My trip to the Phoenix Zoo last week brought back some cherished memories. When my mother and I bought this house here in Phoenix many years ago, my grandparents drove cross country from central Illinois for a visit during our least favorite month-- February. (Well, it used to be my least favorite month.) I made sure to spend all of one day with each of them, doing things that that particular grandparent (and I) enjoyed doing together. For my grandfather, it was the All Arabian Horse Show in Scottsdale. When we finally left the show, pulled up in the drive, and staggered into the house, I think neither one of us wanted to see another horse for at least a day or two, but we certainly did have fun.
Sweet acacia in bloom |
Wandering the paths of the garden, we came across these beautiful trees filled with little bright yellow powder puffs of blossoms that butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds loved... and the smell was divine. My grandmother and I both fell in love with these trees, and when we visited the gift shop, we discovered that they were selling packets of sweet acacia seeds. I bought one.
Almost forty years later, my sweet acacia tree blooms faithfully each Sonoran spring, in late January and early February. Whenever I smell that fragrance or see those yellow pom poms, I smile, and I think of my grandmother-- which is exactly what I did the whole time I was at the Phoenix Zoo last week.
But enough of Memory Lane! I'm heading on out to the corral. I've got some mighty restless links this week. Head 'em up! Moooooove 'em out!
►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
- Talking about reading: podcasts for book lovers.
- The UK now has a "Minister for Loneliness," and here's why it matters.
- How not to organize your bookshelves.
- A trove of rare Stephen King books was destroyed in a flood.
- From helping shut-ins to sisterly advice, mail-order magazines did more than just sell things.
- Nick Greene copied the routines of famous writers, and "it sucked."
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
- The void in the Great Pyramid may contain a mysterious throne carved from a meteorite what was described in ancient texts.
- Previously unknown drawings by the Dutch master Van Gogh have been identified.
- Archaeologists could be close to finding the tomb of King Tut's wife.
- A study suggests that a salmonella outbreak may have caused the deaths of 15 million Aztecs. If it's true, a 500-year-old mystery has been solved.
- A Scythian prince's sprawling tomb has been found in the "Siberian Valley of the Kings."
- Archaeologists are racing melting glaciers to rescue Iron and Bronze Age artifacts that have been exposed by climate change.
►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
- Wildlife burned in those horrible California fires are recovering with their wounds wrapped in fish skin.
- Alaska's earthquake caused Nevada's endangered desert pupfish to spawn.
- The release of bison in Yellowstone has launched a criminal investigation.
►The Happy Wanderer◄
- The next time Denis and I are down in Bisbee, we're definitely going to the new Get Lit Bookstore in Sierra Vista.
- Divers claim to have found a historic 1838 shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina.
- I've been checking out Google Arts & Culture and was fascinated by the Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum in Seoul, Korea. I can see why this particular exhibit is called Threads of Splendor.
- Researchers have found a chunk of North America stuck to Australia.
►Fascinating Folk◄
- Zonia Baber is the woman who transformed how we teach geography.
- Naomi Parker Fraley, the real Rosie the Riveter, has died at the age of 96.
►I ♥ Lists◄
- Ten of Bookstr's biggest pet peeves in literature.
- Nabokov collected butterfly genitalia and five other strange hobbies of classic writers.
- A brief visual history of Virginia Woolf's book covers.
- Eleven weird habits that all writers will find deeply relatable.
- Thirteen writers who grew to hate their own books.
- Ten of the most expensive typos in history.
That's all for this week! 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!
It sounds as though you have some wonderful memories, Cathy, and I love it! Interesting, isn't it, how powerful scent can be for triggering memory. Thanks for the links. As you no doubt guessed, that Siberian tomb calls me. Parka time!
ReplyDeleteI visited a place once, 'way back in 1972, and I *still* remember the wonderful smells wafting out of the restaurant kitchen! (Unfortunately, the place was so popular that you needed reservations-- and I can understand why.)
DeleteI like your new little cattle drive picture for your weekly event!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kay!
Delete