UNDER THE DESERT SKIES

Happy New Moon! I realized that I accidentally set the monthly news to go out every month at the new moon.  How appropriate to start out the lunar month with news about nature in the desert southwest. 

The first story I wrote for the Under the Desert Skies was about the javelinas.  Originally it was a cutesy rhyming poem about the insatiable appetite of javelinas.  Once we secured a contract with our publisher, I thought about the reality of javelinas.  They are not cute, but they are insatiable!

I thought, this story needed to have a more blue-collar feel.  The stories all need to reflect the reality of the desert animals we are showcasing.  And many times, it ain’t pretty.

After discussing the story change with Corinne, we decided that the messy, goofy, insatiable, stinky parts of the javelina are what would stand out.  While photographing the story we laughed the whole time. We especially liked the Red (baby javelina) wearing the pumpkin head while scavenging Halloween pumpkins and the last page, where they fall asleep under a mobile home.

The Stinky

Javelinas walk down the path.

They are SUPER stinky

Have terrible eyesight

And are ready to pig-out, even though they aren’t pigs.

First they find a lovely prickly pear, with lots of fruit.

“Yum! Yum!” Red says with a grin. 

And they chomp-chomp-chomp.

But they are still hungry.

Javelinas walk down the path.

They are SUPER stinky

Have terrible eyesight 

And are ready to pig-out, even though they aren’t pigs.

“Come along Red, look what we have here!  A buffet!” 

Mama bumps into the garbage can and it provides a 

spread of javelina delights:  rotten tomatoes, old, holey underwear and moldy radishes. 

But they are still hungry.

Javelinas walk down the path.

They are SUPER stinky

Have terrible eyesight 

And are ready to pig-out, even though they aren’t pigs.

Mama and Red discover some Halloween pumpkins sitting on a porch.

“Trick-or-treat! We can wear them and eat them!” And they do.

But they are still hungry.

Javelinas walk down the path.

They are SUPER stinky

Have terrible eyesight 

And are ready to pig-out, even though they aren’t pigs.

Finally a bird bath and potted flowers! What a glorious treat!

Mama and Red knock over the bird bath, chomp the heads off the flowers and give the ferns a haircut!

What a mess!

And guess what? They are no longer hungry.

They walk back to their favorite place to rest and settle in… until next time.  Burp.

______________________________

Thank you!

Ana Lewis and Corinne Lewis

Under the Desert Skies – The Series:

The Stinky, Curious and Disgusting
Hiss, Sigh, Squawk!

Download a FREE Kids Activity Kit to go with the series! No purchase required.