Things have mushroomed here at Casa Kittling since my last round-up, and I'm writing this early just in case. This week, work on the other two bathrooms will have begun, so it's difficult to gauge whether or not I'll have the time or the peace and quiet to do much blogging. Instead of talking about bathroom remodels, I thought I'd spend a little time commiserating with my husband.
Things have livened up considerably outside the big picture window where I sit to read, blog, and knit most afternoons. There is a pair of courting mockingbirds keeping me distracted. The male is determined to show how the big cactus and all the shrubbery are rich sources of bugs, perches, and hideaways, and that there's even a dedicated source of water for drinking and bathing. The female is playing hard-to-get, but I can tell he's convinced her that this is a prime area in which to nest. There's also been a trio of curved-bill thrashers frequenting my little impromptu live theater. They're after the bugs and water, too. What I didn't expect was how I metaphorically set the cat among the pigeons by the insertion of a small piece of yard art.
We recently had the remnants of a stump removed out there, and I had the bright idea to move a small rust-colored iron roadrunner out there. It looks as though it's racing from the fairy duster bush to the cactus. I didn't realize that the live birds might take umbrage. I've seen one mockingbird peck the roadrunner's tail, and the curved-bill thrashers have certainly given it the stink-eye. I've had so much fun watching all the antics!
Naturally, I've shared the goings-on with Denis, who spends his afternoons at his computer in our office, and he's feeling very left out, poor baby. We've had security cameras set up for a few years now, and now he's gone out and installed one that has a view of the birdbath and the general area in hopes that the birds will trigger it and he'll be able to see what I've been talking about. Well...
I've just told him that his camera isn't even recording one-tenth of what's been going on. Poor Denis!
Enjoy the links!
►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
- Writing should be a visual art. Picture books aren't just for children.
- Why you should sit on your library board.
- Why we forget most of the books we read (and the movies and the television we watch.) Thanks, Sam!
- "The beginning of the snowball": Supply-chain snarls delay books.
- Reading beyond likeability.
- How can you write fiction that fights fake news?
- On Babar: Model of integration or crumbling myth?
- Has Amazon changed fiction?
- Why translators should be named on book covers.
- Sue Grafton's alphabet novels are headed for television.
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
- A "spirit mirror" used by 16th-century occultist John Dee came from the Aztec Empire.
- A 2,700-year-old private toilet has been found in Jerusalem.
- Unearthing the secret life of a Viking warrior woman.
- This trove of artifacts, many recovered from abroad, trace 4,000 years of Mexican history.
- A 3,000-year-old golden bowl with a sun motif has been found in Austria.
- X-Ray technology has revealed Marie Antoinette's censored secret correspondence.
- 3-D reconstruction reveals the faces of three ancient Egyptian mummies.
- "Box seats" have been found in a Roman Empire-era arena in Turkey.
►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
- How octopuses use trial-and-error methods to get what they want.
- One month later, five escaped zebras are still roaming the suburbs of Maryland.
- How capybaras became the favorite animals of memes.
- Hundreds of three-eyed "dinosaur shrimp" emerge after an Arizona monsoon.
- A group of violent otters is mysteriously attacking people and dogs in Alaska. I wonder if one of them is named Emmet? (Name that movie!)
- Wanted: Sweet skunks that do sick stunts.
- The world's largest rodents are taking over a fancy gated community in Argentina.
- Frog foam may help deliver drugs to human skin.
►The Wanderer◄
- A lover's quarrel, a dilapidated mansion, and a body in the basement in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Eight of the biggest tsunamis in history.
- A mysterious woodland trail in Arizona will take you to the original Sinagua ruins.
- Biltmore Estate's secret passages.
- Pillow Cat Books in New York City's East Village pays homage to our furry friends.
►Fascinating Folk◄
- Jan Zwartendijk, the unsung Dutchman who saved as many as 10,000 Jews during the Holocaust, is finally getting his due.
- Meet Jeanne Villepreux-Power, the 19th-century French dressmaker who invented the aquarium.
►Craftsmanship & Artistry◄
- Hyperrealistic 3D hoop embroidered foods.
- Shiny insect and animal sculptures made out of recycled kitchen utensils.
- Six photographers invited to photograph one man reveal the power of perspective.
►I ♥ Lists◄
- The best non-fiction to read this fall.
- Fourteen books written by Indigenous authors.
- The best new books for your book club.
- Fifteen Halloween movies for people who don't like horror movies.
- The twenty-five most iconic book covers in history.
- Books focused on opulent wealth, family secrets, and suspense.
- Eleven urban legends that turned out to be true.
- Eight essential Louise Penny books for any mystery lover.
- Seven ways Einstein changed the world.
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.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. And don't forget to curl up with a good book!
What a wonderful world you get to see, right outside! That's fantastic, Cathy, and I'm sure it's nourishing, if I can put it that way. To me, it's so interesting how other animals do things that we often think of as something just humans do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some Mexican treasures to look at!
ReplyDeleteI've been watching a National Geographic series showing archaeologists exploring ancient Maya sites. Fascinating!
DeleteI love hearing about your bird events, Cathy! Yes, we have cameras here and they don't pick up everything with the local wildlife. We do get to see deer and skunks and cats and squirrels on our garage camera. Our back porch camera has 'told' us that even the deer feel free to climb up on our porch - there was a gap in the fence for a bit and that contributed to the behavior, though the deer can certainly jump the fence and do. And then there's that awful squirrel that has chewed up one of my chair pillows out there. Grrr!!
ReplyDeleteYes. Squirrels can be destructive little devils... but I have to admit that I love 'em!
DeleteThe mockingbird and the "roadrunner" make me smile. Around here, the mockingbird has decided to leave Edgrr alone again. Next nesting season may bring the feud back into being, but for now all is calm.
ReplyDeleteOne of the nice things about our climate here is that the birds court, nest, and have babies practically all year 'round, so there's lots to watch.
DeleteYou're so lucky to have so many fun birds to watch right from your front window!
ReplyDeleteYes, I am!
DeleteI must get on to some of those books on the best non-fiction list. The note about television adapting Sue Grafton's books is interesting particularly as she was so opposed to the idea. Let's hope they do a good job with them. And I never cease to be amazed by the intelligence of octopuses. Great links as usual.
ReplyDeleteI love octopuses. They are absolutely fascinating.
DeleteMe, too. I read about five articles about female octopi throwing silt and shells at male harassers. They need a Me Too Movement.
DeletePoor Denis indeed! You may have to make room for him in your comfy spot so that he can spy the antics as well 😉. The birds attacking the "roadrunner" made me think of a time recently when our son's dog walked around the corner of our garage into our backyard, stopped abruptly and began backing away. We couldn't figure out what the problem was until we noticed that she was looking at a large urn on our patio. It has the face of a lion on the side that was eye-level with the dog. She was having no part of that lion! Animals are the best entertainment. Hope you have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteI've always found wildlife to be one of the absolute best forms of free entertainment.
DeleteSounds as if Denis needs to figure out a way to keep that camera on without it having to be triggered because it sounds like quite a show out there.
ReplyDeleteSpotted a couple of interesting articles so far: the one on reading and enjoying "unlikable" characters and not just the "likable ones." I can honestly say that I've done a lot of that and that I enjoy really clever bad guys and ordinary folk who have interesting habits or traits that make them stand out from the pack. Really, it's all about them being memorable...for whatever reason. That said, there are some characters who simply irritate me to the degree that I can't tolerate another minute in their presence. And they often lead to abandoned books.
The other article...which I haven't read yet...is the one on Sue Grafton's books being made into a television series. I saw something about that the other day on Grafton's old Facebook page, and I'm not sure that I like the idea. Grafton HATED the thought and believed she had her heirs convinced to honor her wishes. Looks like she was wrong and her daughter has jumped on the money wagon instead. (I realize what I just said may be inaccurate, so I'm going to read the article right now.)
There has to be something about at least one character in a book that keeps my interest engaged, whether that character be a Black Hat or a White Hat. If there isn't at least that one, the book gets put aside.
DeleteAs for Sue Grafton and the TV series, she used to work in the industry and that's why she was so opposed to having Kinsey given the TV treatment. But now her husband is saying that so many things have changed since those days, yada, yada, yada. I just hope Sue doesn't have to come back and haunt anyone in her family. It could get ugly.
I do know that if one of my nearest and dearest told me that I was absolutely not to do something, it would have to be incredibly dire circumstances for me not to abide by their wishes.
There is an explanation of Sue Grafton's books being televised bbby Steve Humphrey, her husband of 40 years. He says it's time to bring the books to a broader audience.
ReplyDeleteThe readers seem divided on whether or not he should have done that.
His statement is at Sue Grafton's Facebook page.
I have no opinion. I wouldn't go against a relative's wishes, but maybe there is a big clamor for her books to be televised. Maybe he wants to share them. Maybe it is financially motivated. We don't know. But whatever is shown, I hope it reflects the writer's intentions and how she wamted Kinsey Millhone to be depicted.
To me, a promise is a promise, but I can be incredibly stubborn at times. I do agree with you, Kathy. We don't know all the facts, but I do hope that the final product is true to Sue and Kinsey.
DeleteWe can bet that if Kinsey Millhone isn't depicted as Sue Grafton wrote about her character, her fans will make some noise.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of wildlife but the only birds I adore are hummingbirds. We have a lot of ravens and crows who are very loud and pushy and the guy across the street has two parrots who cuss for two hours each day when he sets them outside. I am used to them now but it took years and now the neighbor kid is screaming cuss words too. What a pickle.
ReplyDelete