Friday, June 26, 2015

A Blast Furnace of a Weekly Link Round-Up




It's been dancing in and around 115° here for the past week. This is the time in Phoenix when you open your door, take a step outside, and feel as though you've walked right into a blast furnace. It's the time of year when you get your errands and your chores done early so you can sensibly take it easy the rest of the day. 

Desert Spiny Lizard down in Bisbee
You can bet the farm that-- with a pool, some shade, and a waterfall-- I've been extremely sensible all week. I've been reading up a storm. (Just finished Rebecca Cantrell's A Trace of Smoke this afternoon. Wow, what a book!) I've also been watching six hummingbirds zealously guarding the waterfall from each other. I love how they all lurk back in the shadows of the oleanders and wait for one of them to make a break for the water. It's hilarious.

As you can see, I'm not sharing any photos of that. Instead I chose a photo I took down in Bisbee of a Desert Spiny Lizard. We watched each other one morning. Me from my comfy white wicker rocker and him from his perch on the trunk of a tree. You might not be able to see it quite so much in this size, but the sun makes the lizard's scales shine like they're made of metal. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if someone many centuries ago looked at a lizard and came up with the idea of armor. Just like I'm fairly certain someone else saw sunlight shining through a dragonfly's wings and decided to try his hand at making a stained glass window. Nature has taught us so much, and continues to teach.

But nature isn't going to turn loose of these links, so I'd better get myself in gear. Head 'em up, move 'em out!


 
►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄



►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄



►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
  • This seconds-old baby chameleon has no idea he's out of his egg... and take a look at other baby chameleons that know they are.  (Cuteness overload!)



►The Happy Wanderer◄
  • Sandwood Bay is on the Lonely Planet's Best Beaches list. (Just another gorgeous beach in northwest Scotland.)
  • Thought you just might like to take a look at a quiz about Phoenix's long, hot summers
  • Beautiful scenes in the Southwest that you have to visit at least once.
  • That 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal messed around with Mt. Everest.



►I  ♥  Lists◄



That's all for now. Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!


Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!



9 comments:

  1. Wow! 115 degrees! I've never been in that hot a climate. People have died in Karachi, Pakistan, due to temperatures that high, about 800.

    I love the hummingbird story.

    I will read the links later on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I lived here without central air conditioning for about 15 years. Nothing but run-of-the-mill fans and open windows. I have a few tricks up my sleeve for staying cool!

      Delete
  2. I hope you're staying cool, Cathy. It is definitely that time of year where you live! So glad you enjoyed the Cantrell; I think that series is a great one. And now to check out all those lovely links. The Agatha Christie one of course got my attention right away :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your weather is hotter than ours, we're in the upper 90's, but much more humidity than you. As always I enjoyed your Friday post. The book quiz thinks I live in New England, LOL, I live near Savannah, GA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm no stranger to humidity, and monsoon season is fast upon us here. A lot of times that just means dust storms and much higher humidity. Ugh! I don't like being reminded of life in central Illinois! LOL

      Delete
  4. Well, I did the city/book quiz and I miraculously got exactly where I live -- New York City. Then again I picked the only bookstore I know of here.

    Also, good to learn you read Cantrell's book. Will you read the series? I'm working up to reading this. I do not like to read about WWII, but I am so intrigued that a woman wrote this four-part series and I believe she is very knowledgeable about the 1930s in Germany.

    By the way, friends just returned from a vacation in Berlin, Hamburg and Amsterdam.
    They said that in Berlin there is an enormous monument to the Jewish people who died during WWII. Also, it is illegal to post a swastika anywhere in Germany. I'm glad to hear that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I will definitely read Cantrell's Hannah Vogle series. I was so immersed in the story of A Trace of Smoke that I forgot I was sitting in the pool!

      Delete
  5. Well, that's certain a good recommendation, to be so absorbed that you forgot where you were. (Only I'd wear a life preserver!)
    Let us know how the books are going.
    This might help me try to read the books. I'm fascinated by the first one and by the book on the 1936 Olympics. I believe that the German government would not let a Jewish woman athlete participate in it. (She moved to the U.S., changed her name and is still alive, to my knowledge.)
    I just hate to read about Nazi atrocities, but I"ll see if I can do it in small doses.

    ReplyDelete

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