The Nature of Things

About three years ago, I started posting reviews of the books that I read on The Nature of Things . This was one of the early ones that I posted on August 29, 2011. There must be a lot of C.J. Box fans among my readers because many of them responded and the post still gets hits on a regular basis. And by the way, I am now reading the fourth book in this series. The review will be posted soon. *~*~*~*  I was introduced to the writing of C.J. Box through my local library's Mystery Book Club.  Open Season , the first in Box's Joe Pickett series, was the club's selection for reading in June. Although I didn't get a chance to read it in time for the meeting, the discussion of it made me curious and I put it on my to-be-read list. I'm glad I finally got around to it this week. Box has created an enormously appealing character in Joe Pickett. A Wyoming game warden, Joe is a devoted family man with two young daughters and a pregnant wife when we first meet him. He and his f...

This post originally appeared in my Backyard Birder blog on January 31, 2012. Since that time, the problem that it reports about has only gotten worse. *~*~*~*    There are  several stories in the news today  about a recently released scientific study on the impact of an invasive species, the Burmese python, on Florida's wildlife. The study focuses on the Everglades and on the devastation of the small mammal population there. There are areas where raccoons, o'possums, rabbits, foxes, even bobcats, and other small mammals have virtually disappeared as a result of the introduction of these big snakes. The snakes also prey on reptiles and, to some extent, birds, but their preferred prey is mammals. Pythons probably   first got into the wild after being released by pet owners  when the snakes got too big for them to deal with, but natural disasters such as hurricanes have also played a part when pet stores that had sold the snakes were destroyed and animals es...

Income inequality in America has been much in the news recently, but more than two years ago, there were reports that showed that the idea of American meritocracy was a myth. No matter how smart you are or how hard you work, it is difficult, if not impossible, for the average American to rise to a higher economic status than he or she was born into. This post originally appeared on January 9, 2012, and unfortunately, it is still relevant today. *~*~*~*  The New York Times  last week had a  report about how the myth of the American meritocracy  is just that - a myth. In fact, of all the countries in the industrialized world, it is harder for a person of low economic status to rise higher in the United States than it is almost anywhere else. If America as the "land of opportunity" ever existed, it has disappeared, and this is primarily due to the policies pursued by the government. The governments of other developed countries make it their goal to protect and help thei...

Continuing with my blasts from the past, here's a repost from March 22, 2010. This entry was originally posted on my Gardening With Nature blog and many gardeners empathized with my weed problem. *~*~*~* Spring is weed season in my garden. Well, if I'm really truthful I would have to admit that every season is weed season in my garden. I do have a lot of weeds.  But during spring, all those weeds that have been at least a little bit discouraged by winter cold are suddenly back with a vengeance. I spend a day pulling weeds and feel really good about what I've accomplished. Then, looking around two days later, it's hard to tell I did anything. There are several really pernicious weeds that I have to deal with and although I occasionally win a battle against them, the war continues. I've been taking major hostile actions against this weed for more than a month now. This is henbit. It infests many of the beds in my veggie/herb garden. I pull it out by the roots whereve...

As I noted yesterday, I am reposting some popular blog posts of the past while I am taking a few days off for vacation. This is an oldie from my first blog, Backyard Birder , which I just recently folded into this blog. This particular post got more response from readers than any other entry I made on that blog in the almost eight years that I maintained it. And I have no idea why. If I did, I would write something like it every day. For some reason, it just seemed to strike a chord with my readers. Maybe they just really, really like doves. Well, what's not to like? The post first appeared on April 26, 2006. *~*~*~* I watched a pair of Mourning Doves building their nest this afternoon. The male picked up straw and sticks from the ground and took them to his mate who worked on weaving and shaping the nest. Their nest is between 30 and 40 feet up in a huge pine tree that stands just across the backyard fence in my neighbor’s yard. The doves construct their nest on a horizontal limb,...

For the next few days, I am going to be on the road, enjoying a late winter vacation. In my absence, I am reposting some of my most popular blog entries from the past. I hope you will enjoy them. We start with this entry from April 22, 2012. It was my take on the publishing sensation of that year, Fifty Shades of Grey and it certainly got a response from a lot of readers! *~*~*~* “You beguile me, Christian. Completely overwhelm me. I feel like Icarus flying too close to the sun.” - The virginal Anastasia speaks to Christian Grey in  Fifty Shades of Grey   One of the more interesting and puzzling phenomena in the world of books recently has been the popularity of the soft porn book - often referred to as "mommy porn" -  Fifty Shades of Grey . The book, first in a trilogy, shot to the top of the  New York Times  combined e-reader and print fiction best-seller list  and it was quickly followed by the other two parts of the trilogy.  The books have stayed ...