Owl Light…LIVE

If someone (like my husband, perhaps) was to accuse me of trying to go in too many directions at the same time, they would not be wrong (although let’s keep that between us, I hate to admit it when he is right)!

As another summer winds down, I am looking back at a whirlwind year; a year when my resolution was to be more deliberate and to clear the proverbial plate, some at least.

So far this year I have:

• Completed (almost) a year long “Academy of the Wooden Puppet” and started a “Academy Master Mind” program with Bernd Ogrodnik.
• Completed (5) new puppets – and started a 6th (along with a few other carved wood projects).
• Completed the draft for a full-length dramatic play.
• Published These Wilds, Owl Light’s second literary journal with the help of guest editors.
• Facilitated a monthly writers’ group (I started in 2016).
• Hosted year two of a Puppet-related 4-H group for youth puppeteers.
• And assisted a local not for profit as they expanded to include more literary arts in a community setting.

And that is just the arts-related list (and I am sure I am leaving something out). I am also a gardener and beekeeper. This year I planted out several new vegetable and herb beds (in a large area where a dilapidated barn was removed) and continued work on a chicken coop turned seedling/potting/drying shed. I have a batch of pickle relish in the works right now, and, thanks to it being a bumper year for fruits and blooms, have already put up blueberries and peaches for winter use and have harvested honey twice. We fit in a few trips to visit with family and friends in-between (and take our remaining pup, Winnie, for daily walks).

Okay, I am getting tired just thinking about this (and need to clean the wood stove and process more firewood for the winter before it gets colder). And with so many directions, some things are left less done (I harvested half the potatoes yesterday but there is so much fall clean up to do).

Seriously though, I love everything I am doing!

That said, I need to find ways of consolidating my morphing passions and narrowing directions.

As Owl Light has changed, we have gone from a regional news source to a literary journal. As noted above, we just launched our newest literary journal These Wilds: Owl Light Literary No. 2.
With that change, I still post various press releases but have (and will continue) to narrow these to arts-related topics only. As a one woman show, even giving all of these the focus they deserve is challenging.

You may have noticed that I put puppetry first
…My fascination with puppetry started long ago, after a childhood encounter with a roadside stand marionette, and continued into HS – before adulting took my career deep into education. I recently got into the wood carving and am loving, absolutely loving where this has taken me.

Theatre has also fascinated me and I have discovered that I really enjoy writing plays.

Given all this, I am looking for ways to focus more on what I love doing and will be adding puppetry to this site.

Did I mention that I do not like being at computers, on the phone etc.; evolving this site makes more sense than starting a new one.

So…

A Plan…

Owl Light News will be the home site for Owl Light Literary (we will try for a 2026 issue – keep those orders for the new journal coming in, every order helps)…

AND Owl Light LIVE
– which will focus on puppetry and theatre arts!

Let me know what you think?! And watch for the transition as 2025 morphs (rapidly) into 2026.

D.E.