Book Report – The Hermits' Rest

Book Report: Plants with Purpose

One of the books I got at the Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting last October was this little gem: Plants with Purpose: 25 Ecosystem Multitaskers, by Monika Maeckle. The purpose of the book is to introduce people who want to do gardening with native species to some easy to grow plants that they will enjoy in their gardens for many many years. One of the things I liked best about the book was that it is beautifully illustrated with line drawings of each plant. She discusses with some of the pollinators and other visitors who also enjoy the plants.

I don’t think there’s much in this book that you can’t find in other resources about native plants but the way she writes is enjoyable and you just can’t stop enjoying the photographs, the drawings, the quality of the paper and the graphic design, all of which I find important when I’m enjoying a book. It even has built-in bookmarks.

My favorite section I think was on the Cucamelon fruit, which is apparently what grows on my chicken shed every year and makes those cute little fruits that the chickens then eat. I didn’t realize they were quite as edible as they are, but I did realize that they’re really pretty and make a nice ground cover so she’s right about that. This plant is also known as mouse melon, Mexican sour gherkin and Sanita in Spanish, which means little watermelon. they’re one of our oldest fruits, related to gourds. Weird melons are a kind of plant I have all over the place at this ranch.

She also talks about Turks cap and sunflowers and many other fun plants that we have growing all over the place here. Maeckle also rightly cautions that you probably want to use the native varieties and not some of the hybridized commercially available ones if you want to really attract pollinators and you want the plants to keep living and reseeding.

This would be a lovely book to give someone who has just built a house in one of those neighborhoods where they completely eliminate every trace of every plant that was ever on the ground before the housing development was put in. The recipient can make the land happy again and native plants can live like little plants need to live, right? That’s what I had to do when I moved around rock after all.

The book might be hard to find because I don’t know if it’s in Amazon or not, but you can certainly order it from the Texas A&M University Press, which for all of the flaws of Texas A&M is truly a nice publisher of nature books.

I’ll write more later, but I just wanted to get this book review done before I forgot it again. Thanks everybody.

Everything’s Good but the Birds

Poor timing. The backyard bird count is still going on but I’m not seeing many of the usual birds. I’m afraid I know why. The first Barn Swallow showed up today. I’m afraid that means all the winter sparrows skedaddled with yesterday’s blustery front. There are still White-crowned and White-throated, but there’s a distinct lack of Fox, Vesper, Grasshopper, Chipping, Savannah, Harris’s, Swamp, or others. I’ll wait and see how tomorrow goes.

Sorry, Suna. Gotta escape before it gets hot!

And yes, I realize their departure for the Great White North heralds the arrival of buntings and such. Still. Sniff.

Flowers made me feel good. Thanks, Kathleen.

Otherwise it was a fun day in which I indulged in watching educational television, enjoyed looking at my pretty Valentine flowers, and crafted my heart out. I finished another red Danish hat, to replace the one I made that’s going to Canada for a friend, as soon as the Post Office opens again, which I made slightly larger than the pattern called for in DK yarn. Too long sentence, too bad.

I was working on it in the car and realized why the yarn color is called Firecracker Heather. There are tiny bits of blue, green, and yellow fiber in the yarn, like firecrackers! That gave me a chuckle.

I’m done with that yarn, but I have other red, if needed.

Lee surprised me by asking to take me out to dinner and surprised me more by taking me to the bookstore on the way! I’d planned to go to a candidate forum, but spousal requests take precedence. I really had a nice time, though I was tired for no reason I can think of.

I look forward to the books I got, even the self-help book. It seems like I could use some reminding that I can’t control anyone but me.

The deer book is about…deer! I already know how they were primary food sources for humans for thousands of years, but I Look forward to learning details about our two species’ relationships.

As you can see from the cover, the other one’s about the cheerful topic of diseases. I’ll have to let Anita read it next, since she reads about diseases in her work.

On the topic of books, it’s time to finish my current one. Then I can share all about it.

Book Report: The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus

I got this book when I was looking for something different and not all bloody and violent. It said it was in the Barnes & Noble book club, so I figured it wouldn’t be awful. And it’s true! The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, by Canadian author Emma Knight, is far from awful. It’s just what I needed.

It certainly has a cheerful book jacket.

It’s Knight’s first novel, but she’s obviously an experienced writer. I loved the fact that the writing was so good that it allowed me to focus on the characters, very nice young people going to university in Scotland. (One odd gaffe was that she asked for a bathroom and was laughed at in Scotland, but I know they say “washroom” in Canada.)

The main character is a young woman named Pen, who has a lot of family mysteries to work through, which introduce you to the other interesting characters, young and old, mostly a bit posh.

There’s a lot of discovering one’s sexuality in the book, but as I recall from the olden days that’s what you do at that time. All the people screw up, mean well, and learn. It’s quite entertaining to witness it all developing and to mentally cheer everyone on.

I liked that this book takes part in the not-too-distant past, so current events don’t creep in. Escaping to a familiar time, with familiar problems, and featuring satisfying solutions was great for me. I could use another light but satisfying novel like this.

Today’s color of crocheted squares was a pretty blue.

Warning: it takes a long time until the title makes sense, so just go with it.

Books I’d Like to Read

What books do you want to read?

Look! A prompt I haven’t already answered! And on a day I’m too tired of thinking to write anything coherent. So, sure, I’ll tell you what books I’d like to read!

Sunset was pretty 360° around this evening

I want to read books about horses, birds, dogs, wildlife, native plants, and weird nature facts. I want to read about science, language, and (factual) history. I want to read about ways to make the world a better place and the people who do so.

I want to read about fiber arts, fiber artists, and the history of everyday things. I want to read about architecture, interior design, and clothing design to learn more about creating beautiful spaces and cozy surroundings.

And pattern instructions. I like reading them. More on my hat tomorrow.

I want to read about how to keep my mind and body healthy and how to nurture relationships with others.

I want to read stories about ordinary people facing life’s challenges in ways that inspire me and make me laugh.

I’ll never run out of things to read. Being able to read and write is one privilege I cling to with deep gratitude. It’s hard to separate “me” from all the words (and images) around me. And I treasure the unique words and images of others. I’d rather read a messy and ungrammatical article than something made bland and perfect by machines.

You have to go past ice to get out of here.

Wishing safety and warmth to all of us still dealing with cold, ice, and snow.

Book Report: Entwined

New topic! At the annual meeting of Texas Master Naturalists, I always look forward to the booth for Texas A&M Press. They always have beautiful nature books that I can choose among. Entwined: Dispatches from the Intersection of Species, by Bridget A. Lyons, was one of my choices this past year.

The book is a collection of essays about Lyons’s close interactions with nature all over the world. She shares stories of a career working in wildernesses on land and sea, all over the world. She really has gotten around and is a great athlete, so she has been places most of us will never get to go. I feel like I can surf after reading her descriptions of her favorite pastime.

The essays are very intriguing. Lyons writes very well and shares her personal insights into whales, octopuses, trees, owls, and polar birds. Her overarching theme is that we are all connected and that our human actions have effects we may not imagine.

Yep, some of her writing is sobering, but other parts are gloriously uplifting and put you in the middle of landscapes and settings that are complex and fragile. And whoa, do you learn a lot.

Oh, Lyons is not only a writer and editor, she’s also an accomplished artist. Part of the delight of Entwined is encountering the linoleum block print illustrations she created to accompany the stories.

I read this book slowly, so I could savor, take in the knowledge, and internalize the lessons Lyons shares. I’d recommend any thoughtful and open-minded nature lover to find this book and read it. There are some ideas that we might find a little “out there” but they have me food for thought.

Now, go out and see what the nature around you has to tell you!

Today I learned the spring behind “my” pond is still flowing, albeit lightly. Amazed me.

Book Report: The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America

I got this little book from 2019 yesterday and found it necessary to plow through it last night before I went to sleep. Matt Kracht, the author, tries to present himself as a curmudgeonly bird hater who hates all that screeching and pooping birds do. But you can tell from his charming and accurate drawings that he’s secretly quite fond of birds.

Sample page featuring a bird name that’s not too full of curse words.

Though it’s really funny, the book isn’t for kids, due to f-bombs and such. But it’s hilarious for those of us comfortable with adult language. And Kracht includes lots of birding/birdwatching advice, bird feeding information, and “helpful” information that’s both funny and sorta useful underneath.

This is not a book I’d recommend for a person who’s new to birds but it’s a great amusement for your experienced bird-loving friend, white-elephant gift for your nature group gift exchange. Or you could leave it in the bathroom for visitors to enjoy.

I certainly felt it was worth $7! See if they have it at your local bookstore.

Thanks to Gene Roddenberry

Lee and I have been watching lots and lots of Star Trek series for the past many months. We watch one entire series and then move on to another. So far we have watched or rewatched Picard, Enterprise, Discovery, The Next Generation, and Strange New Worlds. we have now gotten into Deep Space 9. We skipped The Original Series (TOS) for reasons I’ll explain later.

Why do we do this? An easy answer would be that it’s not taking place now, and races solve their problems in that universe. It’s a pleasant diversion.

So are birds. Today we have a Brown-headed Cowbird.

I don’t know about Lee’s answer for watching these, but my answer turns out to be deeper. I started watching Star Trek TOS when it first went into repeats after the show ended. I couldn’t watch it before, because Gainesville, Florida didn’t have an ABC station back then. Yep. We only had CBS, NBC, and PBS. Very bad PBS.

And we had birds. Mom and I watched a lot of birds.

Reruns aired right after school, and I’d get in the phone with my friend Patti to dissect each episode as soon as it was over. We bought the big book with summaries of all the episodes in it and annotated our copies with our favorite scenes or sayings. We were very serious. Of course I still have the book.

After I moved away I watched it with new friends, avidly collecting the James Blish paperback books rehashing each episode. I read them until they fell apart. You can see why I have no need to watch that series again.

What I now realize was happening was exactly what many people feared would happen to the youth of America. I was sucked into believing every not-so-subtle criticism of the oppressive aspects of the USA at the time and slowly but surely became who I am now. Yes, Gene Roddenberry helped me pull together my morals, ethics, and political leanings. Thanks, Gene. You made me progressive.

And nothing makes me happier than to briefly slip into the universe those characters live in. I feel like I’m home with my imaginary family. Sure, they have a lot of battles and shootouts but they are usually so bad that you have to laugh. I like that people and cultures screw up, just like here.

Anyway, I’m not ashamed to be a Star Trek fan and can easily see why some folks are not. That’s fine; they have the Yellowstone universe to enjoy.

Now, there is a lot of silliness in Star Trek, some bad acting, and way too many time travel/other dimensions plot lines. I think the writers over the last 50+ years all really like time travel for easy storytelling. And I surely like some series better than others, but we plan to watch them all, even the cartoons.

As you can see, I have Star Trek on my mind.

This leads me to express my opinion on the current series, Strange New Worlds. I have heard it gets mixed reviews. But who cares? I love it even more than I loved TOS as a kid. The characters seem much less stereotypical, they have interesting experiences and real traumas. Plus you get the backstory to TOS. Captain Pike is so much more than a guy in a wheelchair thing! And his hair! The younger versions of all the beloved characters are so much fun and it’s cool to see how they all met.

But here’s where I’m controversial. I just love the weird episodes. My absolute favorite is the one where they act out the history of Star Trek from the beginning as part of some holodeck issue. There were enough Easter Eggs in that one to fill many baskets. When I realized Number One was playing Lucille Ball and Captain Pike was Roddenberry I about fell over laughing. Then Uhura delivers a speech about the real mission of the series. Sniff.

I also got a kick out of the musical episode. You just never know what’s next with that series. I’m glad there will be a few more episodes before Pike’s accident.

Book Report: The Language Puzzle

To say the least, as a former linguist, I was excited to find this book by a genuine researcher that claimed to explain the origins of language. And by gosh, Steven Mithen undertook a boat-load of multidisciplinary research on the history of humanity, culture, anatomy, and climate (among other things) to put together the various factors that could shape the development of language. It’s impressive. Lots of footnotes.

I enjoyed learning about all aspects of the puzzle, particularly the parts where he summarizes the history of linguistics and how the various parts of language fit together. Even if I didn’t already have a pretty firm grasp of the parts of speech, sound systems, semantics, and pragmatics, I think I could have grasped enough of it from Mithen’s clear explanation. Just the first few chapters are worth the price of the book.

One thing that bugs me, especially when he gets to the sections on human development, is that it takes a lot of conjecture to move from the time when the human line diverged from the chimpanzee evolutionary path. There are many missing pieces in the fossil record, and much of our anatomy doesn’t survive to the present day.

And all the parts about how words sounded are fun to think about, and he does find evidence to back up many of the concepts, such as different head shapes and vocal tracts. I just found some of the story Mithen comes up with, about fire shaping storytelling and such to be plausible but not verifiable.

I’m not saying this wasn’t a good book, because I enjoyed it very much and learned a great deal about human history. I’m simply pointing out that I still don’t think we have a clear picture of how human language developed. I wonder if we ever can figure out details of something there’s no record of, like spoken or signed language.

Maybe Mithen will next turn to written language. It has more examples to investigate.

Book Report: Beaverland

I recently finished this fascinating book about beavers, which opened my eyes to a lot of possibilities for healing the earth thanks to these helpful animals. Leila Philip is a New Englander who became interested in beavers when they were in the pond behind her house, so she spent a couple of years researching Beaverland: How one weird rodent made America (2022).

I like that Philip researched so many aspects of beavers’ presence in North America. The historical background was fascinating/horrifying. Fur trapping completely eliminated beavers in the eastern US and Canada but when reintroduced, numbers came back very quickly. That’s good.

Philip spent a long time learning about modern-day trappers and I commend her open-mindedness as she not only talked to trappers but went out with one as he checked his traps. This guy had incredible knowledge of the wildlife and terrain and a deep knowledge of beaver behavior and habits. I was fascinated, and came to accept that a reasonable amount of harvesting keeps numbers at a good level and provides hides that are used for hats, etc.

What boggled my mind, though, was finding out how beavers (and the prolonged lack of beavers) affect our waterways, water quality, and health of the surrounding countryside. Rivers didn’t look like they do now before trappers arrived. No straight lines and eroded banks. When there are beaver dams, water moves much more slowly toward the ocean and is cleaned of toxins. Oh there’s lots more, but I don’t want to rewrite the whole book!

Speaking of writing the book, my favorite part came at the end, where there’s a section called “The Story of the Book,” that provides context for her travels and research for the book. It’s just as interesting as the main book, and a lot more fun to read than typical endnotes, though it serves the same purpose.

My only quibbles with this wonderful book are that sometimes information is repeated almost verbatim, and Philip feels compelled to describe everyone she meets through a sort of annoying subjective lens. I’m not sure I need to know how messy someone’s hair is or the details of their clothing in every situation.

I’m in a grumpy mood, so take my criticism with a grain of salt or two. If you’re a naturalist or nature lover, you’ll treasure this book and the perspectives it provides.

Book Report: The Tree Collectors

This is the book I needed right now. I needed sweet stories of people who love trees and are willing to go to great lengths to show that love. I also needed simple but beautiful watercolors of trees and the people who love them. The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession, by Amy Stewart (2024) gave me just what my fascism-weary brain needed—a beauty break.

First, the book is beautiful. Even the cover hiding underneath the dust jacket is a watercolor painting.

And the section headers are so fun that I just want to go try to make a painting like them. All the art is by Amy Stewart, including portraits of each of the people she profiles in the book (either their favorite plants) and all the other illustrations. (Oh yes, the headings are also in a fun font.)

This visual extravagance might be enough to enjoy, but the words in the book are very enjoyable and encouraging as well. It feels so good to read about people around the world who collect trees in many different ways, from embroidering holes in leaves to scientific DNA manipulation. There’s a lot in between, too.

Some of the people Stewart profiles seem so kind and dedicated that I just want to hug them. The best part is that she uses the words of the collectors themselves to explain their obsessions. I got a real kick out of the way an urban man with a checkered past described his passion for planting trees surreptitiously around neglected overpasses. His street vocabulary doesn’t diminish his love of trees and of beautifying his neighborhood.

No watercolors, but I used colored pencils to do this Autumn Buttercup from *Renaissance Botanical Coloring Book.*

The Tree Collectors would be a great gift for any tree-hugger you know. There are so many ways you could enjoy it and savor it over time. The chapters are short enough to read aloud before bed, but you’d have to show the photos. It would also be a fun book to leave in your guest bathroom for entertainment.