Marching into Market Month: Celebrations, Books, and Fun!
After a couple of months of recovering from the holidays, completing the end-of-year chores, and working on some new books, March is festival month. I am delighted to have booths at four events. The PACC Pet Parade Market month starts off on March 2 with the 2025 Friends of PACC Pet Parade. I’m hoping to […]
The Science of Sizzling: Experimenting with the Perfect Bacon Cook Method
When I moved into my house in Tucson, a good friend gave me this statue as a housewarming gift. He is St. Anthony, a 4th-century hermit. Unfortunately, he was tormented by the devil, who took the form of a pig. Consequently, the persevering saint was named the patron saint of bacon and butchers. As a […]
A Rare Find! All About the Rustic Sphinx Moth
A friend shared a captivating photo of a uniquely patterned and stunning moth on social media. The sheer beauty of this moth piqued my curiosity. Unlike the dedicated scientist that I am, Allison hadn’t identified her moth. I was so intrigued that I would have postponed my grocery shopping until I knew more about this […]
Adventures in Algae!
I’ve been having trouble with algae growth in my pool this summer. My crawling pool cleaner broke and was removed for repairs—it hasn’t returned. The temperatures have regularly been around 110 degrees. Of course, this means my pool is a very comfortable 96 degrees. I like a hot pool, so this aspect is great. I […]
Tales of Turtles: A Look into the World of Sea and Freshwater Turtles
Many places in the world have sea turtles, which live in the ocean, and freshwater turtles, which live on land, often in lakes and rivers. These two types of turtles have significant morphological differences. Sea turtles have flippers instead of hands and feet. Those turtles dwelling out of the ocean have hands with fingers and […]
The Science of… Oatmeal?
Do you ever think about the physics in action within your breakfast? Sometimes, I do, especially after a spectacular failure, like when I attempted to microwave oatmeal. The day before, I boiled some oatmeal for my dog. He was taking antibiotics, and I could tell they were bothering his stomach. I thought maybe oatmeal might […]
Prey of the Hawk!
They hunt as a pack, led by the dominant female. Working together, they can subdue larger prey than an individual can, providing a feast for the entire family. However, pack isn’t the term used for a group of birds. But the flock doesn’t seem strong enough. All About Harris’s Hawks These effective hunters are Harris’s […]
A Pennaraptorans for Your Thoughts
I recently learned about Penneropterans. They are not people who like to eat penne pasta! Maybe ‘opt’ refers to optics? Nope, they are not people who want to look at penne pasta, either! No, Penneropterans is a misspelling of Pennaraptora. What’s a Pennaraptora? The Pennaraptora clade refers to the group of dinosaurs who developed feathers. […]
An Old Fossil Publishes a Dinosaur Book!
Every festival, I’m asked if I have any books about dinosaurs. Up until now, I’ve had to say no. However, if a topic is requested often enough, what is an author to do but write one? Sure, there are books about dinosaurs, but how about books about the dinosaurs found in Arizona? Once again, I […]
It’s Festival Time Again!
Tucson is known for nature, music, and food. As a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, Tucson will feed your body. Nature and open spaces provide sustenance for your soul. For your mind, Tucson has the Festival of Books! My books offer a particularly nourishing mental feast with chunks of information in a rich sauce of […]
Choose Another Corner!
I live in a good-sized house. It has four bedrooms and two large living room areas with many corners. Having corners is very important to my family. This makes more sense when you know that most of my family members are reptiles: lizards, turtles, and tortoises. Free to Roam (and Fight) The tortoises are free-roaming. […]
R.I.P. Little Mariana Fruit Bat
The US Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced a list of 21 species formally declared extinct. And while any species extinction is distressing, it was with great sadness that I heard the news of a particular species featured in one of my picture Books. Farewell, Little Mariana Fruit Bat The Little Mariana Fruit Bat, Pteropus […]
Fast Food: Roadrunner Edition
After writing a couple of books about reptiles (Don’t Call Me Turtle! and Don’t Make Me Rattle!), I wrote a book about roadrunners. I’m not sure why I was so inspired, except for their impact on the reptiles, as significant predators. I delight in the variety and numbers of lizards (and snakes) that have chosen […]
Summer Fun with Curtis Curly-tail!
Hey, kids, it’s me Curtis Curly-tail! I know I haven’t blogged in a long time, but hopefully, you’ve been keeping up with my activities on my YouTube channel that I share with Elaine. Watching my videos is a great way to spend the hot middays when it’s too hot to be playing outside. But I […]
What is the Color of a Snake’s Tongue?
Have you ever thought about the color of a snake’s tongue? I hadn’t until recently when a snake flicked its tongue at me. Let me tell you how it happened. Relaxing by the Pool I have a net fence around my pool. It’s good to have a pool safely fenced off to prevent tragedies, such […]
Excuse Me, is This Chair Taken?
I was outside recently and went to sit down in a cushioned chair as I often do, but this morning, I found the chair occupied! You’ll never guess who took it. The surprisingly large insect, nearly 3 inches long, showed no interest in vacating the seat for me, so I thought we should get better […]
Yellow is the Color of Spring!
Growing up in Illinois, I knew the blooming of the forsythia bushes meant spring had arrived. The bright yellow flowers of the large bushes added a bright color to the gray of winter. This memory came to me as I enjoyed the yellow flowers of spring here in the Sonoran Desert. We had good winter […]
Love is in the… Cactus?
Ah, the heart! ❤️ The symbol of romantic love. An appropriate topic for February 14th is Valentine’s Day. It was in the fifteenth century that today’s typical heart symbol was developed. With the establishment of Valentine’s Day, the use of the symbol exploded. Its popularity reached the ultimate pinnacle when the ❤️ became a verb! […]
No Ordinary Button
November 16th is National Button Day. What do you think of when you hear the word “button?” Do images of the many colors, diversely shaped garment fasteners come to mind? I remember selecting colors and shapes to add interest to my clothes. Then there’s the time spent searching through the massive collection that my mother […]
A Snake… with Legs?
We humans like to find ways of enhancing our means of movement. We strap wheels onto our feet, jump on skateboards, and climb on bicycles or motorcycles. We build cars to drive faster than we can walk. We build airplanes to fly in the sky like birds. But we’ve also invented wonderful devices to assist […]
Jellyfish in the… Desert?
The tram operators of Sabino Canyon in Tucson, AZ are offering nighttime tours this summer. It’s part of an overall upgrade to the beautiful park located in the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Coronado National Forest. Along with upgrading to electric vehicles, the tour narration now comes with personal earbuds. This reduces the noise of […]
This Blog May Be a Bit Soggy
I’ve noticed when I’m trying to write, the ideas really flow. Not while I’m sitting at my computer, of course. But rather, when I’m immersed in water. Showers are great, but swimming laps in the pool really opens up the creativity taps. So many ideas will “float” around that I keep a notepad by the […]
A BIG Book Celebration in Tucson, AZ
The authors are coming! The authors are coming! Once again, we’ll be celebrating books and literacy in person in Tucson at the 2022 Tucson Festival of Books (TFOB)! Learn more about this Tucson book celebration staple and how you find me there. A Brief TFOB History The first festival was held March 14-15, 2009 with […]
The Laws of Physics (According to Horses)
I started horseback riding after I retired. Before that, I’d never been particularly fond of horses, despite being a biologist. I preferred reptiles, crustaceans, and mollusks. However, life has a way of leading me down unexpected trails. Although no matter the trail I find myself on, I always find a little science. Even with a […]
How Not to Photograph a Bat
I wrote a book about the difficulties in photographing hummingbirds, How Not to Photograph a Hummingbird. It pits one bumbling human against the desert as he carelessly attempts to photograph an Anna’s Hummingbird. If lucky, a hummer may alight for a moment or two, allowing the photographer to get the shot she wants. But there […]
Brittlebush Can Take the Heat!
One plant that has always amazed me in the Sonoran Desert is the Brittlebush. No matter how little rain falls nor how hot it is, this bush produces a lush crop of flowers. Brittlebush, Encelia farinose, is a bush native to the Sonoran Desert and is a member of the sunflower family. The leaves are […]
Do You Slather or Smear?
The English language has a lot of really great words. As a writer, I enjoy exploring them. This time of year in the Sonoran Desert, we increase the amount of sunscreen we put on our bodies. As the intensity of the sun increases with the warmer seasons, more sunscreen is definitely needed. I put a […]
Little Cactus, Big Flowers
Usually, author Jo Busha writes the blog posts on plants, but one of my potted cacti inspired me to share this magnificent plant with you. Last year, a friend gave me this trio of the cactus, Mammilaria senilis. This mammillaria is native to northern Mexico, growing on moss-covered boulders in high altitude pine forests. I […]
“That’s MY Bed!”
Among the many reptiles I share my home with is a rhinoceros rock iguana who usually free roams my house. She basks under the heat lamps with the tortoises, shares the plates of veggies and finds sunbeams to relax in. Mid-afternoon, it’s time to head under some rocks for a nap. No, I don’t have […]
Homeschooling? Worried About Education? How About Supplementing with FUN Science Workbooks?
The mission of my book publisher, Lyric Power Publishing LLC, is to “Make Science Fun!” That’s because they know how fun science really is. Their Activity Sheets and Workbooks are for Ages K-5 (see workbook covers for grade level and contents) and while they are highly educational, they are also lots of fun! Have you […]