Welcome to Talking Iguana

Welcome to the creative platform of Lesa Quale Ferguson (affectionately known as Talking Iguana)—a space where words, photos, and stories meet. Here, I document my work as an artist, parent, and advocate, embracing the messy, vibrant life that shapes my art. From family stories to creative projects, this site showcases my work.

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View My Portfolio

Explore My Written Work

Published essays
Through personal memories, local experiences, and subtle observations, theses essays uncover depth in everyday life.

Advocate Like a Mother
Essays on my advocacy for my kids, focusing on navigating systems and fighting for the support they deserve. Try not to take it on the chin.

First Novel. Still writing it … 20 years later

I am currently taking a series of online novel writing classes through The Writer’s Workshop.

Jana Harris teaches the class. She assigned the text The Weekend Novelist by Robert J. Ray. These are posts based on the assignments.

Coming Attractions!

The Dead Pecker Bench

SHHH! Novel in Progress

Read the First Chapter

Explore Completed Assignments

Photography as Storytelling

Since the early 2000s, I’ve been pairing words with images. It started with coding and Photoshop and grew into capturing life’s fleeting moments. My photos, especially those documenting our family since my son’s birth in 2005 and the adoption of his brother in 2012, hold stories of love, resilience, and the ordinary magic of everyday life.

See My Photos

Winners from the Erie Co. FairLesa Quale Ferguson2024-09-22T21:27:47+00:00

2nd Grader at Field Day P.S. 18 in Buffalo

Winners from the Erie Co. Fair

Calendar PagesLesa Quale Ferguson2024-09-22T21:26:52+00:00

Enz Quale, Sam and Cal Ferguson Calendar

Calendar Pages

Prom PicturesLesa Quale Ferguson2024-10-05T02:53:31+00:00

Prom Pictures

Calendar Slides from the AughtsLesa Quale Ferguson2024-02-03T01:07:19+00:00

Calendar Slides from the Aughts

Kodak CarouselLesa Quale Ferguson2024-02-05T22:11:44+00:00

Ugly Couch with the Quale Kids and Cusellas

Kodak Carousel

Inspired by Bertien van ManenLesa Quale Ferguson2024-02-02T00:51:38+00:00

Inspired by Bertien van Manen

Essays and Stories by

Lesa Quale Ferguson

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
― Sylvia Plath

October 2024

Mediums, Memories, and Messy Histories

Mediums, Memories, and Messy Histories

Originally posted on FB, August [...]

Lessons Learned: Parenting Beyond Expectations for an ADHD Child

Lessons Learned: Parenting Beyond Expectations for an ADHD Child

Originally posted on FB, September 29, [...]

September 2024

Too Much Thinking Before Coffee

Too Much Thinking Before Coffee

Originally posted on FB, September [...]

KOA: Revisiting Childhood Road Trips, Working-Class Values, and My Mom’s Unstoppable Drive

KOA: Revisiting Childhood Road Trips, Working-Class Values, and My Mom’s Unstoppable Drive

Originally posted on FB, [...]

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Last week, Dana, who has been a friend since junior high and is now my brother's partner, led my family to her daughter Grace's wedding in Minnesota. Enzo was an usher with Dana's son, and she even got my brother to dance. My mom is still remarking on the whirlwind of it all. This weekend, Grace and her newly minted husband Chris stopped here on their way back from their honeymoon. Our families have integrated.

It’s a little unreal, seeing Dana like this. On one hand, she’s still the friend from Mr. Vondercheck’s class—the one I wasn’t speaking to because, well, it seemed obvious then... On the other, she’s this warm, gracious woman who got involved with my brother a few years back. Sometimes I have to remind myself that she knows exactly what she’s signed up for. She knows my brother is a lot—just like she knows I am, too. We didn’t speak over something that I am sure neither of us could recollect why even in the moment.

In this hootie of a universe, it’s as if an unpredictable clunker is rattling along—farting, sputtering, but somehow steering our destinies. Or maybe it’s always been Dana behind the wheel, driving us all around Ashland in that silver Honda with the Stray Cats bumper sticker, tearing down Mt. Ashland after a kegger.

If I could give one piece of advice to high schoolers, it’d be this: look around the classroom and try to spot the person who’ll unexpectedly reappear in your life decades later on the other side of the country. It’ll leave you wondering what clunky old force is driving you forward on this road we call destiny.

Here's how Brian Setzer sang it:

Singin' the blues while the lady cats cry, "Wild stray cat, you're a real gone guy. I wish I could be as carefree and wild. But I got cat class, and I got cat style."

Happy Birthday, Dana Suzanne . You’ve got the cat class and cat style to keep up with that real gone guy and the rest of us wild stray cats, and I’m grateful we’re still on this ride together even if sometimes the back tire careens off the road on the switchback.

Maybe someday we'll perform that interpretive dance we choreographed in PE!! We'll just have to see where our hootie destiny takes us next.

#straycats

Reclaiming My Time

Today, I woke up content—not sure why, maybe good dreams?

But then, on my way out the door to go to PT, I couldn't find my car keys. I went from the basement to the upstairs bathroom, checked under the car seat—nothing. It felt like one of those never-ending days on repeat.

I was a latchkey kid who could never keep track of the key, but I got pretty good at breaking in.

Today, I called PT, embarrassed but honest, and canceled. Nothing else to do about it.

Then, while trying to make breakfast, I spilled the berries which rolled like marbles underneath the refrigerator.

Caught in a groove of self-doubt, replaying the same thought. My incompetence. I folded laundry and watched Frontline episodes. Not sure it helped learning so much about JD Vance.

Dave ended up finding my keys in less than 5 minutes. They were on a hook behind Cal's backpack. What possessed me to put them there?

This day mirrors so many others in my life—whether I was 10, crawling through a window; or at 19, waiting in a friend's dorm smoking all her cigarettes; or at 30, running for a bus to get to work; and all those forgetful moments as a mom with babies.

The forgetfulness doesn't bug me much but the spiral, the self-flagellation, and the doubts about my competence that only the TV seems to cure. Just zoned out. I almost skipped my writing group tonight because of it. My mom connected me with this Seattle-based free writing group.

The other writers know so many of the people I knew back then. This group has been a bridge back to my novel and writing in general. It feels like Old Home Week every time I join them. I sit in the backyard and Free Write, then we each read, and sometimes we just talk about the weather afterward.

Tonight was freezing, so I brought out the space heater and a huge blanket, but I was still so cold, I almost quit, but didn't want to break the spell.

The computer crapped out once. Dave caught the dog before she ran out to bark a squirrel up the tree. I kept writing long enough until I hit on something good

In the moonlight shivering, I had the same feeling I had this morning, contented once again. Bookends.

Hey-Ho Rogue Valley Peops!

AHS Alum @readwritebreathe38 Shari Lane will be at Bloomsbury Books tomorrow Monday Oct. 7 reading from her new book, "Two Over Easy All Day Long."

From my review on Amazon: "Shari Lane’s "Two Over Easy All Day Long is a well-crafted and engaging story. Her writing captures the transition from Giles to Tony, from the well heeled life of NYC 1%-ers to the small town life of rural Oregon with vivid detail. The characters are well-developed and relatable each with unique quirks that bring them to life."

Hope those of you in the valley will go and then report back to me!! Support your local bookstore and authors!!!

#bookreview #meettheauthor #twoovereasyalldaylong #bloomsburybooksashland #onceanashlanderalwaysanashlander

Read My Blog Post!!! The link to it is my bio!

"To those reading this and thinking, 'I know someone whose child has ADHD, and I had no idea what it entails,' I urge you to be a good villager. It truly takes a village to raise any child, and those with diagnoses and IEPs often need even more support. If a child is struggling, show kindness to them and their parents. Children with ADHD may say or do things that seem weird or inappropriate—don't clutch your pearls. Sometimes, just being a calm presence is enough. Extend your social graces without expecting them to conform to a social order you understand, but they may not."

love thy neighbor as thyself #BeLikeMyNeighbor
#lessonslearned #adhd #ʟɪɴᴋɪɴʙɪᴏ

Whelp, this is the only flag 🏈 pic I have this season and @raerising15 ( Nicole) took it. Weird not having a camera in my hand. Oh well. Nicole caught Cal capturing the flag. He collected quite a few this week. Go Cal!

National Son's Day!

Cal came home from school today and told me they watched Inside Out 2. He pointed out that characters with similar colors "matched in their emotion." Joy’s hair is blue, and Sadness is all blue—because there's always a little bit of sadness in joy. He’s brilliant. I hadn’t even noticed that detail myself.

I couldn’t take a new picture of my sons today because Sam is away at college. And there’s that little blue sadness, tucked into all my joy. It’s not in my hair, though—it gathers just below my eyelid.

Sam’s been asked to be the assistant to the MUG (Mariner Under Guidance) Chief, following his weekend as the assistant to the assistant MUG Chief. When he first told me that, he said, "I’m basically the Dwight" (from The Office). I couldn’t stop laughing.

Before he left for college, I told him I was never going to remember all these ranks and protocols. When Uncle Billy got promoted in the police department, he had to explain it to me in terms of Barney Miller characters—when he became Wojo, Fish, or Barney himself.

Between Sadness and Dwight, my boys know how to speak my language.

#mysitcomlife #nationalsonsday #alittlebitofsadnessinmyjoy #insideout #insideout2 #theassistanttotheassistantregionalmanager

Every once in a while a picture comes up in my memories and it's one of my most favs. I just love looking at it. I got the inspiration from the second pic by William Eggleston. Mine is not nearly as good but it had me looking at the back of people's heads. Now that I am looking at the two of them together, I need to put more space between her head and the top of the frame. Later ...

My friend Phyllis conned her friend to pay for my plane ticket to take candids at her wedding. Super anxiety producing but the pics turned out pretty good. And their marriage has lasted 7 years. I mean I don't think me taking pictures had anything to do with that ... But we can't rule it out.

Plus Phyllis's friend said some amazing things about my work and me. I should have written it down and used it as a quote.

#photographyinfluence

I'm applying for a photography job, working for commission at hospitals taking pictures of newborns. I actually hope it works out. If anyone has done this before, please message me. The company asked me for samples of my work. I didn't end up sending this one of our "Angel Baby" (as my mom calls him), but I worked on it for the first time today. By God, he was a beautiful baby. I took pictures of him on our bed every month for the first year of his life and sent the best pics to his first mom. How could I have overlooked this one? He looks just like her. I can't believe he's 12. He's just as beautiful, but instead of having scrumptious cheeks, he has amazing cheekbones, and his first mom sees him so often she can take her own pictures. lol. The time goes, whoosh!

#transracialadoption #firstmom #thisisus

Struggling with my anxiety lately. I found some quotes to help quell it.

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." William James (Henry's Bro)

"Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

#LetterboardLove #leaderboars #williamjames #anxiety #fear #ralphwaldoemerson

$In our 21st year, so much has come to fruition after a long struggle. It’s been a lot, but the payoff has been huge. Dave and I have dedicated ourselves to our boys’ education, which means our finances are in the dumper, some family relationships have been strained, and we’re tired. As Dave used to say, “Go big or go home.” And that’s exactly what we did. Now, I’m just happy to be at home, taking time to refresh and recoup. Our relationship—and our relationships with others—has changed after launching one kid and getting the other to a place where he is being nurtured and educated. We’ve been blessed with amazing kindness and support from some, while others have shown us how to set better boundaries. To those who’ve offered us support and encouragement, WOW. The love and generosity was astounding. Please know that, as we celebrate this anniversary, you are very much a part of us. During our wedding, the minister stressed that family and community sustain marriages. These past five years have shown me the truth of that wisdom. I’m just grateful for the chance to rest. Now, we get to return to our regularly scheduled antics—whether that’s driving dogs across the state, building a new Little Free Library or a butterfly habitat in the backyard, or trying to pay off a small fraction of credit card debt with old stocks. This week, because I made Dave lunch (so he doesn’t have to drive around), he and his partner (aka Starsky and Hutch) have been able to fight crime in the Hertel area. Turns out, decompressing can be fun too. In the next 20 years, I hope we realize some of our personal aspirations with the same gusto we put into raising our kids. God willing and the creek don't rise, we’ll be lucky to be half as successful as our boys have been. We're old dogs, after all. This marriage has been a powerful engine and one of the greatest blessings of my life. I love you so much, Dingo. #happyanniversarymylove$

READ MY BLOG POST:
"And then, of course, my mind went to Dorothy Zbornak and my great-aunt Marg, with her tilted wig, smeared lipstick, and ever-present cigarette. All those older women who had survived something I couldn’t imagine—the Great Depression. There was a sharp wit, blue hair, chunky heels, and a confidence that came from just being alive. They always wanted to pass their survival wisdom on to us girls by saying things like, 'How are you ever going to find a husband with a job and a pension if you’re swearing like a sailor, hanging out with each other, and wearing cutoffs?'

While waiting for my coffee, I thought, Yep, definitely too much thinking for someone still uncaffeinated."

The whole shebang when you click on the link in my bio!

#ʟɪɴᴋɪɴʙɪᴏ ! #talkingiguana #toomuchthinkingbeforecoffee #pronouns #aging #genx on #genz

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Essays by Lesa Quale Ferguson

Welcome to Talking Iguana

Explore My Written Work

First Novel. Still writing it … 20 years later

I am currently taking a series of online novel writing classes through The Writer’s Workshop.

Coming Attractions!

SHHH! Novel in Progress

Photography as Storytelling

Essays and Stories by

Lesa Quale Ferguson

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
― Sylvia Plath

October 2024

Mediums, Memories, and Messy Histories

Lessons Learned: Parenting Beyond Expectations for an ADHD Child

September 2024

Too Much Thinking Before Coffee

KOA: Revisiting Childhood Road Trips, Working-Class Values, and My Mom’s Unstoppable Drive

Visit on Instagram

“I yam what I yam” — like Popeye, I stick to what I yam. Outspoken, messy, and creative, I find meaning in the everyday life, turning ordinary moments into stories. After all, “That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!

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Essays by Lesa Quale Ferguson

Welcome to Talking Iguana

Explore My Written Work

Tales from Ordinary Life

Tales from Ordinary Life

Tales from Ordinary Life

Tales from Ordinary Life

Tales from Ordinary Life

Tales from Ordinary Life

Tales from Ordinary Life

Tales from Ordinary Life

Tales from Ordinary Life

Tales from Ordinary Life

Previously Published

Previously Published

Previously Published

Previously Published

Previously Published

Previously Published

Previously Published

Previously Published

Previously Published

Previously Published

Advocate Like a Mother

Advocate Like a Mother

Advocate Like a Mother

Advocate Like a Mother

Advocate Like a Mother

Advocate Like a Mother

Advocate Like a Mother

Advocate Like a Mother

Advocate Like a Mother

Advocate Like a Mother

First Novel. Still writing it … 20 years later

I am currently taking a series of online novel writing classes through The Writer’s Workshop.

Coming Attractions!

SHHH! Novel in Progress

Photography as Storytelling

Essays and Stories by

Lesa Quale Ferguson

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” ― Sylvia Plath

October 2024

Mediums, Memories, and Messy Histories

Lessons Learned: Parenting Beyond Expectations for an ADHD Child

September 2024

Too Much Thinking Before Coffee

KOA: Revisiting Childhood Road Trips, Working-Class Values, and My Mom’s Unstoppable Drive

Visit on Instagram

“I yam what I yam” — like Popeye, I stick to what I yam. Outspoken, messy, and creative, I find meaning in the everyday life, turning ordinary moments into stories. After all, “That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!

wanna talk to the iguana?

email

jump To

get subscribed

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
― Sylvia Plath