Trailing the last moments of daylight
in the twilight streets, fiery tails
excite the air.

Firefly season is ending soon here, only a few more chances
for images in my firefly book.

_____________________________________
Firefly | Lampyridae | Photinus pyralis

He came from nowhere, wings a dazzling
masterpiece of design, here and
gone in a moment.

_____________________________________
Damselfly

The great rock guitarist Dick Wagner is gone. I’ve been a fan since his time leading The Frost;
I was fortunate to see them many times at sock hops around Detroit.

I made this portrait of him not long ago and it was a real pleasure
to know it was one of his favorites; he used it as the cover
of his last album, “Captured”.

It takes a great spirit to make such great music – rest in peace, Dick Wagner.

Detroit Free Press story
Rolling Stone

Overwhelmed by her demons, an ant is the newest
initiate to the whipping club.

_____________________________________
Eastern black carpenter ant | Camponotus pennsylvanicus

Strangers in an overflowing garden,
toying with with a golden goddess.

Honey bee | Apis mellifera

An author & artist under one roof.

From KatheKoja.com:

“When I write, I have images, always, in my mind: of the characters, or a character, first.
Then the world, their world, accretes around them, and the story grows.

The book’s cover art comes much later in the process, when the writing is done.

Over at Scientific American, photographer Alex Wild is
discussing some of the techniques used
to photograph fireflies. Link Link.

I’m knee-deep in fireflies every evening now,
working on my firefly book, which will be published in 2016.

I’m working with video as much as still imaging,
here’s a still from one of my videos.

A mating call heard in the secret compartment
between flashes, trembling wings
whisper the day’s end.

I talked with Tamron about their excellent new telephoto zoom,
and how I use it for photographing birds.

Late for a forgotten appointment with the sun,
mallards transform into golden bullets.

_____________________________________
Mallard Duck | Anas platyrhynchos

A katydid begins a stream of misadventures,
still a slave to the spell of circles, more dangerous
than other suspects.

_____________________________________
Greater Angle-wing Katydid | Microcentrum rhombifolium

A grackle makes one last attempt to tame the wind.

_____________________________________
Grackle | Quiscalus quiscula

A firefly glows just beyond the threshold
of the invisible, a leftover sun
trailing sparks.

_____________________________________
Firefly | Lampyridae | Photinus pyralis

Scattered seeds smuggle time
in the failing light, sterile jewels soon
to be reclaimed by the elements.

_____________________________________
Dandelion | Taraxacum officinale

A newcomer to the pollination game, she slips
out of focus while arranging her flight, hiding
her obsessions to keep the world at bay.

_____________________________________
Honey bee | Apis mellifera

Dismantling the magic of a new world,
a newborn mantis learns what it means
to be a showman.

_____________________________________
Chinese Praying Mantis | Tenodera aridifolia sinensis

Commanding a spring breeze to change direction,
a nuthatch tells tall tales to a wolf.

_____________________________________
White-breasted Nuthatch | Sitta carolinensis

Hiding from a complicated past, her last days
spent busily sorting specimens of plants and minerals.

_____________________________________
Eastern black carpenter ant | Camponotus pennsylvanicus

A ghost of everyone’s summer dreams,
a firefly waits out the last traces of winter.

_____________________________________
Firefly | Lampyridae | Photinus pyralis

Waking the sky from its sleep,
a songbird flees the empire of clouds.

_____________________________________
Sparrow | Passer domesticus

Honey bees addicted to moving faster and faster,
the smallest amusement park ride
is loud enough to wake the entire garden.

_____________________________________
Honey bee | Apis mellifera

Snowing today, but I’m hearing rumors of Spring.
Several insect eggs in a white pine are left to glow
in the sun after hatching.

Four months, 14 books, 51 teams, 241 young readers …

The Orion Township Public Library Battle of the Books was definitely epic. The high school’s auditorium was Standing Room Only, filled with beaming parents and the teams of kids in amazing and creative costumes, all there to celebrate reading, and the great fun (and great effort) involved in winning the Battle.

Even the team’s names were creative and fun: Onomatopoeic Owls, Rapunzel’s Readers, The Native Nerds, Duct Tape Divas, The Lone Readers, The Neon Mustaches.

The kids’ questions during my presentation were spot-on, and we were able to chat one-on-one afterward, during the STEP GENTLY OUT signing. Many thanks to Kristen and Deb, everyone who worked on the Battle, and all the young readers!

At the end, I received a wonderful souvenir book, filled with messages to me from the kids:

I’ll be speaking and signing books at the Battle of the Books tomorrow,
March 18, 2014, at the Orion Township Public Library.

Every year students at the library read 14 books and answer questions in a quiz show format.
The students have fun, win prizes and read great books.

I’ll tell the story of creating my picture book Step Gently Out with Helen Frost,
answer questions and maybe give a sneak peek at future books.

Below, a river-side damselfly from Step Gently Out:

All light and grace, a new-born mantis
unfolds wrinkles in the garden light, exchanging
signals with future prey.

_____________________________________
Chinese Praying Mantis | Tenodera aridifolia sinensis

The last light sheds its meager rays
in the lost corners of the world,
unraveling a tiny universe, rousing
the workers from sleep.

_____________________________________
Eastern black carpenter ant | Camponotus pennsylvanicus