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Backyard Nature Wednesday: Southern Leopard Frog

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There are five species of Leopard and Pickerel Frogs that occur on the continent. The ones that are present in my area of Southeast Texas are the Southern Leopard Frogs, an example of which you see here. This little frog and several of his relatives are present in my little backyard goldfish pond this summer. They love to sit and bask on the lilypads in the late afternoon as this one is doing. It's easy to see why these little frogs are called Leopard Frogs. They are strongly marked with spots just like a leopard. They range in color from green to brown. The ones in my pond show some variation but most are shades of brown. Southern Leopard Frogs are generally 2 - 3 1/2 inches long. The longest one on record was 5 inches. My frogs are on the smallish side and are incredibly cute! They are very welcome backyard visitors.

Firewall by Henning Mankell: A review

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The dour Swedish detective, Kurt Wallander, is now 50 years old. He has been diagnosed with diabetes, and he is making an effort to live a healthier life. He has taken up walking. He tries to eat and drink more sensibly. The result has been that he has lost some weight and he actually does feel better, at least physically. Emotionally, he's still a mess. His promising relationship with the Latvian policeman's widow, Baiba, has ended. He doesn't have a woman in his life. He's lonely and he has a tendency to become obsessed with every new woman he meets. His daughter suggests that he sign up with a dating service, but he is resistant to that idea.  At work, Wallander is frustrated. He feels unappreciated. His superior does not seem to trust him. He would like to quit, but his options are limited and he's looking at perhaps ten more years as a police detective whose career is going nowhere. He's a policeman whom technology is leaving behind. He doesn't understa...

Poetry Sunday: I Hear America Singing

In honor of the nation's birthday a few days ago, this week let's hear from that most American of poets, Walt Whitman, and his hymn to his native land. This is the 1867 version of the poem, the one that most of us know, that appeared in Leaves of Grass . Walt Whitman (1819-1892)                         I Hear America Singing.     I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,     Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe               and strong,     The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,     The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off               work,     The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deck-               hand singing on the steamboat deck,     The shoemaker singing as he...

Caturday: Henri

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Poor Henri! So exploited. His generous nature so abused and taken advantage of by that manipulative bald guy with the camera. No wonder he is filled with angst and ennui.

4 degrees

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Last week President Obama made a major speech which got very little attention. He spoke about climate change, its challenges to our way of life and to human life in general, what could be done to slow or reverse the unprecedented warming of the planet, and, finally, the actions which he plans to implement - things which don't require congressional approval - to begin rolling back the onrushing wave of global warming. In spite of the fact that it was not widely reported, it may turn out to be one of the most significant speeches he has made as president, the one which will have the greatest impact upon the future of the planet. The United States has been a laggard in the battle against global warming because the Republican Party, backed by Big Oil, refuses to accept that it is happening, or, if it is happening, that it has a human cause. They have devoted themselves to gumming up the works of our government so that it cannot address this threat to human life on Earth. And no one is...

Happy birthday, America!

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After witnessing the British Royal Navy's bombardment of Fort McHenry in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812, a lawyer and amateur poet named Francis Scott Key was inspired to write a poem called "Defence of Fort McHenry." The poem was actually written in 1814 and was later set to the music of a popular British song from a men's social club in London. The song was called "To Anacreon in Heaven." That popular tune was employed in the service of many lyrics over the years, but once used for Key's poem, it was renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner" and was eventually made the national anthem by congressional resolution on March 3, 1931. From time to time, you hear people grousing that this song is just too hard to sing and that the anthem should be changed to something easier like "America the Beautiful," but I hope that never happens. I quite like "The Star-Spangled Banner" with its history and its message of patriotism. Most pe...

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson: A review

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This highly praised novel by Adam Johnson, which ultimately was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction earlier this year, is confusing and not easy to define or categorize. It is in part a thriller with a bit of romantic love ladled on to sweeten it, but, overall, it is a depiction of a society of such horror that if one-tenth of what Johnson shows us is actually fact or even based on fact, then North Korea must truly be the worst place on Earth. Indeed, the phrase Hell on Earth comes to mind. It is a society in which truth is whatever the Dear Leader Kim Jong-il says it is. One's identity is assigned by Kim Jong-il. In Kim's fantasy world, North Korea is a paradise which is coveted by every other nation on Earth, especially by their arch enemies Japan, South Korea, and the United States. In this fantasy, the people in those other countries are starving and he generously sends food aid to them. How did this society come to exist? How did one man, one family gain and keep such p...