Dorothy's Life and Work

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 14:58:00 +0000

Just a quick post to direct you to my post for the children's nonfiction writer's blog, www.inkrethink.blogspot.com, about writing on tough topics for children. I talk a bit about my three latest books, all of which involved topics of life, death, and betrayal, and how I chose to frame them.

Nature in my Yard

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 23:51:00 +0000

I wrote last month about the insects in my neighbor's cherry tree, and since then I've tried to notice details of nature in my own yard. We've lived in this house for 35 years, and I've noticed that each year the insect population changes. Some years there are lots of ordinary hornets, while other years bald-faced hornets predominate. Some years there are lots of grasshoppers, other years very few, and so on. This year we've had a huge number of large orange-red flies that look like bees at first glance. I don't remember having seen these at all before, and now we have dozens of them. They fly like bees and feed on flower blossoms like bees, but a close up look shows that they are flies. Just why this population explosion is happening this year is a complete mystery, at least to me!

Dorothy's book news

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:02:00 +0000

My new book, "The Horse and the Plains Indians: A Powerful Partnership," is now available. I've written a little about it on my website, where there's also a link to Amazon.com. In its starred review, School Library Journal wrote that the book "features a well-written and readable narrative, appealing and informative full-color photographs, and reproductions of period illustrations... and is certain to draw readers who are interested in Native American history or horses."

I've also turned my novel, "Return of the Wolf," into an ebook which is available in a variety of formats, including Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords, which offers a number of different formats. The print edition had drawings where are not in this edition, which is priced at $2.99. When the book came out, it received great reviews, and readers loved it, so I'm pleased to make it available again. The book tells how wolves really live in nature, all told from the point of view of the wolves themselves. School Library Journal wrote: "Patent offers such close-up natural descriptions and keen observations that readers will feel as though they are in the wild....A wonderful read-aloud."
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noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:29:00 +0000

Looking Beyond the Obvious

Wasp checking out fruit

Fly making holes and munching

A couple of days ago, my husband and I headed for our neighbor's pie cherry tree, to see if the fruit was ready to pick. We were delighted to see the bright red fruit and take photos. He's a food writer, officially The Baking Wizard, and he creates totally irresistible baked goods to share with his readers. Now came the time for a streusel-topped sour cherry tart--yum! As we snapped photos, looking for the best angle to show off the luscious fruit, we began to realize we weren't the only ones to find the cherries delicious. At least two kinds of wasp roamed around, flicking their wings and looking for breaks in the fruit so they could suck out the tasty juices. We spied a fly that looked like a house fly but must be a different species as it was spearing holes into the flesh of the fruit and taking bites.

In our brief visit--we returned later to pick--we also spotted at least two other kinds of flies--one a tiny shiny golden-green gem, the other a racy fellow with striped wings. This last kind apparently used the cherries as a trysting place as we noted several pairs in close embrace.

How often do we take the time to stop, look, and listen to nature in action? After this encounter, I've vowed to pay more attention to the details I've been too busy to observe and to spend quiet time just soaking up the amazing variety of life around me.

When we returned, we quickly picked enough cherries for three tarts and I must say, the resulting dessert is fabulous. With enough cherries in the freezer for two more tarts, I'll remember the thriving life that shared the tree when, in the dead of winter, I take a tangy-sweet bite of another marvelous tart.

Springtime in the Rockies

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:31:00 +0000

Ah Spring--my favorite season, other than fresh ripe tomatoes! Greg and I took advantage of the one nice day the weatherman has offered lately and visited the National Bison Range, a wildlife refuge an hour north of home. The especially rainy Spring has brought out wildflowers bigtime, especially the dramatic arrow-leafed balsamroot with spectacular daisy blossoms and lovely gray-green leaves. As we drove the windy gravel road through the refuge, we also came across a mule deer doe with newborn twin fawns and a mother pronghorn with her single fawn. The pronghorn have learned that coyotes, the main predator on their fawns, stay away from the road, so the pronghorn give birth near the roads.

I've always loved visiting wild places for the sense of possibility they offer. You never know what you'll find; it's all luck. One very hot late summer day, my photographer, Bill Muñoz, and I drove the Bison Range but feared we'd see little in the dry summer heat. Besides a bear and a weasel, we had a special surprising treat--we saw two bull elk in the river, plunging their heads into the water and pulling up plants, their antlers draped with vegetation--that's usually the way one sees moose, not elk!

Good News about Bad Newz and Thoughts on Audie

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Sun, 29 May 2011 19:21:00 +0000

First I want to share this news that Dogs Deserve Better, a nonprofit focusing on more humane lives for dogs, has bought the property where Michael Vick's infamous dog-fighting ring was headquartered. Let's hope their plans to create a healing center for dogs are successful.
I also wanted to share this post I put up on the Saving Audie website and on Audie's FaceBook page. Many people liked the post or commented on it, so I wanted to share it here as well:

Audie’s book is out now, and I love the stories getting posted on his Face Book page, especially the one from the mother of a 4 ½ year old girl who insisted the book be kept under her pillow at night and standing up on her bedside table during the day—now that’s a real fan!
Audie’s story strike a deep chord with adults, too, I think partly because the courage shown by this little dog and his ability to have his life transformed from bleakness to one rich in love and fun helps them have hope that they can also transform the negativity in their own lives. It’s such a powerful message of hope and redemption.
I’m feeling so blessed to have been able to share this story with the world and to have met so many wonderful people and dogs in the process. There’s so much negativity and fear in the world today, which can paralyze us and keep us from acting positively in our own lives. We need to focus our attention and our spirits on positive stories like this one and always keep in our hearts the knowledge of love’s power to transform.

Here is Audie as he is today, forever bonded to his person, Linda.

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 21:19:00 +0000

Many years ago I did meditation for awhile, but it didn't last. Recently a friend recommended "Meditations to Change Your Brain," by Rick Hanson, PhD, and Richard Mendius, MD. She said their material was really changing how she lives and feels in very positive ways. The biologist in me became intrigued, and I have almost finished my first pass through the 3 CD set. Early on, Hanson and Mendius give reasons why it's hard for people to be happy, showing how the evolutionary history of our needing to be ever alert to the possibility of danger in its many forms makes it difficult for us today to relax and "enjoy the moment."

As I stood in my cool basement folding newly washed napkins and dust rags, this CD track came to mind, and I stopped to think about the moment. As I sorted and folded, I became amazed at what lay before me within these mundane items--colors, patterns, textures, an explosion of delightful variety that I ordinarily wouldn't notice as I acknowledged the uncomfortable chill and thought about my next task.

And now, as I write, I watch scattered snow flakes drift in from the north and know that if I went outside and examined them I would see their incredible delicate symmetry and infinite variety. So much in our everyday worlds can bring pleasure if we just remember to pay attention.

Long Silence Broken

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 20:05:00 +0000

I haven't written in this blog for many months. The irony is that I was so busy doing interesting things that I didn't have time for it! I'm going to try to catch up now, beginning with a trip to California in May to do research for my book, "Saving Audie: A Pit Bull Puppy Gets a Second Chance," to be published this May.

My photographer, Bill Muñoz and I flew into Oakland to meet Audie and his family, especially his official person, Linda. Audie was just a puppy when rescued from the Michael Vick dog-fighting ring in 2007. Thanks to the diligence and determination of a number of people, the Vick dogs were tested to see if they might be dangerous to people or animals, and all but one of the 48 pit bulls showed promise for rehab.

When we visited Audie at home, he was alarmed at first. In his life before coming to California, strangers generally weren't good news. Despite his past experiences, he clearly wanted to trust us and be friends. He would come close, then run away, come a bit closer, and run off again. Soon he was jumping on the couch and sniffing, then running away, and after about 10 minutes, he settled down next to me, snuggled against my leg, and went to sleep.

We also got to meet many people and dogs associated with BAD RAP (Bay Area Dogowners Responsible About Pitbulls), a wonderful Bay Area organization devoted to education about pit bulls. BAD RAP provides obedience training for pit bull type dogs and their humans every Saturday morning, and there's always a waiting list. Dogs adopted by or being fostered by BAD RAP folks also show up just to enjoy the activity and to savor the company of their friends, both canine and human.

Writing this book has been a great pleasure, and I feel it can contribute to helping dispel the image of pit bulls as innately dangerous dogs. With any kind of dog, what matters most is how they are raised and how they are trained. All dog owners should take the responsibility of helping their pets learn how to be "polite" members of society through obedience training and insistence that the rules of good behavior be followed.

Audie has his own fan page on Facebook, and soon he will have his own website as well. In addition, he and some of his brothers and sisters have their very own blog courtesy of BAD RAP.

Audie's buddy, Uba, whom he often gets to meet and greet on Saturdays, is especially fond of letting folks know what he's up to.

Resilient Nature

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 08:30:00 +0000

Low temperature records in western Montana were smashed in early October, 2009, when thermometers plummeted into single digits overnight. For several days, low temperature records broke. September had been warmer than usual, and trees and bushes hadn't even started to change color. Everyone worried about the plants, whose leaves shriveled in place on their branches, as the hormones that weaken the bonds between leaves and stems never got produced. Normally, perennial plants undergo an orderly process to get ready for winter, withdrawing chlorophyll and nourishing sugars from their leaves and passing them on to the roots for winter storage. What would happen in the spring? Would branches and buds die? Would the plants struggle to come back when days lengthened and temperatures rose?

When I walked through my yard during the winter, I shuddered as I looked at the thin terminal branches of the trees--how could they survive the shock of that bitter cold? Would I have to prune away inches of dead wood and wait a year or more for the trees to come back?

I needn't have worried--despite their nasty early autumn surprise, my trees came back as beautifully as ever, with apricots leading the way. For me, this photo of opening apricot buds on branches with still-clinging dead leaves is a testament to the toughness of trees. Animals can move around to mitigate nature's surprises, but trees are stuck in place. They have to be adapted to rare events, even those so rare they've never experienced them before! My already deep respect for the resilience of the natural world has deepened even further.

Meanwhile, the wild world is also awakening to our late spring, with lovely buttercups blanketing sunny areas on the meadow in front of our home. I do love the spring!

An Uneven Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:55:00 +0000

Here in western Montana, Spring has taken its time arriving. After a couple of unseasonably warm days in early March, our weather was overly chilly and gray for way longer than normal. Signs of Spring were hard to find here on the outskirts of Missoula. Last week I rummaged through some dried leaves and found hope in these daffodil shoots just emerging from the cold earth. But north of us, on the same day in the little town of Arlee, a friend celebrated the arrival of spring big time with beds bursting with daffodils in bloom. This photo shows only a few of her actual thousands and thousands of these wonderful spring flowers.

The differences in microclimates here in the mountain west always intrigues me. My friend's garden is always ahead of mine, for she lives in a special little corner with a steep hill just behind her property to the north, which both shields her place from the cold wind and radiates sunshine's warmth into her orchard of peaches and cherries, trees it isn't worth trying to grow where I live. Even in my own yard I see differences. The front yard, which faces north and is partly shaded by the house, has yet to come alive, while the garden area on the south side is beginning to show promise.

Changeable Season, Changeable Place

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:26:00 +0000

I haven't written here since we returned from our winter odyssey, mostly because I'm come to realize that my blog is really a travel and photo blog, and my hometown of Missoula, MT, can be pretty boring photowise in late winter. The dead grass of the meadow across the street has been washed out by rain and frost, the pines' needles wear their black-green winter color, and the snow comes and goes. I call the place "Grayzoola" at this time, as the skies are almost always gray.

Now and then, we get some relief, as we did about a week ago. The sun came out, the air warmed, spring seemed on its way. On one particular day, light rain dampened the meadow grass, turning it golden in the rare sunshine. I kept glancing out the window, savoring the amazing color of the meadow, and suddenly a giant almost double rainbow glowed into being. I grabbed my camera and snapped away--here you can see the result:

Then, only a few days later, we awakened to a transformed scene, much more typical of this time of year, and to show the contrast, I once again took photos:

It can be quite disconcerting to see such radical changes in the environment in such a short time; am I having hallucinations? No, I'm living in the Mountain West! Then, in a few more days, the weather returned to its normal boring late winter state, with dead grass and gray skies. The only ways we know Spring is on its way is to go walking at an hour which would have been pitch black in January and to notice that the robins are back.

At Rancho la Puerta

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:22:00 +0000

After returning to the mainland, we visited family on our way south to spend a week in Mexico at Rancho la Puerta, a wonderful spa that has so much more to offer than a typical spa. My husband Greg gave cooking classes in trade for the week, while all I needed to do was choose among the many interesting, healthy and/or fun activities offered every hour during the day. We stayed in a beautiful cassita and learned qigong from Robert Rosenbaum, found out practical ways to resolve personal conflict from Peter and Susan Glaser, hiked, danced, and ate great vegetarian (with seafood) cuisine, all in beautiful surroundings. We also made a number of new friends we hope to keep in touch with, and we will return next year during the holiday season.

Hawaiian monk seals on Maha'ulepu Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:25:00 +0000

I may have left Hawaii physically, but part of my spirit remains there. On our last full day on Kauai, we visited the one last remaining undeveloped stretch of beach on the island, the beautiful Maha'ulepu Beach. Both our cars on the Mainland sport bumper stickers proclaiming "Malama Maha'ulepu", which means "Help (save) Maha'ulepu." All beaches in Hawaii are open for public use, but the land above the high tide line is mostly private. So far, the land adjoining this beautiful stretch of beach has not been developed, making it much more appealing to the public than beaches that lead up to plush hotels and private homes. The public can rest under trees and hike through the dunes and relax here.

We were lucky when we visited, as a mother endangered Hawaiian monk seal had hauled out of the sea on the beach, and a volunteer kept watch to make sure no one disturbed them. They spend most of their time sleeping, but now and then the pup gets hungry and waddles over to mom, nosing her and crying out until she rolls over to expose her teats for him to feed. We got to watch this process. At the time, the baby was only 2 weeks old but growing fast. What a treat, and a fine ending to our time on this beautiful island.

Farewell to Kauai

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:08:00 +0000

As the day of our departure from Kauai neared, I feared that I would feel very sad on our last day. We've had such a great time on all the islands and avoided brutal subzero temperatures at home in Montana. Kauai's weather stayed glorious for our entire stay, and we were able to get a tiny taste of a rare phenomenon--giant swells, formed by a huge storm far north in the Aleutian Islands, that turned into 25-foot plus waves as they struck the Hawaiian Islands. We drove to Hanalei again and watched as these monsters crashed onto the beach. A photo can't capture their size, but you can see from the thick sea mist that the sea is roiling. The beach there was closed, but on Oahu, the giant waves triggered the Eddie Aikau Invitational Tournament, a surfer's dream that only occurs when the waves turn huge.
Surfers from around the Pacific flew in to compete, and the roads to the North Shore became completely gridlocked as thousands of fans did their best to reach the beach.

Now I'm in Northern California, experiencing the wind and rain from the same weather system as it drenches the Pacific Coast. Our Hawaiian Idyll has ended, but because it was so satisfying, I did not feel sad when we left. We watched the sun set at Lawai Beach, then drove to the airport for a red-eye to the mainland. But before we left, we arranged a time share trade back to this place for next November, certainly part of the reason for my lack of sadness.

On Kauai, Visiting Hanalei

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 +0000

We've been so lucky with weather on this trip. Kauai, the Garden Isle, had a couple of weeks of heavy rainfall that led to flooding and disappointment for travelers, but that all ended before we got here. We've been having beautiful sunshine and bright green vistas, as in this photo of the taro fields of Hanalei, a quirky town on the north coast of the island. These fields, on a National Wildlife Refuge, are the major source of taro for making poi, a staple of the Hawaiian diet. They have been here for hundreds of years and are home to several endangered endemic (they live only in Hawaii) birds, like this Hawaiian nene, the native goose that is the state bird.

Hanalei is the site of a thriving farmer's market, where one can buy local produce of many kinds, including salad greens, papayas, pineapple, and local varieties of banana. My favorite is the apple banana, a small variety with a wonderful sweet-tart flavor. The market is a place to take part in local island life and see amusing sights, like this lei-wearing dog enthusiastically pawing and chewing a half coconut.

At Our Kona Coast Condo

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:08:00 +0000

My husband Greg and I always look forward to spending time at our condo on the Big Island's Kona coast. It's rented out most of the time, but we can stay there whenever we want, and we usually choose November or December to relax there for a few weeks. This time, however, we've found ourselves catching up on work at our computers and arranging for upgrading of our home-away-from-home in order to change rental agents. People will be able to rent our two-bedroom oceanfront condo at any time starting in February, 2010 by contacting Home Away. Since we're right on the shore, we can sit on our lanai (balcony) and see the turtles in the tidepool below, watch the young people surf from the beach next door, and enjoy the beautiful tropical sunsets. It's an idyllic location!
Here are a few photos I've taken this time around from our lanai.

On Hawaii's Big Island

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:15:00 +0000

We arrived on the Big Island of Hawaii on a beautiful clear day. As we flew in, I caught this scene of the island's two most famous volcanos, Mauna Kea in the foreground, and Mauna Loa in the background. 'Mauna' means mountain; 'kea' means white, as Mauna Kea's 13,796 foot peak is often cloaked in snow; 'Loa' means long; Mauna Loa stretches way out to the right (west) beyond the photo.
We stayed at the Hilo macademia nut farm of our friends, Evonne Bjornen and Paul Tallett, at first. A few years ago, we wrote and article for Relish Magazine about the farm, and Greg included a delicious recipe for macademia nut bars. Then we spent one night in the upcountry town of Waimea, also called Kamuela, as almost every Hawaiian island has a town called Waimea. 'Waimea' means 'reddish water;' the volcanic soil has a red color in many places, and when it rains heavily, the water of rivers and streams can turn red. We took the long way to our condo in Kailua-Kona, driving to the northernmost point of the island, where dense rainforests cover the steep walls of Pololu Canyon. We had thought about taking the trail to the beach, but after reading the signs, we decided it was too hot to make the trek. A major earthquake three years ago struck deep under the sea near here, making the ground potentially unstable; hence the warnings. Instead, we continued our drive along the west coast of the island, past the big resorts, through the town of Kailua Kona, arriving at our home-away-from-home with plenty of time to settle in.

On Oahu's Windward Coast

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:07:00 +0000

After a few days in Marin County with family, we flew to Oahu to vist our friend David and Jessica and their two children. Five air hours brings about a total change in climate and landscape. Most people who visit Oahu stay in Honolulu and limit their touring to that city and perhaps the Polynesian Cultural Center up the coast. On return visits to the state, people tend to opt for one of the other islands, not realizing how beautiful Oahu is and how much it has to offer visitors.
We were lucky enough to stay with friends so got a nice taste of local life.
On Halloween, we drove to an early potluck dinner, after which all the children of the guests went trick-or-treating with a few of the adults. My husband Greg and I got to sit on the lawn and hand out candy to the goblins and all who stopped by. I know many people have given up this old American tradition, which makes me sad, as it can be so much fun for all concerned, so it was nice to be a part of it once again.
We spent Sunday on beautiful Kailua Beach, a popular place for locals to relax, swim a bit, sail board, or sail surf. The children made drip sand castles, an art I hadn't seen before, while we hung out with a family friend who brought her two children. Old fashioned relaxed fun.

Our hostess, Jessica Wooley, is a freshman in Hawaii's state legislature. She showed us around the capitol building and into the legislative chambers, where we had our picture taken by her desk. "The politician always stands in the middle," she told us.

Arcata Marsh

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:18:00 +0000

Our next stop on our long odyssey was Eureka, CA, where I participated in the Author Festival, a biannual gathering of children's authors to visit area schools and sell books to the public. I have attended for many years and always enjoy the experience, which also includes a chance to spend time with our longtime friends, Bob and Frances. We joined them for a stroll in the Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Refuge, where wastewater from the town is treated by circulation through the natural system of the marsh, creating a home and migratory resting place for more than 200 bird species, as well as other animals and many kinds of plants. The more than 5 miles of trails provide a great opportunity to see birds, such as these green-winged teal and American widgeons. Efforts like this show that people can find creative ways to solve problems like waste management that benefit not only people but the natural world.

On the Oregon Coast

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:06:00 +0000

Our friends Dave and Diane are botanists who live in Bandon, OR, and are experts in life along the shore, both large and small. We went on a sunset walk on the beach, marked by impressive giant rocks that help turn the place into a photographer's heaven. After admiring the sunset we examined the sea life on this giant rock, revealed at low tide. An amazing variety of life is here, if you look closely. The large seastars and sea anemones are obvious, but mixed in with them are small barnacles and limpets as well as amazing worms, called nemerteans, which you can't see in this photo. I learned about these creatures many years ago in marine biology class. They drape their threadlike bodies over the rock face as they poke around for prey, which they capture using a unique proboscis that they evert from inside their bodies. The more we looked, the more creatures we found, including chitons and sea slugs, all just clinging to the rock, waiting for the tide to come back in.

An Oregon Diversity of Apples, Grapes, Pears, and More

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:13:00 +0000

On the way to Bandon, OR, to visit friends, we stopped at the orchard of 82-year-old Nick Botner and his wife, Clara, where more than 4,000 apple tree varieties share the land with hundreds of kinds of pears, grapes, plums, and exotic fruits such as these pawpaws. Nick is a firm believer in the importance of saving rare and unusual fruit varieties and grows many that have yet to acquire names beyond their numbered titles given to them by the various state agricultural programs that developed them.
My father grew up on an apple ranch in Idaho, and my husband Greg and I wrote a cookbook called "A Is for Apple" years ago, which encouraged cooks to try different apple varieties in their cooking and had writeups of the histories of about a dozen different varieties. We're both fans of preserving genetic diversity in both food plants and animals; there could be genes in these less familiar organisms that could be disease resistant, could impart long-term storage capabilities, or could possess other trits we don't know would become useful in the future. Besides, variety is interesting and fun for its own sake!

Portland's Chinese Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:43:00 +0000

We're on a long trip right now and stopped in the Portland area to see our friends Roland and Marie. I'd heard about the beautiful Chinese garden in the city, so Marie, Greg, and I visited it on Sunday. It's inspired by the gardens in Suzhou, a city in China famous for its gardens, and built by Chinese artists and artisans.
Being in the garden is like visiting old China, when wealthy and prominant families had beautiful gardens integrated into their homes. Each area of the garden has its own beautifully designed pavement, inlaid with pebbles and tiles. Each has its own theme--the scents of flowers, for example. There's a beautiful pond in the center, with goldfish and lily pads and clumps of reeds along the edges. Walls separating the different areas have artfully place decorated openings that show the neighboring area, giving a sense of space. Even though the garden occupies just a block right in the downtown, it feels like its own peaceful world of beauty, meant for relaxation and meditation.
The leaves of a ginko tree, one of the oldest species of tree on Earth, contrast with the glass-walled modern building just outside the garden. But even though the building is there, the feeling of the garden is stronger, and the building seems more like an optical illusion than something real.

Global Warming or Climate Change?

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:03:00 +0000

It's October 9, and I took this photo in the afternoon from my doorstep in Montana. Overnight lows for the next 2 or 3 nights are projected as in the single digits. Brrrrr!!!! Now Montana is in the north, but we "normally" don't get snow until Halloween, and the record lows for this time of year hover around 20 degrees. So, records are getting shattered all over the place around here these days.

This is the kind of event naysayers grasp upon so they can say, "See? How can you say we're having global warming? We're having record cold!" Such folks have a basic misunderstanding about terminology. The moniker "Global Warming" is indeed meant to apply globally--the average temperatures on the planet are gradually creeping up. This doesn't mean that the temperature on any given day in any particular place will be higher than it was in the past, far from it.

"Far from it" is a reason for using the term "Climate Change" rather than "global warming." Our climates are changing, and part of that change is differences in how weather systems perform. For example, as things warm up in general, not only are warm storms like hurricanes likely to become stronger, cold storms like blizzards are also likely to intensify. As has happened this week, arctic systems may extend further south than in the past, resulting in brief record low temperatures. The climate is becoming destabilized in ways that will continue to surprise us as the 21st century progresses.

I have lived here for 36 years, and during that time, what's "normal" has changed significantly. The first bad year for forest fires I experienced was in 1988, then not again until 2000. Since then, all but 2 or 3 years have experienced multiple forest fires in our area, including one that forced us to evacuate our home, pictured here as it hurried towards us. Spring comes earlier now, followed by a warmer, drier, longer summer, all of which increases the chance for fires to take hold and rage. Now, the authorities tell is, we must expect our summer skies to turn gray from fire and our air to smell of smoke. You can be sure of it, the climate is changing.

Back to the Prairie

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:11:00 +0000

I returned to the American Prairie Foundation Preserve recently and got to see much more of the landscape. It's quite amazing, from prairie dog towns to a cliff the Indians once used to drive buffalo to their death so they could harvest meat as well as bones and horn and internal organs to make tooks. Little was wasted.
The short grass prairie may be dry, but it's full of life--not just prairie dogs but burrowing owls, elk, lots of pronghorn (antelope), snakes, wildflowers, sagebrush, many kinds of grasses, and more, more, more.
For me, a favorite thing to see, actually just off the actual Reserve lands, is a large polished boulder covered with petroglyphs. Most look like stylized buffalo hooves, and there's a mysterious arrow pointing towards the Missouri River--to what? A river crossing? A favorite buffalo grazing area? Or.....? All a mystery. The Indians leave offerings on the rock such as quarters, bracelets, and a jawbone from a small animal of some kind. Another mystery. This land is full of mystery....

The Creative Urge

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy Patent) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:55:00 +0000

Three years ago, I traveled to Jackson, Wyoming, with a friend to attend a Chinese painting workshop given by artist Lian Zhen. I loved it so much that I decided to bring Lian to Missoula, Montana, where I live, this fall. After our local paper, The Missoulian printed an article about the event, my phone rang and rang, and my email got inquiries from artists of all levels from professionals, dabbling amateurs like me, and complete beginners. My 'waiting list' has become an email list for local information and events related to Chinese painting.
So many individuals said that when they saw his paintings they knew they had to learn from him. People who had never lifted a brush wanted to spend a week of their lives in his workshop. This outpouring amazed me and inspired me. I believe that art exists to bring beauty into the world, that the work of an artist can help people relate to the world around them, especially the natural world that Lian so beautifully expresses in his paintings of animals, flowers, and the natural world around us. The overwhelming response to this opportunity for access to tools and techniques that can help in the creative process demonstrates the truth that the creative urge is a fundamental part of being human.