The Nature of Things

The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book was recommended to me on Goodreads - one of those "since you read that, we think you might like this" deals. I don't always take notice of such recommendations, but Robert Crais' name rang a bell, so I decided to give it a try. This was the first book, published in 1987, in what is now a lengthy and continuing series featuring California private eye Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike. It is the very definition of noir, a "genre of fiction characterized by cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity." The writing and the two main characters recall Robert B. Parker and his characters Spenser and Hawk. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then somewhere Parker's shade must be smiling at the work of Crais and his success. And the series has been a big success right from the start. This book won several awards and later books in the series have been highly acclaimed and award...

Daffodils Snowdrops Loropetalum

Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell My rating: 2 of 5 stars Historical fiction is among my favorite genres. One period that I'm particularly interested in is ninth and tenth century England when the country as we know it was in its birth pangs. It was a violent time when Danes and Norsemen made frequent raids on the land, pillaging, killing, raping, but some of them actually stayed and settled there and became a part of the formation of a new society. My interest in this period explains how I came to be reading Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories. His are action adventures, full of blood and guts. Not exactly the reading fare that I normally turn to, but good, well-researched historical fiction can often give us insight into the real history of a period and place. I can't really fault Cornwell's research. The stories are based on real events and people. But the unrelenting violence and the lack of any significant character development leave me unsatisfied. I need to ta...

Texas is blessed with a number of wonderful state and national parks and national wildlife refuges. It's one of the things that makes our area a paradise for birders. And birds. Last Saturday, our family spent most of the day at one of my favorite parks and birding spots, Brazos Bend State Park . The occasion was a celebration of our older daughter's birthday. The park is near where she and her husband live and celebrating her birthday there has become an annual event.  After our cook-out luncheon, we went for a walk around Elm Lake, one of the several lakes within the park. And, of course, I managed to get in a little birding along the way. Birds were not as plentiful as they will be in spring and summer, but there were still a good number of them about.  One can always count on seeing American Coots at any time of the year at any wetland in the area. And the Common Gallinule is truly common. There were scores of noisy Black-bellied Whistling Ducks around the lake. It was ...

As our host for this monthly meme, Carol of May Dreams Gardens , is fond of quoting from the esteemed gardener Elizabeth Lawrence , we can have blooms every month of the year. But in late winter, even a mild winter like we are having this year, they do get a bit sparse. We can depend on the violas, of course. Sweet little flowers!  They bloom in several colors in pots around my yard. These are next to the patio, where I can enjoy them when I'm lounging in my favorite seat. This pot has a little bit of every color. Along the back fence, the antique rose, 'Old Blush,' is flowering.   Another of my roses that is blooming now is the David Austin rose, 'Molineux.' Beside the garden shed, 'Peggy Martin' rose is in full flower. This oxalis is a weed, but it brings some color to several of my beds at this time of year. I can tolerate it because it fades away as soon as the weather heats up. Which will probably be sooner than we would like.  If it is February, it mus...

It seems that spring will be early this year. Indeed, it already shows signs of wending its way northward from our southern border. There are days when it appears to have already arrived here. That great observer of Nature, Alfred Lord Tennyson, had a poem about that. Of course he did! Here it is.   The Progress of Spring     by Alfred Lord Tennyson THE groundflame of the crocus breaks the mould,  Fair Spring slides hither o'er the Southern sea,  Wavers on her thin stem the snowdrop cold  That trembles not to kisses of the bee:  Come Spring, for now from all the dripping eaves  The spear of ice has wept itself away,  And hour by hour unfolding woodbine leaves  O'er his uncertain shadow droops the day.  She comes! The loosen'd rivulets run;  The frost-bead melts upon her golden hair;  Her mantle, slowly greening in the Sun,  Now wraps her close, now arching leaves her bar  To breaths of balmier air;  Up leaps...

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : Osprey , resting after enjoying a fish snack. *~*~*~* The Great Backyard Bird Count , the mid-winter citizen science project meant to determine where birds are and what their condition is, is under way. It will continue through Monday. If you have at least fifteen free minutes over the next couple of days, why not go outside and count some birds, then go to the GBBC website and report what you saw?  *~*~*~* The Supreme Court has blocked the EPA's rules regarding the regulation of emissions from coal-fired power plants while the case makes its way through the court system. It seems likely that this will, at the very least, delay implementation of the rules until after the Obama presidency ends. It is yet another blow to the agenda for combating climate change and another reminder of why this presidential election is so important. *~*~*~* The armed occupation by a bunch of misguided malcontents of the Malheur National W...