Archive for November, 2009

Sigh. Still no copy of Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature. This dandelion caught our eye on one of our first forays into the yard and neighborhood for Fibonacci examples. We didn’t find the dandelion on any of the reference lists for spirals, but it is in the same family as the sunflower, which is on all the lists and is in the book.

Though this is not sharp, I love the angle. See the curly shapes.

I guess it is no surprise that Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature did not arrive today — given that it is Sunday. But I am continuing the countdown, nonetheless. Here is another photograph we took because of the beautiful spiral, but it is not clear to me how or if this is a sprial that relates to Fibonacci numbers. I do like red.

I have been adding resources to my website that relate to Fibonacci numbers. If you go to the Books section and select Growing Patterns, you will have the option of clicking on a menu for Fibonacci links. It includes 10 links that I found while researching my book. Some include classroom activities.

Still no book. Plenty of outtakes, though. To say we became obsessed with spirals would be putting it mildly. Here’s another spiral we saw and liked, but didn’t make it into Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature.

These leaves were too pretty to pass up. I collected them while on my morning walk. I put in my Tamron macro lens and placed the leaves on a chunk of a tree. I was having trouble with my auto focus and I’m not sure why. I had hoped for crisper images. I’ll be checking the fine print on these and dipping back into my camera’s manual for a focus tutorial. In the meantime, I’ll just enjoy the shapes, colors, and textures.


I noticed the pink oxalis so I decided to take a shot of the flowers. When I got down there, I noticed the wayward dandelion puff.

Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature didn’t arrive today. Here is a pansy I took in March of 2008. It has five petals. I liked the colors here, but I decided I wanted for the book a five-petal flower with petals of all the same color. On the same photo shoot, I took pictures of a flowering quince and a vinca (both five petal flowers) that did make it into the book.

We have friends down the block with lots of these saw palmettos in their backyard. They also have a trampoline that I used to spend 20 minutes a day bouncing on. I loved looking at the saw palmettos and when I was obsessed with counting everything I saw outside, I noticed that they seemed to have eight fronds coming from the base of the fan. I got very excited and took a bunch of photos, thinking they might fit into the Fibonacci book. But, as I counted more and more, I realized the numbers weren’t consistent. It got dropped from the book, but I still like to look at saw palmettos.

Still waiting.

Can you see the spirals?

Even though I have no official reason to expect it, I know I’ll open the front door one day soon to a copy of Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature. I checked my blog from two years ago around this time and confirmed my memory that Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator showed up in the later part of November (the 17th to be exact). I was actually hoping to see Growing Patterns a little earlier — because it will be out March 1 vs. Wolfsnail‘s May 1. My editor told me last week he still hadn’t seen a book; he had seen F&G’s, though, which made me more than a little jealous. I want it. I want it. I want it.

In honor of the unofficial countdown, I am posting a photograph each day that relates in some way to Fibonacci numbers, but didn’t make it into the book. I have read that strawberry seeds arrange themselves into spirals, which, when counted, reveal Fibonacci numbers. I haven’t counted one myself, but I may have to just to pass the time.

Wolfsnail update: Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator was reviewed on ReadKiddoRead.com, a website created by James Patterson to promote reading for fun. Read the review here. Written by children’s literacy consultant Judy Freeman, the review includes a suggestion for teachers and a list of books that are similar.

I have been catching up with lots of my high school classmates recently on Facebook and I felt inspired to post a few photographs from those days. This is one my mother took 26 years ago of the Port Gibson High School Lady Waves. This was my last year of official, organized basketball. PGHS was not able to field sports team for the ’83-’84 season. (It’s a long story.)

This is one I took the previous spring, when our team won the district championship. We later lost in the semi-finals of the state tournament to Lafayette County. This photograph placed third in a Girl Scout art contest called “What Makes Me Smile.” It was also published in a Macalester College Alumni magazine. My sister, Emilye, (No. 14) and my friend, Francene, (front right) both went to Macalester. It is fun to think back on those days.