Lobsters

While shopping at the supermarket, I passed the seafood counter and noticed a dead lobster in the lobster tank. As a creative writing professor, I knew I could not let this opportunity pass. I asked the attendant if she would donate the dead lobster to a good cause.

“You want a dead lobster?” she repeated.
“Well, you see, I’m a teacher, and this dead lobster will make the perfect MUSE for my students,” I told her.

“Let me call my manager,” she said.

Eavesdropping on her conversation, I heard her say to the manager, “Sir, I have a very strange request from a man who claims to be a teacher. He wants us to donate a dead lobster for a class project.”

The conversation lasted two or three minutes. When the attendant hung up the phone, she walked back over to the counter.

“You can have the dead lobster,” she said. “But you must write and sign a note stating that if anyone eats this dead lobster you take full responsibility.”

“Deal!” I said, a little too excited, probably.  

While I wrote and signed the “contract”, the attendant fished the dead lobster from the tank.  We traded lobster for contract, and I thanked her dearly.

JEEPERS CREEPERS, I had found another MUSE!

When I returned from the supermarket, I placed the dead lobster in a Ziploc and packed him in the deep-freeze. It was time for me to research lobsters. Here is what I found:

The lobsters we find in the supermarket or at restaurants are closely related to their freshwater cousins, the crawfish. I prefer to call them crawdads. In fact, if you look at these creatures, they truly look like miniature lobsters.

Lobsters, crawfish, shrimp, and crabs are all crustaceans. Crustaceans are a group of arthropods that all have exoskeletons (hard outer shell). Humans have “skeletons”, which is the opposite. Our structural foundation is on the inside. Crustaceans are all set apart from other arthropods because they have two-parted limbs, in most cases “claws”.

When lobsters are not hiding out in a crevice or burrow, they slowly crawl along the ocean floor looking for food. If they are spooked, they flip their abdomen (we call it their tail) back and forth to flee. Sometimes they can reach the speed of 11 mph.

Like snails and spiders, lobsters have BLUE blood. This is due to the copper in their blood. Our blood is red, due to the iron.

Lobsters possess a unique ability to produce a special enzyme that repairs their DNA. Some scientists believe that lobster could live almost forever, if they were not hunted, trapped, or if they did not contract a disease.

Lobsters are omnivores, which mean they eat both plants and animals. Their diet consists mainly of fish, mollusks (clams), other crustaceans, worms, and some plant life. Lobsters have been known to be cannibalistic in captivity.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest lobster ever caught was 44 pounds. This monster was caught off the shores of Nova Scotia, Canada.

The commercial lobster industry brings in over one billion dollars a year.

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these what if questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF your main character went swimming in the ocean and was encountered by a lobster three times his/her size?

WHAT IF your main character was a lobster trapper and he/she trapped the world’s only rainbow lobster. Maybe this lobster has special powers. What are they?

WHAT IF your main character was a lobster that was trapped and lived in the lobster tank at a supermarket. How does he/she escape?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own what if questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

P.S. The word of the day is “arthropod”. Here is the definition: any invertebrate in the phylum arthropoda, having a segmented body, jointed limbs, and usually a chitinous shell that undergoes moltings, including the insects, spiders, and other arachnids, crustaceans, and myriapods.  

Indiana Bat

Last weekend I spent the night at my grandparent’s cabin in Owen County, Indiana. The cabin is situated next to a small lake and is in the middle of a wooded area.

Having spent much time at “the lake” during my childhood, I have always been ready to encounter the wild side of nature. Frogs, lizards, snakes, spiders, opossums, raccoons, and beavers are just a few of the critters one might encounter.

But this visit was a bit different. It was around midnight, and I was talking to my sister in the family room. All of a sudden, I saw a small black shadow dart between us. Back and forth it flew as my sister and I ducked our heads out of the way.

Soon, I realized we were cohabitating with a BAT! Yes, a real, live BAT!

After a minute or so, the little fur ball flew toward the ceiling and held tight to the wooden wall. And that is where we left our tiny friend. When we woke up the next morning, the bat was gone. Hopefully it had left the same way it had come in.

 One thing I knew for sure is that I had found another MUSE! And I couldn’t wait to do some research!

The bat I had witnessed was most likely an Indiana Bat. Yes, Indiana has its own species of bats. The reason they are called Indiana bats is because more than half of this species’ population hibernates in the caves of Indiana.

Sadly, I found out that the Indiana bat is endangered. This is mostly due to human disturbances. When people go caving they may spook the bats out of hibernation. This causes them to use too much of their stored energy, which causes them to die. So, please, stay away from caves during the hibernation months of bats.

The Indiana bat is tiny. It grows about two inches long, although its wing span can reach up to nine inches. Most Indiana bats weigh about one ounce.

At dusk, you can witness these little guys darting around hunting insects. The Indiana bat eats only flying insects including moths, beetles, and mosquitoes. YAY! Chow down, my friends!

Female bats give birth to one “pup” in late June. The pup will be able to fly after one month.

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if” questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF your main character found people intentionally disturbing bats during their hibernation? Maybe they are trying to capture the bats to sell to pet stores. What would your main character do about this?

WHAT IF Indiana bats were mythical creatures in disguise? Instead of a vampire, what do Indiana bats morph into?

WHAT IF an Indiana bat landed on your main character’s shoulder and spoke something in his or her ear. What would it say, and how would this advance your plot?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own “what if” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

P.S. The word of the day is “hibernation”. Here is the definition: to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormant condition, as bears and certain other animals.

Stag Beetle

I arrived to my best friend’s house after dark. His patio light was on, and as I approached the back door, I saw a gigantic bug latched onto the screen of the kitchen window.

I LOVE BUGS! And I knew immediately what kind it was. When I was a kid, we called them “pinching bugs”, but I learned the correct name is “stag beetle”. Once again, I had found a MUSE!

I collected the specimen and took him inside to get a better look. He had two extra large mandibles (pinchers) that looked like the antlers of a deer – hence the name “stag beetle”. And he was nearly two inches long. Although my best friend was not excited about having a gigantic bug inside his house, I kept the creature overnight.

The following day, I collected some dirt, rotting wood, and some leaves to make my new friend a habitat. And today, I plan to take him to my creative writing class at the Orchard School here in Indianapolis. There, I will have my students give our friend a name. Maybe he will even become the class mascot. After class, we will release our friend back to the wild (smile).

But before I take Mr. Stag Beetle to class, I think I should do a little research on his kind. This way I can answer some questions if some of my students are inspired to write a story featuring stag beetles.

Here is what I found:

Stag beetles go through complete metamorphosis. This means they grow from egg, larva, pupa, to adult. The female lays eggs on rotting wood. When the egg hatches, the larva feeds on this rotting wood. This stage can last for several years.

Once the larva is finished eating, it will burrow into the ground to pupate. Eventually the adult beetle will dig itself out of the ground and search for a mate. The adult beetle will live for one to two years.

Male stag beetles use their large mandibles to fight other males, and the strongest one gets the girl (wink).  

Adult beetles like to eat leaves and sap. The beetle I found has been feasting on a rotten apple. I hear they like any type of rotting fruit. YUMMY!

Stag beetles are not at the top of the food chain. Lizards, raccoons, snakes, toads, weasels, skunks, and even centipedes like to dine on the stag beetle.

And no, stag beetles are not considered a pest like termites. They are considered a beneficial insect because they promote the healthy decomposition of fallen trees in the forest.  Rotting trees decompose into fertile soil for new trees to grow.

By the way, stag beetles CAN fly.

With that new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if” questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF your stag beetle character preferred chocolate cake instead of rotting fruit. And what if this led to your stag beetle character opening his/her own bakery?

WHAT IF your stag beetle character entered into the “Ultimate Pinching Bug Fight”? What could he win? What could he lose?

WHAT IF you wrote a story about a stag beetle that didn’t think he/she was a stag beetle. Maybe he/she actually thinks he/she is a ninja, princess, a moose, or a rooster.

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own “what if” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

P.S. The word of the day is “mandible”. Here is the definition: either of a pair of mouthparts in insects and other arthropods that are usually used for biting and crushing food.

Smokey Bear

Traveling across this great land of ours, I saw the many lush and green forests of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. I couldn’t help but think about those brave individuals that help save these national treasures when a wildfire breaks out. Just about that time, I heard a news flash stating that wildfires had sparked across the state of New Mexico.

New Mexico, I thought over and over in my head. Isn’t that where Smokey Bear was found back in the 50’s? A muse had surfaced in my memory.

It was the spring of 1950, and a wildfire had broken out in the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. After the fire, a group of soldiers, who had helped fight the fire, rescued a bear cub. It had climbed a tree to escape the blaze, and his paws and hind legs had been badly burned.

The soldiers named him “Hotfoot Teddy” but his name was later changed to Smokey Bear, and the bear became the national symbol and mascot for forest fire prevention. He was given a home at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. where millions of people came to visit him.

Smokey Bear received up to 13,000 letters a week addressed specifically to him. He received so much mail that the United States Postal Service gave him his own zip code (20252).

In hopes of producing an heir to Smokey, the National Zoo paired Smokey with a female bear named “Goldie”. The couple never had a cub, so another rescued cub from the Lincoln National Forest was given to the couple. News headlines across America read something like this: Smokey and Goldie adopt a cub.

This cub was given the name, Little Smokey, and he would eventually become “Smokey Bear II” after Smokey Bear was retired from his role in 1971.

Smokey Bear died in 1976. Smokey Bear II died in 1990. But there message will always live on: ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES!

With this new knowledge what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if” questions will help get you started.

WHAT IF your character found a bear cub in a forest? Maybe there had been a wildfire or maybe not. What would your character do?

WHAT IF Smokey Bear was able to talk? Could you write down his story from his point of view? Maybe he has come to visit your school and plans to tell you what it was like to survive a wildfire and what it was like to be a national mascot for forest fire prevention.

What if your character woke up one morning and found their bedroom window opened. They look down on the floor and bear cub is staring them in the eyes?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own “what if” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us!

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

P.S. The word of the week is wildfire. Here is the definition: any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or wilderness area.

Octopus

I love to go fishing, but I am used to fishing in the lakes and rivers of Indiana – not the salt waters of Puget Sound. I figured it couldn’t be that much different though, so I took a fishing pole, some hooks and some worms down to the pier. I baited my hook and tossed the line in the water.

I waited and waited. Nothing. Wasn’t I supposed to catch a halibut or something?

I waited some more. Nothing. In Indiana I would have had at least a nibble by now.

And just as my mind began to drift away like the Washington State Ferry hauling cars across the sound, my pole lurched forward, and my line tightened.

I tugged and reeled and tugged some more. Whatever was on the end of my line was fighting hard to stay in the water.

When the beast finally surfaced, I could not believe my eyes. I was expecting a fish with fins and gills, not an OCTOPUS with eight arms! Toto, I believe we are not in Indiana anymore.

Not only had I caught an OCTOPUS, but I also found my MUSE! After releasing my new friend back to the cool waters of Puget Sound, I went back to my writer’s studio to research my MUSE. Here is what I found:

The octopus I had caught was a young Giant Pacific Octopus. This species is native to the Puget Sound and are the largest Octopi in the world. They grow up to 33 pounds with an arm span of up to 14 feet.

Octopi are the smartest invertebrate known to man. They have the intelligence of a house cat, and they are known for using problem solving skills. In captivity, octopi have learned how to open jars.

Octopi have superior defense skills. They can squeeze their soft bodies through seemingly impossible cracks. They can change their skin color to match their environment, and they can shoot a cloud of dark ink to confuse a predator. WOW!

The smaller an octopus species is, the more poisonous it is (usually). The most poisonous octopus is the Blue Ringed Octopus. This little guy has enough poison to kill a human being, and they only get four inches long.

Octopi usually eat mollusks and crustaceans, but they have been known to eat each other, too. The Giant Pacific Octopus will sometimes snag a shark for lunch. Now, that’s something to write home about.

And please do not call an octopus’ arms, legs. Spiders have eight legs, octopi have eight arms. And these arms are lined with two rows of suction cups each. They are used for holding onto things and tasting things. Yes, I said tasting.

By the way - Octopi, Octopodes, and Octopuses are all acceptable ways of describing more than one octopus.

With this new knowledge what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if” questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF a giant octopus lived under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? Oops, this legend already exists, but we could embellish it (wink).    

WHAT IF your character woke up one morning and his/her arms and legs had turned into those of an octopus?

WHAT IF your character built a robotic octopus submarine? What would he/she go hunting for underwater?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own “what if” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Prof. Watermelon

P.S. The word of the week is “invertebrate”. Here is the definition: of or pertaining to creatures without a backbone.

Cheese

I was walking down the street, minding my own business when my senses were overtaken by a scrumptious scent – HOT MELTED CHEESE!

Following my nose, I found myself inside a pizzeria. I purchased two slices of extra cheese pizza and sprinkled even more parmesan on top.

I had just found another MUSE! CHEESE! CHEESE! And more CHEESE!

After savoring every last morsel of my pizza, I ran home to my writer’s studio and quickly began my research. Here is what I found.

Milk can be separated into two parts: curds and whey. The easiest way to see this up close is to look at cottage cheese. The lumps are curds. The liquid is whey.

There are three common agents used to make milk “curdle”. These are vinegar, lemon juice, and rennet. Rennet is an enzyme derived from plants or animals.

True cheeses are made from only milk curds. These curds are pressed together into balls, blocks, or wheels. Sometimes they are eaten immediately or sometimes they are aged or cured.

There are hundreds of types of cheeses and they can be made by different animal milks. Most are made from cow, sheep and goat milk. Some cheese is made from horse milk (not sure how I feel about that).

The stinkiest cheese is Limburger Cheese. The bacterium used to ferment Limburger cheese is the same bacterium found on human skin, which causes body odor. YUCK! Luckily, aged Limburger cheese does not taste as bad as it smells.

Blue cheeses get the blue/green color from added mold. This mold continues to grow in veins as the cheese ages. One of the most famous blue cheeses is the Italian Gorgonzola. (I love that name!)

Cheese is made differently all over the world. Many cheeses are named after the region where they were first created. Limburger, Gorgonzola, and Stilton are examples of this. If the cheese was not made in that region then it really does not deserve the name.

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if” questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF the spider in “Little Miss Muffet” only wanted some curds and whey for herself and chased Miss Muffet around until she finally got some.

WHAT IF your little brother used his toe jam to make a new type of Limburger cheese.

WHAT IF you had a magic finger and whatever you touched turned to cheese?

The possibilities are endless! And please leave your own “what if” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, a piece of paper and a pencil, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere! I look forward to seeing where you take us!

With Imagination,

Prof. Watermelon

P.S. The word of the day is “bacterium”. Here is the definition: bacterium is the singular form of bacteria. Bacteria are one-celled organisms, spherical, spiral, or rod shaped and appearing singly or in chains. They are in the kingdom Monera. Various species are involved in fermentation, putrefaction, infectious diseases, and nitrogen fixation. (Wow, lots more big words for you to look up.)

Sunflowers

Sunflowers have been my MUSE since childhood. And I think I know why…

The first time I planted a sunflower seed, I watched the plant grow to over twelve feet tall. And the blossom was the size of a steering wheel. This was a true GIANT, and I was hooked. I have planted at least one sunflower every year since.

Not only is the sunflower’s size fascinating, they are also beautiful. Their colors range from the deepest oranges to the palest yellows. Some grow only two feet tall, while others truly reach for the sky.

Here are some more AMUSING facts!

Sunflowers are native to North America.

The tallest sunflower was grown in the Netherlands. It reached over 25 feet tall.

One sunflower plant can provide over 2,000 seeds. These seeds are used for snacking, birdseed, and sunflower oil production.

The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas and the national flower of Russia. Russia produces the most sunflowers in the world.

A sunflower’s blossom will follow the sun as it travels across the sky. This is called heliotropism.

 With that new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if” questions will help you get started.

What if Jack planted a magic sunflower seed instead of a magic bean?

What if we found crop circles in Russia’s sunflower fields?

What if little elves built a city in your sunflower garden?

The possibilities are endless! And please leave your own “what if” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, a piece of paper and a pencil, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere! I look forward to seeing where you take us!

With Imagination,

Prof. Watermelon

P.S. The word of the week is "Heliotropism". Here is the definition: The growth of plants or plant parts (especially flowers) in response to the stimulus of sunlight, so that they turn to face the sun.