A Record-Breaking Weekly Link Round-Up

You may've seen Arizona on the news last week. More than a few records were broken as a winter storm came barreling in, dumping rain and snow with complete abandon. By the time the storm decided to leave, Flagstaff had four feet of snow-- three of those feet falling in one day. There was even snow on the mountains on the eastern and northern fringes of Phoenix, but where I live, it just rained. A lot. But no flooding in my area. Yay!

Digging out in Flagstaff.

That snowfall in Flag (as we Arizonans call Flagstaff) broke a record that was over a century old. Not to be outdone, Phoenix broke a record that was set back in 1897. Thursday, February 21, the high temperature was a cold (for us desert dwellers) 47°F. That's 8°C for you folks outside the U.S. The old record was 54°F, so Mother Nature took a hammer to that, didn't she?

I'm thrilled with the rain we've gotten. Denis and I managed to get to the Desert Botanical Garden the day before the storm hit, and we could see how everything there had been soaking up the water. In fact, I've read that this latest storm (added to the precipitation from all the other winter storms that preceded it) has pretty much taken Arizona out of the drought that's had us at its mercy for years and years.

One final weather-related note. I have a perverse side to my nature. It's usually in the balmy 70s at this time of year, and I've been secretly smirking at all the snowbirds who planned their vacations, packed, boarded the plane... and got off to this weather. Denis-- who drives a 40' rental car bus around Sky Harbor Airport-- says that all the folks climbing aboard have been exceedingly grumpy. I know I shouldn't smirk. I know I shouldn't. Bad Cathy, bad!

So that you can't see the expression on my face, I'm going to head on out to the corral. Head 'em up! Mooooooooove 'em out!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Whatever happened to all the moon trees?
• Magnetic North is cruising toward Siberia, and it's puzzling scientists.
• For Sale: old photos of huge trees.
• New research shows that women's brains stay younger longer.
• J.D. Salinger's unpublished works will be released to the public over the next decade. 
• The British Library's dirtiest books have been digitized. 
• An artificial intelligence study of the human genome has found an unknown human ancestor.
• This exposé of a crime writer is a damning indictment of the way publishing treats women.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A new study suggests Europe's megalithic monuments originated in France and spread by sea routes.
• Our breath and sweat almost ruined King Tut's tomb.
• Alexander the Great died mysteriously at the age of 32, and now we may know why.
• Found: Shipwrecks, helmets, and clues from an ancient Roman naval battle.
• Henry VII's marriage bed may have spent fifteen years in a British hotel's honeymoon suite.
• A new study looks at why neolithic humans buried their dogs with them 4,000 years ago. 
• A medieval nun wanted to escape her convent, so she faked her death. This story and others have come to light during a project to translate and digitize a series of texts about archbishops in York, England.

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• A month-old weakened leopard cub was found in a passenger's luggage at an Indian airport.
• Meet the Anole lizards.
• Border wall construction is threatening a Texas butterfly sanctuary.
• The U.S. Postal Service unveiled a new booklet of stamps to honor military working dogs. 
• In 45 years, we have killed 60% of Earth's wildlife.
• Honey bees can do simple math, after a little schooling. 
• Human hunting is driving the world's biggest animals toward extinction.
• The reason these poisonous butterflies don't mate is written in their DNA.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• These black female heroes made sure U.S. World War II forces got their mail. 
• Betty Ballantine, one of the inventors of the modern paperback, is dead at the age of 99.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Ten thriller novels featuring normal, everyday characters.
• The top ten books about idleness.
• Rhys Bowen recommends seven novels inspired by World War I.
• Eleven literary pickup lines for the chronically dateless.
• Joseph Finder recommends five great cat-and-mouse thrillers.

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!