The Nature of Things

All the political pundits are busily explaining to us exactly what last Tuesday's election means. All the right-wingers are vociferously gloating about the "permanent" majority they have achieved in the Senate and the House. President Obama's policies are thoroughly repudiated by the American people, they say. Well, maybe. Just about one-third of registered voters turned out to vote in this election and, of that number, just over half - something like 17% of the nation's voters - gave the Republicans their victory. That is the tsunami, the earthquake, the tidal wave that they are crowing about.  Seventeen percent somehow does not seem like that big a mandate to me, but then what do I know? I'm not a pundit and I don't live inside the Beltway, so I can't claim any secret pipeline to the brains of American voters that allows me to interpret just what their votes mean. I did see one bit of analysis of American elections that seemed to make sense to me. No...

A Cold Treachery by Charles Todd My rating: 4 of 5 stars I shivered a lot while reading A Cold Treachery . Not because of the suspense particularly, but because of the description of the weather during which the action takes place. Inspector Ian Rutledge had been testifying in a case in the north of England when he was contacted by Scotland Yard to get himself to the remote village of Urskdale where a horrendous crime has taken place. Five members of a family have been murdered and the sixth member of the family, an almost ten-year-old boy, has disappeared. Did he do the killing? Or was he a witness who escaped the carnage but can tell who did it? But if he escaped, did he manage to find shelter and survive the merciless storm lashing the fells? Rutledge heads to Urskdale in the middle of a violent blizzard. Barely able to see where he is going, he comes upon an accident on the road. A carriage is overturned. The horse that had been pulling it is dead and a woman lies seriously injure...

The goldenrod along my back fence has been in bloom for weeks. It's almost finished now, but it has been a festival for the eyes and the bees this season. The heavy flower heads bend and sprawl toward the sun. It is, in truth, a rather unruly plant and yet there is a place for it in my garden. An out-of the way place where it doesn't bother anybody and the bees can easily find it. The goldenrod, or Solidago, is a member of the aster family. It is often unfairly blamed for causing hay fever, but goldenrod pollen is heavy and sticky and not easily blown by the wind. It is mainly pollinated by insects - the aforementioned bees and wasps in particular. The real hay fever culprit is ragweed which blooms at the same time and has pollen that is easily carried on the wind. Traditionally, goldenrod was used in herbal medicine. It was considered a kidney tonic that could be used to counter inflammation and irritation caused by bacterial infections or kidney stones. Native Americans also ...

Election Day in America and the headlines are thoroughly depressing. The chance of having an outcome that makes us a better country seems remote at best. We've done all we can do to affect the election so let's forget all about it for a few minutes. That's what cat videos are for. Enjoy!

For the past several months, among my first tasks each day, after feeding the cats and the fish, has been to go to my computer and dump all my email, which mainly consists of hundreds of begging letters. Well, maybe I exaggerate a little, but only a little. The requests for money by individual politicians, as well as the political parties and their various supporters, have been particularly obnoxious during this season. The insidious ways they try to get you to look at them - the all lower case subject lines, the hashtag subject lines, and, lately, the doom and gloom subject lines ("There's zero chance...," "We're doomed...") - are particularly insulting to anyone who respects the language, not to mention truth-telling. I have made my usual donations to the party and candidates of my choice, but it wasn't because I was swayed by their awful emails. Based solely on them, I wouldn't have given a dime to anyone. So, one more day to endure all of this an...

It is November. The year is winding down. Time to think about...time. About the passage of time. And about growing old together. No one does that better than Wendell Berry. They Sit Together on the Porch BY  WENDELL BERRY They sit together on the porch, the dark Almost fallen, the house behind them dark. Their supper done with, they have washed and dried The dishes–only two plates now, two glasses, Two knives, two forks, two spoons–small work for two. She sits with her hands folded in her lap, At rest. He smokes his pipe. They do not speak, And when they speak at last it is to say What each one knows the other knows. They have One mind between them, now, that finally For all its knowing will not exactly know Which one goes first through the dark doorway, bidding Goodnight, and which sits on a while alone.

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : A Cooper's Hawk sitting in my next-door neighbor's pine tree. I see Cooper's Hawks in the neighborhood throughout the year. Sometimes in fall and winter, they are joined by their cousins, Sharp-shinned Hawks.   At least one sharpie has already showed up in my yard this autumn. *~*~*~* Why do we feed the birds in our garden and is it good for the birds or detrimental to their welfare? People sometimes worry that bird feeders will make the birds dependent on us. I don't really find that to be true. (More on that later.) Studies done on the practice of feeding the birds clearly indicate that the main motivation is that it gives us pleasure . That is certainly true in my case. And speaking of feeding birds, Project FeederWatch begins again on November 8 . This is the citizen science project that helps track the movement of our backyard birds during the winter months. If you haven't already signed up to par...