A Garden For A Groundhog

Gardening in the county has been a lesson in perseverance for me. I had some good gardens the first 10 years, but was busy with teaching and never put too much time into them. When I left teaching the garden got bigger. A lot bigger. Alas, he deer population had been increasing over time, leading to the natural solution (for them) to find more food in my garden. I struggled with them for a few years and finally raised the fence. The deer now forage elsewhere.

Then two years ago we lost the last of our dogs and a groundhog figured out how to get in. I have been known to curse them and chase them. Being an ecologist, I never actually hated them, just hated them getting in the garden. We were given lots of advice that boiled down to get a dog or get a gun. But what also happened without the dogs is that we were suddenly privy to seeing baby groundhogs, watchful groundhogs, groundhogs in trees, lots of groundhogs being groundhogs, They’re really cute. We started to fall in love. I don’t want to chase them away.

Long story short, I had a plan last March to keep the groundhogs out. It is a different plan that the O’Learys try in A Garden for a Groundhog by Lorna Balian (Abingdon Press, 1985). Since I’ve now fallen in love with groundhogs, I was interested in this book and I wasn’t disappointed. Balian does a great job building suspense for another garden season showing the O’Leary’s passing the winter waiting to garden again, eating LOTS of zucchini (gardeners will understand). Meanwhile the groundhog is also waiting, by hibernating, for that garden that always gets planted for him.

The illustrations are filled with creative details from the calendar changing to what’s cooking (some kind of zucchini dish) to the plants on the windowsill getting bigger. That’s just a few of the details. This book would be a lot of fun to explore with young readers and watch as they discover the differences each month as the family waits. I will not spoil it by telling what Mr. O’Leary’s solution was or if it worked.

My plan did work and I had the best garden ever. Of course, it also got a lot of attention because the pandemic did not allow travel. It’s a fact that what we give our attention to thrives. Just as relationships grow when we get to know each other. I’m glad I am getting to know the groundhogs of Halcyon.

I’ve included a poem I wrote about them – the sort of tangle of love-hate relationships. Sorry it’s not single-spaced. I can’t figure out how to change it. 🙂

Have You Seen Groundhog Feeding?

She comes out every evening.

We eat our dinner with a view,

of her eating hers,

two fluffy young by her side.

Have you seen how much they love clover?

Seeking it between the blades of grass.

We ooh and ah, and even laugh –

with them, not at them.

How they walk.

How they stand up high to ponder

danger or a benign noise.

We start to fall in love

until

a stolen butternut and missing beans

reminds us

we’re both hungry

and one of us

does not much care

for clover.

Praline Lady

I don’t have a big sweet tooth. I almost always gravitate toward a salty snack rather than a sweet one. The chocolate bars that state they contain 2.5 servings can last me for at least 8. However, there are two sweet treats that I lose willpower with – Polish cows (see illustration below) and pralines. So, it was fun and informative to read Praline Lady by Kirstie Myvett and Illustrated by Kamekp Madrere (Pelican Publishing 2020).

Praline Lady is a look into the life of a woman who sells pralines in New Orleans in the nineteenth century. Free women of color were able to earn a living selling goods such as flowers, fruits and pralines in the French Quarter. The author’s note states that it was possible for enslaved women to earn their freedom by selling pralines or other homemade goods. It was refreshing to read a snippet of little-known history – of female entrepreneurship.

Myvett’s text and Madrere’s watercolor illustrations marry well to show readers a hard-working woman in the midst of a bustling city. There are new words to learn, which are defined on the back matter page. It’s a sweet story (pun intended) that introduces young readers to a culture and time period that might be unfamiliar to them. I firmly believe exposure to other cultures and travel are two activities that help to create kind and tolerant adult citizens. Reading books together is such an easy and lovely way to start.

Young readers might have some questions about the history – there is a paragraph in the back explaining briefly about Praline Ladies – and I love when books can start conversations. Of course, one question that might be asked is where to get pralines now or how to make them. In case that question is asked, I’ve included a link to a recipe. It also gives a brief nod to praline’s original French version that included almonds and hazelnuts. I am so glad for the New Orleans adaptation of pecans!

I hope you enjoy Praline Lady as much as I have, whether you’ve a sweet tooth or a sweet spot for good books.

Polish Cows as I always called them, were a favorite treat in my Christmas stocking. I hate to admit it, but as a child I could eat a whole pound in a day. Now they are an even rarer treat that my sister can get me in Pittsburgh. I am proud to say I can make the pound last a month. On a trip to Poland a few years ago, I searched every grocery we passed and never found them. Good for my waistline; sad for my sense of nostalgia.

A Cover Reveal!

Hello! I hope this post finds you easing into the new year with hope and good health. I don’t have a book review this time because I’ve not been to the library for a month between holiday happenings (all at home of course) and final formatting of my newest book! I am happy to announce the release of another narrative nonfiction picture book, Oyster Matters: A Keystone Species Story.

When I first left teaching to pursue writing, I had no idea I’d ever self-publish a book. It seemed too daunting. But so much of life is daunting until you try, and now I find myself with four self-published books and one traditionally published book, which I might add was just as daunting a process. Am I destined to only self-publish? I don’t know. I plan to keep trying both paths and to keep learning the craft. I wonder where I’ll be in this journey in another eight years, but I’m in no hurry to get there.

Oyster Matters: A Keystone Species Story is the third book I’ve created that looks at ecological connections. It traces the abundance, decimation and restoration of oyster populations due to overharvesting by humans. As with the other Matters books, it uses the familiar phrase But that’s not all, which guides young readers to realize ways in which life cycles, food chains, and actions we take are all connected.* Each book presents a different ecological concept making them useful for parents and teachers alike to expose young readers to our amazing and complex world. This one has the most back matter of the three, adding even more depth and content. The main difference with this third book is that it is not illustrated by the very talented Betty Gatewood. I loved working with Betty for the first two Matters books and we are good friends. However, I felt the need to learn how to illustrate myself in case I do end up mainly or exclusively on the self-published path. And because I have always wanted to learn to draw and paint.

The Hidden Life in Steams, which came out a year ago, was illustrated by me, but from photos that were digitally altered. Oyster Matters has my watercolor paintings with a wet-on-wet process and is compiled digitally. My goal is to vastly improve my painting skills for future books – and I recently started an online class that is moving me forward.

I have been touched in so many ways by the support of my readers since Milkweed Matters and Oliver’s Otter Phase first hit the shelves and by the encouragement before and in-between books. If you choose to check out Oyster Matters, I would love to hear what you or your child thinks, and I love to write back to readers who write to me. Thank you in advance and best wishes for a peaceful and healthy year.

You can purchase a copy here.

If you’re local and would like a signed copy, please email me at connors.halcyon@gmail.com

*This letter was received by Betty and is a beautiful testiment to why I write.

Owl Moon

You don’t need a Pa or a Grandpa who is an expert at owling to enjoy Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and illustrated by John Schoenherr (Philomel Books, 1987). It’s a lyrical and engaging story of a girl getting to join her father for the first time, to look for owls, on a bright winter night. I heard Jane Yolen speak at the SCBWI Summer Spectacular virtual conference. She said she was a poet first, and that is how she thinks of her picture books, as poems, because they need to be short and they need to be lyrical enough that the reader comes back to it over and over.

Owl Moon is indeed a lyrical read. It’s is also a sensory journey. I feel the anticipation of the main character, I feel the excitement, the cold nipping at her nose and toes and I feel like I am walking with them in the cold. Perhaps it is because I have experienced that magical feeling of anticipation and of also walking after a snowfall or during a crisp moonlit night. But I think most readers will also be transported.

Owl Moon has me planning a late winter walk – as soon as we get a good snowfall – and even if we don’t. I want to be that child full of expectation and honor (old enough to get to go) feeling totally alive in the wild night. Until then, I can return to Owl Moon over and over and be transported in my mind.