As a kid, when I first saw the image of “Washington Crossing the Delaware,” I wondered why our future First President wasn’t sitting down – the small boat is full of men, it looks ready to tip over and there are large chunks of ice floating in the river.

The “answer” is in the book The Allegheny by Frederick Way Jr. (The Rivers of America series, Farrar & Rinehart, 1942). It appears that in 1753, when Washington was but 21 years old and a Major, he had delivered a letter to the French forces near present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On the return trip, he and his guide, Christopher Gist, found themselves on the other side of the Allegheny River from where they wanted to be. It was early December and cold. The shore was frozen. Ice floated down the river. They were tired and just wanted this endeavor over with. So, being resourseful young men, they cut down some trees and made a raft.

By now, it was nightfall. But instead of waiting to set out until the next day, impetuous young men that they were, they immediately began poling across the flowing river. Chunks of ice in the water? No matter. We’ll just pole faster. That worked right up until an especially large piece hit the raft and knocked Washington into ten feet of freezing water.

Fortunately, the men were able to make it to the banks of near-by Six-Mile-Island in the middle of the river where they spent the night. But their raft was lost and they still had to cross the main channel of the Allegheny River.

Somehow both men survived the night and when they woke the next day, the river had frozen solid. So they just walked to shore.

My conclusion: Washington was determined that no ice-bearing river will get the better of him again and that risk-taking trumps common sense in the future leader of a new country.

(Image from Wikipedia of a painting by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze.)

I think heelsplitter is one of my favorites although it makes me cringe to imagine why it’s called that. There’s also a type of giant water bug called toe-biter that’s actually big enough to catch tadpoles and small fish. I may never wade barefoot through streams again.

Many other common names are fun without being quite so scary. Consider the plants duckweed, lizardtail, lamb’s quarters and monkeyflower. Or the animals cricket frog, painted lady and daddy long-legs.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to have kids draw pictures of what they think a plant or animal looks like from just the common name? Or to make up names of their own and illustrate them?

You might want to check out the non-science book, Mixed Beasts, where Wallace Edwards has done just that, illustrating Kenyon Cox’s imaginary plants and animals such as the “bumblebeaver” on the cover. (Cox’s original edition with black and white line art was published in 1904.)

Things get pretty interesting when nature and imagination come together.

My first thought was rattlesnakes. Proabably because we’d had a few in our backyard. And rattlesnakes got me excited, although not actually in a good way. So I glued together a little booklet, 3 x 4 inches, with computer generated drawings and a simple description of two types of rattlesnakes.

But that didn’t seem broad enough. At least, not to get published. I changed the book to include rattlesnakes within the scope of California deserts. Then, the more I thought about who would read or use the book, the more I realized my audience would likely be limited to California.

An even broader scope was better, hence, America’s Deserts. All of North America. Besides, four of the six deserts on the continent occur in California anyway. And, as a bonus, two deserts were within a couple hours of my home. Easy access for field research.

I also learned that before moving beyond “The Idea,” 3 other elements need to be considered: Resources, Passion and Need/Market. Unlike fiction, you can’t make up facts in natural science as you go along. You need resources: Internet, reference books, people, field work. And you need passion – a lot of interest in your subject since it may take 1-2 years of work to finish your book. Lastly, who cares? Is there a need? A ready audience? You may have to convince a publisher of the market so you better know what it is.

Next post: Resources

Wearing my wetsuit with my grandmas

When I was about ten years old, I wanted to be a SCUBA diver. Since my parents told me “No,” (although my mother actually said, “Girls don’t SCUBA dive.”), I decided to become a marine biologist so SCUBA diving would be part of my work description and I would have to do it. So there, Mom.

I’d always liked being outdoors, climbing trees, exploring the hills and fields near our home. I may have majored in biology anyway. Still, I thank my mom for helping cement that love of nature by tapping into my rebellious side. And at fifteen, after finally wearing down my parent’s resolve, I got my SCUBA certification.

I ultimately became a science educator and natural science writer and illustrator. My shelves are filled with books on plants and animals, biomes, trail guides and copies of my own books on ecosystems in North America. Even my fiction manuscripts connect with nature in some way. It’s a huge part of what I do and who I am.

Soooo…while I work on my latest non-fiction, natural science book, I’m going to share the process. The manuscript and artwork are due in about 4 months – come with me for the final push toward the finished book.

Next post: “The Idea”

One of the reasons I like being at Disneyland is the happiness factor: people are on vacation, they’re happy and laughing, little kids are running around and excited, young couples walk around holding hands. Plus, the happiness tends to rub off on me and I always leave smiling.

So I carried a veggie skewer and Coke to my favorite, quiet, “hidden patio” near the water (you can just see my red Coke cup on the table in the far corner), power-walked to release some tension and rode a couple rides.

As I was about to exit, I passed the photo-op station for Minnie Mouse, dressed as a witch for Halloween. There are always Characters positioned around Main Street and lines of kids and parents waiting to take a photo or get an autograph. I hardly notice them anymore. But yesterday was different.

The girl with Minnie seemed much older and bigger than the usual little kid. When I realized she was mentally disabled, I stopped to watch. She kept looking up at Minnie and stroking her face, taking much longer than the usual photo-op. Minnie had an arm around her and waited. No one interfered. No little kid asked what was taking so long. By the time Minnie gently turned the woman around for the picture, I was blinking back tears.

Then, as I was about to turn away, Minnie got down on one knee and spread her arms out wide. A little boy ran to her with unrestrained joy and they gave each other a big hug.

More tears. Maybe it was the unfettered expressions of kindness and love. But what I really think is that sometimes I long for that simplicity of innocence when you can touch and hug a cartoon – and they touch and hug you back.