Signs of spring popping up everywhere...time for a bath!

Clean (kind of) and more than a little wary.

I knew it was coming. For a week, I'd been avoiding going outside whenever Mom was around. What did she think, that I couldn't see the towel lurking outside the door? Smell the shampoo next to same? Not understand the word BATH, which she did not even bother to spell out?

To fully prepare, I hid in a series of closets, mooning over my fate. I plopped in the deepest dirt hole, reveling in being completely dirty.

Eventually, she caught me. Rather, my horse-and-dog-whispering sister, did so. I went to another place in my mind while she sloughed off that winter sheen (enhanced by some fervent rolling in a particularly skunky spot during my Wellesley College walk). I was sorry to see it go. Sorry to see eau of skunk replaced by aloe and oatmeal--who thought up that combo? Sorry to suffer through a vigorous toweling. Sorry enough to have to retreat to my sister's bed to recover from the trauma.

Spring does have an upside. My favorite dirt hole gets full sun. I can continue to rearrange Mom's hydrangeas. The chipmunks are ripe for chasing. My next bath will be, say, six months or so away. It's all good.

While I was sleeping...my friends published some great animal books!

I do enjoy my whale-print sheets, but as I am loathe to leave them, I'm better at getting some reading done than at tapping out book manuscripts. But I have to admit, I'm inspired by my friends...

Here's to my pals, who have managed to be far more productive than I and write some amazing animal-themed books!

Unfortunately, I never met the legendary Chief, but I heard firsthand the incredible and true tale of when he and his mom, Cheryl Lawton Malone, were loping along on Race Point Beach in Provincetown. Chief makes eye contact with a whale, Cheryl too, and therein lies the seed of an idea which is now:

Dario and the Whale. Dario's mom is a cook at The Salty Cod, so he comes back to the beach every summer. It's not easy for him to make friends, and amazingly, he and a young right whale, who is also a seasonal visitor, form a sweet friendship. Read an interview with  Cheryl here.


Fenway and Hattie. Hey, who couldn't love a Boston pup's musings on food, love, moving, food and family? Did I mention food? Fenway, a Jack Russell terrier, tells his own tale of food, moving, love and more food in this chapter book perfect for grades 3-5 by Victoria J. Coe. Mom read this in manuscript form, too, so I can vouch for its accuracy. Check out this fun interview with Vicki.

And...Teddy the Dog: Be Your Own Dog, by the hilariously funny Keri Boyle, is due in May. Preorder at my favorite bookstore, Wellesley Books, here.