Weekend Bookshelf: Some suggested reading during the clampdown

Posted on March 29, 2020 by John Kevin Hickey
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

My part-time job has classified me as an essential employee so that I can work during the virus lockdown. Yay?

Not the first time I’ve been deemed an essential worker. Funny thing though, this classification never seems to feel like an honor and it certainly never comes with a pay raise.

But I still find the time to read each day, for during this time of quarantine and self-isolation books have become more important than ever to bibliophiles. Listed below are some of the books I am currently reading, have recently read or am re-reading.

Currently reading:

Travelers’ Tales of American Southwest by Joseph O’Reilly: an anthology of stories about the American Southwest from a wide variety of writers, including Tony Hillerman, Douglas Preston and Edward Abbey. The subjects covered are diverse, from discussions on the natural world, regional culture, tourist attractions and much more.

So far my favorite chapter is from Barbara Kingsolver, wherin she relates her futile battle in attempting to tame the desert on her Tucson property, and how she eventually came to a truce with the land. Her war with the peccaries (a pig-like animal) is a hoot.

A few of chapters are stinkers, with the worst being the one titled “News from Nowhere”. The author of the piece is so desperately trying to mimic the gonzo writing style of Hunter S. Thomas that the chapter is both cringe-worthy and unreadable. I gave up trying halfway through.

If you are, like me, an aficionado of the American Southwest, then I can (so far) recommend this book to you.

Recently read:

Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson. Sheriff Walt Longmire has returned home to Absaroka County, Wyoming in this latest Craig Johnson mystery. Walt is still recovering from the mental and physical damaged he incurred while dealing with kidnappers in Mexico (Depth of Winter).

In addition to dealing with his PTSD, Sheriff Longmire is called upon to find a missing child, solve the mystery of an apparent wolf attack on a Basque shepherd that may in fact have been a murder and calm the fears of the local residents regarding the unexpected appearance of said wolf in the area.

Land of Wolves is a much heralded return to the classic Longmire after the far-fetched and rather unbelievable Depth of Winter (which I dubbed Rambomire, because it’s more of an action/adventure novel than a mystery).

Land of Wolves is very enjoyable read.

Re-reading:

From the Ground Up by Amy Stewart. The author and her husband moved into a tiny house in Santa Cruz, Ca. after finishing graduate school. Having always wanted a garden, but not having much in the way of experience in gardening, From the Ground Up is a year-long chronicle of Amy Stewart’s growth as a gardener.

Like most novice gardeners (and experienced ones!), Amy’s gardening education was earned the hard way, by making a lot of mistakes and missteps. Lots and lots of mistakes and missteps. Funny and introspective, From the Ground Up is a book anybody who has ever attempted to learn a new skill or hobby can relate to.

The Rise and Fall of Alexandria by Justin Pollard. The city of Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great (hence the name). After Alexander’s death, one of his bodyguards (Ptolemy) founded the dynasty that would rule Egypt for the next 300 years. Under the Ptolemaic Dynasty the city of Alexandria would rise to be one of the greatest centers of knowledge and scientific inquiry in the ancient world.

Home of both the Great Library and the Great Lighthouse, the city of Alexandria was both a figurative and literal beacon of light on the Mediterranean Sea.

The Rise and Fall of Alexandria is definitely not a dry and dusty history tome. Justin Pollard breathes life into his account of the city and its denizens. Just one example: the Ptolemy kingdom was powerful enough to strong-arm other nations into “loaning” original writings and manuscripts to the Great Library so they could be copied. Once the copies were made, the originals were placed in the library and the copies were sent back to the original owners. In today’s parlance, that would be “a dickhead move, bro”.

Unfortunately, like all of mankind’s creations, the city of Alexandria and its historical wonders gradually fell into decline. The Great Library caught fire and many manuscripts were burned. What wasn’t burned would in later years be looted and destroyed. The city’s harbor silted up and the Great Lighthouse crumbled and fell into the sea.

An engrossing tale of an ancient wonder, one that I have greatly enjoyed re-reading.

What books are helping you through this time of quarantines and social isolation?

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After the (snow) storm

Posted on March 26, 2020 by John Kevin Hickey

One of the nice things about late winter/extremely early spring snowstorms here in the Denver area is, that while they tend to be very wet and heavy, the trees and shrubs haven’t leafed out yet thus there usually isn’t much damage. If a storm like the one that slammed my area last Thursday and Friday hits a month from now, there could be a lot of damaged or destroyed trees.

Because the snow is so moisture laden, the yard and borders get a nice deep soaking. Large swaths of my lawn turned green virtually overnight.

Finally, my favorite thing about these snowstorms is how fast they melt away. Instead of glaciers lingering for weeks or months, snow melts and the garden reappears in just a few days.

Below are some pictures of the storm and then some taken a few days later.

I took the following pictures on March 20th.

I saw this little fellow crawling across the deck while shoveling the deck steps on March 21st.

Where’s he going?

The pictures below were taken on March 24th. Almost a foot of snow is practically gone!

How fares your garden in these very early days of spring?

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Welcome back Spring!

Posted on March 20, 2020 by John Kevin Hickey

Oh, and feck off Old-man Winter, for today is the first full day of spring!

Spring must be here, because I’ve got my flip-flops on!

My wife and daughters will tell you that they have likely heard the following story at least two dozen times, maybe more, because I am prone to tell it every year when spring rolls around. But it gives you an idea of how far back my antipathy to winter goes.

On a sunny (but chilly) day many moons ago, when I had about 7 or 8 birthdays under my belt, my parents informed me that it was the first day of spring. I remember feeling ecstatic. Throughout the day I kept running outside to the yard so as to check on how spring was progressing. I kept waiting all day for the weather to warm up, and for the flowers and birds to make their appearance.

It would be an understatement to say that I was highly disappointed with the lack of obvious progress. I recall finding a couple of tiny dandelion blooms scattered in the yard, but I was expecting a lot more. My crestfallen younger self was left to forlornly wonder: WHERE IS SPRING?

My younger self was not aware that spring, like a Southern belle, makes her appearance when she is good and ready and not a minute before.

New growth in the garden in front of the deck.

Truth be told, my excitement on the arrival of the first day of spring has not changed all that much over the ensuing decades. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I am now dimly aware that it actually takes time for spring to get fully up to speed. But much like my younger and more naïve self, every year I spend the early spring days anxiously looking for signs of life in my gardens, wondering what plants might have perished from winter’s harsh wrath.

I gnash my teeth when an April snowstorm flattens the daffodils and tulips that were finally started to bloom. I long to put away my jackets and gloves for the season, but the weather just won’t cooperate. And still, after all these years, I am left to wonder: WHERE IS SPRING?

Below are some of the harbingers of spring I have recently spotted. You can see how much growth some of these plants have put on since my last garden post: https://www.mrvintageman.com/signs-of-springs-impending-arrival/

Iris leaves behind the patio.
Brunnera pushing through last year’s leaves.
Aster (lower left) and “Coronation Gold’ yarrow (upper right) leaves soaking up some warm late winter rays.
Tulip bulbs seemed to have popped up out of nowhere overnight.
Notice the orange marker flag in the upper middle of the picture. The local cable company isn’t done stomping through the gardens yet.

It’s amazing how dramatic the weather changed when the calendar rolled over to the month of March. February’s weeks of below average temperatures gave way to several of weeks above average temperatures and rainfall instead of snowstorms.

Thanks to the warm and (mostly) dry weather I almost completed the annual garden cleanup before spring even arrived. The snow has disappeared everywhere in my yarden, which enabled me to accomplish so much so quickly.

The garden gets a buzz cut (taken on March 18th).

It’s a good thing I have gotten as far as I have, because the weather took another major swing yesterday, with snow and low temperatures making a savage return. It will probably be some time before I can do much in the garden.

Old-man Winter giving notice that he’s not done with me just yet (taken on March 20).

First full day of spring and this is what greeted this morning. In many areas of the country, gardeners woke up to the sights of blooming flowers and listened to the music of songbirds. I, on the other hand, woke up to the sound of snow shovels scraping driveways and sidewalks.

Sigh. And still, after all these years, I am forlornly left to wonder: WHERE IS SPRING?

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