The Nature of Things

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø My rating: 4 of 5 stars Early on in The Snowman , a man comes to Inspector Harry Hole's apartment claiming that he is inspecting the building and treating it for mold. He tells Harry that the inspection and the treatment may take several days during which he will need access to the apartment. Harry is on his way out the door to go to work and does he question the man - except to ask for how much it will cost - or ask for any identification or verification that he is legitimate? Nope! He simply hands over his spare door key and leaves for work. The reader thinks, "Is this really the action of Oslo's best detective?" And her second thought is, "Oh, Harry, this isn't going to end well!" Meanwhile, at work, Harry's team has gained a new member, Katrine Bratt, who seems like a feminine version of Harry. The team needs all the help it can get because very bad things are happening in Oslo. Women are disappearing, often without a tra...

It's April and, in the northern hemisphere, Earth is waking from its long winter nap. Nature is regenerating and all things are made new. In April   by James Hearst This I saw on an April day: Warm rain spilt from a sun-lined cloud, A sky-flung wave of gold at evening, And a cock pheasant treading a dusty path Shy and proud. And this I found in an April field: A new white calf in the sun at noon, A flash of blue in a cool moss bank, And tips of tulips promising flowers To a blue-winged loon. And this I tried to understand As I scrubbed the rust from my brightening plow: The movement of seed in furrowed earth, And a blackbird whistling sweet and clear From a green-sprayed bough.

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : We have Orchard Orioles in the neighborhood this week but so far none of these colorful Baltimore Orioles that invaded my yard by the dozens last May. I'm putting out my oriole feeder and hoping for the best. Their visit last spring was really the highlight of my last year's backyard birding. *~*~*~* Repercussions of the recent oil spill in Galveston Bay are still making themselves known. Rescuers have plucked almost 400 birds from the mess so far, but more than 500 more have been sighted but were unable to be rescued. Even those that are rescued have slim chances of survival. *~*~*~* The "Dawn Chorus" of birds is a well-known phenomenon, but why exactly do birds sing so energetically in the morning? The Zoologic blog explores that question . *~*~*~* Bradford (or Callery) pears are popular ornamental trees in the suburbs around Houston and in many areas of the country, but they really are not a good ch...

HBO's blockbuster series Game of Thrones has spawned a lot of take-offs - and rip-offs - but I have to say this is the best one yet! Okay, all those other folks out there planning their GOT intros using kittens or puppies or duckies or whatever can just quit now. I don't think this can be topped. In the game of animal parodies of Game of Thrones, the House of Goats is the clear winner. And it was all done without nudity or incest and not a drop of blood shed!

I've been bemused but not really surprised at the reaction of the right-wingers to the news last week that the Affordable Care Act had blown right past the stated goal of 7 million people signed up for private insurance under the new insurance exchanges by the deadline of March 31. The figure announced last week was 7.1 million. The revised figure announced yesterday was actually 7.5 million. And what has been the right's response to this? The same as their response to inconvenient facts like evolution or climate change. Denial, of course! "It's all a lie! They are cooking the books." These are the same people who spent the last two months of the presidential campaign in 2012 insisting that all those polls that showed Obama ahead were somehow "skewed." They went to great efforts to "unskew" them and show that, actually, Romney was well in the lead and would win by a landslide. One of the people who believed that was Mitt Romney himself. He was ...

Crossvine is a native perennial vine that is a member of the trumpet-creeper family ( Bignoniaceae ). It grows in the woods in many of the eastern parts of the United States, including in east Texas and occasionally to westernmost central Texas. It is a robust woody vine that can climb up to 50 feet due to its tendrils which have claws at the tips, enabling the vine to catch and hold on. In the spring, it produces masses of brilliant flowers in shades of orange. The leaves are glossy dark green in summer and turn reddish after frost. In areas of mild winters, such as southeast Texas, the vines keep their leaves through winter and once the weather warms up it is ready to grow and produce flowers. Like many native plants, this one has been cultivated by horticulturists and new varieties created. I grow one of them in my backyard. This is 'Tangerine Beauty' and it is well-named for it is a beauty, and, at this time of year, the vine is completely covered in these blossoms. Native ...

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri My rating: 5 of 5 stars In post-World War II India, the city of Calcutta (now Kolkata), two boys are born fifteen months apart to the Mitra family. The older of the two is named Subhash, the younger, Udayan. They grow to maturity in the heady period of Indian history when the country is achieving its independence from Britain and attempting to evolve into a united, workable democracy. The two brothers are inseparable and are often mistaken for each other as they are growing up, but they develop into very different personalities. Subhash is a steady, stable individual, apolitical and responsible. Udayan is charismatic and impulsive and politically active. He is drawn into the Naxalite movement, a rebellion based on the precepts of communism, which waged a sometimes violent campaign to eradicate inequity and poverty. (This was an actual historical movement, one which is still a force in India today. ) While Udayan becomes more and more involved in the rebell...