Kate Messner's Blog, page 12

SEE YOU AT HARRY’S is out today!

I’ve long been a fan of Jo Knowles’ YA novels, so a few months ago, when Candlewick offered me an early peek at SEE YOU AT HARRY’S, her first title for ages 10 and up, I jumped at the opportunity. Jo is a writer-friend and one of the kindest, most generous people I’ve ever met. I knew I’d probably like it, but I still wasn’t fully prepared for the quiet power of this story.

Set in a small-town ice cream parlor, SEE YOU AT HARRY’S is about family and friends, grief and acceptance, healing and love and hope. It’s hard to give too much of a summary without spoilers. Here’s what the GoodReads blurb has to say:

Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible. It seems as though everyone in her family has better things to do than pay attention to her: Mom (when she’s not meditating) helps Dad run the family restaurant; Sarah is taking a gap year after high school; and Holden pretends that Mom and Dad and everyone else doesn’t know he’s gay, even as he fends off bullies at school. Then there’s Charlie: three years old, a “surprise” baby, the center of everyone’s world. He’s devoted to Fern, but he’s annoying, too, always getting his way, always dirty, always commanding attention. If it wasn’t for Ran, Fern’s calm and positive best friend, there’d be nowhere to turn. Ran’s mantra, “All will be well,” is soothing in a way that nothing else seems to be. And when Ran says it, Fern can almost believe it’s true. But then tragedy strikes- and Fern feels not only more alone than ever, but also responsible for the accident that has wrenched her family apart. All will not be well. Or at least all will never be the same

And here’s what I have to say:

SEE YOU AT HARRY’S, simply put, is amazing. I can’t remember ever reading a story with more heart.  It made me laugh and cry in equal turns and is one of the most beautiful, moving books I’ve ever read. It’s out today and not to be missed. Read it with a full box of Kleenex and people you love nearby.

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Marty McGuire News!

I’ve had a busy spring so far, and so has my chapter book character, third grader Marty McGuire.Here’s a Marty update:

The second book in the series, MARTY MCGUIRE DIGS WORMS, came out April 1st, and there have already been some super-nice reviews, including this one (that came with a star!) from Kirkus:

Floca’s cheery black-and-white illustrations match the upbeat theme of the tale, and with at least one per brief chapter, they break up the text pages nicely. Marty’s first-person commentary, sometimes just a tiny bit sarcastic, splendidly conveys the eroding innocence of middle-graders.A quick, amusing read with an easily digestible environmental message; it is a perfect match for its young intended audience.  

School Library Journal called Marty a “spirited youngster” (she liked that) and  said this:

Packed with eco-friendly ideas, this realistic, plot-driven early chapter book is a welcome addition to Earth Day or environmental units.

And I especially loved this review in a Washington Post round-up of Earth Day books

It’s hard to think of cafeteria composting as the topic for a good chapter book, but Messner and Floca pull it off. It’s the characters who make this book entertaining, whether it’s Marty’s wildlife rehabilitator mom or her inventive Grandma Barb, who thinks both worm slime and duct tape have essential uses.


Gotta love a book review that mentions both worm slime and duct tape, don’t you think?

 

Meanwhile, the first Marty McGuire book has been nominated for the Rhode Island Children’s Book Award, along with some other books that I love.  You can see the full list here.

 

And how exciting is this?  Marty has her own book club!

 

School library media specialist John Schumacher created the poster above for the Marty McGuire Book Club! He and fourth grade teacher Colby Sharp are well known for their blogs celebrating the best of children’s books, and they’ve declared May “Marty McGuire Month,” inviting readers to dig into one or both Marty books and then join them for an online Twitter chat starting at 8pm EST on May 23rd, using the hashtag #MartyMcGuire. I’ll be sure to be online that night, too, answering any questions about Marty or writing chapter books or really anything. Check out this post on “Watch-Connect-Read” or this one at “SharpRead” for all the details, and join us if you can!

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Real authors don’t plan…or do they? An open letter to Tyler

Dear Tyler,

So I heard a rumor today.  Is it true that you told your teacher that real authors don’t use story webs or outlines or plan their writing?  That real authors just write whatever comes into their heads and if they need to outline or do any prep work, they’re not real writers?

Hmm.

Your teacher dropped me a note to ask if I might be able to make you reconsider.  She’s a friend of mine and knows that I’ve written eight books for kids — three that are out now and five that will be published in 2010 and 2011.  And she has a pretty good idea what “real writing” looks like.

I told her I’d share some photos tonight, because I thought you might like to see this.



This is some of the pre-writing I’ve done for the book I’m writing right now. It’s a middle grade mystery called CAPTURE THE FLAG, and I’m finished with my draft, but I’ll be revising for a while now, trying to make it better. What you’re looking at in the photo includes:

A timeline showing where all the characters are throughout the story & what happens when (top left)
Page two of the timeline (top middle)
A list of things I needed to research (top right)
A character brainstorming chart with notes on the three kids’ personalities, interests, families, etc. (middle left)
A story web showing how the central mystery relates to the clues, villains, setting, etc. (middle right)
A plot diagram that I did to make sure the story gets more exciting as it goes along, right up to the climax (bottom left)
A chapter by chapter outline of characters, action, settings, plot threads, and theme connections (bottom center)
A chart listing secondary characters hanging around the airport where the story is set & their stories

And then there’s this…



It’s my revision to-do list, with jobs for each chapter.  I’m on Chapter 13 right now.

So do I do all this stuff for EVERY novel I write?  Nope. But I use a lot of it with each book. 

And do I ALWAYS outline and plan before I write?  Well, your teacher might not like this, but no.  Sometimes I just plunge in and write for a little while.  That kind of free-writing can help you get good ideas, but it’s also scattered and unorganized and hard for readers to follow, so even if I start a book by free-writing, I usually don’t make it all the way through.  Once I have an idea where the story is going, I stop and…. you guessed it… make an outline, a road map that can get me to the end.

Having practice with a lot of different kinds of brainstorming, story mapping, and outlining helps me make sure I have the skills I need to write whatever I want to write. It’s like having a big toolbox.  You might not need the hammer for every single project, but you’d sure be lost without it, and if you have one, you can pull it out whenever you need it.

So give the outline a try, okay?  Real writers do use the tools your teacher is talking about, and we use them all the time.

I hope your fantasy story turns out beautifully.

All the best,

~Kate Messner

P.S. I am sorry about this post.  I used to hate it when my teachers were right about things like this…

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Celebrating Stories (Part 2): A Terrific Tuesday at IRA 2012

Tuesday morning at the International Reading Association started bright and early for me. I don’t usually have trouble jumping out of bed in the morning, but I was especially excited for breakfast. Can you see why?

The theme for the Scholastic Book Clubs breakfast, “My Favorite Teacher,”  made this an easy talk to write because I’ve had so many great teachers who helped make me into a writer. I loved listening to the other authors, too. Mem Fox told us about her teacher who read aloud to them: “”It’s the hearing of the words that’s kept them alive in my mind,” Mem said, and then she read her new picture book aloud as all 550 of us sat spellbound.  My pictures from this breakfast didn’t turn out too well because the ballroom was so big, but here’s a slightly fuzzy Mem Fox speaking. (In real life, she is lovely and smart and funny and not fuzzy at all.)

 

Author/illustrator Peter Reynolds told the audience how he doodled his way through school and shared the story of the math teacher who noticed his doodling, called him on it, and challenged him to illustrate concepts in his math textbook for the class. I loved this – when teachers connect what they’re teaching to what kids love, so many connections are made.

Rita Williams-Garcia shared a story of her favorite teacher, who was the inspiration for a teacher-character in her upcoming sequel to ONE CRAZY SUMMER.

Then it was my turn.

I snapped this photo to post on Twitter just as Scholastic’s John Mason was introducing me. I’m sure he was thinking, “Hey! Hey!! Put that phone down, will you, and get ready?!”

I talked about four of my favorite teachers (I never was very good at test questions where you were only allowed to choose one answer) who understood what was important about stories and writing and nurtured those passions in me.  And then I shared my poem, “Revolution for the Tested,” because with so many schools slogging through standardized tests this spring, I thought it would be a welcome reminder for teachers fighting to keep sharing stories with students and honoring their voices every day.

A lot of teachers from the breakfast have emailed me to request that poem.  (If you’re one of them, thank you so much for the kind words; you made my day.)  Here is the link to “Revolution for the Tested.”

Right after my talk, my editor Anamika  rushed me off to the convention center for my EYE OF THE STORM signing at Walker Bloomsbury.This is what the IRA Exhibits Hall looks like from the food court above. It’s enormous!

I was sad that I missed James Dashner and Henry Winkler speaking at the Scholastic Book Clubs breakfast but happy to meet fellow Walker/Bloomsbury author Leslie Margolis and connect with writer-friend friend Greg Neri at the exhibit hall.

 

Here are Beth Eller and Linette Kim, the fantastic school & library folks from Walker-Bloomsbury. Every time I’ve ever seen Beth and Linette at one of these events, they’re smiling, no matter how many boxes they’ve unpacked or how busy their schedules have been.

I got to see author-friend Lisa Schroeder for a few minutes, too!  She stopped by to say hi on her way to the Simon & Schuster booth to sign her gorgeous YA novel, THE DAY BEFORE.

My last scheduled IRA book signing on Tuesday was for REAL REVISION: AUTHORS’ STRATEGIES TO SHARE WITH STUDENT WRITERS  at the Stenhouse booth.  So many of my teacher-friends from Twitter dropped by to chat about writing!

After my morning convention events, I rushed back to the hotel to check out and hop in a car bound for Naperville (Anamika, thank you SO much for bringing lunch!) to spend the afternoon at May Watts Elementary School.

I showed the students my writer’s notebook and asked how many have notebooks of their own. So many hands went up!  This notebook (or one just like it) comes with me everywhere, and it’s where I write down new ideas, thoughts on the book I’m working on, and interesting things that I see or hear in my travels. It’s where I try out ideas for my works-in-progress, make outlines, scribble graphic organizers and character sketches. And it’s where I take notes when I’m doing research…like the day I went to a local marsh and kissed a frog (just like my character, Marty McGuire!)  so that I could describe what it was like in the book.

We talked a lot about writing and reading. Students shared lots of their favorite titles with me, and I jotted them down in my notebook to add to my to-read list.  I signed what felt like a zillion books for some terrific fourth and second graders, many of whom are enthusiastic writers themselves.

 

 

I’m always excited when I’m also able to do a school visit on one of my conference trips, and this was just an amazing way to end my time in Chicago.  Thanks, IRA and May Watts Elementary School, for an amazing couple of days around the Windy City!

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Celebrating Stories: A Magical Monday at IRA 2012

After two whirlwind days at the International Reading Association Convention in Chicago this week, I have three conclusions to share:

Even in this age of high-stakes testing, passion for real reading is alive and well.
Teachers have amazing, resilient, indomitable spirits.
People who love books are the absolute best people to hang out with.

My Monday morning began with a 4am ferry ride so I could get to the airport & catch a flight to Chicago. I checked into my hotel and headed straight to the convention center for my signing at Anderson’s Bookshop booth.  I got to meet Uma Krishnaswami, who was signing her books one table over, and Trisha Bandre, who was on the committee that selected OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW as an NCTE Notable Book in the Language Arts.   I was so happy that Trisha came to introduce herself and say hi; so often when a book makes a wonderful list like this, authors never have the opportunity to meet the people who made that happen. It was nice to be able to say thank you in person!

 

After my signing, Emily Manning interviewed me about EYE OF THE STORM (out now from Walker/Bloomsbury) and CAPTURE THE FLAG (coming in July from Scholastic) for the Read-Write-Think podcast, “Chatting About Books.” Emily is delightful and always asks the most thoughtful questions. I’ll be sure to share a link when the interviews are posted.

I had lunch (notable because lunch is sometimes hard to come by at these conventions), and then it was off to sign books at Follett Learning, where they were cheerfully giving away paperback copies of MARTY MCGUIRE DIGS WORMS.

 

Next, it was off to Chronicle, to sign SEA MONSTER’S FIRST DAY and OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW.  Here’s the wonderful Lea Yancey from Chronicle, showing off one of our books.

 

Next, I found my way to the Scholastic booth to sign with Blue Balliett and Kimberley Griffiths Little.  Here I am with part of the Scholastic school & library team – Candace Greene, Lizette Serrano, and Emily Heddleson, who are just as friendly and awesome as they look.

This was my first time signing CAPTURE THE FLAG – just advance reader copies for now, but now I’m SO excited for the book’s release this summer!

 

(Photo shamelessly swiped from Tracy van Straaten’s Twitter feed. Thanks, Tracy!)

After my signings, I participated on a panel about engaging readers, with Tennessee teachers Jennifer Winstead and Beth Landers  I talked about Skype author visits and shared my list of authors who do free Skype chats with classes and book clubs that have read one of their books, and Jennifer and Beth shared zillions of ideas for getting school communities involved in reading. Their students are so lucky to have them.

 

After our panel, I hurried back to the hotel to meet for the Scholastic Book Clubs dinner.  I love spending time with the book club folks because they’re so fiercely passionate about getting books into the hands of kids. My kind of people, for sure.   Mem Fox was there, too, and Peter Reynolds. I got to chat with James Dashner and tell him how much I liked the first book in his upcoming INFINITY RING series.   I got to chat a little with Henry Winkler, too!  His book, GHOST BUDDY: ZERO TO HERO, co-written with Lin Oliver, is so funny and a great pick for reluctant readers.  I loved hearing how Henry and Lin collaborated on the book, hanging out in Lin’s office and both talking, tossing out ideas as she typed. Even though I loved Henry’s book (and was a Happy Days fan as a kid!) I didn’t have a photo taken with him because, to be honest, he was quite in demand, and I couldn’t help thinking that he’d probably just like to eat his dinner. Here he is doing that, and visiting with Scholastic CEO Dick Robinson.

(Stealth photo taken on my super-sneaky iPhone)

And then….well, then I collapsed into a puddle in my hotel room because it was late and I was sleepy. But Tuesday was another day full of great teachers, great readers, and one amazing breakfast –

Part two of my Whirlwind Days of IRA 2012 blog post will be on the way soon!

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My Presentations & Signings at IRA

Monday and Tuesday of next week, I’ll be in Chicago for the International Reading Association Convention with a wonderfully busy schedule, speaking and signing books.

If you’re there, too, I hope you’ll find me and say hello!  Here’s where to look…

Monday, April 30
10:00-11:00 – Book Signing – OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW and EYE OF THE STORMBooth 1255 – Anderson’s Bookstore, Convention Book Signing Area 1:00 -2:00   – Book SigningBooth 1843 – Follett Learning 2:00-3:00 -   Book Signing – OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW & SEA MONSTER’S FIRST DAYBooth 1941 – Chronicle Books 3:00-4:00  – Book Signing – MARTY MCGUIRE, MARTY MCGUIRE DIGS WORMS, & CAPTURE THE FLAG (ARC)Booth 1314 – Scholastic 4:45-5:45 – Presentation – Collaborating to Engage ReadersHyatt Regency McCormick, CC11B

Collaborating to Engage Readers: Learn How Librarian and Teacher Partnerships Can Increase Reading for Pleasure by Incorporating Book Clubs, Author Visits and Author Skypes in Your School

Hyatt Regency McCormick, CC11B

Description: This session will share a variety of reading events used over the past ten years in our school to take reading interest to the next level. Monthly book clubs, special book club events including a Mother Daughter Book Club and Guys Read Book Club will be outlined including a list of past books and discussion questions/topics, and ideas for promoting and planning your own events. Author visits and author skypes will also be explored during this session. The presenters will share keys to making a successful author visit or Skype in your own school. You will leave this session feeling empowered with practical ideas to increase reading for pleasure in your own school.

Presenters: Kate Messner (Scholastic), Bethany B. Landers (St. George’s Independent School), Mrs. Jennifer Winstead, St. George’s Independent School.

Tuesday, May 1

7:00-8:45 Scholastic Book Club Breakfast

I’ll be speaking at Scholastic Book Club’s “My Favorite Teacher” breakfast, sharing memories of a favorite teacher, along with Mem Fox, Peter Reynolds, Rita Williams Garcia, James Dashner, and Henry Winkler. I will be the one trying not to swoon too obviously at all the others.

9:00-10:00  Book Signing – EYE OF THE STORMBooth 2342 – Walker/Bloomsbury 11:00-12:00 Book signing – REAL REVISION: AUTHORS’ STRATEGIES TO SHARE WITH STUDENT WRITERSBooth 1640 – Stenhouse Publishers

Tuesday afternoon, I’ll be visiting with fourth graders at May Watts Elementary School in Naperille, IL – and then it’s off to the airport for my flight home. If you’re planning to be in Chicago for IRA, please let me know – I’d love to say hello!

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Real Inspiration: Notes from the New England SCBWI Conference

I spent last weekend at the annual conference of the New England Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. This conference is so special to me because it’s the first SCBWI conference I ever attended, back in 2007.  I met so many incredible, warm, wonderful writers, and since then, I’ve been lucky enough to get to know many of them and call them friends. So giving one of the keynotes at the conference this year really felt like coming home.

(Thanks to Kellie at Walden Pond Press for taking this photo & allowing me to steal it. I had four speaking commitments at this conference, which meant that my brain was occupied and my photography somewhat sporadic. Thanks, Kellie!)

I spoke about what I learned speaking at the 2012 TED Conference, especially when it comes to being brave (speaking to an audience of 1500 with no notes & no podium) and being afraid (I was. But that’s okay…because there are different kinds of afraid, when it comes to life and public speaking and writing, too, and this was the good kind.)  And I also gave my talk on world-building and imagination. (TED hasn’t released the video of my original talk yet, but I’ll be sure to share when they do!)

I really enjoyed the other conference keynotes, too. Sadly, I wasn’t able to stay for Jane Yolen’s speech on Sunday; she’s one of my literary heroes.  But I enjoyed the nonfiction panel that morning with the Tanya Lee Stone, Susan Campbell Bartoletti, and Elizabeth Partridge. I loved hearing about the inspiration behind the covers that illustrator Harry Bliss created for the New Yorker, and I found inspiration in Sara Zarr’s talk, where she shared some lessons from children’s book favorites, Frog and Toad.

Linda Urban taught a made-of-wonderful workshop on Getting Unstuck, which helped me to reconsider the motivation of one of my characters in a novel-in-progress.

Linda’s playing ukelele here because she challenged us to explore other art forms as a way of getting “unstuck” when it comes to writing. She’s not just showing off…although she sings some mean blues.

I met a lot of great people at the author-agent panel in which I participated. We talked about getting an agent, how the author-agent relationship works, what agents do, anyway, and things like that.

From left to right, that’s Christine Brodien-Jones and her agent, Steven Fraser; Kristine Asselin and her agent, Vickie Motter,  me and my agent, Jennifer Laughran.

On Sunday, I gave a two-hour revision workshop.  When I originally imagined this session, I was picturing a small group of maybe 12-15 writers, but we had over a hundred. Here they are working on one of the many writing exercises we did. This was a quiet one…

And here they are, working on one of the loud ones!

We talked about revising a manuscript to weed out tired body language and find stronger, more unique ways to show emotion. One way to do that is to brainstorm by role-playing with a partner. If your character is blushing every five pages, for example, you might ask a friend to imagine that he or she is embarrassed and act it out. Then write down what he or she does and says.

One writer in the workshop noticed that in her writing, she always imagines her character from the waist up and never considered what someone’s feet might be doing when they’re angry or scared. Great to consider!

I had so much fun with this group of smart, spirited writers and with everyone at the conference. Thanks, NESCBWI organizers, for a fantastic, inspirational weekend!

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A visit with Kent Brown, executive director of the Highlights Foundation

I always loved reading Highlights as a kid, first in our doctor’s office and then signed out religiously from the school library, but it wasn’t until just last summer that I had the opportunity to visit the children’s magazine headquarters in Honesdale, Pennsylvania and spend a day as a guest at the Highlights Foundation workshop site in the woods.  It’s an amazing place that offers a huge variety of workshops and retreats for writers and illustrators — with a schedule that’s going to be even busier in the coming months.  When Alison Myers at Highlights offered me the chance to chat with executive director Kent Brown about what’s in store, I couldn’t resist…

Thanks for visiting my blog today, Kent! I know that you have some changes in store for the Highlights retreat schedule this year. What was behind the decision to change gears from hosting your traditional institute at Chatauqua to offering more at the new facility in Honesdale?  

I see our change as more of an evolution than a major decision.  The decision — the hard one — was not doing Chautauqua in the regular season.  We had a great run there, and many of us — students, faculty, and staff — have lots of attachment to the place. In the past ten years we have continually added workshops at the home of the Founders of Highlights, near Honesdale.  In the past five, we served more people in PA than Chautauqua.  Our new facility encouraged us to re-focus.  We can provide more value to writers with The Barn, a 5000-square foot conference center.

What can writers expect with the new format for the Chautauqua-like retreats?

 We have a full schedule of workshops, but three of them evoke the Chautauqua format. Each of the three is one week long.  So it’s Chautauqua in the Poconos, but with 33 people each week instead of the hundred we had at Chautauqua.  The format, just like Chautauqua, will include keynotes, multiple small sessions on a variety of topics, and a great deal of one-on-ones, both formal and informal.  And, like Chautauqua and all of our programs, the faculty is selected to mingle and share; no head tables, no big egos. Writers will find the format of the three:  Writing from the Heart, Writing Fiction for Children and Young Adults, and Non-fiction Writing for Children and Young Adults, focused by genre or topic more than our larger Chautauqua program.  We do worry that these programs will be seen as too narrow; indeed, many of our writing friends and much of our faculty have diverse interests with respect to genre.  So we understand that worry and will not have a hard edge on the definitions, and will allow for some cross fertilization.

For those who haven’t been to the Founders property, there’s something really special about that place, and I know many folks who attend workshops come over and over. What do you think gives the property that “magical” feel, and what changes will folks notice if they haven’t been to visit in a while?

I don’t know what gives the magical feel.  I can say that I visited my grandparents’ farm every year of my life, at least once.  I cannot remember ever leaving without tears, up to the time I moved there permenantly.  I was 26.

I also know that my grandparents very much believed in celebrating your successes.  I believe writers feel the magic that believes in them and celebrates their successes when they come to the Founder’s home place.

The most dramatic change is The Barn.  We worried that leaving the living room of Grandma’s home would impair the intimate feeling at our workshops.  But we have proven that the new building has the same intimate feel, whether the group is six or thirty six.

Oh yes, I am planting a garden this year.  Marcia has been using fresh vegetables for years, but these will be super-fresh.

Could you share a few of the most memorable things that have happened at Highlights retreats and workshops over the years?

Patti Gauch, always the quick wit, slipped when mounting the stage.  When she got up, she said, “Did you see my new sneakers?”  Child-like for sure.

Dashdong Dog, distinguished visitor from Mongolia, recited his poem, “The Horse,” at a Chautauqua dinner.  Amazing how the rhythm gave us the sense though we did not understand any words.  That experience reinforced in all of us the universality of what we wish for children everywhere.

I love this story – it’s so, so true that we are alike in heart even when our languages differ.

Where do you see the Highlights Foundation going from here?

We have taken on a major challenge to serve twice as many people this year than in recent past years.  We have a commitment to quality and individual attention, and staying small and intimate.  We pledge not to dilute the faculty-student ratio.   We dream of many things:  workshops in other locations;sharing our programs more widely, perhaps in a way that includes those who cannot be on-site.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

 I’m excited about our plans to expand our scholarship program.  Historically we have been able to help almost 25 percent of our Chautauqua attendees.  Our three one-week programs are more than 40% cheaper than we could do at Chautauqua.  And our scholarship program is now reaching every workshop we hold.

 Thanks so much for joining us, Kent, and I look forward to another visit to Highlights before long.  

You can learn more about the Highlights Foundation and check out the full list of upcoming workshops and retreats here.

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Hiking in the Fakahatchee Strand

I’ve been kayaking in the Everglades multiple times and out walking on just about every nature boardwalk that Southwest Florida has to offer, and every time I venture into the swamp, I fall just a little more in love with it. There’s something about the soggy mix of plants and birds and snakes – the blend of danger and beauty in a place that is so quiet and so loud, all at once, that’s irresistible. I have an upcoming book set in the Everglades, too (science thriller WAKE UP MISSING is scheduled for September 2013 with Walker/Bloomsbury) so on our recent trip to Florida last week, I really wanted to do some hiking deeper in the swamp.  I contacted Tod at Tour the Glades, a local guide I’d read about on TripAdvisor, but he was totally booked for the week.

“But what is it that you want to see?”  he asked me on the phone. “Orchids?”

“Actually, we’re more interested in looking for panther tracks and just seeing the whole ecosystem,” I told him.

“Oh! In that case, I’ll  give you directions to a good trail, and you can just go on your own.”  He told me about a trail deep in the Fakahatchee Strand, a state preserved nicknamed “the Amazon of  North America”.  Just off its only real road, an uneven, dirt and crushed gravel trail called Janes Memorial Scenic Drive, are some old logging trails that hikers use now.  “You want to look for Gate 7,” Tod told me.  “That trail goes three miles straight into the swamp and then opens up on a huge prairie. You’ll feel like you’re out on the African savannah.”

I could hear in his voice how much he loves this hike. “Thanks,” I told him. “That sounds perfect.”

“You might see panther tracks in the mud and sand off to the side. It’s a great hike either way,” he promised. “You’ll just want to keep an eye out for snakes.”

So early one morning, my son and I set out for the Fakahatchee Strand.  Sure enough, we found this gate, and behind it, a shady trail leading into the swamp.

 

The air was full of birdcalls and the buzzing of mosquitoes and deer flies as we started out on the trail, slightly elevated above the swampy areas on either side.  This is one of dozens of old logging trams that were built when the Lee Tidewater Cypress Company began logging this area in 1947.  The builders scooped out dirt from either side of the path to raise the ground level enough that they could lay tracks on top of it.  The tramways had to be elevated so that cabbagehead locomotives could get through, pulling the trees.  The side canals filled in with rainwater and swamp, so what remains is a relatively dry trail with marshy areas on either side.  We stayed to the trail, peering into the mud on either side to search for tracks, and listening to the constant rustle of dry palm fronds as critters we could only imagine scuttled deeper into the brush.

There were bugs – oh, were there bugs –not just mosquitoes and deerflies that drew blood, but dazzling giant dragonflies the size of birds, some of them bright scarlet, and butterflies zebra-striped in yellow and black.

 

We were a couple miles in when we spotted our first snake – a cottonmouth stretched out over the trail.

 

It was on the small side – about two and a half feet long – and way over on one side of the trail, so we gave it plenty of room and walked on the other side. The snake didn’t move but did treat us to a warning display as we passed.

 

We marked the path with palm fronts so we’d be extra aware to watch for this snake on our return and continued on our way.  Within another mile, the ground beneath our feet softened from packed mud to loose sand, and the thick walls of vegetation opened up onto the wide open expanse called Four Stake Prairie.

 

I knew even as I took these photos that they wouldn’t do justice to the feeling of endless open space.  And they don’t.  It was a magical-feeling place, with deer that bounded into the cypress woods as we approached, small islands of scorched palm trees that might have hidden Florida panthers, resting in the shade, and wildflowers that lit the parched land like flames.

 

Out here, we’d been told to watch for Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes, but we didn’t see or hear any.   I took some photos and notes for my upcoming book (I’ll be adding more details when I get back to that manuscript…and more bugs!), and then it was time to start back toward the car.

The small cottonmouth was not where we’d left him, so after a careful scan of the trail, I walked past our palm fronds, only to hear my son gasp behind me.  The snake was hidden in the grass that separated the two halves of the trail, and I’d walked right past it.  It hadn’t moved, but its mouth was open wide.  The trail just isn’t that wide, and there wasn’t an easy way for my son to walk around the snake without venturing through thick brush into the marsh, so I found a six-foot long stick and tried to coax the snake off the trail.  It wouldn’t leave.  It never made a move toward us, but it also never backed down.  Finally, I used the stick to slide the snake carefully, all coiled up, way over to the edge of the trail until there was room to pass.

 

Less than half a mile further along the trail, we met a much larger cottonmouth – maybe four and a half feet long – lounging half in, half out of the brush.   It was over to one side, so we slipped quietly past and kept walking.

 

After our second snake sighting, I came to the conclusion that while I’m truly fascinated by venomous snakes and find them truly beautiful in a scary sort of way, I prefer hiking with a guide when such snakes are likely to be part of the experience. Being the “snake-watcher” on this walk left me with less time and watchful energy to enjoy the other wildlife – the lizards and butterflies and panther tracks that we might have seen in canals I was too wary to explore.  As gorgeous as this hike was, my son and I were both ready to see the car at the end of the trail.

This wasn’t the most relaxing hike of my life, but it’s one that I’m so happy to have taken.  Amid the carefully landscaped sidewalks and tidy golf course ponds of my parents’ community in Naples, it’s easy to forget what Florida really is.  Here, it was easy to remember.

 

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Mornings at Corkscrew Swamp

 My blog has been quiet this past week because I was on a mostly-internet free trip to Southwest Florida, visiting some of my favorite people in the world and some of my favorite places, too.  There were warm afternoons reading by the pool and long walks on the beach.   There were boat rides and dolphins and far too many ice cream cones.  And there were two lovely sunrise walks at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

 

If you want to see what Florida was like before the condominiums rose and the roads were all paved, and you want to see all that without having close encounters with venomous snakes (that was a different hike last week…and a blog post for another day), then Corkscrew Swamp is just about perfect.  The boardwalk here loops around for just over two miles, through prairie and cypress woods and swamp. You never know what you’ll see along the way.

 

The feeders just outside the visitor center were crowded with birds when we arrived. That’s an indigo bunting on the left, a female painted bunting on the right.  And here’s a male painted bunting…

This barred owl few right in front of us, then perched on a tree to be admired. This was the first time I’ve seen a barred owl at Corkscew, though we’ve heard them before. Their call is deep and throaty… Whooo…Whooo…Who-cooks-for-yooouu?

I’m always amazed by how close the wading birds pass to the alligators in these small lakes. One of the volunteers said he saw an alligator eat a wood stork the other day, but this heron just walked quietly past, unharmed.

We watched this egret hunt for about fifteen minutes. He seemed to be annoyed with the wood stork nearby that kept catching fish and seemingly playing with them before he finally swallowed them.

Dude…are you going to eat that or what?

The trees at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary are full of beautiful bromeliads.

The swamp is also home to a famous flower — a ghost orchid high on a cypress tree that flower lovers call the “super-ghost” because it has so many blooms some seasons.  It wasn’t flowering when we were there, but when it does, in the summer, it’s front page news. This great video from the Audobon Society shows how the rare flower is pollinated.

 

If you have the opportunity to hike at Corkscrew, don’t miss it.  You’ll want to arrive when they first open, at 7am.  If you go much later this time of year, the deer flies will be biting.  Bring binoculars.  And a camera.  And a quiet sense of wonder.  You won’t be disappointed.

 

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