Nosing through Lotus

I love to kayak. And while that may make me sound sort of sporty, I'll be the first to admit that I prefer calm leisurely water to running rapids: Lakes, slow-moving creeks, glassy bays are my speed. In a kayak you can be a nature voyeur. And sitting in a 12-foot kayak just inches above the water's surface there's lots to see from up close.

A couple months ago I visited Mobile, AL and had the opportunity to kayak in some amazing water. From 5 Rivers' Bartram Canoe and Kayak Landing we set out on an easy paddle. Still waters were dotted with the eyes and snouts of alligators (that took a little of the serenity out of the trip!) We paddled through a gnarled mass of lotus. It was simply surreal to nose the kayak through dinnerplate-size leaves and giant yellow flowers.

Bartrum Landing is named after the plant explorer and naturalist William Bartrum. I like to think that the flora I saw on my kayak voyage was what Bartrum found when he explored this area in the 18th century.

There's nothing like doing a little time travel in a kayak.

To read more about my kayak trip in Mobile Bay, pick up a copy of Country Gardens, Spring 2012. My "Slow Lane" column shares more highlights.

I'm going to Round Top, Texas!

I guess I should accentuate that statement with a "Yee Haw".

Through some sort of cruel trick of fate, I've never been to the giant extravaganza antiques sale in Round Top, Texas. But I'm fixing that life omission this spring.

The So Much Sky book tour is headed down I-35 from Iowa to Marburger Farm in Round Top. I'll be there from Thursday April, 3 through Saturday, April 5. Yep, and I'm driving down in a BIG vehicle so I can cart home something that I've fallen in love with. Hopefully it's furniture ;-)

I'm going with friends Sundie and Brad Ruppert who are regulars there. They are the masterminds behind the cool characters of Vintage Sculpture. I have a number of their pieces; my prize is the horse they made using real horsehair clipped from my ever-patient quarter horse Yukon.

Please join me at Marburger Farm near Tent G for my book signing times:

Thursday, April 3, 2012
10 to noon, 2-4 pm

Friday, April 4, 2012
10 to noon, 2-4 pm

Saturday, April 5, 2012
10 to noon

The rest of the time, I'll be shopping (and, no doubt, buying stuff too big to fit into my car...)

Chickens in the Mail

Although it's still the end of January, I'm thinking forward to spring: seed starting and chicks! I'm eager to start lettuce greens. And we’ll be making our spring chick order from Murray McMurray Hatchery soon too. Then, we'll get the early morning phone call from our local Post Office that our box of chicks have arrived.

Chicks travel through the mail? Read more about that in my “Slow Lane” column in Country Gardens magazine; the Early Spring 2012 issue is on the newsstands now. Here’s an excerpt:

“A small box of live chicks is a funny sight. So we stare down at them for a long moment—taking in the strangeness of a world where chicks can be sent through the mail like birthday cards or electric bills—then close the box and drive home."

Book Signing At Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, IA

My next book signing of So Much Sky on February 4 from 2 to 3 at Beaverdale Books, a great little independent book store in Des Moines, IA.

It's being sponsored by Country Gardens magazine (thanks James, Heather, and Nick!!).

My last book signing was at Picket Fence Creamery where I was upstaged by a basket of Jack Russell puppies for sale. It's hard to compete with puppies. Darn hard.

So come to Beaverdale Books. But leave those puppies at home.

Iowa Public Radio: Talk of Iowa

Check it out! I'm going to be interviewed about my new book So Much Sky by Charity Nebbe on her cool talk show "Talk of Iowa" on Iowa Public Radio. I'm on Tuesday, January 17th from 10 to 11 am; a recorded version will be available for streaming or downloading if you miss it. ;-)

"Old Dog, New Tricks" Excerpt and Podcast

Our Border collie Rose was once the fastest thing on our farm. She herded sheep, cats, and anything else she could round up. Rose was all about control, speed, and eye.

And eye she had: One brown eye and one blue. This combo made her seem very intense. At least our sheep thought so.

Rose was simply a brilliant sheepherder. As her breed was created to do in the hilly Borders region of Scotland, Rose was eager and undaunted. She would run out to round up the ewes, her black and white body flashing a semaphore warning message. The sheep would catch one glimpse of her and panic, clump up, and run like one giant organism back into the barnyard. Rose followed close on their tails, urging them forward, steering them with precision in the direction she wanted.

Read the essay about Rose from So Much Sky or listen to the essay in a podcast. It's available to download for free from iTunes too.

Obsessed with Deer

Oh deer, I almost hit another one the other day.

He was loitering on the highway in front of my car. I honked, swerved (which I know you aren't supposed to do).

He made eye contact with me, then leapt off the road and bounded across the field, clearing fences like they weren't even there.

I've hit two deer so far (that's the total since I've been driving, not this year). It's heartbreaking. Deer are so beautiful, so elegant, so, well, doe-eyed. Oh, and they also make quite the dent.

Why are deer unable to muster a collective unconscious that teaches them to be afraid of cars?

Deterrents don't seem to work. Our neighbors used to attach deer whistles to their car. The screaming noise they made as they passed our house seemed to alarm every animal in the surrounding county. But not deer.

Deer are on my mind because I just returned from a trip to the twinkle-lit, pastry-laden town of Fredericksburg, Texas, where deer are everywhere--both inside and out. Deer heads, antler candleholders... If you can stuff it, mount it, or skin it, you can decorate with it.

In Stonewall, Texas, I visited the beautiful LBJ ranch, which is now the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, and saw this curious trio.