In California we’re in another severe drought.   I took these two pictures of Lassen Peak in January, one this year and the other last year.   You can see the stark difference.  Lassen Peak is the southerly most of the major cascade volcanoes and is 10,463 feet (3,189 M) tall.  Last year we had over 20 inches of rain at this time, and this year we have less than 4 inches.  The snow pack is almost nonexistent.  Cattle ranchers are having a hard time.  There’s no new grass and the foothills are as brown as July.  The price of hay is going to go through the roof forcing many of the ranchers to sell off their cattle.  Our ski resorts are having a terrible winter due to the lack of snow. It’ll be a tough year for these folks and the long term forecast is grim.  Expect the California water war…

Buddy and the Magic Chicken Treeis the second installment about Buddy the wolverine.  Here is a sample from the upcoming story.  It is written by author illustrator MaryA Livingston and wildlife biologist Amanda Shufelberger.  It is illustrated by me, Tim Livingston.

Buddy, the Wayward Wolverine,published by Red Tail Publishing in 2013, is a fantastical story of a real wolverine.

Buddy is the subject of Forestry Friday, because he was original discovered during forestry research projects.  One carnivore study run by wildlife biologist Amanda Shufelberger inventories carnivores on private forestland.  The data is used to ensure that proper forest management techniques are implemented to protect and enhance carnivore habitat.

Buddy presence was first discovered in 2008.  His DNA places his roots in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.  We can only imagine how Buddy got to California – Buddy, the Wayward Wolverine.  These are some of the videos…

When I was 8-years-old I moved from Hoopa to Burnt Ranch, CA. The entire school, K-8, only had 48 students at the time. I was in 3^rd grade and it only had five students. The school grew to over 60 by the time I exited 8^th grade. I’m especially happy to make school visits to small schools in rural areas.

Sometimes we do science experiments related to my books and other times we read stories or do art projects. This visit was all about the stories.

Cox Bar Elementary is only about 15 miles from Burnt Ranch, and about 40 miles from Hoopa. I’ve made a few visits over the years. This year, the school has fewer than 15 students. The kids were pretty excited to know I grew up so close to where they live.