Updates from the
Hundred Acre Wood Blog
Featured Books


INDIGO BIRD
by Jane Viehl ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2024
A quietly moving portrait of an unexpected family
Indigo Bird is a recent book by Oregon fiction writer Jane Viehl that explores the delicate dynamics of family, resilience, and unexpected connections. Rainey Morgan, a widowed mother and commercial artist, has carefully built a life of stability for herself and her twelve-year-old daughter, Shiloh.
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Though she faces everyday struggles, Shiloh’s challenges in middle school, a faltering relationship with her partner Pete, and her own frustrations in an adult painting class, Rainey manages to keep things under control. But when her sister Leah requests a favor, to take in Leah’s seven-year-old son, Caleb, for a few weeks while she works in Germany, Rainey’s well-maintained equilibrium begins to shift.
Rainey discovers new layers of herself and her family as she navigates this unfamiliar terrain. With quiet emotional depth, Indigo Bird paints a moving portrait of an unexpected family.
Jane has once again done a masterful job as a contemporary fiction author. It’s a must-read if you are a fan of functional books by Oregon authors, who excel at crafting deeply human stories with rich emotional landscapes.
The Blackest Crow
by Jane Viehl ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2012
Yet another one on the list of must-read books by Oregon authors, the Blackest Crow is a gripping tale of suspense and survival. Life moves at its usual quiet pace in Biscuit Corner’s small, snow-covered town until two boys, James and Tiger, go missing in the remote Strawberry Wilderness.
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As the community braces against the harsh winter, law enforcement, townspeople, and the boys’ father, who has traveled from Portland, unite in a desperate search. When James’ abandoned red sports car is found behind a weir on the Little No Name, it becomes clear that the boys have chosen to stay in Oregon.
When a victim’s rights organization offers a reward, it draws bounty hunters into the search, and the race to find the boys intensifies. Can they find the boys in time? As the cold deepens and time runs out, their fate remains uncertain.
Jane, a contemporary fiction author who also writes a country living blog, tells a haunting tale of danger and determination in The Blackest Crow.


Indigo Bird, Reader Reviews
A WALK IN THE WOODS
September 20, 2025. Come on over! Here's the path we made, what, 10 years ago? Actually, this is looking up the path, but I wanted to take some...
WHITE OAK SAVANNA
We'll get to the trees, but first: "So which is harder," I ask Larry. "All that work in the garden, locating and starting the tomato seeds,...
FIRE?
First, a correction: The butterflies mentioned in my last post were not Monarchs! Thanks to a couple of well-informed readers, "those butterflies in...
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? MY JOB
To continue my last report on Phoenix, here are a couple of photos. This first is a look at the machine Ian and James applied to the lawn area on...
PHOENIX: ON IT
But let's start here with Charlie and Arianne: When life gives you grandkids, put them to work! Here they are culling apples in advance of the fall...
THINGS FALL APART
Of course they do. First to go this past week was the tractor. Son David was visiting, and he and his dad had the good idea to use the tractor's...
JUNE ’25
I know. We said we wanted to create a mini Nature Conservancy site here at the "Wood", and it pretty much looks, instead, as if we've created a...
HOME ALONE
Which means I'm here in charge of approx. 50 cows, 4 chickens, and a highly creative watering system. But the sun is shining and I think I'm okay....
OWL HOUSE, CHAPTER TWO
You may remember a photo of Mitch, last year, attaching such a house to one of the trees back behind the Heritage lawn? This time, we wished to have...
APRIL 14
A bright, sunny day. A bright, warm, sunny day. We’re eager to get out and make some Vitamin D. For me, it starts with my usual walk down the road....
WE’RE A REAL FARM AGAIN
Or at least a real ranch. You'll see what I mean. Back to work on Tuesday: Some years ago, a tree in the pasture surrounding the barn had fallen,...
SPRING 25
After relentless excavation of this blog’s digital archaeology, Cole, of Lamplight, was able to find/create a pathway for me to write a new post....