EAST RIVER FERRY--A FANTASTIC WAY TO SEE NEW YORK!

It's free for the first 2 weeks, until June 24, and it runs from 34th Street on the East River to Hunters Point/Long Island City, Greenpoint, North Williamsburg, South Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bridge/DUMBO, and Pier 11/Wall Street. I rode two full loops today under threatening skies but it only rained a bit toward the very end of the 2nd trip.

These are color photos, which is really interesting...

Time Flies--and Sometimes Without Our Noticing It!

Where have I been since May 20? It's almost a month since I last posted on this blog, and I'm not even sure why. But I decided to spend a few minutes today on a subject dear to my heart: my upcoming children's books!

My first two books are coming this fall from Capstone Pebble Plus. These photos were taken from the catalogue, since I never got any cover proofs, but you can still get an idea of how they will look. These books are for K-1 readers with lots of photos to get the facts across.

I finally got to go to ID day at the American Museum of Natural History and learned a few new things about my specimens:

The jaw with one tooth that I found on the shores of Bermuda turns out to be a GROUPER fish. Thank you to all who tried to help identify it. This photo is from an online source and the top image exactly matches my specimen!

I'm still waiting to hear from scientist Paul Sweet, in Ornithology, about my cranium (not skull) and backbone. His best guess from initial glance was that it could be a GREBE...or a duck.

So what's a GREBE? Here's a picture of one.

Hope to hear from him soon with a confirmation!

I'm off to check out the new East River Ferry! Will report back.

Good Weather for Frogs!

It feels as if it's been raining for a week or maybe forever.

The increased humidity is probably good for the frogs. I decided to try again tonight and photograph them. They seemed less shy than earlier in the week.

I spent part of yesterday and today volunteering at a Scholastic Book Fair at the Brooklyn Historical Society--lots of fun people contact and a chance to talk about books and kids. The bonus--$10 credit to spend for every hour I put in! I got some great books (just what I need the week before BEA, but...) I'm excited about reading Tracy Chevalier's book about Mary Anning.

I also went to a fantastic concert last night at the Hispanic Society of America at 155th and Broadway. The Sylvan Wind Quintet, led by Svetlana Kabalin, played a program of wonderful Spanish music for an audience that included the Spanish Ambassador. I helped give out programs and collected email names for their mailing list. The room was spectacular--surrounding us with vivid murals of Spanish scenes by Joaquin Sorolla:

It felt as if we were in the painting while listening to the music --amazing!

I was completely awed by the light in so many of the paintings, especially one I can't find an image of...adobe homes on a high hill lit by the setting or rising sun. Beautiful!

It's Hard to Photograph Frogs!

WHAT IS IT? A JAW I FOUND IN BERMUDA NEEDS IDENTIFICATION...

I found some very interesting specimens in Bermuda two summers ago, and I'm hoping for help in identifying the jaw in these photos:

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.