was writing Mystery of the Bear Cub and Mystery of the Lost Lynx, I visited the Wildlife Park often as I couldn't study bear and lynx on our campground's property through my lens the way I had with the loons, foxes and eagles. In twenty-seven years, we'd never seen a bear in the campground, or a lynx, even though I searched for signs of them with my trail cams.
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Black bears; their fur can be any shade between black and blond
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Then one day I noticed the Wildlife Park had photography day passes. That pass, with a gamekeeper as my guide, could get me closer to the animals! I was so excited!
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Better yet, I discovered the gamekeepers were really interested in why I was visiting and were so supportive of my quest to introduce young readers to Maine's wildlife through Cooper and Packrat's adventures. Each time I went, I had a different guide, and each of them became instrumental in making the plots of my stories as realistic as they could be. I learned so much from my visits, I couldn't fit it all into one book!
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Take a visit to the Maine Wildlife Park this year - especially during one of their themed weekends such as the Memorial Day Weekend plant sale or to see the chainsaw artists on May 31st.
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Be sure to bring your camera, and a picnic lunch!
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Wight House Wildlife Sightings
There have been tons of migrating spring birds in my yard the last few weeks! I've heard the Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pine Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird and more. (Thank goodness for my Merlin app to help identify them!) I've managed to snap photos of the Nashville Warbler, Baltimore Oriole and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. My camera always sits ready in my office. I never know who will show up!
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In the first, warmest days of Spring, an opossum appeared from under my shed, and the deer stepped from the treeline, tempted by patches of grass. A pair of beavers have been munching on my lakefront almost every evening. The Geese loudly arrived on the lake, a White-throated Sparrow sings constantly for a mate, the Robin searches for worms and the Hummingbirds have paired up and are fighting over the feeders.
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As I put the finishing touches to this newsletter today, I received a timely meme from my daughter. It stated that listening to the birds reduces cortisol, slows your heart rate and triggers calm. It noted that the "why" behind this is because birds sing in areas where they feel safe, which triggers something in us to tell us we're safe.
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I hope this spring finds you outdoors, wherever you may be. And that you find happiness in the world around you, investigating all creatures and plants, big and small. Take a moment to stop, look, listen and find your peace.
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As for me . . . I'll be collecting stories and photos to share with you again soon.
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