Saturday, May 05, 2012

A Flash-By Weekly Link Round-Up


This week seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. I've been trying to do some gardening, but it's like running a gauntlet. The next-door neighbors have bees that are building an ever-growing hive on the side of their house. Since we have a pool and several water features over here, the bees come over all day long to tank up and fly back to the hive. I can't do anything without having bees trying to come in for a landing.  Grrrrr!

We've also switched from cable TV to satellite, so I'm trying to learn the ins and outs of the new program guide. I'm tickled that there's a dedicated horse channel, and I learned quickly that, if I ever want Denis to leave the room, all I have to do  is turn that channel on!

Denis and I wandered around the Desert Botanical Garden through the late morning and early afternoon today. Our first stop was the Butterfly Pavilion where there seemed to be a never-ending line of grade school classes. After I'd taken my fill of photos, I sat on a bench in the Pavilion and watched the classes come through. It broke my heart to see how many of the children had no idea what butterflies were-- and that they were scared to death of them. These same children probably don't know the origin of milk, either.

Stopping to smell the flowers
The other thing that boggled my  mind was how many people (and it was a busy day) walked through the garden and didn't see 80% of what was there. For me the highlights of our walk through the garden weren't really in with the butterflies. The highlights came by walking along the paths of the Desert Wildflower Trail and being stalked by a pair of Gambel's quail. Of seeing a colorful Desert Spiny lizard lying on a large tree branch. Of having an entire family of baby ground squirrels come tumbling out on the path right at our feet. And on and on. I lost track of the times that Denis and I would be watching wildlife in plain view of anyone who cared to look--- and all the rest of the folks walked right on past without seeing a thing.

Turn off your cell phones, stop fiddling with your cameras, and just be quiet while you walk and actually look around you. Have your children walk with you. And if none of you know what to look for, there are plenty of places like the Desert Botanical Garden that have helpful folks who'd be more than happy to show you. (Or you might even have a friend or two that would be happy to go on a walk with you.) Turn off the electronics-- it is possible to enjoy life without them... at least for periods of time! 

Okay. Rant over. I feel better now! 

Tomorrow I'm going to CozyCon which is a joint program of the Poisoned Pen and the Phoenix Public Library. A dozen cozy mystery writers in panels from 10 AM to 4 PM-- and I finally get to meet fellow book blogger, Lesa Holstine! Am I looking forward to this? You'd better believe it!



Bookish News & Other Interesting Stuff
  • For any of you who've read Cornelia Read's Invisible Boy, here's a short video about the documentary project about Prospect Cemetery that she's trying to get funded. Want to help? You can do that!
  • An Australian billionaire wants to build Titanic II.  (No comment!)
  • The Book Loft of German Village in Columbus, Ohio looks like my kind of bookstore!
  • Paul Revere's work found in an old medical text in Brown University's rare book room.
  • President Obama the Poetry Critic.

I ♥ Lists

Book Candy

New to My Google Reader

That's it for this week. I hope I found a URL or two that tickled your fancy. Join me next weekend when I'll have a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!

8 comments:

  1. Cathy, we loved our time at the Desert Botanical Gardens on our last visit. I still need to do a post about it and show some pictures. Such a beautiful place and I know it must be even more beautiful now.

    Also, so excited that you are going to CozyCon! Hope you and Lesa both have a great time. Give her a virtual hug for me. And be sure and tell us about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd love to see your photos of the DBG. We all find different things to fascinate us in places like that.

      I'll be leaving for CozyCon in less than an hour... not that I'm doing a countdown or anything!

      Delete
  2. Cathy - Thanks as ever for this link roundup. I hope you'll enjoy life as a "satelliter."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope I do, too. That big honkin' thing parked above the laundry room door startles me every time I go out there! LOL

      Delete
  3. I totally agree with your rant. We used to canoe a lot, and all too often noisy canoeists would ruin one of our sightings of wildlife. We have wonderful memories of seeing an otter family, and moose, and other fun sights as we canoed quietly. Dave's aunt and uncle in San Diego had a huge bee hive built into their house. They had to hire someone to clear it out and there were literally tons of honey in their eaves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've often wondered why some people like to go through life making noise and others prefer to make a more quiet journey. I'll probably never know!

      Delete
  4. Wish I could spend more time in the desert and desert States. Sounds like an educational experience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is, and it certainly makes me appreciate the color green much more than I did when I lived in the Midwest!

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!