The Rabbit that Sat on Dad's Shoulder & Other ANIMAL TALES by Keri Dearborn

Why is there a rabbit perched on that man's shoulder? 

Where else would it sit to watch TV?

My family is notorious for its Animal Tales and I've just finished compiling them in this book.

From California desert tortoises to red-tailed hawks, there were always more furred, feathered, and scaled creatures in our home than people. Travel wasn't worth the destination if it didn't include a skunk, a black bear, or a day dodging cattle on my uncle's farm. I learned parenting from a grizzly bear and survival from a goldfish.

Have you ever wondered what gifts a love-besotted hawk gives to his beloved? Do you know the "truth" about hamsters? Have you met my uncle the goat?

Dogs, cats, goats, bears, tortoises, even teeny tiny rabbits can bring love, wisdom, and laughter into your life. 

The Rabbit that Sat on Dad's Shoulder &
Other ANIMAL TALES
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Backyard Bird Journal by Keri Dearborn

The visiting winter birds are leaving, long distance travelers will soon be passing though and summer visitors will be arriving.

I know who to look for because I keep track in a Backyard Bird Journal. It is a spiral-bound book that lets me document four consecutive years.

Each calendar day has a space to write specific sightings and weather information. 

This is where I document nesting hummingbirds. March 3, 2014 there were two active nests: H1 and DR. The chicks hatched within 24 hours of each other. This year we found no nests in the yard. We have heard and seen recent fledglings, but they were hatched somewhere else.

The Journal also enables me to see patterns because four years of the same date are side-by-side. Here you can see that March 4th is typically when the Bewick’s wren are out comparing potential nesting sites. Bewick wrens build a nest. 

Entries for March 4, 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015

You can also see that March 4 was a day that I noted winter visitors–the hermit thrush, Oregon dark-eyed juncos and white-crowned sparrows–were still with us.

There is space for additional notes on every other page and at the end of the month. June has been busy with Cooper’s hawk nesting for the past several years. (You can also see that I don't enter data absolutely every day.)

A species listing, with four years of monthly data, at the back of the Journal provides easily accessed information on each bird species.

At a glance I can see that since 2012 (the first row of squares) the hermit thrush has arrived in October and typically left by the first week of April.

Adding this information to the journals I have kept since 2002, I’ve documented gradual changes in hermit thrush migration. You can also see that 2015 (the last row of squares) was the first time in four years that we have seen American robins in our yard, and that was just flying overhead.
 

From small notations of observations, I know to expect the black-headed grosbeaks this month as they pass through my neighborhood.

While the hooded orioles should soon be arriving to spend the summer.

Occasionally, I have the thrill of noting something very unusual, like the sighting of an orange bishop.

I enter bird lists electronically through eBird.org, but this Backyard Bird Journal allows me to casually note who I saw that day and keep four-years of information handy at all times. I put this journal together for my own use (focused on Southern California species), but I have a limited number available for purchase. Purchase Backyard Bird Journal

"The Next Big Thing"

I was tagged! 

My friend and poetry teacher Julie Williams tagged me to participate in "The Next Big Thing" or Blog-o-sphere Project. "It is a fun way for writers all over the world to connect and share information about their current writing project or upcoming book."

Julie is a published poet and the author of a young adult novel-in-poems called ESCAPING TORNADO SEASON (HarperCollins). Her new YA novel, ALL THE WORLD'S A JUMBLE will be out next year (Roaring Brook Press, Macmillan). You can read more about her projects and see her multi-media art at http://juliewilliamsimagesandwords.blogspot.com/

Read Julie's "Next Big Thing" interview at Diane Kendig's blog. 
 
So now that I’m tagged here’s my secret - I have a book waiting in the wings.

What is the working title of your book?

Animal Tales; How Animals Taught Me to Laugh

Where did the idea come from for the book?

When my extended family gets together there is a tendency to tell stories. Typically, these tales involve animals in some way and the storyteller isn’t really doing their job if the yarn doesn’t end with everyone teary-eyed from laughing. It struck me that these stories were too good to let them disappear in the verbal ether. I started to write them down.

What genre does your book fall under?

Family humor with a bit of non-fiction.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I can see Steve Martin as my dentist uncle faced with the conundrum of disposing of a dead goat in the middle of the city and Jack Black as my dad bottle-feeding a baby rabbit and training it to sit on his shoulder like a parrot.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Growing up surrounded by animals can profoundly influence how you find humor in the unexpected.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I think I’m going to publish this as an e-book.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It started out as a few short stories, but gradually over several years it became a collection of tales.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I think it is a cross between James Harriot’s “Dog Stories” and “Cat Stories” and James Thurber’s “My Life and Hard Times.”

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My Uncle, who is a wonderful storyteller, and my parents who brought a menagerie of animals into our home and taught me that all of these creatures were part of our family.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

Animals, animals, animals.







Stay tuned for the writers I'm tagging.