Books read yesterday

Finished Pandora's Locks by Jeff Alexander. If you're at all interested in the environment & in protecting it, this is a book well worth reading. He lays out the problems of biological pollution (introducing creatures, plants, etc. from other places into new places), some solutions, and writes with passion about the issues. Very good book.

Started Mystery of the Copper Turtle by Doris Kelly (Arbutus Press), continuing with Real life & liars by Riggle, glanced through the new Supremes book by Ribowsky, finished the Red Squad by Broner (excellent book, interesting take on the 60s & those who were protestors at that time).

Have more to read, of course.

Nice headshot of Rosy at ten months

Isn't she cute?

Rosy's tracking day and good people

Had a blast yesterday with the people I was with from 9 until nearly 3pm. Some of us went to lunch, partly because I said I was ready to eat Rosy's treats. ;) Rosy was to get certified, but didn't manage it. I think she had some difficulty with the pull of the line in the tall grass, and I'm sure my nerves affected her a bit, although I was trying not to be nervous.

Beth Lange who was there took some lovely pictures of her & here they are!

new books and soon to come photos

New books: Just looked over Execution 13: The Last Hanging in Michigan by James Hopp. And have been reading Dead Dancing Lovers by Elizabeth Buzzelli, Pandora's Locks by Jeff Alexander, My Germany by Lev Raphael, The Red Squad by EM Broner, and Recovery of Gray Wolves in the Great Lakes REgion by Wyleven.

Pandora's Locks is an excellent book, very well written. Jeff Alexander writes an account that is both scientific & accurate, while intermingling it with the personal accounts of how the damage to the lakes from invasive species started and is continuing. I had not realized that the monetary damages far surpass the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska nor that most of the native fish species in the Great Lakes have been extincted.

Also reading Moon's travel guides to both Upper Penninsula and Michigan (lower peninsula). Both are really good guides and very easy to follow.

Scanned through Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard, Running Home by Jennifer Ward (semi-autobiographical story of rescuing a German Shepherd), and scanned through Wade Rouse's At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream (memoir about a big city boy who moved to Michigan in quest of Thoreau's utopian ideals, only to come face to face with reality. Humor).

So as you can see, I've been busy. These are only some of the books I've been reading. Meanwhile, in the background, Rosy keeps me running. I have some new photos of her that I need to get up. She's gorgeous, still growing, and still very silly. Picture above taken after I play bowed to her & she play bowed back. She's going to go for her tracking certification soon & I'm looking forward to it. I need to keep my big feet out of her way though & just follow where she's leading. Wish us luck!

books read this weekend

After the Quake by Haruki Murakami (interesting short stories about how people are affected by the quake; how their relationships or their minds work in the aftermath.)

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami (Sort of a memoir/essay mixture gathered over ten years of the author talking about how running has formed his writing... and vice versa. Very interesting in the later part of the book, but reads somewhat flat in tenor).

Personal Geography : Almost an Autobiography by Elkizabeth Coatsworth (Newberry winner for The Cat Who Went To Heaven, a beautiful book especially early on with her recollections of her life as a child. She traveled alot and seemed not have a permanent home until comparatively late in life. Really wonderful book, highly recommended)

Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami (very fluidly structured novel which changes between different perspectives & essentially of a man whose inner life becomes very surreal).

long list of activities

my list : training Rosy for Manners I class, teaching her tracking, laying tracks for other people's dogs, running a friend's dog in a recent tracking test (learned that I need to keep my feet still & wait for the dog to work it out & get back on track. What a concept, keeping still!), and planning a new fence.

Not sure if I'll have a job after mid-May, but we'll see. I will go ahead & have the fence put in. Little Rosy is growing up and I don't think the current fence is up to her exploits. She's found out about the sport of squirrel chasing and has come awfully close. I think the squirrels should learn not to haunt this yard & the one next door. The next door husky has caught her third squirrel and I think she's gunning for more.

Still cooking, but nothing too exciting.

Still reading : just finished The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit by Michael Zadoorian. Wow! Great book of short stories, really terrific writing. Some of the plots are eccentric, and some are definitely adult oriented, but such a terrifically interesting book.

Plants & garden shows

Two plant-related questions today, one about what that white flower with three leaves was called (Trillium, one of Michigan's native flowers) and the other was about what can you grow under a black walnut tree. (ANS: not a lot).

Black Walnut trees secrete a poison of some kind. Their roots pretty much kill any vegetation around them, the leaves & the nuts also kill things. Dogs that eat or mouth the walnuts can die from it, as the mold is pretty deadly as well. Moral of the story is, don't plant them if you have dogs around and especially don't plant them near your neighbor's property, because they won't be happy.

Will have a guy come from the Home & Garden show to give me an estimate on my fence replacement. It really needs to come down soon, as it is so rickety, I could kick the boards through. Rosy would be able to get out if she ever thought about it & I would prefer that she not get ideas about breaking through fences & climbing them. He had some nice ones on display, so my fingers are crossed on that one.

Here's a view of Nick & Robbyn van Frankenhuyzen's sleeping cabin on one of their ponds. It is a really cool place. Bet it looks great now with all the greening up that is going on here.

March winds and rain

Hi, sorry it has been a while again. Lots going on, very busy. Work life remains precarious, but the state government has introduced a bill with funding in it for my department. We have some faint hope of survival. And spring is imminent. I know the official date of spring was this Friday, but for me, spring begins when my daffodils begin to bloom.

Rosy is, of course, as blooming as ever. She had her first trip to the vet since her follow up puppy vaccinations and was a silly wild puppy. They took her in the back to take blood from her and she sauntered off without even a look back at me. They all enjoyed her & thought she was beautiful. A balm to this dog-loving heart!

Annie-the-cat, on the other hand, had a terrible time. She's become increasingly frightened with each trip to the vet. Today I asked why her gums & tongue looked so odd and the vet said, "She's holding her breath." Annie was literally turning blue. Poor Annie. She has to go back in for another teeth cleaning and I was hoping my ritual tartar cookies, etc. would help clean her teeth. Not this time. She had white teeth until I gave her Kitty Caviar. I sure wish I had never given her that crap. (ok, cats adore it. But on Annie, it stuck to her teeth and now she has had to go back in for several teeth cleanings since I gave her that stuff. Rats).

May have to investigate a home-visit vet. One of my friends is a substitute vet so I'm going to ask her what she thinks I should or can do. Poor Annie. She's such a good cat. She does not want to hurt anyone, not even puppy Rosy and she feels bad when she scratches someone. But she's terrified out of her wits.

Home & Garden show as a master gardener volunteer this weekend. I've done Thursday & Friday, will do Saturday. It is gorgeous and the gardens they've set up in there are absolutely glorious. If there's one nearby, go. It is great just for the sight, and they do have giveaways and freebies. Like yardsticks. You can never have too many yardsticks in your life, can you?