Aerie Report, October 12, 2011

Bleh! We're back to the wet, dreary days. Weather.com is saying there's a good chance of showers during six of the next eight days. Looks like mushroom season is back.

Today was a showery day. That's pretty disappointing as we were just getting to peak color in the fall foliage. Now a lot of leaves have been knocked down by the rain and the colors are all subdued by the darkening overcast skies.

The hills had been bathed in various yellow hues from birch, beech, poplar, sugar maple, and ash; multiple shades of brown from the different oaks and even greens from the locusts (which are always well behind in color and spring leaving) and different fir trees. Now, some of the early bird color bearers have lost many of their leaves. I don't doubt that those early trees were in some way stressed by insect damage and disease (particularly the ash trees) or the copious amounts of water accumulating around their root systems from the heavy, heavy rains we had in August and September.

I'm glad I got the yard work done on Monday and Tuesday while we still had somewhat dry conditions. It will be a week or more before I could cut the grass again. And now that it's under cover, there's at least a chance for the wood to dry a bit more before I have to start burning it. I was a bit upset to see quite a few of the split pieces already sprouting fungus from sitting in the rain. Upset, but not surprised. This wood was from trees felled in the summer of '09. It had already been on the forest floor for two winters before I cut it for firewood. I had hoped by leaving it in full length logs it would have been a bit more protected from the various forms of fungus that are out there, but that may not have been the case. That or my leaving it in a loose heap for two months in the rain after I split it didn't do it any favors. Oh well, even punky wood will burn and give off some heat. And the price was good: nothing but a little fuel and sweat equity, baby!

I spent the day relaxing and reading. I've two novels underway (Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia and Changes by Jim Butcher) that I need to finish as I pre-ordered Terry Pratchett's latest Snuff and Amazon says it's been shipped so I've got to get cracking!

Aerie Report, September 22, 2011

Terry drove me up to the Guthrie Medical Group in Corning to have my staples pulled out and the healing process examined.

BP 172/72 and pulse rate of 49. Not bad for an old fart.

The staples came out easily enough and the surgical wound didn't gape open and spout any blood or gore so that's good. Actually, the amount of healing that's taken place in a week is amazing. The Doc said I could start using my leg normally any time I desired. The only precaution she gave me was to not go swimming or laze around in the tub for a week or so until the wound is completely sealed up. Showers are okay but try to remember to pat the area dry and not rub down with a coarse towel. No problemo!

She told me that the object the surgeon took out of my thigh was disc shaped, about 5 cm (that's 2 inches in English) across and 1 to 1.5 cm thick in the middle. (Think of the shape of a flying saucer.) The THING was merely a calcified lump of stuff that was between my quad muscles. It was not a cyst or a tumor just a calcified BLOB. It should not return.

On the negative side, the Doc said that while the surgeon was poking around in my knee joint removing debris and whatnot, he noticed there was no cartilage in the rear portion of the joint and pretty little in the front. He scores joint arthritic conditions on a sliding scale from 1 to 4; with 1 being plenty of cartilage and no arthritis and 4 being bone-on-bone and knee replacement right around the corner. My right knee is a 3 in front and 4 in the back. Should I experience pain in a month or so (after full healing has taken place) then shots may be required. After that, should I not find relief from the shots, the surgeon recommends knee replacement. So it looks like titanium and plastic knees may be in my future. *sigh*

******

After our visit to the Medical Group, Terry and I drove over to Horseheads and had lunch at Chili's. As part of their 2 for $20 promotion, we split a half order of Texas Cheese Fries as a appetizer before Terry had a Quesadilla Explosion Salad (half of which came home for her dinner) and I had the Margarita Grilled Chicken on beans and rice. Tall mugs of iced tea helped wash the food down.

Then it was off to Barnes and Noble to walk a little and browse the shelves. Terry picked out a romance novel. (I was surprised she could find one she hadn't read yet, but those things seem to propagate when they turn the store lights off.) I found a Jim Butcher Dresden Files book in paperback that I hadn't read yet (Changes), the newest Larry Correia (Monster Hunter Alpha) also in paperback and a Neil Gaimen I hadn't read (American Gods). Guess I'm set for a couple of weeks...well, maybe one week if I stop doing crosswords and surfing the net 8 hours a day.

Still, there's a new Terry Pratchett Disc World novel (Snuff) coming out soon (October 23rd?) so I better get reading.

On the way back to the Aerie, we stopped at Kuntry Kruller in Elmira. THis is the closest thing to a real bakery we have around here. It's not large but it's got some delectable goodies in the form of scones, fritters, danish, turnovers, real bagels and, yes, even "krullers"--but they only have those on Friday. We stocked up for the weekend anyway and headed on down the road. There we stopped at Bohlayer’s Orchards in Troy to purchase a half bushel of Cortland apples. Guess I'll be making some apple sauce over the weekend.

******

Tonight I'll be kicking back in the recliner and watching some college football on ESPN. The Cincinnati Bearcats (2-1) got beat up by Tennessee (3-0) a couple of weeks ago by a score of 45-23. That loss was sandwiched between routs of Austin Peay 72-10 and a fairly decent Akron team 59-14. Tonight they host North Carolina State (2-1).

The Wolfpack have wins over Liberty (43-21) and South Alabama (35-13) and a loss to Wake Forest (27-34) on their record. This will be a good test of each teams ability and an indication of their prospects for the year.

As a little added incentive, Cincinnati is celebrating Homecoming this weekend and just saw the Big East get dissed by Pitt and Syracuse moving to the ACC. NC State is part of that ACC. Could be some harsh feelings here.

NPR’s Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books

I came across this over at Mostly Cajun’s place and, taking a look at his bolded titles started thinking about what I’ve read from this list. (Here's Cajun's list, BTW.)

If you care to play along and follow the NPR (US National Public Radio) meme, copy this list, putting in Bold those you have read.

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin (In progress. it’s on the Kindle) [Don't have a Kindle. I'm a paper kinda guy.]
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil[sic] Stephenson [Should be NEAL Stephenson]
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

I tend to consume most of the books from a single author IF I find a few of his/her books an interesting, fun read. (See Anthony, Asimov, Bradbury, Brooks, Butcher, Heinlein, LeGuin, McCafferty, Pratchett, Verne, etc.)

From this list alone, I would guess I've got to get up to speed on both Neal Stephenson and Neil Gaiman. I've read a few by each but not all that they've produced. (Daughter Jessica kept pushing them but I had others on my plate at the time.) As for the prolific Mr. King, I've read a few of his works but find the straight horror stuff not to my liking. The Dark Tower Series, however, is NOT horror--weird and unusual, yes, but not horror.

Bleech.

Blah day. Overcast all day with a spritz of rain every now and again. The temperature never got much above 65 with a breeze that made it feel cooler all day. Call it another down swing on the rollercoaster of a weather pattern we've been having.

******

Terry has headed off to New Jersey so the cats and I will be tolerant of one another. Julie will hunker down in the chair next to me looking for human contact (and warmth) while the other two will dog my steps every time I go over to the kitchen sink and/or coffee pot in the hopes that I will 1) fill their food bowls or 2) at least give them a crunchy treat. Then they will gather at the bedroom door tomorrow to awaken me around 6 AM so they can get their breakfast rations. Then they'll go back to the bedroom door hoping to get Terry (who isn't there, remember) to come down and give them some more.

******

I could have/should have gone out to do some firewood gathering today. The cool temperatures were perfect for that sort of work. However, I've got a strong case of the blahs. One might almost say a crippling case. So I sat around a read some Lindsey Davis (I'm half way through See Delphi and Die and have read all the others in the series up to that point) and worked crossword puzzles.

Tomorrow, if the weather permits and the ATV starts, I shall go cut and haul some firewood. If not I'll go into the workshop and build something to hold my fishing rods or fed the birds. Maybe both.

Reading is fun...da...mental

I enjoy reading. Most of my reading is for entertainment purposes only as, except for some science or historical tomes, I get bored or befuddled. Or depressed.

Monday, Terry and I went up to Horseheads to go to Staples. Both of our printers were sore in need of spare ink cartridges. Right next door to Staples is a Barnes & Noble so, of course, we went in to browse. We had already gone to Amazon.com to make a wish list the night before, but there were Simon & Schuster Crossword Puzzle books on the shelves as well as a copy of Sir Terry Prachett's I Shall Wear Midnight, a stitching magazine, and a romance novel that Terry wanted. I still have a B & N card so a discount was involved but the price was still much higher than Amazon where there's no brick and mortar or sales staff to pay for. Sometimes, however, you just have to have an item right now and not 7 to 14 shipping days later. (No I do not have Amazon Prime for free shipping but the discount on the books is still enough.)

Anywho. I bought the Prachett novel because I wanted it now. Dammit! Anything to get my mind off the weather and/or politics. And it worked. For a day. That's how long it took me to read this fourth--and supposedly final--story of Tiffany Aching--now a teenage witch of 16--and the Nac Mac Feegles (aka The Wee Free Men).

This is has been classified as a teen book and that's where the clerk found it for me after I couldn't locate it with the other Prachett novels, but it's a pleasant enough read for any age and especially so if you're a Prachett fan. The action isn't as fast and furious as it is with the stories of the Night Watch or Rincewind the Wizzard. (That's not a misspelling, BTW.)(Wiki entry here.) It comes closest to the cerebral games played with the Witches novels. Which, come to think of it, is appropriate since Tiffany Aching is now a 16 year-old witch with all the duties and encumbrances that entails.

Having finished this latest of Sir Prachett's novels I now have a choice. I can either go back and re-reread all 38 Discworld novels or move on to something else. I've the first two book from Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series sitting here unread. Perhaps I had best get to them since the next four are on their way via Amazon (shipped today) as are books 11-13 of the Dresden Files (also by Butcher) and three or four Marcus Didius Falco mysteries by Lindsey Davis. (Yeah, I've fallen behind in my leisure reading.)

Aerie Report, October 9, 2009

here's a photo of the new shed doors I installed yesterday.

New doors on old shed.

The shed was the only building left standing on the property when we purchased it back in 2005. The former owner had a trailer on a loose concrete block foundation at one time. It was serviced by a drilled, but shallow, well; a septic system; and electric power that ran through the property. The doors of the shed were hanging loosely by their hinges thanks to either someone breaking in, large animals, or strong winds. The rest of the shed was remarkably sound (except for that little bit of trim in the lower left that needs to be refastened). We reattached the old doors and put a padlock on them while using it for storage during construction.

******

The rains arrived as predicted but the heaviest seems to be a little to the west of here at the moment. It's even stopped for the time being. I'm sure that's only going to last an hour or two before we get socked again, but in these hills you can never tell. Air flow around and over the Northern Tier can be a wee bit unpredictable which is sort of amazing to me as the mountains are all less than 3000 feet in elevation.

I'm currently looking at winds swirling around the Aerie but predominantly out of the southwest and the clouds have dropped so that, looking out the window, I'm actually looking down at their bottoms.

*****

When I wrote that I was reading Butcher's Dresden Files yesterday, I mentioned I was on the last one, Turn Coat. Well, it seems I was wrong. There's a new one coming out in 2010. Only the title is currently known according to Wikipedia: Changes. It will be #12 in the series started back in 2000. The man is prolific!

******

Speaking of prolific.... While I'm waiting for Changes to come out, I can always go buy Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett. I can't believe that it's been out for a month and I haven't picked a copy up already. Guess I'm just too far from the nearest B & N. Which is often a good thing!

Aerie Report, October 8, 2009

Not much to report on today. The winds that howled around here yesterday died down overnight to a virtual dead calm by daybreak. The temperature dropped but not below 43 degrees. It didn't rise much during the day, however, and failed to get above 55 this afternoon.

We had a lot of high level cumulus clouds obscuring the sun for much of the day. They were headed southeast which is strange considering our next weather maker is coming up from the southwest. It's stretching from western PA all the way down to northeaster Texas right now and some places along that line may get 6 inches of rain. We're not supposed to be one of them. Accuhunch says we'll get between 1 and 1.5 inches between tonight and Saturday with a bit more on Monday. Just what we need. I poured 0.15 inches of water out of the rain gauge yesterday after the quick, heavy shower of Tuesday night.

Heh. Could be worse. At least one town in Idaho had to close their schools last Monday because of snow. They're forecasting a snow event tomorrow along the northern Rockies that will reach down into Nebraska. The mountains of Idaho, western Montana and Colorado could get up to 6 inches of white stuff. And that storm will move east bringing snow to Chicago on Sunday.

******

I should have taken advantage of the weather to cut the grass...again. Instead I took the old doors off the shed that was here when we bought the property and hung the new ones I built last winter. They've been sitting in the garage and awaiting my get-up-and-do-it which finally got here this afternoon. Of course, those new doors still need to be stained but, hey!, at least they're hanging in the right place now. Naturally, I forgot to take a picture before it got too dark and with the rain starting tonight.... Well, maybe I can get one tomorrow.

******

I finished the last of the Jim Butcher Harry Dresden books (Small Favor) I bought a month ago. And promptly read the little novelette called Backup written from the viewpoint of Harry's older half brother, the vampire Thomas. After that I started to read Turn Coat which is #11 in the Dresden Files series. I borrowed the last two from the library over in Wellsboro while I was over there for an Audubon meeting on Tuesday. I don't believe either is out in paperback yet but when Turn Coat is available in that form, I'll probably buy it.

I would have picked up some of Butcher's Codex Alera series, but the library shelf only held books 3, 4 and 5 of the series. And I refuse to jump into the middle. It would be like reading The Two Towers without first reading The Fellowship Of the Ring.

Okay, why buy a book I've borrowed from the library and all ready read? Because, my dear fellow, I enjoyed and appreciate Mr. Butcher's work in writing the thing and he deserves compensation. I have found all his books extremely entertaining, and I'll probably read it again...and again. Having all of the series on hand, I do not have to worry about whether the library will have a copy when I want to read it.

What am I reading?

Well, you might suspect it was one of the Butcher series about modern day wizard Harry Driesden that I mentioned here, but you would be wrong.

I ordered a few other books that day. One was Shorts In A Wad by this guy. It's a collection of short (very short--like 100 words short) stories and if they're as good as some of the postings on his blog, I'm sure they will be great fun to read and ponder. But that's not what I'm reading.

No, the other book I purchased last month was Heaven and Earth by Ian Plimer whom I named my Hero du jour in this post. It's all about the missin gscience in the global warming argument. Things like how CO2 does not drive climate change. And how there have been serious ice ages when CO2 has been hundreds of times more abundant in our planet's atmosphere. Or like how records indicate life flourishes when things are warmer than today and do not do so well when things are colder. The same goes for civilizations.

I'm only half way through this book and am thoroughly engrossed.

Here's an article from Jonathan Manthorpe that ran in the Vancouver Sun about Dr. Ian Plimer's book and stance on global warming.

Current reading list

Terry presented me with four books for Fathers' Day. Two were westerns by Robert B. Parker (Appaloosa and Resolution) and two were books one and two in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher (Storm Front and Fool Moon).

I read both of the Butcher books two days ago and found them to be real page turners. My initial plan was to keep them by the bedside and read a couple of chapters each night before going to sleep. That plan lasted but one night. I brought Storm Front down stairs the next morning and finished it that afternoon. Immediately I picked up Fool Moon and finished that the next day.

Today I ordered books 3-10 in the series from Amazon. It will be a week or so before they arrive.

Meanwhile I picked up Parker's Resolution (not realizing it was not the first in the series) and started reading. I was familiar with Parker's work in the mystery genre from his Spencer series and knew I would find his characters engaging and that they are. Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole are men--or should I say "gunmen"--of complexity and honor. They may buck the system from time to time (or at least Hitch does, Cole is more "by-the-book") but they live by the Code, if you know what I mean.

The "series" with Cole and Hitch is a short one with only three novels listed to date. (The third book, Brimstone, is listed for release in 2009 and I'm sure it is not yet available in paperback.) Here's hoping that Mr. Parker finds these gentlemen as engaging as I do and see fit to share many more of their adventures with the public.

So there you have it. Terry fed me four books in two series and like a drug addict I am hooked. This is going to end up costing me a bundle. Authors who write series, be they fantasy like Terry Prachett's Discworld, historical mysteries like Lindsey Davis' Marcus Didius Falco, or some silly fluff like Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures (alas there will be no more of these) that get under my skin have at least one sure sale. (And, believe me, this is NOT a complete list of serial authors on my shelves!)

And, yes, I tend to buy rather than borrow. The public library just doesn't have the same intense need that I do. Nor do they seem able to maintain the entire series on their shelves. Although, the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell
was pretty well intact. And they had all three books of Cornwell's The Grail Quest and the first three books of The Saxon Stories.

BTW Terry is in the other room reading an Andre Norton book (Year of the Rat) a sequel to a story she really enjoyed. She could have bought it used for around $60 but, instead, asked a friend in NJ to check it out of the library and send it here. As soon as she finishes, she'll send it back. I wasn't aware that Terry had any more of Ms. Norton's books to read.

No TV for me!

I've stopped watching TV. With the football season ended there's not much I want to watch anyway. You can only watch so many episodes of "The Deadliest Catch" or "Axe Men" any way. I was getting very, very jealous of the folks on the Outdoor Channel. I mean some of those deer they've killed look like they were on 'roids for years! There's Michael Waddell and the Bone Collector crew and Jim Shockey's Hunting Adventures and others who are out here living a dream. And just how do a young couple like Lee and Tiffany Lakosky (and here) make enough money hunting full time to, well, hunt all the time? I don't want to watch...I want to BE these guys.


As for "24",the only show I watched regularly last year, well, as soon as I heard that Garifolo was going to be a regular(?) I kinda lost interest. Good thing, too, as The One has preempted the show a couple times already.

See that's a problem. If I'm watching TV, I'm usually channel surfing during the commercials. If I hit the wrong button at the wrong time I could end up seeing The One or one of his sycophants like Chrissy Matthews or Keith Olbermann. And that could cost me a TV. Luckily, the cable system I'm tied into has nearly all the news channels at the high end of the numbers so it's unlikely that I would accidentally stumble upon MSNBC or CNN. Even Fox News is not on the beaten path (i.e. between Outdoor Channel and ESPN and ESPN2).

So I sit and read (I'm going through the entire Terry Prachett library--or at least the Discworld portion there of. (Quite the distinguished looking author is Sir Terrance. Handsome devil.) I'm up to Maskerade right now) do crossword puzzles (from books as I don't buy the newspapers) and surf the internet.

At least that's what I'm doing when I'm not in the workshop. I've got a couple of projects lined up. There's some bird houses to make and a few Christmas presents to start on. (Intarsia can take awhile.)

I spent the day with Didius Falco

It was a mere 18 degrees and snowing this morning and although both of those conditions changed soon after I got out of bed at 7 AM, I opted to stay in today. It did warm up to 30 degrees--briefly, and it did stop snowing--for most of the day.

Instead of going outside, I did some reading. I picked up a couple of Lindsy Davis mysteries at the library last week along with a few Bernard Cornwell novels. I've only managed to read one of the Davis books (I've nearly finished the second and have a third on the night stand). If I can stay off the internet, these historical mysteries and novels are like popcorn or potato chips: pour some into a bowl and you will find your hand going into that bowl and up to your mouth in a steady rhythm. The bowl is empty in short order. Once I crack the cover of one of the Davis mysteries or the Cornwell novels, the book will be done in about 8-10 hours. (I'm no speed reader. I do manage about 30-40 pages an hour, however.)

The Cornwell books I borrowed were three from the Saxon Chronicles Series. I had read The Last Kingdom a month ago and these would finish the four book series. I wanted to read some of the Richard Sharpe stories--I had read books one and two of that series last month, also--but the library was missing the third and fifth of the Sharpe books as well as several books from later in the series, so I thought I might pass on Sharpe for a bit.

Tomorrow, I will be heading out early in the morning. I'll stuff my feet in plastic bags (as a commenter suggested a few days ago and as Mark has told me he does). I may need to as the morning temperature is likely to be around 15 degrees. I was hoping that, being Saturday, it might be another active day on the part of other hunters. After all, those who had to go back to work or school on Tuesday would have the chance to return to the field. But the cold weather may cause some of them to reconsider. Already, the hunting camp next door is empty. The members have apparently returned to their Lancaster homes.

Reading on the upswing.

This is good news: Teens buying books at fastest rate in decades.

When I was teaching (Earth Science, Environmental Science, Computers, and more over 32 years), I and fellow teachers would do anything we could to encourage kids to pick up a book and read just for the fun of it. It didn’t matter much what they read just as long as they opened a book or magazine and read. It was our hope that by doing so they would improve their vocabulary and learn how to put words into sentences by osmosis.

My own two kids were readers from around age 5. (Before that it was always climb up on the lap and “Read this to me, please.”) The Electric Company, Reading Rainbow and the Sesame Street of the 80’s had a lot to do with teaching them their ABCs. Their mom and I worked at teaching them to read and, through example, encouraged them to make it a habit. Their nightstands always had one or more book perched upon it and their light wouldn’t go off until they had read a chapter or two. On more than one occasion, my daughter’s light never went out and we found her in the morning with a book lying open over her face or chest. We took them to the public library and got them cards as early in their development as possible. We also dropped a fortune at the many bookstores we frequented. It seems to have worked. The kids are now in their mid-20s, are bright, witty and well rounded. Both have done quite well in college and have learned a myriad of subjects from crafts to history.

The old saying was, “Reading is fundamental.” And it still is.