My beautiful daughter is an awesome writer! Here is a link to her website where she posts many excellent stories. Check it out and leave your comments!
http://storywrite.com/user/show/candywagenki
Not only is she an awesome writer, but she is also an awesome daughter! She was born only 16 years ago at 4:30 a.m. She weighed in at 8 pounds, 2.5 ounces and was 21 inches long. It took me 8.5 hours to bring her into this world. I've had to raise her by myself but I would not wish her out of my life for anything. She is extremely artistic, a talented tuba player and actress, loyal to all her friends, able to type at the speed of light (over 100 words a minute!), and she has a beautiful, carefree, musical laugh which I love to listen to when she thinks I'm not. She loves pizza, anime, talking on the phone and computer, drawing, and cooking. She makes REALLY good b.l.t's!

It's just the two of us, along with a dog named Harley, a Siamese cat named Smoke, and five tarantulas. We both love doing stuff on the computer, watching Law & Order SVU, America's Funniest Home Videos, and the blooper shows. On most weekends she is spending the night at a friends house. She is really good at calling me when she gets home from school and when she is staying at a friends house. I think I'm really lucky to have her for a daughter!

The following story was written by my daughter as an assignment for "Take Your Son/Daughter To Work Day" a couple of years ago. I no longer work at Woodlawn Nature Center but I just HAVE to keep this!

My Day at Woodlawn Nature Center

Hello! My name is Candy and I am 14 years old, and my school had a project called Take Your Son or Daughter to Work Day. My mother is a Naturalist/Director at Woodlawn Nature Center. She gives programs to school groups, educates people of any age about nature and the importance of keeping the environment clean. She also assist people who finds a certain animal in their backyard and how to take care of it, or if it’s already dead, to bring it back to the center for display unless it’s completely mutilated. When I was at Woodlawn for a day, she had a group of preschoolers come in and I helped with that by keeping them seated or staying in line. We went out in the woods and identified ‘creepy crawlies,’ or bugs and insects. We looked under logs and rocks and found a few such as night crawlers, pill bugs, centipedes and others. After they left my mother and I went outside and walked on the trails and she taught me various plants and trees and flowers.

Then we had to clean up the litter. We went back to get some bags and went back to the trails to pick up litter. We found rubber parts, plastic parts, and a lot of glass that didn’t belong in the environment and could injure people and animals. We filled all of our bags with litter, and there was still a lot left. You have to learn how to NOT litter. Littering means to place an object that does not belong on the earth, such as throwing a can or bottle or tires or glass or boxes, etc. on the ground. This can harm the environment.

For example… You’re driving and you find an empty plastic coke holder, you know, with the holes that hold the soda cans. You pick it up and throw it out of the car and it lands on the grass. Suppose a seagull comes down and mistakes it as food. The seagull pokes at it, then puts it’s head through the holes. Finding that it’s not food, it pulls its head out – only it can’t. It’s stuck in the plastic. It twists and turns until the plastic tightens on the Seagull’s neck, finally cutting off the air circulation, and it suffocates a slow, painful death, only because you were too lazy to get home and put it in the trash, or put it in a recycling bin.

Another example… You finish your Pepsi and throw the can outside. A raccoon happens to come upon it and pokes at it. It tears it up and puts a piece of the can that has rough, sharp edges that could easily slice your finger nice and deeply, into it’s mouth. It swallows, while the edges cut its throat up on the way down to its stomach, cutting up its stomach. It dies of internal bleeding. Doesn’t sound like fun to me. If YOU think it’s fun, then do it to yourself, not animals.

Another example… You’re finishing up your beer bottle and throw it in the woods where it shatters. A baby rabbit hops alongside with its mother. The mother hops over to a patch of clovers while the baby goes exploring. The sun beats down on the glass, making it scorching hot and reflecting it into the baby rabbit’s eyes. The baby hops around, and then jumps on the hot, sharp glass, slicing in its feet and between its toes, making it unable to move. It’s too far away from its mother, so the mother rabbit cannot find her baby rabbit. While she sniffs around, the baby is on the ground, twitching, while glass under it keeps cutting into its soft fur and tender skin. A few days later, it dies from starvation and lack of water, and is left to rot for bugs to eat it alive, while the hot sun makes it smell rancid.

All because of you and your thinking that the earth is YOUR trashcan. Well, I’ve got news for you! It ISN’T a trashcan. So before you think to throw that innocent soda can outside since it’ll just trash up your car, why don’t you think twice and notice that you are still trashing up something – your own PLANET. You LIVE on EARTH. Why do you want to TRASH it up? You people make it smell bad, too, by all of the pollution. Why don’t you think up some way to make gas healthy for the air? I bet earth would be a more manageable place to live in. I KNOW there’s a way to make the gas healthier. There has to be. Trust me, by throwing out even the tiniest piece of glass outside thinking it won’t make a difference; it DOES make a difference to the environment. It doesn’t belong there. Animals, trees, flowers, plants, water, and people belong on the earth. Not that crap that people throw on the ground that DESTROYS it.

Thank you for reading my ranting. Oh, and that was my day at Woodlawn Nature Center. Please stop by sometime!

Life Lessons from Poison Ivy

I really admire Poison Ivy. I realize most people don’t share my admiration for this rather plain but potentially deadly plant, with good reason I suppose. Most people have heard the little ditty ‘leaves of three leave it be’ but other plants have evolved to mimic its three-leaf layout such as black raspberry and box elder. It behooves everyone who likes to spend time outside to be able to recognize her and her shape shifting ways.

Poison Ivy does indeed have three leaves but they can subtly vary in shape. They can be tiny and they can grow large. Some have red stems, others do not. Poison Ivy can grow individually, as shrubs, vines up trees, or vines along the ground, easily blending in with surrounding plants making detection difficult for those not paying attention. The stems have tiny hairs growing on them. The color people associate with danger is red. One would think the berries would be red. They are not; they are instead white, the color people associate with safety. Flowers are also whitish. Some wildlife can eat the berries; humans cannot.

The entire plant is poisonous, from the roots to the berries. All parts are covered in a sticky oil called urushiol that causes severe dermatitis in many people. Even after the plant dries up the urushiol can still make a person’s life miserable. If your dog rolls in Poison Ivy and then jumps on your bare skin, you could break out in a horrible, itchy rash that spreads when itched and can take waaay too long to heal. Now, some people decide the best way to eliminate Poison Ivy from yards is to gather the plant (with gloves) and burn it. Sure, you will destroy the plant but not the urushiol. That will float up in the smoke and if you breathe it, you will get an internal case of Poison Ivy. If the wind blows the smoke carrying the urushiol around your neighborhood, the unlucky souls standing in its path will also get it internally (NOT a good way to make friends in the neighborhood!). This will damage the mucus membranes in the nose, mouth, and throat. It will get in the lungs and damage them. It will get in the blood stream. Remember where the blood flows? ALL through the body! Off you and your neighbors go to the hospital!

When I was a Naturalist for a non-profit nature center giving hikes for school groups I always talked about Poison Ivy no matter what the topic was about. I always asked the group if anyone knew anybody who burned Poison Ivy. One gentleman in the back of the group raised his hand and said his neighbor did. I asked him what happened to her. He stated she had to be buried. Her lungs swelled and she couldn’t be saved. Even I wasn’t expecting that.

So, with all that in mind you may wonder what on Earth do I see in Poison Ivy? What possible good can Poison Ivy do? What valuable life lessons can she teach anyone who wants to learn them, no matter where they live or what they do for a living? My answer? Lots.

First, she teaches us NEVER underestimate anyone or anything based on looks. This plain ole’ plant that can blend in and be unnoticed sure doesn’t look scary or dangerous but as noted above she can pack quite a wallop to the unwary and unsuspecting. Remember, TNT comes in small packages. She is one of the Guardians of Nature. Cross her and you’ll be sorry!

Second, be aware of your surroundings. So many people tromp and stampede through the woods, not paying attention to where they are or what they are stomping on. Not only are they missing out on the beauty of the outdoors, but possibly destroying delicate plants and any nests/animal homes hidden among them. Would you want someone tromping through your home with no regard? Neither do the ones who call the outdoors home. A nasty case of Poison Ivy will hopefully teach you to pay attention to your surroundings. With the way the world is today this is a good idea no matter where you are. Many unsuspecting people are victimized everyday by other people in their home, workplace, parking lots and garages…

Third, walk lightly on your feet; step quietly and slow down. As you become more aware your steps will automatically become lighter and quieter. Your body and mind will quiet and slow down also. You will not be able to be aware of your surroundings while stomping and tromping about! You will not believe all that you were missing as you learn how to do this. Animals will not reveal themselves to you if you are carelessly going through their territory. You will the miss the delicate beauty and scent of the dainty flower you stepped on. So slow down and walk lightly; you won’t be sorry.

Fourth, never say never and don’t be arrogant! Poison Ivy teaches the arrogant who enter her realm a hard lesson indeed. I’ve had many people brag they are able to roll around in Poison Ivy and have NEVER broken out and will NEVER break out I don’t bother to tell them (anymore) many people who never had an outbreak after coming in contact with the plant often have the WORST possible experience eventually! Their arrogance gives them a false sense of security. I think the plant does this on purpose; she seems to have a painful sense of humor with some people. So I just smile and nod, knowing Poison Ivy will one day teach them a painful but valuable lesson.

And fifth, know that Creator places every plant and animal on this Earth for a reason. Even though we may not understand the whys or how it all fits together, who are we to question and/or destroy that which was put here? Why not take the time to learn the lessons that Nature and Her creatures, both plant and animal, have to teach us? The lessons can sometimes be hard but the knowledge gained is priceless.