When our children grew up and moved away from home, my husband and I had lots of spare, and very quiet, time. One day we noticed a female cardinal had built a nest in the small pine shrub by the back door. Worried that something would happen to her eggs or babies if she had to leave for long periods to look for food, I started putting out little piles of sunflower seeds close to her nest.

The seeds attracted all kinds of wildlife and the project is almost a full-time job now! Our kitchen table is next to the patio door, where we can watch a great show at each meal.

The chipmunks are the cutest. They pop up through open knot-holes or they run from one direction or another to see who can get to the seeds the fastest. One day I noticed two chipmunks fighting over the seeds. Somehow they managed to tuck themselves into a small, furry, brown, white and black striped ball and roll all over the patio.

I thought that was hilarious, and wanted to keep this memory and share it with my grandchildren, but I didn't have a movie camera. I decided that I should write a story about it.

At the encouragement of my father-in-law I entered my little story into a national writing contest associated with the Decatur Public Library. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my story had won an "Honorable Mention."

Subsequently I have written several more stories and my granddaughter has agreed to illustrate them. I am blessed with many friends who have strongly suggested that I publish my stories. These are "cuddle books". Little stories that are meant to be read aloud to a warm, sweetly-scented child seated in one's lap, to laugh together at the adventures of the different animals that come to the bird feeder and learn to overcome the many problems of life.

When I started kindergarten, my mom started college. As a result, my after school baby sitter was my grandmother.

My grandmother, Kiki, lived three houses away from Muffley elementary school. It was easy for me to walk to and from my school.

Every day after school, I helped Kiki feed the birds. She would give me stale bread and I would break it into special shapes and make patterns with it on the patio. Other times, she would let me get a handful of sunflower seeds and put them on the patio. I grew up with birds, chipmunks, and squirrels. Frequently I ran out onto the patio and chased the squirrels away.

Kiki's yard had several large trees which kept it very shady. At times, when it had rained a lot, little mushrooms would pop up. I thought Kiki's yard was very exciting. I always loved the various flowers that would bloom at different times of the year. Kiki allowed me to pick all the flowers I wanted. The only rule was that I couldn't eat anything I picked.

In the spring, lilies-of-the-valley grew. They smelled so good and looked like perfect, little bells. After the lilies-of-the-valley stopped blooming, bunches of violets appeared under the forsythia bushes. Sometimes, I pretended that I was a chipmunk and that the forsythia bushes were my home.

At age five I developed a love for Japanese and Anime. After watching the first episode of Pokemon I decided to teach myself that art style. My teachers, parents, and grandparents encouraged me to expand my artistic talent. So as I got older I kept learning new art styles. Now I am in college and I still love to draw anime.

When Kiki asked me to illustrate her book I was hesitant because I had never drawn a chipmunk before. But after a few sketches, I found I really enjoyed doing it.

I feel very lucky to be working with my grandmother. She is kind, beautiful, and has great ideas for children's books. I believe that she and I make great business partners.