A Single-Minded Weekly Link Round-Up

 

Everything is hunky dory here at Casa Kittling, so I thought I would share a little nature tale with you.

Water is precious here in the desert. Denis and I have several birdbaths and two large solar fountains here that we keep filled with water. Every day, we take turns going out with the hose to fill them, and sometimes the birds don't wait for us to leave before they dive right into their favorite to drink and take cooling baths. During the worst heat of summer, those birdbaths need to be filled twice a day. 

Sunday, when I was out with the garden hose filling those birdbaths, I got to watch a very single-minded male black-chinned hummingbird courting a female. What was so special about it was the fact that I was only four feet away with the hose sending a large stream of water in his direction, and he didn't care one bit. It was all about his dance to impress the female. 

I found a short video of a black-chinned hummingbird doing his courtship dance in case you wanted to see what it looked like. You'll also be able to hear the buzzing of his wings as he dances. Just click on the link to the video on YouTube.

Black-chinned Hummingbird Courtship

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Why is having a good time called "painting the town red"?
• Why lawyers love Jane Austen.
• Amazon now has a "Get Book" button in its iOS Kindle app.
• A new publisher will focus on books by men, Are male writers and readers under threat?
• Why even try if you have A.I.? Now that machines can think for us, we have to choose whether to be the passengers or pilots of our lives.
• A UK survey suggests that most parents don't enjoy reading to their children.
• How libraries are faring under the Trump administration amid detrimental funding cuts.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• An 1,800-year-old warhorse cemetery held the remains of a beloved horse-- and a man considered an "outsider" to Roman society. More from Smithsonian Magazine.
• Archaeologists unearthed a 2,300-year-old sword decorated with two small swastikas in a Celtic necropolis.
• Ancient Egyptians drew the Milky Way on coffins and tombs, linking them to the sky goddess, Nut.
• A 2,300-year-old Spartan hound-shaped cup was likely used at boozy bashes.
• Hikers in the Czech Republic stumbled upon gold coins and treasures that could be worth $340,000.
• Archaeologists thought they'd found a piece of old farm equipment. It turned out to be a rare Iron Age chariot tire.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• When Reggie, the world's tallest dog, met Pearl, the world's shortest dog.
• Watch cuttlefish "waving" at each other in what scientists think might be communication.
• The invasive Chinese mitten crab has been detected for the first time in the Pacific Northwest.
• See Eastern quolls get released on mainland Australia in a new bid to re-establish the "magic little animal."
• Captive-bred axolotls can survive in the wild, offering hope for the critically endangered amphibians.
• Do animals have regional accents?

 

►The Wanderer◄

• What the voyage of a single container ship reveals about the world economy.
• Crime and the City: Crime fiction in Perth and Western Australia.
• Bookstores' latest release? Beer, wine, dinner, coffee, and a unique aesthetic.
• A white-knuckle drive with breathtaking views: The Apache Trail reopens to adventure seekers. This is a trail Denis and I know well.
• Giant sequoias are taking root in an unexpected place: Detroit.
• La Niña is dead-- what that means for this year's hurricanes and weather.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Bestselling author Fredrik Backman says My Friends could be his last book.
• The short life and long legacy of Casimir Pulaski, a Polish cavalry officer who became an American Revolutionary War hero.
• Hobbyist diver Dom Robinson "always fancied" owning a shipwreck, so he bought one on Facebook Marketplace for $400.
• The only Black, all-female unit (the Six Triple Eight-- watch the movie on Netflix) to serve overseas in World War II receives the Congressional Gold Medal. (Took Congress long enough!!!)
• How a person counts to ten on their fingers reveals where they are from.
• When a historian saw this haunting photograph of a nameless native girl, she decided she had to identify her.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 17 new historical novels based on real people.
• 15 new mysteries and thrillers from your favorite authors.
• 25 books by Asian American and Pacific Islander authors you need to read.
• 20 of the best places to visit through books.
• 14 books about deception.
• 16 long non-fiction books that are worth the time.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!