For starters: that cover! It spoke to me immediately. But what is beneath the beautiful artwork is equally delightful. While I have enjoyed all of Sonja Yoerg’s novels, TRUE PLACES has to be my favorite, with its juxtaposition of nature and affluent suburban living. If you enjoy book club and upmarket women’s fiction in contemporary settings – … [Read more...]
Universal Well-Being And Planetary Considerations
What will it take for us to let go of our endless debates and finger-pointings over global warming or global climate change? When will we begin to truly recognize that the heart of our human existence and survival is the planet Earth and all it holds? As E. B. White noted decades ago, everything we do or hope to achieve is intimately reliant on … [Read more...]
Book Review: WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens
I was fascinated by WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING when I first learned about author Delia Owens’s background studying wildlife in Africa, and her awards as a nature writer. I was in the mood for a book lush in setting and critters and love of the earth. I had hoped this book would fill that need. When the introduction discussed the roots of this story – … [Read more...]
Then The Giant Wasps Came
The odds were running high against the young Kohlrabi plants from the start. They were an impulse buy spurred on by my childhood memories of eating them raw and fresh peeled from my grandmother’s garden. I love Kohlrabi's sweet cabbagey flavor. I'd never seen Kohlrabi for sale in our local garden center before. Nor had I seen them locally … [Read more...]
Mule Deer Shows Some Tough Love
This mother mule deer in Arizona, doting and attentive just a week before, warns her young buck away. Why? It turns out she is pregnant with a new fawn, and that she’s taught the year-old buck all she can about survival. Her hormones have kicked in, and her brain is wired for the survival of the new fawn growing inside. After the new fawn is up … [Read more...]
Topi’s Camping Adventure
What did you do this summer? That seems to be the universal question of greeting as summer winds down and we begin to migrate back to our normal routine of work, school, and fall social occasions. Of course, how you react to the question usually depends on how you feel your summer ranks on the spectacular summer vacation scale. If you had … [Read more...]
Book Review: THE REMOVES by Tatjana Soli
Wow. I could probably stop there, honestly, because that’s about all you need to know. But… I can’t do that because I loved this book too much not to talk about it. THE REMOVES by Tatjana Soli is an intense portrayal of yet another of America’s darkest periods of history. And it is told through the perspectives of three fascinating characters: … [Read more...]
Book Review: PECULIAR SAVAGE BEAUTY by Jessica McCann
In Jessica McCann's PECULIAR SAVAGE BEAUTY you get a front-row view of the horrors of the American Dust Bowl. Your skin will sting with torrents of dust, your eyes will burn from the grit, your heart will race. Yes, you will feel for the jackrabbits escaping the biting dirt, and the birds falling from the sky. And, you will fall in love with RJ, … [Read more...]
Book Review: THE RIVER OF KINGS by Taylor Brown
Wow! What a fascinating book written with absolutely gorgeous, transporting prose. I tend to enjoy dual-period books, but THE RIVER OF KINGS by Taylor Brown actually is a rare treat in that it weaves a third period into the storyline, and does so expertly. The novel follows the stories of two brothers on a quest to take their father’s ashes to … [Read more...]
How Deep Is Your Love?
In honor of Valentine's Day, National Spay/Neuter Awareness Month (February), and World Spay Day (the last Thursday in February) -- A letter from DOMESTIC ANIMAL COMPANIONS (PETS) UNITED FOR A BETTER FUTURE: Dear Humans: This may seem like a strange question to ask, but we really need to know... How Deep Is Your Love? We understand that … [Read more...]
Music: Augustin Hadelich’s “Fantasy of the Cats”
We listen to music for a variety of reasons -- to relax, to distract, to celebrate, to evoke a memory, to capture a moment, to alter our mood, to reflect our emotions, to enhance our brain functions... But, have you ever wondered what musicians imagine when they listen to music? Or what story they are trying to tell when they play a particular … [Read more...]
Pondering The Possibilities: Male Cat Birthing Coach
The idea of a male cat birthing coach seems to go against everything we think we know or have been taught to think about the nature of human vs animal behavior. Humanity -- 1) compassionate, sympathetic, or generous behavior or disposition: the quality or state of being humane; 2) the quality or state of being human Synonyms: bigheartedness, … [Read more...]
Book Review: THE SPORT OF KINGS by C.E. Morgan
What I’ve come to learn about myself as a reader is that I am patient enough (who knew?) to enjoy epic novels that span generations (This one was 545 pages). And I’m nerdy enough to enjoy puzzling out long, beautiful literary sentences that may ramble (This book does include some of those). I also enjoy gently-paced, character-driven stories with … [Read more...]
For The Joy Of Animals: Bald Eagle-Hawklet Day
Happy Bald Eagle-Hawklet Day! The Mayor of Sidney, Canada has proclaimed Sunday August 6th, 2017 as Bald Eagle-Hawklet Day in recognition and celebration of the incredible events that took place this summer in an eagles’ nest high above Roberts Bay — a baby red-tailed hawk was raised by bald eagles. Why, you wonder, is this deserving of … [Read more...]
Book Review: THE ATOMIC WEIGHT OF LOVE by Elizabeth J. Church
Anyone who knows me will not be surprised to learn that I found much to love about THE ATOMIC WEIGHT OF LOVE by Elizabeth J. Church. 1) Crows! 2) Science! 3) Southwestern setting – I so enjoyed the references to Mexican food, New Mexico’s landscape, roadrunners, coyotes (so similar to Arizona’s). Of the New Mexico landscape, Church writes, … [Read more...]
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