July is Pickle Month July is National Pickle Month
Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles · Ramblings

July is National Pickle Month

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

People who love pickles must really love pickles! Not only can they celebrate National Pickle Day in November, but people can celebrate National Pickle Month the entire month of July.

I have had some people tell me they absolutely love pickles, and I have had others tell me they can’t stand pickles at all. I think they are surprised when I tell them even though I wrote a book called Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles, I am somewhere in between. I don’t love pickles (unless they are my grandma’s recipe of homemade bread and butter pickles), but I also don’t hate them (although I may make funny faces when trying some). I do; however, really enjoy making pickles with my family, which I hope to be able to do again in the near future.

Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles book cover

When I think of pickles, I think of pickled cucumbers, but there are so many other foods that can be pickled. It may come as a surprise, but I’m really not that brave when it comes to trying pickled items. I enjoy pickled jalapenos (homemade), but I’ve never actually tried pickled eggs, pickled watermelon rinds, or many many other pickled items. They just don’t sound that appetizing to me. Maybe I’m missing out.

Some restaurants are now offering pickleicious choices (although I’m not sure how delicious they really are). For example, people can currently try a pickle juice slush at Sonic or pickle fried chicken at KFC.

I have even found some interesting pickle flavored foods while walking around a local store. Would anyone like to try Dill Pickle flavored peanuts?

dill pickle peanuts

Or Lay’s Dill Pickle flavored chips?

lays dill pickle chips

Or Pringles Screamin’ Dill Pickle chips? (Sorry I don’t have a picture of those.)

Why does it always seem pickle flavored items are dill pickle flavored? I don’t want to start a debate, but I personally prefer bread and butter pickles over dill pickles.

In the past, I even wrote about a pickle themed card I had found at a store. Again, the dill pickle stole the show!

I have also found many more pickled foods, pickle recipes, pickles accessories, and all things pickle on Pinterest. If you are interested you can check out my Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles section with over 285 pins on my Pinterest page. I plan to continue adding pickle items to it as I see them.

What is your favorite kind of pickle? Have you tried any pickle-flavored foods?

 

 

 

Ramblings

2018 2nd Quarter Update

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

I wrote a post about my “writing adventure” goals for 2018 earlier this year. Some people may not consider these goals since they aren’t very specific or given an allotted time frame, but they seem to be working for me.

At the end of March, I gave a quarterly update. Now we are half way through the year (already!), so I have decided to give another update to my goals. Just so you know, some of this post includes the same information as my 2018 first quarter update. I am hoping that providing a quarterly update will keep me motivated to do more!

Below is a list of my “goals” and what I have (or haven’t) accomplished so far this year.

  • Continue writing posts periodically for this website
    • wrote and posted 11 posts (Jan-March)
    • wrote and posted 9 posts (April-June)
    • have other posts written or started for future use
  • Continue adding items periodically to my Pinterest page
    • added over 1,000 pins (and counting) on 7 public boards
    • learned how to use Canva to create more visually appealing pins, which I wrote about here
    • converted from a personal Pinterest account to a business account
  • Learn more about Goodreads 
    • read more information about Goodreads, although I have room for improvement
    • linked my website to my Goodreads page
    • answered a couple of the “Ask The Author” questions
  • Read at least 240 children’s books (and review those I like on Goodreads)
    • read at least 202 children’s books (and skimmed through many others)
    • rated and/or reviewed 80 books on Goodreads (a few were books for adults – I do read those, too!)
  • Rewrite a story about a planetarium story
    • haven’t started – it’s been temporarily put on hold
  • Write at least two books for a series I hope to publish some day
    • wrote one – I brought it to my author’s meeting to be critiqued and was provided with a lot of helpful suggestions/insights, so I edited it quite a bit. Had my edits critiqued, and I still have more work to do, although I think it is headed in the right direction. A lot of writing is rewriting!
    • created a character profile for my character so I know how to make him unique in the story
    • wrote notes for another story with him as character
    • plan to continue working on this character and story
  • Write and submit at least 20 articles, stories, or poems to magazines or websites
    • wrote and submitted 7 posts for Hands On As We Grow (which have either been published or will be published in the near future)
    • wrote and submitted 5 queries (2 were accepted, 3 I haven’t heard anything from)
    • wrote and submitted 2 short stories (1 declined)
    • wrote and submitted 3 articles (one accepted and published on AFineParent.com and the other two for the magazine that accepted my queries)
    • wrote and submitted 2 true stories
    • created a list of potential magazines and websites to query
  • Write a number and letters story
    • created a lot of notes for this story and did some research
    • have temporarily put on hold
  • Finish and submit an alphabet book I’m currently working on
    • Finished and submitted it to one publisher in January
      • I wrote this book specifically for this publisher because they have many beautifully illustrated books with a similar format. It has already been five months, but I haven’t heard anything back. I’m really hoping I will hear something back but many publishers are so busy with all of the submissions they receive that they don’t have enough time to respond to everyone.
  • Continue going to author group meetings
    • went to the writer network meetings in January, February, April, and June
    • attended another writer’s critique meeting in February
    • attended a SCBWI nonfiction book conference
    • attended a picture book meeting in June
  • Submit a manuscript of at least one other book
    • wrote and submitted three other nonfiction manuscripts
    • working on another nonfiction manuscript that I hope to finish soon
  • Have fun!
    • definitely doing!

Other things I have done that weren’t on my list include:

  • became a network chair for SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators)
  • listened to a webinar about creating query letters
  • researched and wrote a nonfiction story about an event
  • researched some information for an adult nonfiction book
  • researched the authors (and publishers) presenting at conferences
  • researched nonfiction books for children

Just because I do the research, write manuscripts, and submit them to the publishers does not mean they will actually turn into books. Publishers can only publish so many books each year, and there are a lot of writers submitting to them. I feel as though it is like entering a competition (or a lottery). Only so many can be accepted and published each year.

All I can do is try my best and continue to learn as I go (and of course actually write something to submit!). I have decided to not let rejections discourage me because rejections are part of being a writer. In the meantime, some of my fiction children’s books I have been working on have been put to the side (hopefully momentarily).

I am eager to continue working on more books and writings through the year. I have post-it notes with ideas posted to a wall in my house. I hope to slowly move the post-it notes from my “ideas” area of the wall to “submitted manuscripts”. I have also been posting monthly goals to accomplish on a paper taped to a wall. As I complete certain goals, I mark them off. It seems to be keeping me motivated to get things done and focused on what I need to do. Thank you for being a part of my writing journey!

How are you doing on the goals you set for yourself this year?

Plan today and make it great!

 

 

Interesting Places for Nests Nature Walk: Where Will You Find a Nest?
Ramblings · Themed Books

Nature Walk: Where Will You Find a Nest?

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

(This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission at no extra charge to you if you click on a link and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I greatly appreciate all purchases you make using these links. Thank you!)

I had mentioned in a previous post that your little ones can be scientists by taking a nature walk to make some fun discoveries.

Besides finding tracks, little ones may have fun finding nests (without touching or disturbing them). I have been doing some research recently on nests.

While doing research on nests, I watched multiple videos on animals building nests. They are all so intriguing to me, so I have decided to share a few of them with you.

Many other animals such as wasps, bees, squirrels, mice, and chimpanzees also build nests.

My family has enjoyed walking through the woods while the trees are bare to find bird nests and squirrel nests. I have taken some pictures of nests that we have spotted over the years.

This bird nest was easy to find in a tree.

nest in tree

Last summer, one of my daughters and I spent a few days together at a camp. We enjoyed finding nests in random places throughout the camp.

This one was in the corner of a gazebo.

nest in a building

This one was in another outside structure.

nest on wood

This nest was on the side of one of the buildings on a light.

nest on light

Just as a side note: Nests on lights make me a little nervous. Years ago, I had a bird build its nest in my light fixture on the front of my garage. I turned the lights on late one night, and the nest caught on fire as my family was in the house sleeping. Thankfully, I was awake and noticed the reflection of the fire in my car windshield through the front window of the house. My husband (who had been sleeping) was quick to put the fire out with the hose attached to the front of our house when I yelled “fire”. My daughters slept through it all. Unfortunately for the bird, the nest was completely destroyed. I thank God, though, that we only had to replace the light fixture and siding on our house.  I now make sure there aren’t any birds attempting to build nests near any of my lights.

This nest was above the back deck on the cabin we slept in. My daughter and I had fun playing card games on the deck as the mom bird flew back and forth to the nest.

nest on side of cabin

This bird built its nest along the side of a wall. This reminds me of all of the swallow mud nests my family has seen crammed together on the bottom of bridges. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of those.

bird nest above thermometer

Last spring, we found this nest on the back of a satellite dish.

nest with eggs

We have seen multiple bald eagle nests along the Mississippi River. They are huge! The parents return to the nest and continue to add to it each year. This is a picture of a bald eagle’s nest replica at a nature center.

bald eagle nest

Did you know it takes years before a bald eagle gets its white feathers on its head and tail? Each year, you can watch bald eagles live on their nest on the Decorah Eagles Camera.

I remember when I was little, my parents often had killdeers lay eggs in their rocks on the ground. Whenever someone would walk even remotely close to the rocks, the mom would start hopping away as though she had a broken wing.

It is amazing to me how each nest is built to be perfectly suited for that particular creature. I am intrigued by the variety of shapes, sizes, and building materials of each of the nests. I believe God did an amazing job when he created animals capable of building such detailed nests.

Books About Nests for Kids

If you would like to read books about nests with your little ones, you may be interested in the following books:

All Kinds of Nests! by Eun-gyu Choi

Amazing Animal Architects of the Air: A 4D Book by Mari Schuh

A Nest is Noisy by Dianna Hutts 

Bird Builds a Nest by Martin Jenkins

Birds Make Nests by Michael Garland

Birds, Nests & Eggs by Mel Boring

Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward 

Nest by Jorey Hurley

Squirrels and Their Nests by Martha E. Rustad

This is the Nest That Robin Built by Denise Fleming

Where will you find a nest?

For more book ideas, check out these posts:

14 Children’s Books About Flowers

14 Children’s Books About Seeds, Plants, and Gardening

5 Interactive Educational Children’s Books

10 Cookbooks for Kids

25 Books About Grandparents

 

Finding animal tracks Nature Walk: Whose Tracks Are These?
Crafts and Projects · Jobs of a Preschooler · Ramblings

Nature Walk: Whose Tracks Are These?

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

(This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission at no extra charge to you if you click on a link and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I greatly appreciate all purchases you make using these links. Thank you!)

I had mentioned in a previous post that your little ones can be scientists by taking a nature walk to make some interesting discoveries.

Maybe your little ones would like to find some animal tracks in sandy, muddy, or snowy areas. Guidebooks that show animal tracks can be very beneficial to identify the animals that made the tracks.

My family has found many tracks over the years. Below are a few samples of animal tracks we have found.

These are tracks we found on an island in the middle of the Mississippi River. We knew they were bird tracks, but we weren’t sure what kind of bird.

bird tracks

We looked at the guide found here (from USGS Education), and it appears as though they are heron tracks.

This is another picture I took on an island in the Mississippi River. The deer who left these tracks behind would have had to swim across the river to get to this island.

deer tracks in sand

We explored the small island for a little bit, but we never found any deer.

These were dog (or coyote) tracks found on the same island. It can be fun to make up stories to go along with discovered tracks. What kind of animal was it? What was it doing?

dog tracks in sand

We were guessing the tracks below were from a dog visiting with its family. That seemed like a nicer story than a coyote following the deer.

There are multiple tracks in this mud we found at a Wetlands Center we visited.

tracks in mud

Here is a large turtle track we saw while visiting MacArthur Beach State Park in Florida.

turtle tracks on beach

I’m glad we had decided to take a tour with a park ranger while there otherwise I’m not sure I would have recognized this as a turtle track. The park ranger was kind enough to point it out to us and tell us that it had been left by a turtle laying her eggs the night before.

We have enjoyed many field trips to nature centers and parks. On one visit, the naturalist showed us multiple animal track samples and allowed the kids to create their own animal track molds.

One of my daughters molded a Canadian goose print.

canadian goose track mold

My other daughter molded a wolf print.

wolf track mold

We used rubber molds of animal tracks when we created these animal prints out of plaster of paris. If you are interested in making a mold of an animal print you find outside, you may want to read How to Make a Mold of Animal Tracks with Plaster of Paris on Frugal Fun 4 Boys or this booklet from USGS Education, which includes an animal track reference guide.

Searching for tracks may lead to a hungry kid. You could continue with the theme of tracks with these cute animal track snacks as seen on Loreen Leedy’s website.

It may be fun to discuss another animal track animals leave…scat! You may want to save this discussion for after snack time, though. A cute book to check out about animal tracks and their scat is called Track that Scat! by Lisa Morlock.

Track that Scat book

Will you find (or make) any tracks today?

grow picture book conference Upcoming SCBWI Picture Book Conference
Ramblings

Upcoming SCBWI Picture Book Conference

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

I learned quite a bit of information at the SCBWI Adventures in Nonfiction Conference I attended earlier this year, and I am excited to announce an upcoming conference. If you are interested in writing children’s books, you may enjoy the Grow Your Picture Book Garden conference that is now open for registration. Grow Your Picture Book Garden is a one day conference taking place on Saturday, August 11th in Des Moines, IA. If you register before June 30th, you get a discounted price. For more information about who is presenting, what children’s book topics will be covered, and how to register, visit the SCBWI event page here.

grow picture book conference

Will you be attending Grow Your Picture Book Garden or any other upcoming SCBWI conferences?