Hurray, we all survived Friday the 13th!

A few updates before I head off to sleep at 2 am Friday into Saturday...

The birds built their nest...and vanished. No sign of them for more than a week. I will leave the nest where it is...I wonder if another pair of birds would consider using it.

Went to a great meeting of the New York Chapter of the Society for Children's Writers and Illustrators...heard a good talk on how covers are designed at Abrams...Chad's blog tells all:

Attended the Learning Leaders luncheon on Wednesday with my former tutor Laurie Harris. Some very smart people talked about parent engagement but the one principal on the panel made it clear that while she encourages lots of parent involvement, she needs money to provide the services her families need. She has a full medical clinic in her school! Amazing...

Walked the Rockaways with Phil yesterday (Thursday) and found absolutely nothing for myself--no shells, no bones, no interesting rocks or fossils. But I did find a great ladybug for Phil, who is a world class expert on beetles. He liked the one I found because its spots were unusual.

Tonight, a great Open Studio reception downtown, where I met my artistic "twin"--Janelle Iglesias makes astonishing found object sculptures and even collects some of her materials on Barren Island.

THE NEST REMAINS EMPTY...VERY WEIRD...

I haven't seen the pair of mourning doves in more than 5 days, yet the nest is beautifully made--what happened??? I'm trying to have faith that they will return, but so far no sign of them. Something could have happened to one of them...but otherwise I have no idea what occurred.

I DON'T KNOW WHEN THEY DID ALL THIS WORK...

I really don't know when they did all this work--I guess it was when I was sleeping! But here it is, just about ready for mom and eggs to be deposited very soon. This is one of nature's real miracles--just as gorillas make their sleeping nests anew each night, birds are amazing architects, using what they find to build really sturdy and intricate homes. It's exciting to be a witness to all this.

I had a wonderful time visiting the Washington Market School this morning. I spent some time in one of the classrooms, where the children were making guacamole in honor of Cinco de Mayo. I had some great conversations with several of the children, and two of the boys were especially interested in my watch! It has such a great feeling about it, and I can imagine that it would be an inspiring and joyful place to work.

i was reminded again of the endless pleasure of walking through city neighborhoods. I had lunch in Chinatown and spent part of my Groupon at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Now--what else to do on this really beautiful day? Stay tuned.

THE NEST!

Just a quick P.S. to show what these remarkable birds have accomplished overnight...I looked at the nest yesterday, and there were only a few pieces of branch and twigs. Today, midday, there is a NEST.

SURROUNDING MYSELF WITH LIFE!

Jonathan and Rose, the two frogs (probably green Frogs but not sure) appear to be thriving in my kitchen. I think they like where they are now better than the classroom, which was dim in their corner. Now, joining them and bringing new life to my home are a pair of mourning doves who have chosen my bathroom window sill to raise their young!

This is not the first time this has happened. In fact, my Stuy Town apartment on the 4th floor appears to be featured in some recommended list of short-term residences for local birds. I've had them on my kitchen windowsill, on my living room windowsill, and twice before here in the bathroom. The bathroom is the trickiest, because the shower is inches away and very noisy. What I've done in the past and will probably do here is hang a towel over the window when I shower. I don't want to cover them completely because watching this process is wonderful!

It begins with a flutter of wings, and some coo-coo-ing. Then they fly off, but each time they visit, a few twigs and branches remain...and somehow, remarkably, in a few days there is a nest, intricately woven and perched on the metal bar that holds my window open. It's not a big space, and I know it will be cramped during the few times that the male and female birds are both present. Somehow they manage to squeeze in, though it typically causes some damage to the screen over time.

Today, the female bird is sitting calmly, but it seems too soon for eggs, since the nest as of last night was barely begun. So she may just be hanging out, getting a feel for the place.

Stay tuned!

Also, I wanted to share that on a recent trip to the Rockaways with Phil and two other science guys (Richie, great botanist and beetle collector) and Charles (pres of the NY Shell Club), I picked up a very interesting specimen. It's a piece of driftwood that is bored full of holes...and it turns out that the creature who did the boring is still in place, though hard to photograph. It's a TEREDO, a Naval Shipworm, and I'm attaching a Google photo that shows what it looks like and what it does. It's not actually a worm but a small mollusk, and has a shell over the head part only.

Here is my photo of the actual specimen, though I wish I could get closer and sharper. 

You can see what looks like a white shell in the centermost hole.

This is a great example to remind me that you need to LOOK CLOSELY at everything you pick up!

FACE EVERY CHALLENGE AS AN ADVENTURE--AND NEVER FORGET TO LAUGH!

Today, I attended a remarkable event--a non-memorial service for the grande dame of children's book publishing, Margaret K. McElderry. She was 98 when she died recently, and she left an amazing legacy of children's book editors and authors whose books have shaped the experiences of generations of children.

The speakers were terrific, and they quoted Margaret frequently as they told stories of her life and work. Here are some of my favorites:

Jan Lamb talked about her kindness, and about the importance of recognizing life's boundless possibilities and taking strange paths.

Amy Kellman, a librarian and long-time friend, said she liked to say that we are all on a journey with children, and it must be exciting, important, and fun.

Tracey Adams repeated the quote in this post's title: Face every challenge as an adventure and never, ever forget to laugh!

One of the points that resonated particularly for me was the story of the time that Ms. McElderry was told, in 1971, after her books had won dozens of major awards, that "the future has passed you by." She was let go from her position at Harcourt, but she refused to be defeated. She moved to Atheneum, where she was the first children's book editor to have her name on her books in an imprint which continues to today. She managed to survive all the corporation acquisitions that folded Atheneum into Macmillan and ultimately into Simon & Schuster. One speaker quoted her words on coping with a life-changing trauma: "Put one foot in front of the other until you can't remember anymore why you are going that way. Then you will be on your new path."

I met Harold Underdown at the reception afterward. His website is a wonderful source of information about children's books. Here is his remembrance of her:
 http://www.underdown.org/margaret-mcelderry.htm

She was intensely interested in everyone she met--and she talked to everyone! She would ask, "What's your story? Who are you?"

One of her best friends, author Susan Cooper, remembered that her dear friend used to say:
"When something excites you, you won't be deterred."

A lot of great words to live by. Thank you, Margaret K McElderry. I never met you, but you have inspired me!

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS,,,

I realized tonight it's been more than a week since I last posted, but I'm here now, and I'm thinking a lot about endings and beginnings. I've had some wonderful ones of each in my life to date, and so while this time is full of challenge and change, I'm focusing on "feeling the feelings" and keeping going.

After nearly 8 years, I have left East Harlem Tutorial Program, a place that was more to me than a job, and a place where I spent endless hours working with wonderful kids, great tutors, and inspiring staff. Changes have occurred that resulted in my job being eliminated, and so I am now free to pursue new adventures in many areas of my life!

Some of these include:
Skype-ing--I had visitors from Ottawa staying with me this week, and John Harding showed me how to work it. So, anyone who wants to chat online or (horrors) with video, let me know!

Tenka--By the time I bought my first Groupon and Living Social deals, it was already old hat for many of the people I know. But Tenka has been a fun revelation--and very well-timed. Thanks to Lyel Resner for turning me on to this phone-based super deal site, which has provided me (and some of my friends) great dining deals! We've had free pizza, free frozen yogurt, free hot dogs, and more. Check out Tenka.com for your chance to enjoy discounts and freebies!

The Frogs in my kitchen--In November 2009, I was fortunate enough to get three free tadpoles from the friendly folks at Petco Union Square. I was teaching K-1 in the after school program and talking about life cycles of different creatures. We raised those tadpoles into frogs, and while Charlie had some issues and went to Central Park, Jonathan and Rose have thrived. When I left EHTP, I brought them home with me, and they seem very happy on my kitchen table. I added a large fossilized rock to their tank, which they seem to enjoy, and have fed them both crickets (devoured a dozen in minutes) and minnows (ate about 3-4, and have left the rest to swim around, though they may eat them at some point as they did at EHTP...probably because too many days passed without other food, not sure.)

There will be many more adventures and challenges to report in the next days and weeks. Thanks to all who are keeping my spirits high and listening when I need a friendly ear. Stay tuned!