The official information

Kathryn has an M.S. in science education and an M.A. in counseling/art therapy. Her professional career includes 19 years teaching middle school/adult education and developing educational programming for non-profit environmental organizations. Her middle-grade novel, The Listening Tree, will be published by All Things That Matter Press. She is a member of Toastmasters International and the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Nine fun facts about me

I love water.

I was born in March. In the signs of the Zodiac, March is a water sign and is symbolized by two fish.

I was born in a city famous for flooding.

Unfortunately, I am a terrible swimmer.

This is a 5 generation picture that includes my great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mother, myself and my oldest daughter. Everyone, except my daughter, was born in the same city. As far as I know, none of us were good swimmers.

My daughter is an excellent swimmer.

I love the outdoors and hiking, in all kinds of weather.

I collect things. When I was in elementary school, I collected rocks, bugs, stamps, words out of newspapers (yes, that’s true), and porcelain dog statues.

Now I collect anything related to trees and owls. I won’t show you the dust bunny collection under my desk!

I love living in the country. We bought a small hobby farm in 1987. Can you guess what we raised? Yes, pigs for sure. And sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, and several family dogs and cats.

I love gardening. We had a greenhouse for several years. I loved watering the plants in the morning. What better way to start your day than smelling basil, rosemary and thyme!

I am a total science nerd and proud of it! I absolutely LOVE the periodic table.

I have had some crazy nicknames. My nieces used to call me Aunt Yes for some unknown reason. When I was in junior high school, I got the name Orange Moose. I think it came from the fact that I was pretty tall and had a bright orange totally mod coat (or I thought it was, anyway) I made myself in 1964 and wore just about every day. Later, when I was teaching junior high myself, my students called me Road Runner. Probably because I got so excited about the periodic table I’d dash back and forth in front of the chalkboard talking about it.

I have a favorite piece of clothing. It is a sweater I got many, many years ago. I am wearing it in many of our family pictures. It has several holes, but I will never throw it out. I love this sweater.