On a whim, Pat and I went to the dog show at the Ulster County Fairground.  It was a beautiful, sunny day.  We arrived too late for most of the action, but in enough time to see the finals for the hounds and the toys.

Owners and handlers prepped their contestants with hair dryers and comb-outs.                

Papillon knows how to pose.                   Pomeranian all fluffed up.

  Chinese crested hairless reminds me of Count Chocula.

                                                                    

The poodle gets a spritz of hairspray.  This was the winner of the best in toy breeds.

Basset hound gets its photo taken.

Greyhounds wait their turn.

This Irish wolfhound is hot and tired.

The Weimaraner’s owner said that dogs of this breed love to be close to people.  For me, the best part of the afternoon was meeting this dog.  My family had a beautiful Weimaraner when I was little. She was well-trained, thanks to my father, and so gentle.  I remember lying on the floor with Maida, my head on her chest, while I played with her soft ears.  She never growled or snapped or moved away, no matter what I did.

In the years of my childhood, we had a much older version of this book.  The cover was black.  I pored over the photos of the different breeds until I could recognize most of them.

And last Sunday, I got to see many of them in person.

 

 

Identity Crises:

Two Roads 

by Joseph Bruchac

Dial Books for Young Readers, NY 2018.

The Other F-Word

by Natasha Friend

Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, NY 2017

After the disappointment of Inheritance, by Dani Shapiro, I found these two books that presented identity quests in a believable way.  Isn’t it peculiar that fiction can be better than memoir?

Two Roads is set in 1932, during the Depression in the United States. Cal Black, age 12, and his father live as hoboes.  Having lost both mother and family farm, Cal and his father, a veteran of World War I, ride the rails. When the vets converge on Washington, D.C. to demand the bonuses promised them, Cal’s Pop decides he must join them.  It is then that he reveals to his son that he is a full-blooded Creek Indian, making Cal a tribal member as well.  Pop sends Cal to a government boarding school for Native Americans in Oklahoma.  Despite the bad conditions at the school, Cal makes friends with other Creek boys, and learns about his people.

In addition to portraying the era and Cal’s self-discovery with accuracy, this novel offers readers a close and heart-wrenching look at the lives of Native Americans who endured government policies.  Be sure to read the Afterword.

The Other F-Word gives readers a handful of delightful, lovable characters as we follow four children on a quest to discover the identity of their sperm donor.  Milo and Hollis were born to lesbian couples. Noah and his twin brother, Josh, have heterosexual parents.  All share the same donor, #9677.  Included in this group is Milo’s friend, J.J. Rabinowitz, perhaps my favorite, who is adopted and looks nothing like his family.

I zoomed through this book, enjoying the personalities, the humor, and the believability of it all.  Oh, and the other f-word is family.

 

Not long ago, Pat and I were taking a walk on Cicero Road when we were surprised to see this raccoon picking its way across someone’s lawn.  It seemed to barely notice us as it made its way slowly to the drainpipe on the roadside.

Something was wrong.  The raccoon wobbled down to the water where it appeared to take a drink.  Then it returned to the lawn and started across the road.  It staggered, fell sideways, and then wobbled in a confused circle in the middle of the pavement.

Sick? Dying of old age? Rabid?

We kept our distance until it moved away.

When we got home, I called the DEC. The man I spoke to said there was an officer nearby who could check on the situation.

I’m left with an undercurrent of sadness from meeting up with this failing wild animal.  Maybe because I’ve reached the age when my peers and I are struggling with illness, solitude, and mortality.  Bodies get sick, need repair, and ultimately quit.

What comes next?  Raccoon heaven?

 

Betty and the Boomers

Saturday, May 25

Waterstreet Market, New Paltz, NY

 

Tight harmonies, fabulous songs, sunshine, iced chai latte–what more could anyone ask?

from their website www.bettyandthebabyboomers.com:

 When Betty Boomer, Jean Valla McAvoy, Paul Rubeo, and Steve Stanne began singing together more than 30 years ago, the name made sense—a play on Betty’s name and the fact that all are children of the baby boom. Bassist Robert Bard fit right in demographically when he joined later on. If they’ve had second thoughts, it’s too late to change now. “Betty and the Baby Boomers” appears on the covers of the band’s five CDs, and the name is known to folk music fans from the mountains of Connemara in Ireland to the Catskills overlooking New York’s Hudson Valley, their home base.
I’ve known most of these performers since my days with Clearwater and the Beacon Sloop Club. In fact, I used to sing with the Sloop Singers, but mostly on the choruses.

Husband Pat enjoyed every minute.

Listen to them here:

https://bettyandthebabyboomers.bandcamp.com/

Mountain or Molehill?

Inheritance 

by Dani Shapiro

Alfred A. Knopf, 2019

Even though I became a bit disgusted, I read the book to the end.  How Shapiro managed to make a full-length memoir out of this event in her life was impressive. I kept wondering if this discovery–that one’s father was not the biological parent–could be that traumatic.  The answer, for me, was “no.”

The word “self-indulgent” comes to mind about the author, and perhaps, also, “drama queen.”

However, the actual situation brings up a lot of ethical and scientific questions that are certainly important and valid.  With DNA testing, and the sharing of data from 23andMe, Ancestry.com, etc., we are confronted with issues of privacy and anonymity.

As far as the book goes, I would advise reading the summary, and bypassing the memoir.

Beautiful, yes?

This glass design is in the ceiling of the Belchertown, Massachusetts Library.  The library is a magnificent building with many features to admire.

                  

It’s always so helpful for me, as a writer, to get away from my desk and out into the world to meet new people and see new sights.

This library visit was courtesy of our gracious Airbnb host, Fran Ferry, who lives directly across the street.

The lacy fan of woodwork spans the ceiling in the main entrance.

Fran introduced me to the children’s librarian.  Hopefully, we can arrange an author visit in the future.  Serendipity!

Please like, comment, and/or share.

And remember–the new Karakesh Chronicle, Awakening Magic, is available now on Amazon.

When the skunk cabbage pushes up through the melting snow, it’s a curious-looking plant, even a little sinister in my view.

The new plants remind me of Little Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. I almost expect them to start talking. “Feed me, Seymour!”

Skunk cabbage does have an odor, and most animals won’t eat it.  The exception is bears, who will eat the “spathes,” the emerging blossom pictured above.  The smell of the skunk cabbage attracts pollinators who like the odor of rotting meat.

Skunk cabbage has the ability to produce heat, sometimes up to 70′ F, which explains how it is one of the first plants to push up through the snow.  Skunk cabbage flowers before it produces leaves.  A single plants can live for 20 years.

Native Americans used skunk cabbage to treat coughs and headaches.  It is actually available as an extract online!

Check out this site below for more information.

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Plants-and-Fungi/Skunk-Cabbage

Please like this post and/or write a comment.

Thanks!

The Gift of Sarah Barker

by Jane Yolen

Viking Press, 1981.

The Gift of Sarah Barker is one of Jane Yolen’s earlier books.  The young adult novel explores the growing romance of Sarah and Abel, who live in a Shaker community.  The novel kept me reading, carried along in part by my curiosity about how the Shakers lived. It must have been a challenging situation, especially for teens, to be so disciplined.  The men and boys, and the women and girls, worked near each other every day, but strict rules guided how they interacted.

Yolen’s description of daily life in this religious community pushed me to do a little research after I finished the book.

The Shaker’s main tenets are Celibacy, Community, and Confession of sin.  The Mother Ann Lee, the founder, arrived in America in 1774 with eight followers.  At its peak, the Shaker community numbered 4000 to 5000 Believers. “Hands to work, hearts to God” are the words they lived by.

Today the last active Shaker community is found in Maine, at Sabbathday Lake.  The website below provides comprehensive information about the Shaker sect.

https://hancockshakervillage.org/shakers/shaker-religion/

I spent a couple of happy hours wandering around this fabulous event at the  Hudson middle school.  In the gym were various organizations with tables of information and books.  Free books were displayed on tables in the middle of the room.

Pat and I gave a pass to the cafeteria full of loud music and children blowing off steam.

The authors’ area was packed.  Writers came from as far away as California and Tennessee.  I was thrilled to meet two of my favorites: Jack Gantos of Dead End in Norvelt and the legendary Jane Yolen–Owl Moon.  Coincidentally, I was reading one of her earlier books that weekend.  She kindly gave me some tips about how to move forward.

On the way home, we paused at a truck stop to get gas.  I also needed a phone charger for the car.  Two Pakistani guys owned the place.  The first cable I found was three feet long and $15.99.

“Don’t you have anything cheaper?” I asked.

The taller man went to a carousel and found a better choice for $9.99.  Then the short guy came up with one for $7.99.  What kindness and lack of greed!

In the bathroom, I appreciated this sign:

It was a great day for book fun and information.

https://hudsonchildrensbookfestival.com/

 

Prince Emric does not wish to inherit the throne.  He yearns to make music and explore the world.  Soon he escapes to a life on the road with the Travelers.

When the kingdom is in crisis, and on the verge of war, only Emric can unlock the deep earth magic to reunite them all.

As I may have mentioned, Awakening Magic is my favorite of the Karakesh Chronicles.  Why do I like it best?  Maybe it’s the music that flows throughout the story.  Certainly its partly the surprises I got while I was writing it.  I still ask myself, “Did I really think of that?”

I don’t remember how the twists in plot appeared.  For me, the writer, that is the excitement of making a story.  The characters go off in a different direction. The plot tangles and winds into complicated knots that somehow weave together at the end.

Please like this page, leave a comment, and read Awakening Magic.

Available at:

https://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Magic-Karakesh-Chronicles-Ellis/dp/1947854356/ref=sr_1_3?

www.handersenpublishing.com