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Friday, November 27, 2009

Book Club Naturalists

Alexia's duck seemed to think we'd lost our minds. The big female Muskovy (Cairina moschata) kept looking in the glass pane of the door - sometimes she'd even peck at the glass with her beak as if she wanted in to see what we were doing.
Really, now, is it so surprising that 8 natruralists (and one cat) would gather on the floor in front of the fireplace to look at moss through microscopes and with hand lenses? Our November book club selection was "Gathering Moss:A Natural and Cultural History" by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
We gathered, shared a wonderful harvest potluck, then spent a couple of hours on the floor enchanted by the tiny mossy "forests" and the inhabitants thereof. Miniscule transparent worms, teeny unidentified beings...what an amazing amount of life in a handful of moss.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Where Does the Time Go???

I can't believe that it's been so long since I've posted anything here...and why can't I make my letters pretty? Yikes, the time gets away when you're having...fun.

Work is a little crazy just now - getting ready for an audit in December, so lots more paperwork for me! Should go well, but just the word "audit" is scary. And I bet the auditor is worried, too. Wilderness Awareness School is not like her usual gig...We are...unique.

The lovely fall weather continues with lots of rain and enough wind to drop a tree across the road just around the corner from my little apartment. When I came to work this morning the road was clear, but lots of debris still on the road. Missouri trees are quite a lot shorter than Washington trees. I never used to worry about getting hit by a tree except during tornado weather.

If the rain keeps coming in from the coast I don't know if I'll go tracking on Saturday. The sandbar may not be accessible. Of course, post flood tracking is really awesome...not that I'm hoping for floods.

I hit 2 King County Library used book sales a couple of weeks ago, so I have lots of good reading material to keep me company if I can't go tracking. With a cup of hot tea and a purring cat on my lap, it's all good!

My Favorite Fiction Authors and Books

  • Suzanne Arruda- the Jade del Cameron mysteries: "The Mark of the Lion" "Stalking Ivory", "The Serpent's Daughter", "The Leopard's Prey" and "The Golden Cheetah"
  • Ken Goddard - "Balefire" and others
  • Stephen White - the Dr. Alan Gregory books are all great. "Kill Me" is my favorite.
  • Harlan Coben - anything he writes is great
  • Elizabeth Peters - Amelia Peabody mysteries

My Favorite Nonfiction Authors and Books

  • "Coyote's Guide to Connecting With Nature" by Jon Young, Ellen Haas and Evan McGown- 2nd edition coming soon!
  • Gavin De Becker - "The Gift of Fear"
  • "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzales- the best survival book I've ever read! Not a how-to, its more of a who does,and why.
  • Candice Millard - "The River of Doubt -Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey"
  • Anything that starts with "Peterson's Field Guide To..."
  • Tom Brown, Jr. - "The Tracker" and others
  • Mark Elbroch - "Mammal Tracks and Sign" and "Animal Skulls"