Author Interview: Darrin Lunde

Darrin Lunde is a museum mammalogist with the National Museum of Natural History which is part of the Smithsonian Institute. He divides his time between his full-time duties at the museum and creating books for young readers. I reviewed his latest book Monkey Colors, illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne (Charlesbridge, 2012) yesterday, (Click HERE to read the review) and I was fascinated to know more. So I’m thrilled that Darrin has taken time out of his busy life to speak with us today.

Welcome, Darrin!

Darrin Lunde and his son in NY State

What you were like as a child? Were you an avid reader? Writer? Adventurer?

I was a loner and an explorer.  I much preferred being away from people and exploring nature in solitude. I liked not having to worry about what other people might think if I wanted to do something strange like digging up worms or studying the invertebrates scurrying around under an upturned stone.   I did not grow up in the country, and so finding nature (and solitude) was always a challenge, but somehow I managed. I think the fact that nature was not something I could take for granted played a big part in my endless fascination with the subject.  Had I grown up in the country, nature might have lost its allure.

Strangely, I was not an avid reader, at least not the stereotypical kind sneaking a flashlight under the covers to read through the night. That was not me. I never really read books so much as I ‘mined’ them for information, flipping through at random, and switching between two or three books at a time until I had gleaned a satisfying mixture of information.  To this day I can’t really read anything straight through; I just get restless and start flipping around. I may eventually read all the words, but not in the order that they are presented.  

Then as now, I have always spent inordinate amounts of time organizing my books, and like some rogue librarian I am always regrouping them in different ways on my shelves. I remember there was a medical doctor in our neighborhood who had piled up his old medical books on the curb for the garbage truck, and although I can’t remember exactly who, someone in my family knew how much I loved books—any books—and scooped them all up for me.  What a windfall that was! There must have been twenty or thirty books altogether, and although I was never tempted to become a doctor, I had a great time reading about Giardia and intramuscular injections—what fun!

What do you like the most about being a mammalogist?

A mammalogist is anyone who studies mammals, but I like to distinguish myself as a museum mammalogist. Straight out of college, I started working for the American Museum of Natural History, and was there for twenty years before recently making a move to the National Museum of Natural History, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution. A lot of people still don’t realize it, but there is a lot of science that goes on behind the scenes in a natural history museum and most of that science is based on the enormous collections of specimens these institutions house. 

There are literally hundreds of thousands of mammal (bird, lizard, snake, and so on…) specimens all organized taxonomically and lined up neatly in drawers.  These specimens are a scientific resource in that they are very often at the base of the long stings of knowledge we have accumulated about animals. Like tracing all sources of energy back to the sun I like to say that we can trace all sources of knowledge about animals back to the specimens in a museum. 

If you don’t believe me, or if you don’t think the person out there studying animal behavior with a pair of binoculars has a museum collection to thank, think about the field guide the observer depends on to identify animals. Every living creature on Earth is named and described from museum specimens, and it has always been my enormous responsibility to take care of these very important collections. Really, it is my privilege and honor to have spent my entire adult life in two of the greatest natural history museums in the world, but then again as a child I was always obsessed with building up my own little boyhood natural history museums. 

I have never forgotten how horrible a feeling it is to be away from the wealth of information inherent in nature and somehow collections of animal specimens have always served me as a kind of strange insurance policy against my ever being bored. You can walk through the back rooms of my museum and open drawers containing the skulls of galagos from central Africa or pickled bats form Sri Lanka. I just love having all that kind of tangible matter from the real world of nature at my fingertips.

What led you to write for children?

At the time I was being asked to fact-check a lot of books about mammals that were written by other people (that's what happens when you are a mammal expert) and one day I just said to myself, "I can do this." And I did. The woman that illustrates many of my books was a resident scientific illustrator at the American Museum of Natural History (where I was working at the time) and she played a big role in introducing me to a few good editors. I owe Pat a great deal for helping me break into the field, and was thrilled when my editor chose Pat to illustrate my first few books.

What was the inspiration behind Monkey Colors?  

Monkey Colors is a book about the process of distinguishing different kinds of species. Since monkeys are diurnal, they use color to help distinguish themselves from other closely related species.  Nocturnal mammals like shrews are not so easy to tell apart.  They are mostly different shades of gray and not so easy for a primate like Homo sapiens to tell apart.   Shrews happen to distinguish themselves by smell, but scents are not easily stored in a museum drawer and so museum mammalogists like me have to use proxies like details in the morphology of molar teeth to tell apart different species of shrews.  Monkeys and color just seemed the most natural way to open up the subject of how we go about distinguishing species.

You’ve also written books for children on bumblebee bats and meerkats. How do you choose which subject to write about? Or does the subject find you?

Titles are very important to me, and all of my books come to me with a title that just seems to click with whatever theme I am thinking about.  In the case of Meet the Meerkat, I wanted to write a book about a small mammal that was very interesting but not necessarily well-known.  

There are more than five thousand different kinds of living mammals on planet Earth, and I felt as though the selection of books out there on mammals was way too limited. I wanted my readers to meet a very different kind of mammal, not just lions, elephants and pandas.  Meet the ??? ... Meet the ???... Meet the Meerkat!  Perfect!  This happened to be just before meerkats became popular on TV, but you get the idea, and I followed it up with similarly inspired books on bumblebee bats, baby belugas and mama wallaroos, and the list will go on for as long as someone will publish them.

Can you talk about your writing process? What comes first, the research or the writing?

The ideas are rooted in a bank of knowledge that is already in my head, and after jotting down a few lead-in sentences to set the tone, I usually move pretty quickly to a stage where I am trying to map out the overall “shape” of my book.  Picture books are great because they are typically only 32 pages, and so I can put a big piece of paper in front of me and literally map out how I want the book to unfold. At this stage I’m not so concerned with actual words and sentences so much as rhythm and overall structure.  After my first few sentences I sometimes try to hum out where the book is going before trying to match actual words to those sounds.  Sooner or later I’m humming less and writing more, and then I know it’s time to hit the library so that I can add a little more depth to my writing. There is always something to learn, even for a mammal expert. 

At this stage I’m not necessarily trying to load up my book with facts; rather I’m usually looking for bits of information that I might use to carry my story along. A good example from Hello, Bumblebee Bat would be where the text shifts to what the little bat fears, and that forest fire illustrated in the background came directly from my reading about how wild fires in Thailand are a major threat to this species.  

I don’t ever try to think about the specific subject of my next book, but there is always some hazy theme weighing on my mind.  There is just this nagging feeling I have about having something to say. I don’t try to force things; rather I just let it simmer for weeks or sometimes months at a time until something hits me. Sometimes nothing ever happens and the feeling just fades away over the years.  

My book After the Kill is a good example of something that simmered for a long time. I’m interested in the reality of nature, and I kept thinking about the anxious feeling you might get when people are afraid to tell you something.  It was a feeling like “knowing the dirty secret is far less painful than the angst of being aware but unknowing”. That anxious feeling kept coming to me in relation to the sometimes sanitized views of nature we present to our children (I hate when people do that).  I kept feeling like I wanted to tell some secret truth about the way nature really worked, and yet at the same time I didn’t want to seem ghoulishly honest.  

After the Kill does not dwell on death, rather it tells the story of the life-giving process that comes after the death of an animal. Children naturally sense this basic truth about nature, but in shielding them from it we make matters worse by creating angst.  After the Kill was meant to be that sigh of relief.   

Can you describe what an typical day looks like for Darrin Lunde, mammalogist/children’s author? Do you write early in the morning or late at night? Weekends only?

On a typical day I am behind the scenes at the Smithsonian Institution and VERY busy with the day-to-day business of running a mammal collection. I am working to keep hundreds of thousands of mammal specimens properly identified and organized so that visiting scientists can conduct their research. I also spend a great deal of time answering questions from various scientific agencies, students, and the general public. Over the course of my career I travelled to many remote parts of the world to study and collect mammal specimens, and I am often involved with helping young mammalogists get their start in the field.  

The only time I have to work on my books is after work, and usually very late at night. I usually try to devote at least one full weekend day to writing. It is very hard work but enjoyable when you look back.

Darrin and his daughter hiking in Maryland

What’s the best part about being a children’s author and writing for children?

I can write a lot of them. I have a lot of ideas and unlike with a longer-length book, I can juggle writing several children’s books at a time. I know I write better when I am working up several different book ideas all at once.  Ideas keep coming.  Most of them never end up published, but I no longer worry so much about what my next book is going to be. I just do what all writers everywhere do. I just keep writing.

What are you working on now?

The next book of mine that will come out is called Hello Mama Wallaroo. It’s the next in my “Hello somewhat unusually animal” series; however, what I really want to alert you to is the book that will come out just after that. The title is known to me and my editor but is otherwise still secret…but it’s a good one, perhaps my best and I just can’t wait to share it with you!

Thanks, Darrin!

You are most certainly welcome!

Book Review: Monkey Colors

Monkey Colors by Darrin Lunde, illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne (Charlesbridge, July 2012).

This 32-page picture book is perfect for the child learning to read with its simple language and use of many sight words. Lunde introduces children to twelve kinds of monkeys and the many colors they come in. And at the end of the book, he invites them to choose their favorite.

There's so much to love about this book: the primary colors, the repeating word pattern, the beautiful watercolor illustrations by Wynne, and the facts and map in the back matter that allow educators and parents to share more. Lunde also points out that the monkeys in the book would never be seen together in the wild as they come from all over the world. Monkey Colors is a rare find just like some of the endangered species in the book. And it'll have kids itching to explore the natural world and undoubtedly monkeying around! Ook. Ook. Ook.

 A page from Monkey Colors.

Join me tomorrow as I interview Darrin Lunde and learn more about his job as museum mammologist and how he's sharing his love of mammals with children. 

Co-Author Interview: Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook

Kathryn Heling has been a school psychologist for over 20 years and is a former special education teacher. She loves working with children and figuring out how each child learns best. She is a wife, mother, grandmother, and author and lives in the beautiful State of Wisconsin. She also loves to travel by train.

Deborah Hembrook is a kindergarten teacher and author and her students inspire her everyday with their curiosity. Many of the stories she co-authors with Kate originate from her classroom. She and her husband also live in Wisconsin and love exploring the country on their motorcycle.

Kate Heling & Debbie Hembrook

They are the co-authors of more than ten children's books and after I reviewed their latest book Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do, illustrated by Andy Robert Davies (Charlesbridge, July 2012), (see the review HERE) I was eager to speak to them about their writing and collaboration process.

Welcome Kate and Debbie!

Tell us a little about yourselves and how you came to be children’s authors? What were you like as children? How did your childhoods influence the books you write today?

Kate:  I grew up in a family of voracious readers and people who wrote just for the sheer joy of it.  As a kid, I tried to write a novel (in 2nd grade) and I contributed poems and articles to my school newspaper.  I loved writing letters....to my grandparents and cousins in California and to my pen pal in England.  In high school, I had a fabulous teacher for my Honors English class and she greatly encouraged my writing, giving me the confidence to submit a story that won 3rd place in an NCTE contest.  My undergraduate studies were in elementary and special education and I took a course in children’s literature.  The class requirement  was to read and review 100 books -- I read and reviewed 300 and the seeds were sown.....although I knew I wanted to be a teacher, I started to dream about someday writing books for young children.

Debbie:  Growing up, I kept journals that I numbered and decorated.  One of my journals was a collection of quotes that I liked.  I also collected bookmarks and made some of my own with the quotes that I treasured.  I enjoyed reading postcards, both to learn about places people had been but also to appreciate people’s handwriting and their way of communicating a lot of information in a small space.  I loved to write letters to my cousins; and my friends and I made birthday cards for one another.  My favorite books growing up were the Nancy Drew mysteries and between my twin sister and I, we had them all.  I loved the smell, feel, and sound of cracking open a brand new Nancy Drew mystery.  While I was preparing to become a teacher, I also loved my class in children’s literature -- that, and the joy of reading aloud to my young students made me appreciate the power of books!  I love sharing books that were favorites of mine as a child with the children in my classroom.

When did the two of you start writing books together? Can you tell us how that happened? 

Kate & Debbie: We have both spent much of our careers working for the school district in Waukesha, a city just west of Milwaukee.  We got to know each other and became friends while working on district-wide committees.  In January, 1997, we were having a conversation about New Year’s resolutions and discovered that we both shared a dream of writing books for children.  We’d both written stories on our own but hadn’t done anything too seriously with them.  We decided to get together to learn more about the industry and just kept working together.  We shared the stories we’d written; we worked together on revising them; and we started attending writer’s conferences together.  

Our first published story appeared in a collection of stories -- Say Goodnight to Illiteracy, 1998 -- published annually by Half Price Books.  Our first book, an early reader titled MOUSE MAKES WORDS, was published by Random House in 2001, and we are enormously gratified that the book is still in print today. 

Can you share your writing process with us? 

Kate & Debbie: In general, our writing process proceeds like this:  Debbie is a creative genius and seems to have no end of great ideas, many taken from her classroom experiences and/or her perception of a gap in stories dealing with a certain topic.  Our stories TEN GROUCHY GROUNDHOGS and TENLUCKY LEPRECHAUNS are examples of this.  Debbie had long been frustrated by the lack of stories for young children surrounding Groundhog’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day.  

Typically, Debbie will write a rough draft of the story she has in mind.  If the story lends itself to a rhyming text, as many of our stories do, Kate taps into the rhyming genes she seems to have inherited from her father and does a preliminary rewrite.  After that, it is pure collaboration all the way to a finished product!  

We analyze the text for consistent meter and rhythm, we look for opportunities to add alliteration or assonance or other ‘devices’ that will help young children hear the similarities and differences in our language, we consider whether it makes sense to add repetitive phrases that would encourage young children to ‘read’ along, and we carefully consider our vocabulary selection in an effort to help children grow in this area but not to become overwhelmed by too many new words.  We read our drafts aloud, over and over again, listening for where the text flows and where it doesn’t.  When we are quite happy with our story, we fire it off to our critique group and very carefully consider the thoughtful and helpful suggestions they offer -- often leading to a little more revision.  Once we’re confident that we’ve done all we can do with a story, we research various publishers and/or editors we know and we send our story out into the world, hopefully to become a published book!

Can you give us a glimpse into a typical writing day?

Kate & Debbie: We are in regular contact via e-mail or phone, but we are also very disciplined about having an in-person writing session every week.  We work at Kate’s house, in a large office of our own, and we often prevail upon Kate’s husband to do a ‘cold read’ so we can get a sense of how the story will sound when read by others.  

What do you like most about the collaboration process? And what if any are the challenges?

Kate & Debbie: For us, the collaborative process has been incredible!  We have so much FUN, writing  together, attending conferences together, and planning author visits.  When feedback from a submission is discouraging, we can share that disappointment and, conversely, celebrating the successes is all the sweeter when shared with a co-author.  We are totally in sync regarding the kinds of stories we want to write and the purpose we want them to serve.  As educators, it’s very difficult for us to write anything that doesn’t include educational aspects of one sort or another.  We want young readers (or listeners) to hear the patterns in our language, to build their vocabulary, to build on academic skills, and mostly to develop a LOVE of books!

 

We have not encountered any challenges associated with our collaborative process.  We don’t always agree 100% with each others’ ideas or suggested revisions, but we always respectfully consider all of the possibilities.  We will type out a paragraph or verse in multiple draft formats and then read the manuscript with each of the possibilities.  Usually, it soon becomes obvious which version is going to fit best in our finished piece.  One thing we’ve learned from having had several books published is that the editor will suggest multiple revisions, that the more ideas we consider the better, and that we all are striving for the finished product to be the best it can possibly be.

Do you have writing projects where you don’t work as a team?

Kate & Debbie: Not so far....  Even if one of us independently takes an idea fairly far along to a finished product, we tend to ultimately resort to the collaborative process that we know works for us. 

Where did the inspiration for Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do come from?

Kate & Debbie: As with many of our books, Debbie had the original idea for CLOTHESLINE CLUES TO JOBS PEOPLE DO.  Actually, it was one of the earlier stories that we wrote and over the years we worked on it, tucked it away, brought it out and revised it, and submitted it now and then in various forms.  

Altogether, we probably wrote verses depicting about 20 jobs people do.  We wanted to get young children thinking about jobs in general, specific jobs that people (male and female!) could do, and to introduce or build on vocabulary associated with those jobs.  We liked the idea of a riddle format, with both the text and the items on the clothesline providing clues -- helping children to build powers of observation and reasoning. 

We were thrilled when Charlesbridge offered a contract to publish it. We love the trade-to-educational crossover dimension of Charlesbridge publications because it's consistent with our personal mission for our work.  And then.....the frosting on the cake ---- having a wonderful editor at Charlesbridge and a gifted illustrator, both of whom helped raise our story to a new level.  There are multiple aspects to what appears on the surface to be a very simple concept.  But, especially upon repeated readings, children will notice the stories within the story depicted by the creative illustrations.

What can readers look forward to next?

Kate & Debbie: We are working on revisions for another book through Scholastic/Cartwheel -- a FUN story that is a little different from the others we have done with Cartwheel.  We have lots of ideas (and finished manuscripts) for more rhyming/counting books.  We’re also working on some stories for very young children, those in the 1-3 year age range.  We sincerely hope to continue making books that appeal to young children for a long time to come.

For access to all their books and the extended activities for parents and educators, visit their website HERE.

Thanks, Kate and Debbie!

Book Review: Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do

August is officially here and many educators and parents are adding to their library shelves and gearing up for the 2012/13 school year. If you've got a preschooler or kindergartner at home or in the classroom, you'll enjoy the books I'll be reviewing over the next few weeks.

Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook, illustrated by Andy Robert Davies (Charlesbridge, July 2012)

Co-authors Heling and Hembrook challenge young readers to guess the job of seven people found in the community from the clothes that hang on their clotheslines. It’s cleverly written in rhyme with a question and answer format. There’s also another story that delightfully unfolds through Davies’ illustrations as the child turns the pages and ends in celebration. A shining example of how artfully and skillfully a concept book can work when it’s done to perfection. A must have for any preschool or kindergarten classroom. 

Extension activities for parents/educators can be found HERE at the authors' website.

With over ten books penned in their names, I was eager to talk to these co-authors about their collaboration process. Join me tomorrow for that interview and discover the secret to the duo's success.

Literary News in and Around Austin

There's so much happening in and around the Greater Austin area and I'm looking forward to filling you in on all things literary!

Screened-in porch at The Writing Barn

This past Wednesday, I spent the day at Bethany Hegedus' The Writing Barn with writing buddies Donna Bowman Bratton, Samantha Clark, Nikki Loftin and Vanessa Lee who joined us later in the day. Bethany rents out the space at The Writing Barn for all kinds of events, workshops, retreats. It's the ideal place to write, relax, celebrate or study. Check out this Saturday's event Yoga for Fertility with Liz Belile HERE. Bethany, thanks for a fun-filled day of camaraderie and writing!

Gene Brenek and Donna Bowman Bratton at a  Carol Lynch William's workshop

This weekend I'm hopping in the car with author and good friend Donna Bowman Bratton for a writing weekend at her beautiful lake house in the Texas Hill Country. Not only will be working and writing, we'll be celebrating and toasting Donna's recent successes; she was a Letter of Merit honoree for SCBWI 2012 Amazon.com Work-In-Progress Grant and her article "The Do's and Don't's of Conference Etiquette" appeared in this year's SCBWI Summer Conference (LA) materials. Go Donna! So proud of you!

Catch up on what you've missed this week by reading Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog post "Cynsational News & Giveaways" HERE. A great round-up post of what is happening in and around the children's literary world. Plus a heartfelt congrats on Cynthia's release of Diabolical in the U.K. Hip. Hip. Hooray!

So much good news to share coming from my agency Hen & ink Literary. Click HERE to celebrate with me.

EVENTS

Next Saturday, August 11th, I hope you'll join us (Austin SCBWI) to hear Meridith Taylor, one of the founders of Great Hills Publishing, speak about Digital Complexities at BookPeople. It will get you fired up for our second Austin SCBWI Digital Symposium.

It's approaching quickly and filling up. Don't miss out on your opportunity to sharpen your techie skills whether it be blogging or tweeting or building book trailers or a website. This is an event for anyone who needs a little help acquiring technical skills to market themselves or their business. It's not just for writers or illustrators. You can register online HERE or in person at the 10am Saturday, August 11th Austin SCBWI meeting.

I'm looking forward to my presentation "Blogging 101: If You Blog, They Will Come." We'll talk about blog basics, content on your blog, how to blog, why you blog and so much more! And there's way more exciting people to hear than me.

The Girllustrators will be talking about Photoshop basics and Erik Kuntz, owner of Square Bear Studio will lead an advanced Photoshop class. Kirsten Cappy, owner of Curious City (Children's Book Marketing Firm), and writer and editor Samantha Clark will show you how easy it is to build a website with WordPress and well, you'll just have to come and see for yourself the plethora of talent that will be under the Fleck Hall roof at St. Edward's University on Saturday, October 6, 2012.

On Sunday, August 12th join author and Texas Sweethearts & Scoundrels Jo Whittemore at her D is for Drama release party at 4pm at BookPeople. And then on Saturday, August 18th study from her as she leads a workshop on "Finding the Story" with the SCBWI Brazos Valley chapter. Click HERE to register.

On Saturday, August 25 join author Nikki Loftin for her Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy release party at 4pm at BookPeople. There'll be sweets and books and treats. Oh my!

CONTESTS


Fellow agency sister Sarah Towles' Time Traveler Tours app is in the World Youth and Student 2012 App Yap Contest. Click HERE to vote. Good Luck, Sarah! Everyone at Hen & ink Literary is pulling for you!

Good friend Marika Flatt, owner of PR by the Book, has launched a contest to celebrate its 10th Anniversary. One literary lover will win a trip to the home of storytellers O. Henry and Willie Nelson: Austin Texas, VIP passes to the Texas Book Festival in 2012, two night accomodation, round-trip airfare and so much more!


To enter "Escape to Austin," contest hopefuls must simply "like" PR by the Book on Facebook and fill out the entry form. The contest runs August 1 – August 31, 2012, and a winner will be selected by September 7 (open to U.S. residents only.)

Happy writing everyone!

Hen & ink Literary Retreat

One of the many pleasures I had this summer was the opportunity to travel to Montpelier, VT and meet some of the agency sisters at Hen & ink Literary as well as my AMAZING agent Erzsi Deàk. Erzsi held a two-day retreat in the quaint village of Montpelier to discuss our current works-in-progress and to get to know each other better and to write.

Mima Tipper, Rae Ann Parker, Kathryn Kramer, Claudia Classon, me, Hannah Goodman and  Erzsi Deak 

I arrived on a Sunday at the Burlington airport, rented a sporty red Ford Focus and drove the short 45-minutes through the green mountains to reach Montpelier. The village didn't disappoint with its grand courthouse with striking white pillars and the old-fashioned red, white and blue banners that draped store fronts and decorated main street. I passed cafes, restaurants, toy and book stores and a delightful candy shop called Delish!

After settling into my room at the Capitol Plaza, I joined Erzsi and several agency sisters at Positive Pie for wood fired pizza, salad and white wine. It was a fun night of laughter, good food and the best of company. One of the pizzas we ordered was called Carcass, a meat lovers delight, and the other, a vegetable extravaganza with goat cheese and artichokes. To die for! Mmmmm.

The two days flew by as we chatted and pitched our wip's and discussed favorite books and had one-on-one sessions with Erzsi. It was inspiring and motivating and surreal. I can't wait until we can do it again!

Author and MFA graduate Mima Tipper graciously gave me a tour of the Vermont College of Fine Arts after the retreat was over, and we tip-toed through lecture halls as summer residency was in session. I visited the book store and oooed and ahhhhed over the shelves of books, many from our Austin SCBWI community. I chose Alone With All That Could Happen: Rethinking Conventional Wisdom About the Craft of Fiction Writing by David Jauss and Uma  Krishnaswami's Remembering Grandpa, illustrated by Layne Johnson (Boyd Mills Press, 2007). Her book caught my eye as I'm also working on a picture book titled Grandpa's Girl about overcoming loss and celebrating love and how it continues on in the memories of the heart.

Thanks for the wonderful retreat, Erzsi!

Beaches and Butterflies and Beavers, Oh My!

It's good to be back home after visiting my mom's place in Canada but I do miss the beaches, butterflies and beavers that I saw while on our many adventures throughout my home province of Manitoba.

Beaver house on one of the slews near Russell, MB 

The kids and I often took the car to the beach loaded to the gills with beach toys, boogie board, towels and snacks in lieu of the short jaunty walk from Mom's -- for obvious reasons. You'd  think the three of us could handle the gear in tow, but Manitoba summers can be just as hot as Texas and if there isn't a stitch of wind to be had, you're melting in a puddle by the side of the road. Luckily for us, Mom's place had air conditioning and the wind off the water kept the bugs away until dusk that is.

Beach at the Village of Dunnottar

The kids enjoyed swimming lessons in the lake for the first time and what started off as protests quickly turned to joy as lessons take on a whole new dimension when there aren't any walls to contain you! My iphone however couldn't take any decent pictures as they were pretty far out with their instructors. You'll just have to imagine bobbing heads in the water and scrappy swimmers splashing about.

Many days, the kids and I ran or walked in the early mornings stopping on the piers to see calm waters on Lake Winnipeg (referred to as the Inland Ocean) or choppy seas depending on how hard the wind was blowing. There were butterflies everywhere and they flitted and flotted from grass to tree to knee. I caught this butterfly on a chair before he lifted off.

For the first time, my two youngest met some of the relatives in Russell, Manitoba at the Cusitar family reunion. I confess (hanging my head) that I haven't been back there since my grandmother passed away in 1987. I let far too much time slip away before returning. It was just as beautiful as I remember and even more so sharing laughter with aunts and uncles and cousins. Middle child loved learning how to knit from Aunt Marg and youngest one we call "Big" couldn't keep out of her lap. We were thrilled to spot the beaver houses in the many slews and marshes that surround the greater Russell area. Cattails and ducks and geese were plentiful. Skeeters, too!!

I'll try and post a few more pictures to document our grand time in Canada but first this gal has got to get herself to the salon and get her mop cut. Vacation left it in a tangled mess.

Happy writing everyone!