I was born in a Florida orange grove. Some trees were planted by my grandfather and other trees I helped my father plant. In my childhood, I explored pasture, pine trees, hammock, lakeshore, and roamed through rows of citrus. I caught catfish and bream with bread moistened with spit. A menagerie of critters graced the rooms of our house: tadpoles, minnows, snakes, turtles, (small) alligator, frogs, puppies, birds, squirrels and stray cats.  Once, the milkman left rabbits on our front porch.

Growing up with nature all around me impacted my work as an artist and writer, as well as defined my values for land conservation, preservation of nature and historic places. When our four children were school age they were homeschooled, there was plenty of nature in our curriculum.

I have a BFA from Kansas State University, and MFA from University of Florida. I have lived in Wisconsin most of my adult life. I enjoy hiking, x-country skiing, biking ‘rails to trails’, traveling, and gardening.