Sharon Lovejoy

Discombobulation

2013-05-16T10:57:00.002-07:00

Check below for the fabulous Botanical Interests give-away of sunflowers!

Dear Friends,

After a journey of many decades and four years of on and off writing, I am finally finished with my new novel Running Out of Night with Random House/Delacorte Press. Yesterday I spent nine long, hard hours on my third draft revisions. Then, Jeff worked until 11 p.m. formatting and tagging the manuscript.

Whoosh, off it went. And this morning, when my amazing editor said that she "accepted all revisions and changes," it was over. Silently over. Period. Over.

I can only quote Julia Child to give you a full picture of how it feels:

"What a strange feeling to be done with The Book. It had weighed so like a stone these many years, you'd think I'd be tripping about in ecstatic jubilation. But I felt rootless. Empty. Lost. I sunk into a slough of discombobulation."

From My Life in France

I am not comparing myself to the amazing Julia in any way, shape, or form, but those words ring so true. Here I am, finished with the book and just waiting to do the glossary, bibliography, suggested reading, dedication, thanks, map, and illustrations. I feel like empty days are looming over me now.

Looks like my garden is finally going to get the attention it deserves.

The little kitchen garden filled with herbs, lettuces, artichokes, rhubarb, and edible flowers

Tomorrow members of Kiddie Writers will arrive at my little house for a meeting and to help me celebrate. Friday some of my very best friends (from grammar school through high school) in the world will arrive for a Fab Femmes weekend. I'm ready! (is poor Jeff?).

So now I leave you with a short video of my garden as it was about ten days ago when I wandered around and filmed it. It is waaaaaay more bountiful now. (Don't gardeners ALWAYS say that) I love that I can share artichokes, fruit, lettuces, and herbs with so many friends.

I planted over 200 sunflowers in the "Sunflower Courtyard" in front of our living room. Mind you, it has only been the "Sunflower Courtyard" for a month, but as soon as it comes into its glory, I'll take some photos.

My new babies (the red pots vinyl and are held together by Velcro tabs, which you can open easily so your new seedlings are not at all disturbed. They're from Gardener's Supply in Vermont).

To celebrate the vast array of sunflowers that are now available, I am SO HAPPY to offer this rainbow of sunflowers that were donated to me by Botanical Interests seed company. I planted six of their offerings in the courtyard and can't wait to see them in their glory.

Delicious!

Our lucky winner of the drawing for This Old House magazine's give-away of their Kitchens book is dear Pat of Thoughts from Taylorsoutback. Congratulations Pat! Pat is a Grimy Hand's Girls Club member and will receive a bonus gift of her choosing from my last blog posting.

Look for the upcoming August 2013 issue of This Old House magazine for a fabulous article on my little herb shed, Sprig. This article focuses on the interior and exterior, and the fun and collectible things inside it. Also a bit of our container garden. Hope you enjoy it.

I won't promise a date for the upcoming drawing since I seem to be far behind on posting, but it will be within the next ten days. After all, you'll need to get your seeds into the ground soon.

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon

p.s. Those wishing to leave a comment as "Anonymous," please start your comment with "Sharon" or it will be deleted automatically. Too many "Anonymous" spammers asking me to visit their site or with recommendations for the unmentionable.

Old Loves

2013-04-27T13:34:00.001-07:00

Come on in for a visit.

Drafty, crooked,
Sagging, scratched,
This old house
Just can't be matched.

Lovejoy

I guess that is what I love about old houses. They have flaws, but to me that equates to personality plus. Right? And they have distinct personalities. Sometimes the doors of this house won't close, or, on hot, dry days, they won't stay open. I listen to the house creak and crack at night and wonder what stories it is telling.

Both sets of my grandparents lived in old California bungalows, which I think is why I have good feelings when I step into a cozy, vintage home. They may be impractical with their tiny closets, lack of storage, and single pane windows, but no amount of money can buy the charm and the extra touches that are a part of the package called an old house. I love them, right down to the doorbells and the old, time worn steps.

Just ring the doorbell or...

...tap, tap, tap the door knocker.

Clickety clack, let your heels click on the newly restored floor. Out with the brown, wall-to-wall carpet (Mare Betterley, you'll be happy about that) and in with the sander and polish. Nothing like mellow old floors.

Some people don't like the small rooms, but I find them cozy beyond measure. Our friends and family love crowding into this room around the old farm table. Now the floors are patched and refinished, cove ceilings mended, plaster repaired, old chandelier hung (found it at Homestead Antiques in Carpinteria, California), a new coat of linen colored paint. Thank you, Jeff, you are amazing!

Yep, they're single-paned windows, but they have a wavy surface that makes the world look like an Impressionist's watercolor. And think of the families, dramas, sorrows, and joys they've witnessed through the past 83 years.

My grands love to open and close this tiny window (which Jeff just rebuilt) and peep into the courtyard. They feel as though they're in an enchanted castle.

This is L.A. Claycraft heirloom tile from the early 20th century. I urge you (translate–beg you) to save any old tiles surrounding your fireplace. Too many of them have been lost when old houses are sold to unappreciative buyers, or, worse yet, when old houses are demolished and all the goodies are left inside them and reduced to rubble. Save the tiles!

Jeff restored the little fireplace to its original finish and colors, which had been thickly painted over many times. He worked for two years whenever he had a chance, using toothpicks, toothbrushes, and rags to clean it and redo it. I can't believe the patience and dedication it took for him to do this. He made the thick redwood mantel out of an ancient piece of redwood (probably two thousand years old) that I salvaged from a building they were retrofitting in downtown San Luis Obispo. They were throwing this gorgeous piece of wood into a dumpster. I begged for it unabashedly, and they said, "No, it is against company regulations." I said, "Turn around," crawled up onto the dumpster, and slid it out. Then the problem was that it was HEAVY. I had to call Jeff to quickly drive to town to pick me up.

Love these practical little built-in ironing boards. Use it and stow it. So easy. We built a laundry room and traded some windows for this entire cupboard and ironing board. The clothes pin bag belonged to my Grandmother Lovejoy and is filled with vintage clothes pins from the 1930s.

A little phone niche in the hallway. This was plastered in and covered with wallpaper. Jeff found the arched outline of it, chipped it away, and re-did the plaster.

No fancy dropped ceilings, big lights, or modern sinks, islands, or gigantic new stove; just plain old-fashioned comfort. Sink from Ohmega Salvage in Berkeley, California. Some of the antique lighting came from Let There Be Light in Stillwater, Minnesota; others came from Trifles in Wiscasset, Maine.

The cupboard (under the apple sign on the wall) came from the fire damaged Tantamount Theater in Carmel, California (courtesy of Marston House Antiques, Wiscasset, Maine); the giant apple sign came from Timothy Mawson Antiques in Connecticut. Sadly, Timothy passed away.

Jeff designed everything in the kitchen, making sure he kept true to the time the house was built. Out with the 1980's remodel.

Kitchen doorknob.

All the kitchen pulls are true to the time the house was built. I love the old glass pulls.

The old hardware is still on all the doors.

Too much clutter?? Probably, but everything is right at hand. The counter tops are big pieces of maple, but they're not cutting boards. Would I do that again? Uh, maybe not, they're already due for a refinishing. I thought about marble, but it made the room way too cold.

Open shelving doesn't appeal to everyone, but it forces you to be somewhat organized and clean. I love them and have had them in my last two kitchens.

Photographer Mark Lohman and stylist/producer Sunday Hendrickson are here today and are producing a photo shoot for an article for This Old House magazine. Stay tuned! I cannot write about it now, but will when the article is published. These two are HARD WORKERS. They arrived early and have been working non-stop all day. They didn't even stop to sit down for lunch. Dedication.

Enough for now. I must return to the revisions on my new book to be published by Random House/Delacorte Press. I am so very excited about it. This Underground Railroad research is beyond fascinating, and I love all the letters you've written to me about the UGRR in your own home towns. Lots of information from Ohioans, and I love it.

Thank you for all your e-mails and letters. Also, thanks to you for your words about the inimitable Peter Workman of Workman Publishing. He will be missed more than words can tell.

Oh, before I sign off, the editor of This Old House offered a fabulous copy of their book on kitchens as my new give-away.

Kitchens are where the action happens, where memories are cooked up and reduced down, they are, what my dear friend Susan Branch calls, the heart of the home. Can you hear it? I definitely hear my kitchen's heart beat every time I walk through the door.

Just leave a comment ("Anonymous" comments must begin with "Sharon" to escape the delete button. Sorry. Too much spam) on my blog posting if you would like to enter the drawing for the This Old House Kitchens. If you're a Grimy Hands Girls' Club member and your number is selected, you'll also receive a copy of one of these fine books published by Timber Press. They're both excellent and filled with great information. Take your pick!

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon

P.S. After my Grandmother Lovejoy died, my parents bought land and built a new, ranch style home. I did not like leaving the Pasadena area–the old, tree-lined streets, the mountains and hills, the perfect sidewalks for skating and jumping cracks. Our new home never felt like home, but it did provide my mother and me with a built-in network of young families. Mother spent time every day sharing coffee and stories with neighbors. Now, as I spend most days alone, I find that browsing your postings makes me feel like I have my own neighbors, just farther away, and not convenient for sugar borrowing. Most times I make a quick stop-by and leave, sometimes I take time to comment. I love your writings and families. It feels like a good neighborhood. Thank you!

Peter Workman

2013-04-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today my publisher Peter Workman, Workman Publishing, New York, lost his heroic battle with cancer.

The world is less without him.

How do you describe someone who lights a room with his brilliance? Who has the wisdom of an old soul, yet the inimitable sense of wonder of a child?

Peter changed my life for the better and forever. I will always remember him, his lopsided grin, his love of the publishing industry, his generosity, kindness, and sense of humor. I could go on, but I can't.

Our hearts ache with the loss and for the loss to his family, his wife Carolan, daughters Katie and Elizabeth, son-in-laws, grandchildren, and the extended "family" of employees and lucky authors.

Faretheewell, Peter. We will never forget you.

Sharon and Jeff

p.s. Please direct all comments to Workman Publishing. Comments are closed on my blog.

Bones of a Book

2013-04-01T14:41:00.001-07:00

Native California Flannel Bush (Fremontia) in full spring bloom.

Spring, and the promise of the new season, has given me a new strength of purpose. Work hard! Don't quit! Immerse yourself! Enjoy every step of the dance! Do the best and most creative work you can! Those are my mantras to myself, but I'm happy to share them with you.

Opening hearts of redbud. I press these leaves in the fall and use them for placecards at family meals.

Dear Friends,

So many wonderful e-mails and letters from you. I thank you for your well wishes, and yes, I will write about the process of the book as I work through my revisions and illustrations.

I haven't had the time to visit many of you, and I do apologize. As my deadline looms, I find that I am most peaceful when I work toward the finish line. Writing, drawing, and a bit of spring gardening= pure bliss.

Today we drew from all the readers who sent in comments on my last (very long lasting) blog posting. Check at the bottom of this short post to see if you were the lucky winner.

The Beginnings

Someone wrote and asked where I get my ideas. Well, ideas have never been the problem; it is sitting down and actually writing them that is the problem. Most of the time when an idea pops into my head, I write myself a reminder note, because although I always think I'll remember, it will get as lost as a needle in my floss basket.

Start saving all your great ideas for your future work. Start a journal or a notebook on your computer, but save the ideas so you can mine them for your writing. You won't regret the little bit of extra time you've spent recording thoughts and experiences. They're gold for a writer.

The ideas for this pre Civil War book came from my thorough drenching in history as told to me by my Grandmother Lovejoy. This portrait is of my great, great, grandmother Mary Ann Mitchell Baker, who was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1804. She was daughter of John and Abigail Harlan (see our connection Cousin Julie Marie of Idyllhours?). This portrait hung above my Grandmother Lovejoy's couch. As Grandmother tied my shoe laces each morning, she would tell me stories of Mary Ann (who is wearing Quaker garb and a muslin cap), my Great Grandpa, who fought in the Pennsylvania Old Bucktails in the Civil War, and the family's trials and tribulations as they moved from Pennsylvania and Virginia to Pasadena, California, in the 1800s.

Why this time period?

In the late 60s, I journeyed to Virginia, where some of my had family settled in Goose Creek (now Lincoln) in the 1800s. I began copying letters that were stored in my great grandfather's suitcase and kept in my cousin's attic. Day after day, I copied letters into my notebook. I resumed recording them again when I returned to her home in 1974.

History came alive for me when I read through these amazing letters, filled with not only life, but also the deaths of friends and family who fought in the Civil War. Sometimes, as I copied letters stained with blood, I would see the tears mixing with the ink in my journal. I sobbed as I read how my great, great uncle Aaron Baker had only a few days left before being discharged from The Pennsylvania Old Bucktails. He was shot at Spotsylvania Courthouse and carried off the battlefield by his brother Edwin and three other friends, who buried him in a nearby field.

Through these original pieces of history, written in the Quaker dialect of the family, I also learned how to write the book with authentic dialect of the times, with many colorful phrases of the people of the Virginia countryside.

I learned, as I worked through these family memories and tragedies, how powerful the telling of history can and should be. I'll have to admit this painful fact– I was guilty of snoozing through many history classes. Was it me? Was it the way we were taught? I do know that rote memorization of dates and events never worked, but hand me a historical novel, or tell me a story, and my mind and heart opened wide.

This is what I want for the children. I want their minds and hearts to open wide to the fabric of our history. To learn how hatred can be transmitted like a virus, but can be "cured" with knowledge and love.

So, this is a short, short posting, but I must get back to work.

Sending love across the miles to you all,

Sharon

p.s. And the winner of the random drawing for the double Mayan hammock from Serenity Health and Home Decor is...

Julie Marie of Idyllhours

Julie is Grimy Hands Girls' Club member so she'll be receiving a bonus gift from me.

p.p.s. If you are along the California Central Coast on April 9th, come hear me talk about "The Bumpy Road to Fiction along the Non-fiction Pathway."

April 9, 2013, 7:00 p.m.

Talk and booksigning

SLO Nightwriters

PG&E Education Center

6588 Ontario Rd

San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

Open to the public, but limited seating.

To Dream a New Dream

2013-03-13T18:45:00.001-07:00

"You are never too old to set another goal or

to dream a new dream."

C.S. Lewis

Dear Friends,

I am dreaming a new dream and keep pinching myself to make sure I am awake.

Four years ago, I set out on a journey of discovery. I returned to Virginia where I once substitute taught in some schools and participated again in the Goose Creek Friends meetings. I walked old pathways, visited graveyards, dipped into vintage books about the Civil War, visited battlefields and museums, talked with locals, and fueled my dreams for writing a pre-Civil War novel for middle grade children.

I began writing my novel and reading it at my Cambria Writers group and with my Kiddie Writers. When I received their well considered critiques, I would zoom home and sit at my desk doing rewrites for hours. I plodded on and on, writing, rewriting, dreaming, doing research, and hoping that someday my book would become a reality.

Now, I am beyond happy to let you know that Random House/Delacorte Press has purchased my novel, which they will release in the fall of 2014.

I have a fresh stack of the absolutely necessary yellow tablets. When I am finished, there will be a stack of them filled with my field notes and footnotes.

So every day I am doing more rewrites, more research, and more little drawings for the book. I love this leg of the journey. Won't you join me as I work onward and upward?

Yesterday I visited our local AAA for a stack of maps. I cut them apart so that I could track my routes on the Underground Railroad.

Learning the names of the nearby rivers, creeks, and mountains.

I lay out all the maps on the floor in Mockingbird Studio. I'll use a yellow highlighter to indicate roads, farms, villages, and possible sites for stops. I love research.

To celebrate my new beginning, I am so happy to offer some wonderful give-aways to readers who leave a comment on this posting. (Remember, if you leave a comment as "Anonymous," begin your comment with "Sharon." All others go to my spam filter.)

First, a double Mayan hammock (regular price $54.99), courtesy of Serenity Health and Home Decor. What a great place to welcome the coming of Spring.

And, an illustrated journal of the travels of the famed naturalist Carl Linnaeus will be added to the give-away if lucky winner is a member of The Grimy Hands Girls' Club. (Sign up for the club if you're not already a member). This is a delightful read with lovely illustrations. Drawing will be in a couple of weeks.

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon

P.S. Kathy (in comments) left a note about the AAA maps not cutting it because town names etc. change. She is right, but mountain ranges, river courses, creeks, etc. don't change (unless a dam is built), but I use my trusty links to historic societies and primary sources to secure maps of the time such as this plan of one of the towns I am featuring. Actually, one of the main towns I'm writing about went through a name change during the times of the Civil War. Just wanted to make this clear to all of you.

Spring in My Step

2013-03-04T16:36:00.001-08:00

The pineapple sage is keeping the hummingbirds and my family happy.

The hummers love this native Columbine too.

Pitcher sage, Lepichinia, has a wonderful demeanor. See how she bows her head demurely?

Yes, it's true, I've got a real spring in my step nowadays. The garden is perking up, the fruit trees are flowering, we've topped all the beds, planted, and are getting ready to do a major re-vamp in our beneficial insect and bird garden. I love the sweet promise of all the new life and changes.

My 'Bonanza' peach tree, which is only four feet tall, is living up to her name.

Freesias spill from the borders onto the pathways.

Sorry to have been away so long. Life has gotten in the way. I know it happens to you too, because I read that in your postings.

We've had a big party in honor of one of my grandsons, we traveled to Seattle for the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, and I've been working like a fiend on a book project.

Gathering research books from our library. What would I do without libraries and librarians? Please be sure to zip into my next blog posting for an exciting life change for me and an opportunity for YOU to win a new book.

Although I promised NOT to garden in my robes anymore (I keep ruining them), I stepped outside and couldn't help myself. Now I look at the gorgeous artichokes with a sweet melancholy. The gophers took them!

My curious Scrub Jay friend watches in the hopes that I'll unearth some goodies.

We're able to harvest so many fruits every day...

...and edible flowers and herbs for homemade yogurt cheese...

...and for fresh fruit salads.

We flew out of California to speak at the fabulous Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. This is the view from our room at the Hilton. Most of the time it was overcast, but the one time I didn't have my camera handy, it cleared up and we could see snow-covered mountains and boats.

I gave two talks in two days. The best part was meeting old friends, making new ones, and finally meeting Sweet Pea, The Littlest Gardener, and Catherine Kokoris from A Gardener in Progress blog.

Made an appearance on the upcoming GardenTV.tv...

...with host Holly Hamilton.

Perused the show, but darn it, so many photos didn't turn out. I did love this little phone-booth-sized garden shed. I recently read that gardeners are constructing these sheds very inexpensively by building them from three regular doors and one French door (for all sides). Plop on a roof, add a floor, and you've got a sweet little shed.

Loved all the tiny bulbs. I promised myself to plant a zillion of them this year. I'll order from Brent and Becky's Bulbs and Old House Gardens.

Love the checkered Fritillaries.

Loved the huge balls of succulents, which were in the Butchart Gardens booth. This is hanging from a beam. I think this would be fairly easy to do.

Loved the simple play area. I really like using tree rounds for tables and stools. I did this in the Heart's Ease gardens sunflower house and the children adored them.

No trees involved, but this IS a tree house. I could envision my grands clambering up the ladder and hiding out up there.

Loved the interior of this garden shed, which was built by Little Mansions (www.artisanstructures.com).

Speaking of little. I liked these little plant markers made out of twigs. They look like mini trellises. I'm trying to make some, but will use some old copper markers for the sign.

Ok, so I bounced all over this posting, but that is life...isn't it?

Jeff did the random number generator to choose the winner of Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman's new garden-cookboook, The Four Season Farm Gardener's Cookbook. The lucky winner is Ernestine Lawson, One Woman's Journey, of My Journey To Mindfulness blog. Since Ernestine is also a member of my Grimy Hands Girls' Club, she will find some special packets of seed tucked into her book. Plant and enjoy!

Sharon

p.s. If you leave a comment and sign it "Anonymous," please start your with "Sharon, ...." I'm getting too many spammed comments automatically generated.

Kindle Some Passion for the Little Things in Life!

2013-02-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

Some passions, like mine for lichens, never die. I first began to explore the tiny world of lichens in 1969. Oak moss lichen, above right, is often used as a fixative in pot pourris.

Was I ever really that skinny? This is my journal from that time, which was an exciting one. We took a 28,000 mile nature trip up, down, round and round America, exploring every nature stop, birding area, refuge, and campground we could find. We had a book called See America for Free, and since we were young and poor, that suited us fine.

A close-up of my favorite lichen, British Soldiers.

We bought a brand new Volkswagen van, converted it into a cozy camper, and set off for our adventure. Along the way, I drew and painted things I loved, and we took photos and wrote in our journal every day. It was on this trip that I discovered British Soldier lichen, first in New Hampshire, then Maine, and Connecticut. I fell in love with their tiny world. From that time to now, the passion still remains. I can't pass by a rock or log, tree or fallen branch, without stopping to examine and enjoy the beauty and diversity of lichens.

I hope you will kindle some passion for lichen too. You'll discover lichen nearly everywhere– from the Sahara desert to the Arctic, from rocks to buildings and trees. Now pick up a magnifying glass and take a walk. You're sure to find some of these ancient tapestries.

When Jeff and I were in England's Lake District, doing research for a children's book, we were able to view an entire collection of lichen and mushroom paintings (at the Armitt Museum) done by Beatrix Potter, who was not only an illustrator, but also an amateur scientist. Beatrix did amazing work into the science of lichens. Although she was not allowed to present a paper on her work (she was a woman, after all), she is now recognized as a luminary in the field of scientific illustration and studies. In 2012, she was celebrated by the prestigious Linnean Society of London for her work with fungi and lichens. Finally.

I've included a few of my favorites for you to enjoy. These photos were taken in a wonderful class sponsored by our local chapter of the California Native Plant Society in San Luis Obispo, California.

This is a sampling of some types of lichen, from foliose, which has two sided foliage, and fruticose, which is shrubby, to the crusty looking Crustose, such as the lichens on the surface of rock above.

You can see why this is called Lace lichen (top) or Fishnet lichen. It is often mistakenly called Spanish moss, but it is a lichen, which is distinctly different. A lichen is a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and an algae. This lichen festoons trees like veils. It DOES NOT injure trees, but it does offer nesting fiber for birds, food for deer, and it traps fog moisture and slowly drips it onto the soil, thus watering the trees. Native Americans gathered quantities of the lichen and used it for diapers. Take about recyclable, but ouch.

Jeff sits at the end of our table of lichens.

This foliose lichen is often found on conifers.

Perfect name for this one. Viewed through a hand lens, it does look like teensy cobblestones or tiles.

Yep, perfect description. See the little red dots?

Before I end this posting, I am thrilled to offer this early copy of Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman's new organic gardening and cook book, The Four Season Farm Gardener's Cookbook (Workman Publishing). I have spent hours going through the pages and copying recipes for the future. You'll love this book. Just leave a comment on my blog, and you will be eligible for the drawing. Grimy Hands Girls' Club members will also receive an extra surprise gift if drawn. I devoured every page. Take a look at some of the interior shots, mostly photographed by Barbara.

Delicious photographs

Leave a comment and keep your fingers crossed.

And the lucky winner of the antique bird nest and egg print in glass is...Rebecca of A Gathering Place.

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon

P.S. I want to thank so many of you for unexpected cards and gifts. Susy Stone, I love your paper bird, and have now made almost a dozen. This is a great project for children. So simple even I could do it.

Nellie Bragg, your card meant so much to me.

Patsy Lee Anderson, I love your handmade bookmark.

Thank you all for your e-mails too.

Happy Day!!

2013-02-13T21:17:00.004-08:00

Dear Friends,

Do something special for yourself and your loved ones. Happy day!

All joys,

Sharon

Contentment

2013-02-05T17:45:00.000-08:00

Contentment. Such a sweet word.

How do we achieve it? By focusing on small pleasures and victories, by not having expectations that can crush and disappoint us. By accepting others as they are and not trying to change them. By being ourselves. (You DO KNOW yourself, don't you?)

Lend yourself to your chores. Enjoy the process and don't focus on the outcome. (I wouldn't write and illustrate books or garden if this weren't true!) Take time to stop and really look around you.

See the beauty in the bedraggled. Don't unexpected harvests taste better?

Savor bounty and be grateful.

Take time to absorb the beauty around you. Sometimes it is easier if you choose a few things you love and put them in a place of honor. You'll be more likely to notice displays that are changed frequently.

Share a meal with friends. Love makes the best meals.

Make a special (tiny) bouquet for each guest. Tap into the language of flowers and add rosemary for remembrance and friendship.

A walk, even on the coldest day, will yield the promise and hope of spring. These twigs should burst into a galaxy of blooms in about a month.

A big bunch of herbs for use and for delight. I never take these old "friends" for granted.

Many California natives bloom in winter. Manzanita (white/pink blooms), hummingbird sage (with dark pink blooms), Ceanothus (blue), and native willow.

I send love across the cold miles.

Sharon

P.S. Be the lucky winner of this charming, glass, bird's nest plaque, which measures approximately 7 x 10 inches. Just leave a comment and keep your fingers crossed. I'll draw a winner in about a week.

A Little Birdie Told Me...

2013-01-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

I love these words. This is the way I feel when I watch the birds in my garden. I am not interested in building a list of birds I've seen. What I want is to KNOW the birds–recognize their flights, their lifestyles, their songs. Putting a bird on a list, or checking a box that shows you've identified one, does not mean that you recognize them as you would a friend in a crowd. I want to know them like friends.

Our tiny laundry room is a perfect bird blind. Perched inside I can watch the birds without them noticing that I'm spying.

Adjusting the close-up setting. Darn it, the birds turned out blurry in so many photos. Patience, just like in gardening and writing, will turn out to be my salvation, but I have a long way to go before I get any good shots.

Sweet little Anna's hummingbird (male). They love the bubbling fountain and arrive there for morning baths (without fail) at 7 a.m..

In flew the female, who chased away the male,...

...who returned and chased away the little female.

My tame Western Scrub Jay, who knows EVERYTHING that is going on in the garden.

The House Finch is checking out the feeder, where...

...the White-crowned Sparrow picks through the seed in the nyjer feeder tray.

Goldfinches take over.

High in the olive tree the shy Hermit Thrush watches quietly. I don't know why, but I think this might be my favorite bird. So understated, but with a song that will break your heart. Check out http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hermit_Thrush/sounds (scroll down) to hear some of the songs and calls.

This is a sweet, little 3 1/2 inch Bushtit. Tit comes from the Old Icelandic word titr, which means small.

These birds are sociable and always found in flocks. Within seconds of this one landing, the others flew down to join him.

I call the Bushtits little bells, for their constant, ringing contact calls.

Often the Chestnut-backed Chickadees mingle with the Bushtits.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee on left, two Bushtits hide in the shadows, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler sits on the right side.

A Townsend's Warbler bathes in my Nonie Clarke's birdbath. I bought the birdbath for my Nonie in 1965. When she passed away, it came to me. This is the favorite bathing/drinking spot of so many birds.

Upside down and caught in the middle of a shower.

I think that the elusive warbler on the left is a first year Yellow-rumped Warbler, but I am not sure. This was my first sighting of this bird in my garden.

Here is what I hope for you. I hope that you nurture an interest and love for all the creatures that visit your garden–even the moles and beneficial snakes and spiders. Start learning about their lives, quietly watch them, photograph or draw them. You'll be rewarded by living a life that is far richer than you ever imagined possible. The birds and other visitors will become your friends, asking for nothing, but appreciating water, food, and myriad plants.

Enjoy every day,

Sharon

P.S. Husband Jeff here. Read the interview with Sharon in The Tribune.

Listen to "The Morningline" on Newstalk 105.9, WLNI in Lynchburg, Virginia, Wednesday morning, January 30th, at 8:35 a.m. (which means we'll be up at 5 a.m.)

P.P.S. The winner of the fabulous book and gloves is FlowerLady Lorraine, a Grimy Hands Girls Club member. Congratulations, Lorraine!

Gatherings and Give-Aways

2013-01-20T12:57:00.001-08:00

Despite the cold, cold nights, the trees keep producing.

I never take it for granted when I pick a fruit in my own garden.

Hello dear friends,

Thank you for your e-mails, cards, letters, and the photos of My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder, which you've been snapping and sending to me from bookstores all over America!

January has been a time of many changes and much reflection, a busy time for work, garden, and gatherings, so this will be a short posting, and it sort of jumps around–a bad habit I have and one which my grandmother Nonie Clarke called "jumping around like a fart in a skillet."

The old farm table is set for our New Year's eve supper. Rosemary, the herb of remembrance (and believe me, all at the party were doing lots of remembering of friends and loved ones) is garlanded down the table. We hadn't planned a gathering, but our friend Bruce had a mother in a local care facility, another friend had a husband in the hospital, another just wanted to be with us, so we all came together for an evening of friendship.

I always drape the dining room chandelier in olive branches to bring peace to the new year.

Susie Bassetti (my cooking class co-teacher), John Gonyer, and my Jeff.

Susie Bassetti brought their first pressing of virgin Taggiasca olive oil (an absolutely amazing taste), and a bottle of Bassetti wine. Ginny helps prepare the salad.

We all cooked and contributed and later we had a huge fire in the fireplace. Our friend Ginny passed on the tradition of writing what you want in the new year on one side of a piece of paper. On the other side, we had to write what we wanted to erase from the past year. We all did that, wished each other well, and tossed our papers into the fire.

Nights grew freezing cold. Around midnight, Jeff and I would drape citrus trees, succulents, and lemon verbena in sheets and my nightgowns.

Don't the nightgowns look like they're hugging as they do their job of protecting the succulents?

And everything survived the 32 degree weather (colder than in Maine).

January has mostly been about work, getting over colds, and resuming a normal life after the hectic holidays. Since I work alone all the time, it is a special joy to welcome my Kiddie Writers Group to my home for the first meeting of 2013.

Only my girlfriend Sherry Shahan (Ice Island just released in paperback) would bring me a newly sprouted avocado as a hostess gift. I love it.

Elizabeth Spurr (my Lizzie) has a new book out called In the Garden (pre-school board book), and another just being released, At the Beach, also a pre-school and both published by Peachtree.

Artist/illustrator Helen K. Davie, author Cindy Rankin, author Elizabeth Van Steenwyck, who is the author of more than 65 books for children, one movie, and a zillion magazine articles.

Author/illustrator Stephanie Roth Sisson shares a storyboard for her new illustrated children's book, which will be published by Roaring Brook. Steph has a long line of books to her credit, but this will be both written AND illustrated by her.

The group does very clear, instructive critiques. Always done with love and the interest of YOU doing your best work possible. They spent 45 minutes critiquing a synopsis I have been slaving over for two weeks. A synopsis–what could be so hard about that??? Everything. You try to encapsulate 250 pages in just two pages. And, it has to be exciting, have a narrative arc, AND make an editor WANT your work. Yikes. (Cynthia Bates, who won "Most Promising Manuscript at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, is a fantastic writer, who has had things published, but is awaiting word on her novel). Good luck Cynthia (she is behind the book lampshade)

Enough already. I have gone on too long and must get ready for a birthday party for an 80 year old friend.

Please do leave a comment, and you will be eligible for the drawing of this gorgeous Timber Press book, Garden to Vase by Linda Beutler, which will lead you to creating fabulous and unusual bouquets from your garden.

And, if you are a member of the Grimy Hands Girls' Club and you are drawn for the book, you'll also receive a bonus of these fantastic, hand-saving, Royal Horticultural Society gardening gloves, which were donated to the drawing by Gardener's Supply of Burlington, Vermont, one of my favorite companies (employee owned and operated). I have a pair, and they've saved my hands from bramble and rose scratches, from cold and water, from everything. They're wonderful.

Heavy duty Winter Touch garden gloves from Gardener's Supply.

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave a comment so that you're eligible for the drawing, which will be held one week from today.

Simple joys,

Sharon

Thank you to Country Gardens (Early Spring 2013) for featuring My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder in your pages. I love all the birdie products and stories. You're the best.

Add Memories, Stir Slowly

2012-12-29T12:13:00.000-08:00

This is the time of nostalgia.

It seems as though every Christmas ornament, piece of greenery, homemade food, aroma, and music carries memories of years past. I find myself in the middle of work, just sitting and thinking of what I had hoped to accomplish and places and friends I had wanted to visit, but didn't quite manage to fit into life.

This coming year I vow to have more fun and to create more, visit with friends more, cook more, garden more, walk more, listen to more music, dance more, spend more time in Maine, and laugh and love more. Nothing fancy or far-fetched, just the simple things that warm a life from the inside out.

In honor of a friend's birthday, I pulled out my file of recipes and looked for something hearty and toothsome to bake. One of the first recipes out was the one for beer bread from my friend Bonny. I had tasted her warm beer bread a few years ago and begged her for the recipe. Now, when things are bothering me and I can't go outside and weed, I make soup and beer bread.

For the holidays, I chose some strong ales that have the aromas and taste of spices. They were perfect for this batch of baking. Herewith, and with a heartfelt flourish, I present my version of Bonny's Irish beer bread (which should be made with Guinness!).

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Butter your loaf pan.

For some reason, I plopped the bowl and my Grandmother Lovejoy's loaf pan right on top of the set table. Why? I don't know, but I ended up making a big mess everywhere.

I love the way the dry ingredients bubble once the beer is added.

Ended up pulling out yet another bowl and starting a second (then third) loaf. This is how the mixture looks after a few strong stirs.

Spooned the thick, aromatic mixture into Grandmother's loaf pan.

Poured the melted butter over the top.

...and fifty minutes later the first loaf was out and cooling.

...and then the second and third, which I baked in a new, high-fired Italian terra cotta pot.

...and after the bread cooled, I wrapped it in natural colored parchment baking paper, tied it with baker's twine, and decorated it with fresh rosemary. The fun part was delivering this to our dear friends Frank and Aline.

Thoroughly blend:

3 cups of flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

4 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

3/4 cup of sugar ( I often use honey and simply use a couple of tablespoons less than 3/4 cup sugar called for)

Make a "nest" in the middle of the mixed ingredients and add one bottle of beer. Stir thoroughly.

Transfer the ingredients to your buttered loaf pan.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter.

Pour the butter across the top of the loaf.

Bake for 50 minutes.

Ahhhh, if only our lives could be as simple and straightforward as this recipe.

I send you love across the miles and fond wishes for a joyous and healthy new year.

Sharon

Holding Them Close to Your Heart

2012-12-20T21:49:00.000-08:00

This snowman is feeding his bird friends. A bucket of seed is being visited by woodpeckers and a nuthatch. An apple core necklace, mouth of raisins, and strings of fresh cranberries look tantalizing to the Cardinal. Broom corn hair, strings of cranberries and peanuts, and a hat topped with black oil sunflower seeds will entice many other birds to visit. Is that a chickadee I hear??

Dear Friends,

Are we all on a run right now? Running to the store, baking, entertaining friends and family, finishing our craft projects, addressing cards, and wrapping the last of the gifts.

At night, we like to slow down and sit quietly by the fire, the little fir tree lit with ornaments that tell some of the story of our lives.

The quilt at the base of the tree was made by my Nonie Clarke. The starfish that tops the tree came from Laguna Beach in 1965. It was my first ornament and is the best tree topper ever.

The long farm table is filled with the last of the gifts to be wrapped. It may look like chaos, but I have piles separated and labeled for each person. I better finish wrapping these tomorrow because we have company coming this weekend.

The stockings aren't hung by the chimney with care–yet. I'll hang them up on Christmas Eve. The stockings were all done by Christmas Cove Designs in Maine. One knitted stocking for each of the grands. Little Luke, who just left the NNICU (after four and a half difficult months), has the newest one with Santa and a reindeer.

And, finally, my little German stick sheep are flocking on the mantel. I am thankful that they survived the big earthquake in December of 2003. They were lined up along the mantel in our Cambria cottage when the big San Simeon quake hit. All the sheep, the trees, and greenery shot across the living room and landed about ten feet from the mantel. Some were broken, others lost their ears or legs, but these survivors are still a part of our family traditions.

Tomorrow will be baking day with a final wrap up and delivery to neighbors and shut-ins. When the grands come, they'll be whipping up my special "Bird Booster" to satisfy all the birds in our lives and the lives of our friends. We plan to smear the mixture into pine cones and into the dried halves of oranges, but you can simply smear this onto tree trunks and branches.

Kids love to smear the "Bird Booster" into pine cones. This is my good friend, author Sherry Shahan, who is showing off the pine cone her grandsons filled with booster for her for her birthday.

This recipe provides fat and protein, which will help keep birds warm on cold winter nights. This is a simple project for the children in your life and will help connect them to the magical world of nature.

Recipe for Bird Booster from My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder.

1 1/2 cups of peanut butter

1 1/2 cups of shortening, bacon grease, or suet

3 cups yellow cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 cup sand

Mix thoroughly and enjoy watching the birds feast on your offerings.

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon

P.S.

This is a live stream of two radio personalities in Cleveland reviewing my bird book and bird feeder. Jeff found their site online and took a photo of them talking with me in California. They were a part of a 23 city "radio tour" that was arranged by Workman Publishing. Yes, 23 interviews, which began at 4:18 a.m. and went on for over 8 hours. Jeff and I got up at 3:30 and prepared for the onslaught.

Yep, I'm in my robe and in bed and talking with radio hosts around the country. The headset is a necessity. It is almost impossible to hold a phone for 8 plus hours, sip tea, drink lemon water, and locate things in my book without fumbling. Click here for a list of stations. Scroll down to December 13, 2012. Some interviews were taped for later broadcast.

We Mourn

2012-12-14T14:31:00.000-08:00

We mourn the loss of life, innocence, families, friendships, futures, in this senseless act of violence against "our" children.

No words can express our sorrow,

Jeff and Sharon

The Infinite Passion of Life

2012-12-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

"A tavola non si invecchia."

"At the table, one never grows old."

Thank goodness, because we sure spend lots of time around tables enjoying food, friendship, great conversation, and traditions. I love every minute of our sharing stories and recipes. We try to gather together about once a month. Next time it will be at our house, so I'll have the helping hands of both Jeff and John Gonyer; they say they'll be my sous chefs. I'll need them.

The table holds a bowl of freshly harvested persimmons and pomegranates. Mother Nature creates the best decorations. A line of candles and persimmons parade down the center of the table.

Bonny, Lucy, and Cindy exchange family stories.

Cindy and our ever faithful hostess Susie Bassetti gripe about me taking a photo of them. I want you to know that these women are fantastic, creative, and loving. Susie and I have taught classes together; she once made all the wreaths for Heart's Ease, and she continues on as a beloved friend.

Left to right: Lee, our host Ellis (whose family has owned the ranch over 100 years), Buck Beery, my Jeff, and John Gonyer. The boys huddle outside in the herb garden and watch the food cooking.

This is our friend Bruce Black, who owns The Squibb House Bed and Breakfast and the Shop Next Door, the old barn next to the Squibb House. Bruce keeps the barn filled with antiques, art, and Amish furniture.

I think pot luck suppers are one of the best ways to learn about new foods. What you're seeing here is Ellis holding a glass of his own Bassetti Vineyards wine. They are also famous for their award winning Taggiasca olive oil, which is smooth and buttery. The tray to the right holds freshly picked poblanos stuffed with jack cheese, and grilled. My yellow Le Creuset is filled with wild and basmati rice, crimini mushrooms, which I cooked for an hour in a reduction sauce, and topped with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. We had ham, two chickens roasted in the wood-fired oven, baked pumpkin from the Kendall's Dos Pasos Ranch on Santa Rosa Creek Road, and a big salad of chopped brussel sprouts, kale, and lettuce. It was all divine, but it was just being there with friends that made it taste so great.

I promised Susie that I'd edit her out of this photo. This is our dear friend Virginia, who is also our neighbor in Maine. Ginny has helped me through some difficult times; she is one in a million and irreplaceable to us.

"There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life."

Federico Fellini

That is how it is...the infinite passion of life. Friends are the glue that mends broken hearts.

May you have many friends and feasts around your table.

Love across the miles,

Sharon

Recipe for my wild rice and crimini mushroom casserole:

Two cups of wild and basmati rice

Four cups of chicken broth

Tbsp. of butter and Tbsp. of olive oil

Bring to boil in a heavy duty pot. Turn down when it comes to boil. Lid the pot. Cook on low for about 20 minutes or until all the broth is absorbed. Use a fork to fluff the rice.

While rice is cooking:

Clean and dry flavorful crimini mushrooms (I used 12 ounces) and slice thinly.

Chop shallots, carrots, and celery into tiny pieces.

Grate 2 cups fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Heat a heavy duty skillet, add Tbsp. of olive oil, Tbsp. of butter, mushrooms, and veggies. Stir constantly, slowly add a few Tbsp. of good balsamic vinegar (see my recipe below), a splash of soy sauce, and simmer it until it is reduced down to what looks like a brown glaze coating mushrooms.

Since I can't justify spending $50.00 on a good, syrupy balsamic, I make my own.

1 cup of balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

Mix the sugar and vinegar together and cook in a heavy duty saucepan over high heat. Stir and allow to come to a boil. Reduce heat and cook (stirring occasionally) until mixture thickens to the consistency of maple syrup. I keep this reduction in a jam jar in the fridge. It will last a few weeks.

Add mushrooms, celery, shallots, and carrots to the cooked rice. Stir in one cup of freshly grated Parmesan. Top casserole with one cup of grated Parmesan. Bake in about a 350 degree oven until the cheese melts.

How to Hold a Hummingbird?

2012-11-26T11:45:00.001-08:00

Gently.

I don't know how long the little hummer was trapped inside my laundry room before Jeff found her this morning. I think she must have been shut inside there since yesterday afternoon. Imagine the fear and frustration. She could SEE the blooms of pineapple and pitcher sage, purple blooms of the tulbaghia, and the deliciously slow drip of the fountain, but she couldn't reach them.

I talked quietly to it for a few minutes. Flight slowed, the hummer examined me, the white's of her eye showing, then dropped to the windowsill, little heart pumping so wildly that I could see it beating from a few feet away. I moved slowly and gently curled my hands around a bundle of life so lightweight that I couldn't feel it.

When I stepped outside the laundry room, I wished the hummer well and opened my hands, but...

...it lay inside my cupped hands, tail feathers ruffled, wings bent, spider web tangled through its wings and legs, and wrapped tightly around its long, needle-like bill. It would not be able to fly or eat in this condition.

Poor little sweetheart.

I ran my fingers across wings and tail, removing tangled webs from everywhere.

Come on, young lady, it is time for you to leave.

But she was exhausted. She stretched out and tucked her bill onto the top of my fingers. Looking closely, I realized her bill was still glued together with sticky webbing.

I ran my fingers down her bill to remove the web, ...

... but the glue-like strands were stuck around it. I needed water to loosen it, but I knew that the little hummer was failing fast. So, I did what any good mother would do, slipped my lips over her bill and licked off the webbing.

She spread her wings across my palm. By now her heart beat normally. Jeff was getting ready to do a movie of her take-off, but before he could adjust the camera settings, she was gone. Her first stop? The pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) that she had been able to see through the glass of my laundry room.

FARETHEWELL, little Anna's hummer. Thanks for starting my day off in the most beautiful and meaningful way. And thanks Jeff, for chronicling this amazing visit.

Love across the miles,

Sharon

P.S. Anna's are usually found in my California (zone 9) gardens every month of the year. I keep two hummingbird feeders filled with a sugar-syrup solution. Simply mix one cup of water with 1/4 cup of pure white granulated sugar (NEVER HONEY). Microwave the mixture for about a minute and a half. Let it cool thoroughly. I clean the feeders a few times a week with a baby bottle brush and hot, hot water, and refill them. They're hung in the shade so the sugary mixtures doesn't ferment.

Thanksgiving Tornado

2012-11-21T11:09:00.001-08:00

The floors are swept, shallots, herbs, and salad greens gathered–let the tornado begin.

Gathering greens, herbs, and edible flowers from my container gardens.

And taking time out to puddle around with my plants, and to...

...sweep, and prepare for...

...the arrival...

...of...

...stylist Sunday Hendrickson. You've seen her work on the pages of many magazines, including Country Living, Country Living GARDENER, Romantic Homes, Cottage Style, This Old House, and many more. Sunday is producing a photo shoot of our gardens and shed, which will be featured in one of my favorite magazines early spring 2013. Can't wait to see it.

Sunday and photographer Mark Lohman peer at the computer screen to make sure that a photo is perfectly composed, and that the light is right.

Mark focuses on my little garden shed "Sprig."

Sunday and Mark decide whether to turn one of my containers a bit for a better shot.

The better shot.

Mark is bent over his camera (upper left) focusing on a close-up. Sunday is moving plants and arranging my containers.

Is "Sprig's" door better open or closed?

Inside "Sprig."

Sunday shields Mark's camera from the sun's glare.

What began at about 7 A.M. is over by mid-afternoon. I'll let you know which magazine will be featuring "Sprig" and my container gardens this spring, but right now I am sworn to secrecy.

So now it is on to one of my favorite holidays...

Cookbooks out and at hand.

Apples simmering, cooking down to applesauce...

Herbs steeping in vinegars...

Wild rice and crimini mushrooms begin to bubble...

Sweet potato, apple, and cranberry slaw is dressed and set in the fridge to deepen flavors...

Jeff is making sweet potato chips with the Joyce Chen spiralizer, the same tool I used to make the slaw.

By now, it is late, late, and it has been a long day. We've made a few of the dishes ahead of time to lighten the burden of work on Thanksgiving (when our little kitchen will be jammed with people).

I want to wish you a joy filled Thanksgiving with family and friends. As I gather ours close, I will be mindful of all the simple blessings in our lives. A roof over our heads, food, a bountiful garden, family, friends, and laughter. I wish the same for you.

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon

P.S. Luke is not able to come home yet, but I was finally allowed to sit in a rocker and hold him. He is beautiful and now weighs over 7 pounds, but he is still fighting his way through some problems.

Darla and Lori, I am always grateful for your kind words and prayers. Thank you!

Tiny "Sunday Houses," I love them!

2012-11-09T22:24:00.001-08:00

Years ago, when I was on a long road trip that often followed in the tire tracks of John Steinbeck and his standard poodle Charley, I found the wonderful hill country town of Fredericksburg, Texas. I loved the vintage town and the old neighborhoods with their rambling homes, wide porches, and bountiful gardens. But what I really loved were the tiny, charming "Sunday Houses"nestled among the others. They stole my heart.

Why were they called "Sunday Houses?" The history that was related to me came from an old Texas family that built their own replica to house their growing family of grandchildren. They told me that ranchers and farmers who lived far from town would build these tiny homes for their weekend visits to buy supplies, visit friends, and to attend social functions and church on Sundays. Thus, "Sunday Houses."

Some of these historic late 19th century-early 20th century homes are now vacation rentals.

My favorite. I don't know why, but maybe because of the sheltering arms of the ancient tree.

A book about tiny houses.

While we were in Fredericksburg this trip, we stopped by the Fredericksburg Herb Farm, originally started by the Varney family years ago, but now tended by Rosemary and Dick Estenson, who have built a spa, a restaurant, and 14 "Sunday Houses" for overnight stays. They're charming. We were only in one of them, but it was beautiful and immaculate.

The new spa. The windmill pumps water into a koi pond. The raised bed with the pumpkins is the "cake garden."

The herb garden outside the restaurant.

"Sunday Houses" behind the herb garden.

The food was fresh, local (farm to table), creative, and perfect.

Rest in peace as you wait for your table.

Jeff's bison chili.

A view from the restaurant into one of the garden areas.

I loved this engraved stone.

Jeff and I look forward to visiting Fredericksburg again, hopefully during bluebonnet season, when the sky blue lupines make the bee-humming air smell sweet as honey.

We've traveled over 5,600 miles so far on this book tour, met hundreds of fabulous people, visited gardens, homes, and restaurants we'll never forget (some restaurants for the WRONG reasons). We're heading westward to Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, for a presentation this Sunday, and then home. Home to family, friends, and a little grandson who I've never had the chance to hold, but will soon. Luke now weighs six pounds–and if we're lucky, we will really have a wonderful and more thankful than ever Thanksgiving.

Onward and upward,

Sharon

P.S. One of my favorite television shows (and blogs) is Central Texas Gardener on KLRU TV 18 in Austin, Texas. Solid information and inspiration are shoveled out in equal amounts. In this photo, host Tom Spencer looks like he is getting ready to fly out of his chair. This taped segment about birds will air in early 2013.

"Please give me a room with a view of a tree."

2012-11-05T13:24:00.002-08:00

Simple request, right? A room with a view of trees. Sometimes the hotel is able to do that for me; other times it is impossible. What I have learned, as we travel the long highways of America (4,000 plus miles so far) is that I am happiest and most at peace when I can see trees.

Our car glove compartment, the side pockets, and baskets and boxes are stuffed with leaves and an array of acorns from oak species around the country. Props, clothes, suitcases, and, of course, too many books (is there such a thing?) are crammed into every inch of the car and trunk. I pity anyone who tries to steal this vehicle, which is like a moving museum. It has to be like a museum because I am talking to groups of inquisitive, intelligent children, like these that visited me at my Lemuria Bookstore event in Jackson, Mississippi.

The kids are holding up their thumbs so they can learn how owls grab and hold their food with their opposable (like our thumbs) talons.

Jackson is on the Southern Literary Trail, which includes the homes of Faulkner and my favorite, Eudora Welty. Her home is the most intact of all the author's homes, with stacks of books and other family pieces that make it look like she just stepped away from her typewriter to gaze out her window to the street (which is something she loved to do).

"The excursion is the same when you go looking for your sorrow as when you go looking for your joy."

Eudora Welty

Piles of books everywhere. I loved seeing what Eudora liked to read. She loved mysteries (I saw Nero Wolfe and Ross Macdonald), she read John Clare's poems, Faulkner (of course), and I was happy to see the garden writing of Vita Sackville-West, and southern writer-gardener (who I adore) Elizabeth Lawrence.

Eudora's home, which has docent led tours (you need a reservation).

The fabulous staff of The Natural Gardener in Austin honored me with this great display of my Workman Publishing books. After my talk and signing, the visionary founder of The Natural Gardener, John Dromgoole, treated us to a personal tour of his gardens, which are sustainable, practical, water-wise, AND gorgeous.

The Kitchen Garden sign is hung from a spoon and a butter knife.

This is the charming and bountiful Kitchen Garden at Natural Gardener in Austin,Texas. Jeff and I spent an hour just sitting nearby and enjoying the scents and sights of all the birds and people enjoying the garden, which was designed by cookbook author and personality, Lucinda Hutson.

The powerful zings of color are signatures of Lucinda.

John took me on a tour of his gardens...

...which are watched over by this giant Mockingbird sculpture.

To get a sense of scale, John stands at the end of his Willie Nelson guitar garden of grasses. John is a visionary and wanted to honor "Trigger," Willie Nelson's famed guitar, with a special garden.

The sign above the rustic arbor reads, "Life's a journey-Enjoy it!"

I love this sculptural bench made with iron and rake heads for the back.

A perfect little spot for growing the tender greens that deer and rabbits love. They won't be able to get these!

So here I am in Stephenville, Texas, and I have a room with a view of trees, which makes me feel contented.

Tonight I give a talk to the Stephenville Organic Gardening Club at GreenMaker Nursery in Stephenville, TX, tomorrow we head back to Austin to tape a segment on "Central Texas Gardener" on KLRU (Austin PBS), which is produced by Linda Lehmusvirta and features Tom Spencer as my gracious host (not that Linda isn't gracious too). The show will air in December.

After Austin, we head to Tempe, Arizona's Changing Hands Bookstore. Maybe I'll see you there! Our California garden beckons us. Our grands want us home, and little Luke, who now weighs over five pounds, awaits us. I'll finally be able to hold him.

By journey's end, we will have traveled over 5,000 miles. We've seen glorious sights, met wonderful people, had great adventures, shared the sorrows of our northeastern neighbors, worked hard, and enjoyed every moment.

Sending love from the big, long, Texas highway,

Sharon

Southern Living Style

2012-10-31T20:22:00.002-07:00

Beautiful, charming, welcoming Fairhope, Alabama, rolls out the red carpet for visitors, and the Purple Martin condos for the birds–over 200 hundred of these dot the shallow waters of Mobile Bay.

All along the shore Purple Martin houses are atop tall metal poles.

Jeff and I walked waaaaay out to the end of the pier, which is a quarter of a mile long. Our walk was on Tuesday night and the effects of Sandy were felt even here in Mobile Bay–big choppy waves and wild winds.

An ancient oak stands on a rise above the bay. This porch swing, hanging from a branch, was an invitation to linger and dream.

Fairhope is so beautiful and amazing. I couldn't stop walking around the old neighborhoods, peeping into yards, and imagining what it would be like to live in one of the great houses, surrounded by the arms of giant trees.

Do you love the pumpkin gate?

I wanted to stop and work in this yard. So inviting.

This cozy home is on the historic register.

Scarlet O'Hara, where are you?

The streets of old Fairhope have flower beds and baskets on every corner.

Even their waste bins are lovely. They request, in a very polite way, that you place your waste inside. That white box on the right side, which is topped with flowers, is one of their trash cans.

I wonder why this is called the "Hobbit Castle?" It is also on the Historic Register of Fairhope.

This little gypsy cart (haven't we all dreamed of one?) sits outside the house.

Another of the "Hobbit Houses."

Uh oh. Good thing our car is crammed to the roof.

Come with me inside RF Architectural and Garden Antiques.

Inside the gates–a gardener's dream scape.

I don't know why, but I love these old, metal tubs. A friend of mine has planted some lovely birches inside her tubs. They look great.

These simple stone balls look elegant when grouped together in a landscape, especially when they're nestled on a bed of thyme.

I've always wanted one of these old French stone basins for my garden. I saw one of them in a garden in Austin. The gardener-designers had a small copper tube above theirs that dripped water into the basin. It was lovely.

And here is the cook's dreamscape. This is Aubergine, a store filled with antique culinary treasures.

I think some of my friends would love to tote a few of these French treasures home with them.

And next door to Aubergine, you'll find this sweet little shop, Boxwood-Home and Garden.

Inside Boxwood.

Everywhere we walked we found beauty. Love the fanciful ironwork, and the fact that there are flowers and rocking chairs everywhere...even in front of the ATM at a bank.

So my friends, this is a brief walking tour of a town we really loved. Soon you will see some of it in the pages of Southern Living magazine, but you may have already enjoyed it in Victoria. I think you would love to visit here during the cooler months.

Jeff and I are in Jackson, Mississippi now. Early tomorrow morning I will be teaching a large group of second graders about birds. It will be so much fun and filled with their energy and sense of wonder.

I leave you with the hopes that you are safe and sound. So many have been hurt and left homeless because of hurricane Sandy. We have just learned that our tiny seaside cottage Fox Drink Ledges is safe, although the waves were huge and thundering.

I am donating money from book sales to the Red Cross. I hope you will join me and hundreds of thousands of Americans who are going to do the same. We all need to stick together and help each other, especially NOW.

Sending love from the road,

Sharon

P.S. If you live anywhere near Austin, Texas, please join me at The Natural Gardener on Saturday, November the 3rd at 11:30 a.m., for an outdoor, under-the-tent demo and talk about gardening, birds, and life in general. You're all welcome, and it is free of charge. I'll be doing a book signing afterward.

Monday, November 5, at 5:30 p.m., I will be giving a talk for the Stephenville Organic Gardening Club at the fabulous GreenMaker Nursery in Stephenville, Texas, north of Austin and southwest of Dallas. Come join us for a good time and, hopefully, some good and fun information about organic gardening and gardening with an eye to nature.

Wednesday, November 7, I'll be visiting with Linda Lehmusvirta and Tom Spencer at "Central Texas Gardener" on KRLU. We'll film a segment for one of their upcoming episodes. This is one of my favorite television shows for dedicated gardeners. To watch my previous appearance, click here.

Sunday, November 11, at 11:00 a.m., come visit me at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona. I'll be giving a program about birds for adults, but children are welcome.

Whispering Pines and Welcoming Porches

2012-10-26T09:44:00.001-07:00

A long line of porch rockers welcomes weary travelers, and Jeff and I are two of those weary ones. We spent some nights at The Carolina, a gracious and welcome respite from city hotels and roadside motels. What a difference it was to slip into the slow time stream of 1895, when people sat quietly in porch rockers, read, talked, and dreamed. We needed this break, and we are so grateful to have experienced this southern tradition.

The Carolina in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Dear Friends,

Oops, I had written volumes about the trip, the wonderful people we've met, who have welcomed us into their homes, and the glorious towns we've visited, but I just deleted everything with one clumsy click of the fingers. So you're spared a long, rambling posting, but you're still able to see the sweet houses and porches tucked among the whispering pines and oak trees (yippee, they're dropping acorns and my pockets are brimming).

What a joy to meander through the quiet, shaded streets of Pinehurst. We needed the peaceful walks, the sound of the wind whispering through pine needles, the clatter of acorns falling onto tin roofs, the drifts of camellia petals that drifted past us on the warm, autumn breezes.

Honeysuckle Cottage

We're not the only ones peeking into gardens and porches.

The formal porch of the Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities, which is where my talk and book signing were hosted by The Garden Club of the Sandhills and The Country Bookshop of Southern Pines, North Carolina. The Weymouth House is a treasure you must see.

So now I must finish packing and move on to our next stop. I'll be speaking at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina, and then driving for four hours to South Carolina and the Treasure Coast Bird Festival in Vero Beach, Florida.

Thank you so much to all our hosts and hostesses along the way. And, to all the independent bookstore owners and staff, the librarians, children, and caring adults who are working to make this book tour a success. Oh, and to the birds, thank you, too.

Love,

Sharon

P.S. Luke weighs FIVE pounds!

P.P. S. Jeff here. To watch the video from Cincinnati TV interview, click here (after a brief commercial).

Listen to "Gardening Naturally" with John Dromgoole this Saturday, from 9-11 CST, on KLBJ 590 AM from Austin, Texas.

Drinking from Johnny Appleseed's Spring

2012-10-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

I love this sign that is on Route 1 outside of Damariscotta. Words to live by, don't you agree? It always makes me smile when we drive past it.

Leaving Damariscotta and South Bristol was difficult, but this journey is a joy. We've hooked up with so many of our dear friends along the road. Shared meals, catching up on life, and doing a lot of laughing, too.

Most mornings (especially when I'm doing a television segment) begin early, early. We need time to check our props, make mixtures, load the car, unload the car at the stations, and set up the props in the order in which the hosts will be using them in mixtures.

Pennsylvania sunrise.

What did we do before the age of GPS on Jeff's iPhone??? That kind voice directs us through city mazes. Here we are entering downtown Boston on a stormy Sunday morning.

We always have to account for traffic jams and other circumstances. We never want to be late for an event. Here is Jeff beginning to set up for the talk at the Boston Public Library.

Two of the first arrivals are our dear friends Frank and Aline Cullen. They were there for moral support, and they took us to a great lunch. Seeing them there was a joy.

One of the best parts of a book tour is meeting the owners and employees of bookstores. This is Jen; she is the manager of Andover Bookstore, which was founded in 1809. Now that is longevity.

When a book is released, it is common practice to visit bookstores to do "spot signings," which is what I did at Andover. You don't do an event or talk, but you do stop by to talk with the employees and sign your books.

That night I stopped by The Odyssey and did a talk to a small, but wonderful audience. IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT, an old cliche, but TRUE. It was raining rabbits and monkeys, but my friends kj and Janet (who I met through blogging) still took time to brave the storm and stop by. We all went out to dinner afterward, and I laughed so much my face ached the next morning.

At the Odyssey, I finally got to meet Emily Crowe, an active reader, critic, reviewer, who I know through her blog As the Crowe Flies (and Reads!).

So what does this pile of old barn beams have to do with anything? For those of you who know and love The Squibb House Bed and Breakfast in Cambria, California, you'll soon see these beams used in a new building (that looks authentic and old) on the Squibb property. Bruce Black, designer, builder, and innkeeper, saved the beams from an old barn on his family property in Pennsylvania. The barn, which was built in 1870, had fallen into disrepair, but Bruce managed to salvage these hand hewn beams for his new/old Squibb House project.

He also saved, and will use, these incredible hand made pegs that held the barn together. Wow, what superb craftsmanship must have gone into building this old barn.

John Scheafnocker is the owner/operator of the small Pennsylvania mill, Timber Trails, that will split and saw the old beams for the new building. He has a neat operation and a stockpile of fine, aged woods, like black poplar, walnut, and more. If you have any need of custom mill work, John is your go-to craftsman.

Once we hit the Ohio border, we headed off the main highway and onto the back roads that meaner through the rich, rolling farmlands.

One of the places I always love to visit in Ohio is Malabar Farm, the historic home of author/farmer/conservationist Louis Bromfield. Bromfield is known as one of the pioneers of organic/sustainable gardening/farming, and his 1,000 acre home site in Mansfield, Ohio, is now an historic site. Bromfield is the author of 31 novels, many of which were made into movies and published in many languages. His 1927 novel, Early Autumn, won the Pulitzer Prize.

Malabar Farm's historic farm stand includes a bubbling spring often visited by Johnny Appleseed.

I watched as a gentleman filled empty bottles with the water from this sweet, bubbling fountain. Ok, I thought, if it is good enough for Johnny Appleseed, it is good enough for me! And it was! Sweet, cold, and fresh from Mother Earth.

A cluster of bee hives greet you as you meander up toward the farm.

Malabar Farm from a distance.

I couldn't get all of the meandering farmhouse into my camera lens. It is farmy, but grand. The tours are great and the stories of the luminaries who visited Louis and his family, are so much fun. Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart were secretly married here in a small wedding in the home. Tours are available and the docents are great storytellers. You really feel how it was to live here.

Louis was passionate about soil conservation, agricutlture, gardening, and conservation. He devoted much of his life to learning and living what he believed in. He banned pesticides on his land long before others even thought of the consequences. Be sure to visit Malabar Farm when you are in the Mansfield, Ohio, area. You'll also enjoy their new visitors center with wonderful interpretations of Bromfield's life and beliefs.

The morning after we arrived in Ohio, I did a segment on "Good Day Columbus." Jeff lays out the props and is pouring some of the ingredients for my Bird Booster and Songbird Mush recipes.

Me mixing things and threading some apple cores for the birds.

My hosts were Lisa Colbert and Shawn Ireland, and they were a HOOT. We had a ball talking about my book and they loved the "Splat! The Story of Bird Poop" spread the most.

Please remind me WHY I ever wore my Cardinal apron on television??? Yikes, not flattering. Notice how the hosts wear jackets over the clothes? Live and learn.

Saturday morning we arrived at the Duke Energy Center to be participants in the Books By The Banks event in Cincinnati. Wow. Thousands of people, dozens of authors and illustrators, many, many happy children with painted faces, autographed books, and tired parents.

Jeff made me pose with a view of the set-up. I'm holding a "purse" in my hand that is composed of my book covers. Love it. The little white spots on my jacket are mini books with my book covers.

A woman approached the table and asked, "HOW IS LUKE?" Who was she?? Darla, who is a frequent reader of my blog. She knew that something had gone awry with my newest grandson this summer and was concerned. I caught her up with Luke's progress, and she was happy to hear all about him.

I was lucky to share the table with Marjorie Galen, author, creator of this new Workman Publishing release, The Fashion Designers Handbook. Here's the scoop on Marjorie's book and kit.

Getting to know Marjorie was one of the best parts of this time for me. Also, an extra joy was having my friends Bonnie and Nancy Heraud (Lemon Verbena Lady) come to the show to visit us and share a meal.

Only an herbie would do what Nancy did, which was to bring a jar of her homemade scented geranium wine that we shared in our hotel room before we went to dinner. Way to go girlfriend!

Must run to Lexington, Kentucky now for a visit and talk at Joseph Beth Bookstore. I will also be visiting with a group of friends I first met at an herbal luncheon a few years ago. I look forward to them and to all my other friends along the way. Then onward to Pinehurst, North Carolina and Raleigh, North Carolina for a talk at Quail Ridge Books.

Love,

Sharon

New England Autumn

2012-10-13T10:53:00.001-07:00

Jeff nosed the car off of Route 1 and down the winding road to Damariscotta, Maine, one of my favorite villages in New England. Across the river, the familiar white spire of the Presbyterian church greeted us. We were "home."

We drove around some of the streets we love and laughed when we saw these tiny pumpkins above the door of this home. Almost everywhere else the pumpkins are gigantic.

The little guys above the door.

You'll love the giant pumpkins lining Main St. in Damariscotta, Maine.

Tidewater Telecom's giant pumpkin phone.

Pumpkin worms are deadly in a lawn.

Outside the hospital, visitors are greeted with a giant pumpkin getting its yearly flu shot.

In search of the Great Pumpkin.

What a mug!

Can you see Little Red Riding Hood's cape hanging out of the wolf's mouth?

Pumpkin as canvas.

Outside the door of our bank, artist Debra After created a GIGANTIC pumpkin candy apple.

Fabulously carved octopus.

Giant pumpkin bat.

Love this! So simple and elegant (and playful).

Sproul's Furniture and Interiors on the other side of the bridge (see the Damariscotta River in background?) ALWAYS has wonderful pumpkins. This is a fun idea for kids.

Damariscotta River Pottery, a world famous studio, sets out its pumpkin table lamp.

This pumpkin is carving itself!

Outside the Skidompha Library.

The Damariscotta River, which separates Damariscotta from Newcastle, is a reversing river. When the tides change, the river runs backwards toward the Great Salt Bay. It is so much fun to watch it turn and rush backward.

A view of the Damariscotta from Comfort Found, our vacation rental in downtown Damariscotta and above the Darling and Delisle Gallery-Shop.

Tah Dah! This is the amazing giant acorn pumpkin created by Chris Darling and her loyal troupe of friends. The top of the acorn is individual acorn caps NAILED into the pumpkin. Isn't this GREAT? Every day when I walk downstairs, this pumpkin makes me grin.

Here is our set-up before doing a television show. We had these props and ingredients all spread out and ready to mix for the show. This photo was taken at midnight.

I was in the other room and working on props, Jeff is in the...well, you can see where he is, mixing the bird booster ingredients. Waaaay past midnight now, and we have to be at the station EARLY.

Props in place, ingredients ready, just trying to get CALM.

"Good Day Maine" with Jennifer and Jon, who were great, well prepared, and informed hosts. They made it seem so easy. Click here for the video.

Maine Coast Books and Cafe honored me with this wonderful window display. Thank you, Maine Coast Books!

Jeff and I were hosted by The Olde Bristol Garden Club on Thursday. I gave a one hour presentation for them (and they are TRUE gardeners) and did a book signing. The good part was being able to meet everyone and to make new friends. Kim, we're going to have FUN next summer with Chris!

Thank you dear friends for all your letters, e-mails, and gifts. Chris Darling, the bird purse will accompany me EVERYWHERE. Margaret Eckman and Susan Skehan, I LOVE my antique garden book. It is a treasure and will be face-out on my book shelf. Mare Betterley. You are a joy and I love the gigantic basket. I will always think of you when I look at it.

To Jane Taylor, who helped out with finding props and digging sand, THANK YOU! Big hug.

Sending love and best wishes to all. Now we're off to the Boston Public Library for a children's bird program on Sunday the 14th. From there, we head to Odyssey Books, South Hadley, MA, Ohio, Kentucky....lots more to come. Looking forward to seeing old friends, Ned and Betsy Williams, Frank and Aline Cullen, Nancy Heraud, Debra of October Press, George Ella, and many more!

Sharon

I love you Damariscotta! The weathervane was made by David Severance for his future wife.

Staring at the Oven and Farewell Dinner

2012-10-07T21:42:00.001-07:00

Isn't it amazing how we all seem to gravitate toward water and flames? How we sit and stare at both of
those mesmerizing elements and lose ourselves in them. That sure happened on our last night out at the Bassetti Vineyards where Ellis and Susie Bassetti did what was called "The Maiden Voyage," with their new, hand-built (but not finished yet on exterior) outdoor oven. A labor of love and a long time dream for them and for all their friends.

Ellis (back turned) shifts some of the oakwood to the side and situates the chickens and pumpkin in his new oven. Soon the entire oven will be faced with pieces of sandstone hand "harvested" by Ellis. To the right is our beloved Susie Bassetti, in front of Susie is John Gonyer, to the right of John is me in the blue top, behind me is Bonny Spencer, and to the left of Bonny is Lee Spencer.

We all arrived carrying food and wine, but the Bassettis, who have their own vineyard, olive grove, herb gardens, and fruit trees, were already stocked with food. The Bassetti family has owned this ranchland for over 100 years. Imagine, in California, which is such a movable culture, a family of many generations has owned and worked this land.

Susie and I have taught classes on herbs, crafts, and cooking together. We have a ball doing this and talk constantly about teaching some more classes at their ranch, Green Valley Flower & Herb, and at one of her best friends' (Harriet Scully) home near Cortona in Italy (you've read about Cortona in Frances Mayes' books about Italy, Under the Tuscan Sun. Now we have a new dimension to add to cooking classes, this fabulous outdoor oven, which we'll be learning to use for the next few months BEFORE inviting you to the ranch.

We'll also be teaching a simple cheese-making class and some classes on drying and blending your own herbal concoctions, like herbs de Provence, fines herbs, and more.

We've had weather of 106 degrees here, but finally, the fog began to cool the land, and we watched as a bank rolled from the sea toward Green Valley. Here Susie is trying to get Ellis under control. He is cooking his first meal in the oven and is pretty excited about it. John Gonyer is sampling fresh picked figs drizzled with balsamic vinegar, stuffed with cheese, and tucked into the new oven.

When Jeff shot this photo, we were adding up all the years we've been friends with this group. The total was over 160 years. Amazing. Bonny once worked at Heart's Ease, which is where Lee met her. We ladies all loved Lee and tried to be cupids. I've known John since he was a teenager, and Ellis for the past 30 years. When a group like this gets together, it is like a rich soup that has simmered on a stove for hours with all the ingredients melding and producing a complex and satisfying taste.

Here are the spectacular "Maiden chickens," of which Ellis can be VERY proud.

A big stuffed squash filled with herbs and stuffing. This baked in the oven, too. It was delicious.

John and Jeff don't waste any time lining up for the food.

Bonny and Ellis (our chef) fill their plates with great food.

The table awaits friends and laughter.

And at the end of the meal, we counted our blessings for having such a joyous gathering with great food and well-seasoned and beloved old friends.

The next morning, we began packing for our five week book tour. I know this is an odd selection of things to be taking, but I need to be able to explain birds to children with real things they can touch. The antique egg carton is filled with the eggs of domesticated birds–zebra finches, button quail, turkeys, and ducks– and with a guinea hen feather tucked into the nesting materials. On the table are a turkey flight feather and a turkey tail feather.

Slipped into acetate envelopes are parrot feathers–flight feather, tail feather, contour feather, and down feathers. The big white "egg" is actually a gourd. The old straw hat is one I pictured in my book. It was a perfect home for a thriving wren family.

On our last afternoon at home, a lovely family came to visit and left this wonderful card.

Time flew past and before we knew what had happened, we were at our first stop on the book tour, Family Day at the A.K. Smiley Public Library in Redlands, CA.

We were warmly greeted by Pam Karr, who is the children's librarian at the FABULOUS (you will have to experience this library, it is beyond compare) A.K. Smiley Public Library. Dr. Marjorie Arnett (who is a great cook) made Hester, Christina, Pam, and us a great welcoming dinner. We ate outdoors under an arbor with her two dogs, Ben and Lily, at our feet.

A long line of children waiting to pick up a copy of My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder.

I got a chance to speak with dozens of children who are fascinated with nature and who love reading. This was an amazing crowd of inter-generational families. One family that attended brought FIVE generations!

The afternoon ended with a bang when my friend, writer, and blogger Lydia Plunk, drove fifty miles to greet us. Lydia, thank you. Your smiling face was such a joy to see.

Tonight we are in Boston, and it is gently raining. Tomorrow we will work our way up the coast to Maine and drop in for spot signings at bookstores and toy stores. We will also be looking for more props for a television appearance Tuesday morning on "Good Day Maine," WPFO 23, Portland, Maine.

Please stay in touch and let us know if you'll be visiting with us as we travel.

Sending love across the miles,

A weary traveler,

Sharon

Scarecrow Sampler

2012-09-28T14:48:00.002-07:00

Yes, it IS a crow, a scarecrow crow that is sitting in the garden of the historic Bianchini house in downtown Cambria, California.

"Shoo-hoo, shoo-hoo!

Away, birds, away,

Take a corn, and leave a corn,

And come

No more today."

Ever since childhood I have loved autumn and the crowds of scarecrows that spring up like mushrooms after a soaking rain. At first I believed that scarecrows were a Yankee invention, but I've found, through research, that they've been around for 3,000 years.

Human "scarecrows" or bird-shooers, who watched over seedlings and crops, were shown in hieroglyphics and murals in the ancient Egyptian tomb of Nakht.

Historians believe that the first man made scarecrows were used in the fields of wheat cultivated along the Nile River. Hundreds of years later, the Japanese began their tradition of building tall bamboo kakashi, outfitted in rags, twigs, and clattering fish bones. The Kakashi loomed over flooded fields of rice and struck terror in the hearts of crows and unwary travelers.

Jack Larkin, Director of Research and Collections at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, said that a 19th century traveler's account told of "figures constructed of a jumble of old clothes, piled up on a stick and wearing a hat."

In the American Southwest, native American Zuni peopled their cornfileds with groups of frightening, life-sized figures called "the watchers of the corn sprouts." They were made of poles and branches, with faces of rawhide, long tresses of horse hair, corn husk rounds for eyes, teeth of cornstalk strips, and long, red leather tongues. Feathers, twigs, ropes, rags, and hide strips dangled from the "watchers" and whirled and twirled in the winds.

Throughout the world, the tradition of including a scarecrow in the garden continues and thrives. Now isn't it time for YOU to build your own?

Slow down and take your time meandering through my old hometown of Cambria Pines by the Sea. Their Scarecrow Festival is legendary. They're expecting to show off about 300 of them this year. Take your kids for a ride and visit this sweet town, and while you're at it, be sure to snap some photos of them with some of the scarecrows.

Welcome to the Scarecrow Festival!

I love this pair.

And hovering over the entrance to Linn's Restaurant on Main St...

...is this winsome witch with skinny legs.

Outside the Ball and Skein on Main Street this well clad gal in felted slippers greets visitors.

Next door a shopping scarecrow and tired husband wait for Wildwood to open.

"Artist Gone Wild" at Gallerie Lulu on Main St.

On Bridge Street, outside the picket fence in front of the Tea Cozy, two soldiers stand guard.

In the tradition of the Germans and Amish, it isn't uncommon to find both a male (Bootzaman) and female (Bootzafrau) scarecrow standing guard over fields and orchards.

Amelia, we were wondering where you'd gone. You'll find her in front of the Bianchini house on Burton Drive.

Charles the Grape.

Mom and her children, and oh, don't forget her piggy, too.

At the Bianchini House, this skinny gal in the Pippi Longstocking socks greets you in the garden.

Willie Nelson strums a tune.

Outside of Seekers Glass Gallery, Dale Chihuly strikes a pose.

Lost tourists consult their map.

The sky above a pumpkin-headed scarecrow churns with turkey vultures. I could NOT have asked for a more wonderful and appropriate image.

The scarecrow in front of Robin's restaurant, sort of a Carmen Miranda image.

This well clad scarecrow greets customers of The Porte House on Center Street (just down from Heart's Ease).

Outside The Garden Shed on Main Street, you'll be greeted by this gorgeous lady in pink...

...or this chef...

...or this plump Hippie Mama...

...or my friend Dino, who can be found at Lily's Coffee on most mornings.

Outside the Bluebird Motel on Main Street

Oops, looks like Little Red Riding Hood met an awful fate.

Indigo Moon's chef!

A newly married couple wait for a bus. Their luggage (you can see it between the legs of the passerby) says "Just married."

Some scarecrows just have to keep working.

Dare ye enter the Emerald City?

Glinda, the Good Witch. One of my favorite characters.

The Cowardly Lion, Dorothy, and a bona fide scarecrow.

Ok, don't tell me that I am irreverent. This was done by the folks at Santa Rosa Catholic Church.

My favorites! The dancing driftwood girls scarecrows. Imagine that, and they're in front of the bank!

Can you see the dog flying behind her on the leash?

Two lighthouse keepers cleaning and tending the old Piedras Blancas Fresnel light lens.

All gussied up and nowhere to go!

A driftwood and shells scarecrow waves outside of Home Arts on Main Street.

A fitting scarecrow on Moonstone Beach at the entry to the Moonstone Bar and Grill.

Ahoy mateys!

A lone sportsman stands in the bocce ball court on Main Street.

And one of my favorites-this group of ladies playing mahjong in front of the Joslyn Center on Main St.

Now we're packing our bags and props and getting ready to take to the roads of America for my book tour. We'll begin at the A.K. Smiley Public Library in Redlands, where I'll give a talk, and the library will give 200 of My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder to the first 200 participants. I look forward to signing books, both old copies and new, bookplates, and talking to all of you who attend.

Then, it is onto JetBlue and the rest of our journey. Check my schedule as things are being added a few times a week.

Love across the miles,

Sharon

P.S. The WINNERS of the three copies of Imagine Childhood are:

Lori Ann Graham, Lori Times Five

dc, an anonymous commenter (we need a name and address for shipping. It will be kept confidential)

Kathy Tollenaere, Yard is Green, the Grimy Hands Girls Club member random drawing winner

P.P.S. Husband Jeff here. Follow Sharon on Facebook for a daily glimpse of her book tour.