Reading Scotland, Garden Notes, TV Notes

Happy June! Blogging has taken a backseat to removing all the furniture, etc from the living room for the hardwood floor installation, which happened last week. The animals are stressed, but who isn't when all your routines going flying out the window? I tell them it will all be worth it in just another week or so, but they don't listen.

At least I can read to calm myself down...here's what I've been reading.

Devil Water, by Anya Seton - recommended by Constance of Staircase Wit, I really enjoyed this 527-page book about the Earls of Derwentwater and their participation in the Scottish risings of 1715 and 1745. The main characters are Charles Radcliffe, youngest of three brothers, handsome, charismatic, initially hopelessly naive but ultimately idealistic and a steadfast Jacobite and Catholic, and his daughter Jenny, beautiful (of course!), loyal, but a steadfast Protestant who never truly embraces the Jacobite cause (which is to replace the Hanoverian George II with James VIII, the Pretender exiled to France and Italy). 

The title refers to the colloquial name of Derwentwater and the burn (small river) that flows through the estate.

For the most part, I really enjoyed the novel and characters and learning more about the history of the border region between Scotland and England and the divided loyalties, complicated politics, life in the turbulent 18th century, and the rugged, beautiful landscape. Jenny does emigrate to the Virigina colony (in the 1720s) and marries. She and her husband head to the wilderness where they acquire land and develop a farm that could become prosperous.

SPOILERS*****I had a real problem with how Seton ended the novel. Jenny's father Charles, who had been living in Europe after escaping from Newgate prison before being executed for his role in the 1715 Jacobite uprising, returns to England to join the 1745 Jacobite uprising and is captured and sentenced to death, again. Jenny learns of his fate and decides to return to England to see him again, and her husband Rob is so furious with her decision that he rapes her. Once in England, she discovers she is pregnant and is actually making it on her own, working as a barmaid and singing in the bar. Rob follows her to England, and after they witness Charles's execution, he convinces her to return to Viriginia with him, and she forgives him and goes back to the wilderness farm with this violent man!  For me, this was truly hard to swallow and I ended up giving it my usual four stars on GoodReads instead of the five that I had been planning to award it

A Game of Sorrows, by Shona (MG) Mclean - book 2 in the Alexander Seaton series, this story takes place mostly in Ireland as Alexander is summoned by his dead mother's family to help lift a curse that has been placed on the family. At first, I was disappointed to be leaving Scotland for Ireland, but the story helped me understand the relationship between the Scots and northern Ireland in particular. And the story itself was chock full of great stuff--bandits, castles, banquets, journeys, and the requisite conflicts over religion. Alexander is becoming a true hero and I am ready for his next adventure, this time back in Scotland.

The Coffin Trail, by Martin Edwards - technically not a Scottish novel, the first in the author's Lake District mystery series, it takes place in, you guessed it, the Lake District. I just finished this one last night and am still mulling it over. I gave it four stars, but I wasn't completely in love with the main characters, so not sure if I will continue with the series. Daniel Kind is an Oxford don who leaves his job and together with his new girlfriend buys a rundown cottage in the Lake District and throws himself into solving a decade-old murder. Despite living with his girlfriend, he becomes close to Lauren, his dead detective father's former partner, and together they solve the mystery. Actually, he does, but she scolds him for not including her more. It takes a real leap of faith to go along with a lot of the dynamics of the story, but I am assuming that Daniel and Lauren work out the weirdnesses of the premise and become solid partners.

I loved the setting and now want to take a walking vacation in the Lake District!

However, I have to say that the title is a real downer and the cover is atrocious. I would have preferred a nice watercolor rather than B&W photos.

Garden Notes

Our mama dove sat on her eggs until they hatched, then cared for her chicks until they fledged, and we now have use of our back door once again!

I have chives all over my garden--in the rose bed to ward off Japanese beetles, in the veg beds to add color in the spring, and deck planter for the same reason. At our local coffeehouse, a barista told me about a lovely chive vinegar that he makes, so I made some. Simply harvest chive blossoms, rinse them, and crush with mortar and pestle (about 1 cup), cut up 1/4 cup of chives, heat white vinegar to just ready to boil. and then pour over chive blossoms and diced chives in mason jar. Seal and put in dark cupboard for three days. Strain into pretty bottle and enjoy a nice chivey pink vinegar!

Fiona is guarding the evening primrose and penstemon.

Honeysuckle in profusion.

TV Notes

I've been getting the Outlander DVDs from the library and season 2 was checked out, so we watched Decameron on Netflix instead. I'm still not sure if I can say that I liked it. It was definitely a dark comedy, and wild and crazy. I felt a profound sense of relief when it was over, but it was a good distraction from the remodel. 

My favorite character by far was Misia, played by Saoirse-Monica Jackson of Derry Girls fame. Has anyone else watched this story of the plague in Italy in the 15th century?

We finished watching season 3 of Shrinking, which I thought was the best season and I am eagerly waiting for season 4. I really liked the way the characters are growing and developing and learning and bonding and coping. I thought it was absolutely brilliant casting to have Jeff Daniels play Jimmy's father. Also great to see Michael J. Fox and Candace Bergen, and then I had to laugh to see Cobi Smulders (Robin on How I Met Your Mother) as Jimmy's new love interest Sofi. Seems like the casting director is definitely raiding How I Met Your Mother :)

But, all that said, we were at loose ends at to what 30-minute comedy to watch after an hour of drama and landed on Ghosts, which thankfully my library has since I cannot stand the commercials on Paramount Plus.

I hadn't wanted to watch it before because it looked pretty silly, which it is, but it is also funny and sweet with pretty good writing that makes me laugh. 

I am always on the lookout for good 30-minute comedies, so let me know what you like! 

Eighteen Years and Counting, Plus Sandwich and Wreck

It was my blogoversary on Wednesday, May 27 (aka yesterday). Babies born when I started blogging in 2008 are graduating from high school. Platforms for blogging have come and gone, but hating change, I have stuck with Blogger and have no regrets. I would like to figure out how to download and archive my posts since I know that Blogger will not last forever. Does anyone know how to do this?

I mostly blog about the books I've read, occasionally blog about the travels I've taken, the plants I've grown or tried to grow, and just random stuff.

I love my blog--often I won't know what I want to say about a book until I start typing. Without this outlet, my thoughts would remain the muddled mess that is their comfort zone.

Mostly though, I love the blog because it connects me with other readers whose recommendations and reviews I have come to rely on to enhance my reading life. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to be part of the book-blogging community. You are treasured!

Stats: 1065 posts, with about half about Jane Austen it seems; 7160 comments; >2.2 million views, but who's counting!

I updated my Popular Posts widget to show which posts over time have garnered the most views. I honestly think the Adam Bede one was linked somewhere because why else would it be #1?

Books Read Recently

Sandwich and Wreck, by Catherine Newman - a friend of my daughter's lent me both books, and since so many people blogged about Sandwich last year, I took the plunge. 

Both were wonderful, although I'll give the edge to Sandwich. It takes place over the course of a week in a holiday cottage on Cape Cod. Rocky and Nick and their two adult children as well as their son's fiancé and Rocky's parents vacation together, and in the course of the week we learn about the dynamics of the family, their backstories (aka secrets), and traditions.

I really enjoyed spending time with this family, and I particularly loved daughter Willa, a sweet, sensitive, funny, young woman. I loved reading about vacationing on Cape Cod, which is still on my bucket list.

Wreck continues the story of the family the following year The wreck is a train accident that kills a young man from the town where Rocky and Nick live, and the accident becomes a pivot point for developing family relationships and, for me, a metaphor for Rocky's health issues.

In looking at Newman's author profile on GoodReads, Sandwich wans't her first novel but feels like it is her breakout novel. Has anyone read any other of her novels? I do like her writing style. Easy to read, interesting but not too angsty. Good comfort reading when escape seems the best option.

Spring Notes

Hope everyone has a good end of May, beginning of June! It's been cool and rainy in Colorado, which I love. The garden is in--all I have left to do is throw some zinnia seeds in their flower bed and hope they sprout and bloom before the frost hits us in September!

Bird nest update - something attacked the nest of baby birds on the front porch and there were no survivors--the entire wreath with nest was upside down on the porch floor. Mama bird is bereft and keeps on asking to come inside to mourn her loss. We thought she picked a great location, but Nature can be cruel.  Mama EC Dove is still sitting on her nest by the back door, so hopefully those chicks will survive. Stay tuned for more of Wild America.

Living Room Refresh

We are finally replacing the carpet in the living room with hardwood floors. This is our 32nd year in the house and 22 since our last living room refresh. 

The wood will be delivered tomorrow and then it ages for two weeks before installation. Then we paint, and by then my husband should maybe be done building the new TV table with towers he has been working on (while the boat project languishes). We found a very cool end table at our local antique store that the owner is refinishing, and new couches and chairs are on order. I still need to order area rugs, but we've picked out what we want. 

This is what we're doing instead of going to Scotland in the fall as originally planned.

Catching Up and Feeling a Bit of Deja Vu

 Since my last post, we took a wonderful trip to Cortez, CO for the annual Ute Mt Birding Festival, came home to two birds' nests in very inconvenient locations (of course), suffered through a bad cold, relistened to a couple of great audio books on the road trip, and read a couple of new books.

What to cover first?

Travelogue: Cortez 

Let's go with the trip to Cortez. It was our 5th time going to the festival, and as usual it was great. Most memorable was the tour of the Yucca House National Monument, led by a Mesa Verde park ranger and expert birder. Until this trip, I had never heard of this site, and believe me, I spent a lot of time in this part of the country as a kid. It was established early, 1919, but never developed as a destination, simply preserved, which is a good thing.

The site, which is contemporaneous to Mesa Verde, is mostly unexcavated, but the ranger was able to make the lives of the people who inhabited this huge village come alive. We also saw a lot of cool birds, including a shrike, but no roadrunner, which he had sort of promised us we would see!

Brownheaded Cowbird

Northern Shrike

Cortez is a cute little town, near the Four Corners (i.e., where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona come together), and I especially love the street art. Below is a mural on one of the outside walls of the Cortez Cultural Center. 

Another mural

And yet another mural

Nests with Eggs

Once home, we discovered that an enterprising House Finch had set up housekeeping on our front porch, taking advagtage of the twigs in my spring wreath to create a safe, dry place for her family.

My husband thoughtfully put up caution tape around the front porch so that Mama Finch isn't startled too often. 

The other nest is that of a Eurasian Collared Dove and is situated so that we cannot go from the garage to the backyard without disturbing Mama EC Dove.  

Feels like we are running a maternity ward but proud to have created a congenial habitat.

Books

Finally, we get to the books read and reread.

For the road trip, we listened to You Are Here, but David Nicholls, which I loved and knew my husband would enjoy. He did. Since we finished that on the drive home, we started Murder Takes a Vacation, by Laura Lippman, which again I had really enjoyed and knew would be a good, light book to listen to. 

I've also recently read the following:

A Case of Mice and Murder, by Sally Smith - recommended by both Constance of Staircase Wit and I think also Lark of Lark Reads. It took me a little while to fall in love but now I am smitten and intend to read more in the series (The Trials of Gabriel Ward). Gabriel is an unlikely detective, but I like the way his mind works and he definitely became someone I liked spending time with. I had the whodunnit part figured out early on, but so what? A very fun read. And, I think I now have a better grasp on the Inns of Court in London, which means whenh I reread Bleak House I won't feel so lost...maybe.

 The Impossible Fortune, by Richard Osman - #5 in the immensely popular (and rightly so) Thursday Murder Club series. It was as good as all its predecessors. These books are genuinely funny and always make me laugh out loud, but the plots are complicated, relevant, timely, and often techie (so, like Joyce, I learn something!).

I also just finished another Scottish-history novel, but I will save that for another Reading Scotland post.

The Cold

I know, I know. Everyone gets a cold. But I haven't had one in a long time, and I am a big baby. I actually took a Covid test because I felt so crummy. Negative, which is good. I am finally feeling better today, with the proverbial lingering cough

We started rewatching Outlander last night and just watching Claire and Jamie and the other Highlanders riding for days and nights in the rain was almost more than I could take!

Wild for Austen - by Devoney Looser

So why did I give Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane, by Devoney Looser, five stars? I already knew Austen to be a brilliant satirist who skewered those she disdained; I've read the madcap, irreverent stuff she wrote as a teen; and I've dissected her major novels, uncovering all sorts of salacious undercurrents that belie the prim and proper Miss Jane that early biographies promoted.

Despite feeling that the author was trying a bit too hard to make her "wild" point, I just really loved diving in Austen's work and life and times...again! It was a fun book to read--comforting in its familiarity, scholarly but accessible. Looser is a professor who has a knack of expressing her points elegantly. And, there was a lot of new info about Austen that I hadn't heard.

Part I is a walkthrough of Austen's works, starting with the Juvenilia and ending with the unfinished fragments. I particularly liked Chapter 3, "The Controversial Case of Sophia Sentiment," in which Looser lays out the case that Austen's first published work was a letter she wrote to The Loiterer, an Oxford weekly for which her brothers James and Henry wrote the bulk of the copy, under the pseudonym Sophia Sentiment. Looser convinced me that teenager Jane was in fact the author of this wonderful satirical letter. in which she argues for more romantic content and fewer stuffy essays.

Part II, "Fierce Family Ties," contained a lot of new information for me. Looser discusses Jane's relationship to the Burdett family--some of her letters indicate socializing with Frances Burdett and Sophia Burdett, respectively the sister and daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, a political radical who championed universal male suffrage and endured a stint in the Tower of London. 

I also learned a lot from the chapter on Eliza, Comtesse de Feuillide, Jane's cousin and Henry's first wife. Jane spent a fair amount of time visiting Henry and Eliza, and Looser makes a compelling case about Jane's exposure to the international social set that Eliza enabled, including the Count and Countess d'Antraigueses--she was an opera singer and he was a spy--and they were brutually murdered in 1812. 

And here you thought you knew everything there was to know about Jane's life!

Part III, "Shambolic Afterlives," was particularly fun to read, from early literary conversations with Jane's ghost, to imaginary lovers, to erotica. The penultimate chapter, "Loving (and Hating) Jane Austen," was my favorite and probably the reason I gave the book 5 stars--here's a particularly good passage that resonated with me:

On balance, I've found and still find Austen's novels to be not only a profound personal pleasure to read and reread but also a shared vehicle to explore with others what it might be to try to live a meaningful life in a world that's deeply unfair.     

Author and Austen scholar, Devoney Looser

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

The Correspondent

It seems everyone was reading The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans, last year, and with good reason. I thoroughly enjoyed this epistolary novel. It made me cry, and I haven't cried over a book in a very long time. Swept away by emotion, I happily bestowed five GoodReads stars on this gem.

Because the novel is entirely letters, it was a pretty quick read with many pages less than half filled with text. I did read a printed copy rather than an audio, which I often opt for when reading contemporary fiction, and I'm glad I did. I would have found it irritating to listen to the same addresses repeatedly.

I found I could relate to Sybil--not so much with regards to the specifics of her life (I am not divorced, I have good relationships with my adult children, and I love to travel, especially outside the US, and I have never had to suffer the grief of a child of mine dying), but I am of her general age (a bit younger actually, but that will change!) and disposition (to a degree). I enjoy writing letters to friends, although I would never presume to write to an author.

I did love the fact that she corresponds with Joan Didion and reached out to Stephen King, Larry McMurtry, and Diana Gabaldon, among others, providing her take on their books and what their stories have meant to her. As a reader, I did enjoy hearing about what she was reading and why.

I liked the story arc--how she became friends with her neighbor, how she fought with and then reconciled with both her daughter and her best friend. How she was finally able to acknowledge the mistakes she made in her professional life, as clerk and confident to a judge. How she finally was able to confront the truth about how her son died. I think in the end Sybil's story is about accountability...and the courage to be accountable.

I heard that Jane Fonda will be playing Sybil Van Antwerp in a movie version, which I think is terrific. I don't think it will be difficult to shift media on the story. There is so much good stuff there to work with.

I tried to find Evans's earlier book, Within the Walled City, but it appears to be out of print, and my usual sources are coming up dry. I have to stop in at the library this afternoon, so I may ask if they can find it anywhere. I cannot imagine that it will stay out of print long--with the success of The Correspondent, I'm sure her publisher wants to ride those coattails with anything else she has written.

Happy Belated Earth Day 

I meant to spend yesterday in the garden, but life had other plans in store for me. I still need to plant spinach, lettuce, and peas as well as finish cleaning the flower beds and prepping the veg beds. 

The native garden is flourishing--I'm hoping for early flowers! 

Reading Scotland: The Stuarts and Kidnapped

 Two more Scottish-based books under my belt. 

The Royal Stuarts: A History of the Family that Shaped Britain, by Allan Massie - a solid three-star survey of the Stuart/Stewart dynasty in Scotland and England. Although published n 2011, it had a somewhat dated feel to it. I learned a great deal, coming from knowing very little about those that preceded Mary Queen of Scots.

Survey books like this are challenging in that each section was short enough to be digestible and not overwhelming with detail, but then I found myself wanting more info about each monarch and what was happening at the time. For example, the infamous Gunpowder Plot early in the reign of James VI/I (the VI refers to his Scottish title, and the I to his English one) is given one line. I know there is a wealth of info on this event out there, but I do believe it warrants more than a mere mention. 

Also, I would have appreciated illustrations--the cover shows a passel of Stuarts but there was no info inside about who was who. I did like the family tree and referred to it often to keep straight the many people named James, Charles, Mary, or Anne.

I also reread the wonderful adventure story, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Kidnapped is actually the first book in Stevenson's David Balfour series--the second is Catriona, which I have never read and probably should.

Even though this was either my second or third reading of this book, I hadn't read it in at least 40 years and so it truly made a lot more sense this time around. I vividly remembered the first part, where 16- year-old David Balfour, newly orphaned, hears that he has family and sets out to find them. He discovers he has a miserly old uncle who, when his attempt to murder David fails, arranges for a sea captain to kidnap him and take him to the American South and sell him into slavery.

On board the ship, David is befriended by Alan Breck Stewart, a Jacobite agent (time period is shortly after the failed 1745 rising) and together they fight off the wicked sea captain and his rogues, survive shipwreck, flee through the Highlands with the British army searching for them, nearly starve, and survive all manner of dangers as they make their way towards Edinburgh and the lawyer who will restore David to his rightful place as heir of the House of Shaws! Here is a map of David's journey.

Now that I have a better understanding of the politics of the time, as well as the religious conflicts, I actually enjoyed the story so much more than when I had read it without that context. 

There have been a number of film versions (1917, 1938, 1948, 1960, 1971, 1986, and 2005), none of which I've seen. I'm learning towards the 1960 Disney version, starring James McArthur as David and David Finch as Alan Breck, with a cameo by Peter O'Toole (apparently his first film role). I had a massive of crush on James McArther when I saw him in Swiss Family Robinson, so it would be fun to see him as David.

Scottish History Podcast

I've been enjoying The Scottish History Podcast. Owen Innes is a former tour guide turned podcaster. He is currently doing a series on the Scottish monarchs named James--I just listened to his latest on James IV. For me, Owen's info is at the right level--enough detail for me to get the idea of what is going on, but not so detailed that I get lost in the weeds.

Spring Roundup

Spring has come early to Colorado--the daffodils are just about done, as are the apple trees (both ornamental and fruiting), and the lilacs are threatening. We actually had a bit of rain yesterday, and I planted red and white onions last Sunday, but the lawn remains absolutely parched.

I am cleaning the flower beds and thinking about when to plant the lettuce, spinach, and peas.

I haven't booked our trip to Scotland in September yet. It may have to wait until next year as flights have gotten prohibitively expensive, and I don't want to fly in steerage anymore. Nor do I want to just let every company pass along the increased costs to the consumer. This consumer is starting to say no thank you. If I sound like a curmudgeon. So be it. I am embracing my Hagitude! See below :)

Just Read (past tense)

The Proving Ground, by Michael Connelly - a solid 5 stars for this newest Lincoln Lawyer novel. I loved the subject matter--how high tech is operating without "guard rails" when it comes to AI, especially those that target children with AI-companions. There is so much that I hate about AI, and I loved Mickey Haller going after it. I think this book should be recommended reading for all middle school and high school students and their parents!

I worked in high-tech for 42 years--my entire career--and industry never has and never will self-regulate. As always, Connelly's story-telling skills are first rate, and his characterization is spot on. Mickey and his staff definitely have their flaws, but they are realistically likeable characters. 

Hagitude: Reimaging the Second Half of Life, by Sharon Blackie - recommended by my 30-something daughter, who is very far off from Hagitude herself, I found so much to love about this book. From the retelling of folk tales that feature both positive and negative images of older women to the Jungian discussions to the personal stories about how the author dealt with aging, this book is chock full of interesting ideas about what it means to become one of the wise women, an elder of the community. 

A Room With a View, by E.M. Forster - a reread of a favorite novel, I really enjoyed getting to know Lucy Honeychurch all over again. Like Lucy, I feel in a muddle half the time myself, and I can truly relate to both her wanting to please everyone and to live her own life honestly and enthusiastically. 

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 1, by Beth Brower - recommended by JoAnn of Gulfside Musing, this short first-in-a-series novel was delightful. Light, bright, sparkling--I'm eager to read Volume 2. As the title promises, this is the journal of a young Victorian lady who is fighting to regain possession of her inherited home when she comes of age. For some reason, it reminded me of A Series of Unfortunate Events--maybe due to the general quirkiness. Definitely a book to lift one's spirits when the doom-scrolling threatens to overwhelm.

Blue Lightning, by Ann Cleeves - book four in the author's Shetland series. I was eager to read this for my Reading Scotland project, and I was confident that I would find it wonderful as Cleeves has been growing steadily as a favorite mystery writer.

Alas, this is currently in the Did Not Finish category in GoodReads because...

***********SPOILERS**************

...she kills off Fran, Jimmy Perez's finance near the end. ARRGGHHH! I seriously hate it when great characters are gratuitously axed because the writer doesn't feel like having the main character's arc go in that direction. At least that's what it felt like to me. There was absolutely no reason that Fran had to die for the mystery to be resolved. I simply couldn't bear to read about her murder and Jimmy's grief and guilt over it

I think I will probably steel myself and go ahead and read the final chapters and then mark it read. But, I am not sure about reading any more in this series. And I am definitely not watching the TV show after this!

Speaking of TV Shows

Just watched Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix about Belle Gibson, the Australian social media starlet who convinced her followers that she had cured herself of brain cancer through healthy eating. I was absolutely mesmerized and appalled by the narcissism, self-delusion, and con-artistry of this woman.

As with so many scams, I found myself agonizing over the utter waste of time, energy, and talent. Belle was clearly not an unintelligent person. She was a hard worker. She was media-saavy with brilliant instincts about what works when it comes to building a brand and advertising. If only she had believed in herself enough to go for it without the crutch of making herself into a victim.

In addition to Belle's story, the TV series also told the stories of two other women, both of whom did have cancer, and how they and their families and loved ones helped them deal with their diagnosis, fought with them over treatment options, and loved them throughout their journey. 

I was particularly impressed with how well produced this series was--it really physically demonstrated how addictive external validation via the internet can be. Like The Proving Ground, this show focused on the very real dangers that internet technology pose.

I also started rewatching Monarch of the Glen--the marvelous British show from the early 2000s. Set in the Scottish highlands, it is enormous fun, with fantastic scenery. In a nutshell, Archie MacDonald returns home from London to find he is the new laird of Glenbogle, his family's estate that is under water financially. 

I only watched the first five seasons the first time around and will probably do the same this time. The last two seasons deal with a usurper and, again, I just didn't like the story line that developed.

I don't know if this show is available streaming. I am getting it through a wonderful, old-fashioned process called inter-library loan.

Is anyone else watching orange-loving Jamie Ding on Jeopardy? He's won over $500k and the stuff he knows is just astounding. That said, he has missed a couple of final Jeopardy questions that I was surprised he didn't know. But still--he is pretty darn impressive!

Travelogue: Cranes and Cather

Ten years ago or so, my husband and I went to Kearney, Nebraska for the spring migration of Sandhill Cranes. Every year since then, we have wanted to go back and this year, last week, we finally did. BTW, here is a link to our trip in 2014.

Roughly 80% of the world's population of Sandhill Cranes stop off in mid-Nebraska for a little rest and relaxation along the Platte River between February and April. They bulk up on corn droppings in the fields and fish in the river, find their mate, and socialize with friends before continuing on north where they breed and summer.

The town of Kearney definitely leans into the Sandhill Crane migration--I imagine this is peak season for the hotels, motels, and restaurants, with visitors coming worldwide to experience the skies filled with birds. The map of public viewing areas pictured below is available everywhere and was invaluable.

On a previous trip, we were happy with the Fort Kearny Hike/Bike Bridge and went there at sunset and sunrise and saw thousands of birds, bedding down for the night and taking off in the morning. 

On this trip, we went to the bridge on our first night in town and were so disappointed. Hundreds of people lining the bridge, but virtually no birds came within 300 yards of the bridge. So, the next morning, we went to the Plautz Viewing Platform a bit east of the bridge, and were thrilled to see hundreds of birds take off. So that evening and the following morning, we went back to the viewing platform and experienced what we had remembered from 10 years ago. 

Flocks of cranes fill the daytime sky as they scope out the best cornfields.

Cleaning up last year's corn crop...

Feasting on fish, bugs, basically anything they can swallow.

The Rowe Sanctuary provides blinds that you can book (probably six months in advance) as well as tours. We didn't do either this trip, but may book a blind for next year. Yes, I want to go back next year.

After the morning bird show, we headed off to the town of Kearney for breakfast and discovered a wonderful coffeeshop that does killer scrambled eggs. If you are ever in Kearney for breakfast, try Kitt's Kitchen. The staff is friendly, the food and hot beverages are great, and the atmosphere is so inviting.

On to Red Cloud

Because the crane show is really a sunrise/sunset affair, we decided to go an hour south of Kearney to Red Cloud and visit the National Willa Cather Center in Red Cloud, Nebraska. Although I haven't read even half of her novels, I consider Cather one of my favorite American authors.

  

The exhibit at the Center is exceptional, and I learned so much about her life and work and career. The Center offers tours of her childhood home, but we didn't have time for the tour so just stopped by to take some photos. I believe the town of Red Cloud is now smaller than when she lived there in the 1880s and 1890s, but we did find a place for lunch (Juan's Bar and Grill) across the street from the Center that made a very good cheeseburger and fries!

The house Cather lived in as a child.

Cather describes this house in detail in The Song of the Lark, which is the most recent Cather that I have read. I also picked up a couple of her later novels that I haven't yet read. Lucy Gayheart was published in 1935, and Sapphira and the Slave Girl is her last novel, published in 1940.

The road trip to Nebraska was so rewarding--getting up before the birds, watching the sun rise and listening to the world come to life, shivering in the cold with hundreds of other people who want to witness one of Earth's great migrations. Discovering new gems in the heartland. Seeing the landscape that inspired one of my favorite authors. Exploring my own backyard. Watching the sun set on a beautiful river.

Reading Scotland: Clanlands and The Redemption of Alexander Seaton

Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other - written and read by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish, Charlotte Reather (co-writer)

Here's excerpts from the GoodReads blurb: 

As stars of Outlander, Sam and Graham eat, sleep and breathe the Highlands on this epic road trip around their homeland. . Armed with their trusty campervan and a sturdy friendship, these two Scotsmen are on the adventure of a lifetime to explore the majesty of Scotland. A wild ride by boat, kayak, bicycle and motorbike, they travel from coast to loch and peak to valley and delve into Scotland's history and culture, from timeless poetry to bloody warfare.

 Definitely a fun book to listen to, although the banter between Sam and Graham did wear thin after a while. I definitely enjoyed hearing about this history of the various places they visited, and their love of Scotland shines through so strongly. 

I also enjoyed their Outlander anecdotes. I only watched the first three seasons, but I am planning to rewatch them again this summer. And I also enjoyed hearing about their non-Outlander acting careers--always interesting to hear about life in the theater and on the set.

The Redemption of Alexander Seaton - by Shona (aka S.G.) MacLean - the first in a series by the author of The Bookseller of Inverness, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

Here's the Goodread blurb:

Is the young man merely drunk or does his tottering walk suggest something more sinister? When he collapses in front of two sisters on that dark, wet night, they guess rightly that he's been murdered by poisoning. So begins this tale set in the town of Banff, Scotland in the 1620s.

Alexander Seaton is not the young man mentioned in the blurb, but he is the one that said young man reaches out to, imploring his help, and Alexander, to his great shame, ignores the plea for help.  That is just part of what he needs to redeem. Alexander has made some mistakes and had some bad luck, and is now a very educated man who cannot do the work he has felt called to do all his life, namely be a Presbyterian minister. 

I truly enjoyed traveling back to 1620s Scotland, during a witch-hunting phase, when invasion from France was highly likely, given the religious and political turmoil. Who knew that map-making could have such ominous overtones? The who-dunit part of the story was excellent--and the unfolding of the mystery was detailed and super interesting. 

It is a very detail-rich, historically satisfying novel. You can tell the author is writing of her homeland--she knows the landscape, the flora and fauna, the fog patterns (it is Scotland, after all!), and all the landmarks, natural and manmade. I also loved visiting the university in Aberdeen, Alexander's alma mater, with him, and hearing about his haunts and habits as a student.

Alexander is a very likeable protagonist--flawed but earnest, with a solid gold heart, and brains to boot. I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

Just read: God of the Woods, Dream Count, and another Birder Murder mystery

God of the Woods, by Liz Moore - I saw this book on so many blogs last year, and since I loved the premise, I fell for the hype. So glad I did because it was a fun book that kept me on the edge of my seat. 

Two children from the same wealthy family disappear 14 years apart from their parents' summer complex in the Adirondack mountains in upstate New York. The story alternates between the summer of 1975 when 14-year-old Barbara Van Laar disappears from the children's summer camp on the Van Laar preserve and the summer of 1961 when 8-year-old Bear Van Laar disappears from the preserve. 

The cast of characters include the weird Van Laar parents, both from moneyed backgrounds--Peter is a cold, controlling banker and Alice is a debutante who never grew a spine; wealthy friends of the parents, hardworking law enforcement, a convicted escaped rapist and serial killer, camp staff including the camp manager and groundskeeper, and town folk from the nearby blue-collar town of Shattuck, NY.. 

The resolutions for both disappearances were different than I expected and pretty interesting in themselves. I also thought the red herrings were terrific and really had me going down a variety of deadends. 

I almost had a problem with stereotypical characters, but Moore managed to step back from the stereotype and make them real. The 1970s she depicts in rural NY was not really recognizable to me--being a teen in Colorado in the 1970s, but I figured that had more to do with location and regional norms than authorial sloppiness. In other words, I enjoyed the story so much I gave the author some slack.

Has anyone read any of the other books by this author?

Dream Count, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - this was a five-star book for me. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer living in America. Alone in the midst of the pandemic, she recalls her past lovers and grapples with her choices and regrets. Zikora, her best friend, is a lawyer who has been successful at everything until—betrayed and brokenhearted—she must turn to the person she thought she needed least. Omelogor, Chiamaka’s bold, outspoken cousin, is a financial powerhouse in Nigeria who begins to question how well she knows herself. And Kadiatou, Chiamaka’s housekeeper, is proudly raising her daughter in America—but faces an unthinkable hardship that threatens all she has worked to achieve.

I really enjoyed reading about these four women from worlds that I know so little about. Even when they are in the U.S., their experiences, being international women of color, barely intersect with my own reality. However, Kadiatou's story is the most powerful and compelling. She tells of her life in Guinea--unlike the other three women, she is not born into a wealthy family--and so she must work from an early age. She immigrates to the U.S., helped by her fiancée, and it was fascinating and sobering to read about the immigrant experience. The other women were interesting to read about, but hers was the story I really cared about...and deeply.

The ending is probably one of the most satisfying endings to a story that I have read in a very long time. It is beautiful and hopeful, life-affirming but not sugar-coated. We all dream our own dreams and what is good or right or just for one person is not necessarily what another person wants.

Also, the Author's Note at the end is brilliant and definitely worth reading. She says this about stories:

Stories die and recede from collective memory merely for not having been told. Or a single version thrives because other versions are silenced. Imaginative retellings matter. Literature does truly instruct and delight—or at least it can. Literature keeps the faith and tells the story as reminder, as witness, as testament. Stories help us see ourselves and talk about ourselves. 

I also read but never blogged about the author's Americanah, which was also a 5-star book for me. 

A Foreboding of Petrels, by Steve Burrows - #7 in the wonderful birder murder mystery series, this one was particularly interesting as the murder took place at a research lab in Antarctica, so it was interesting to learn about life down there, the logistics and how to deal with the extreme conditions, etc while watching Dominic Jejune, chief detective, figure it all out while on required leave from his job.

This is such a good mystery series--chock full of interesting side characters--and set in the marshy eastern coast of England. Small town stuff, birding stuff, science stuff. All good!

Apart from Reading...

I've started ice skating again. I was practically born on skates--with a Canadian mother, there was really no choice. I speed skated until age 11, then shifted to figure skating through high school. And then, I stopped skating except very occasionally, sold my custom skates since they no longer fit, and didn't skate for about 20 years...while the body aged. I bought a pair of skates and have been four times in the last two weeks, with two of my adult kids, and am really enjoying the change of pace. As I say, I have the muscle memory...just not the muscles anymore. Pictures of me on the ice will not be forthcoming.

Finished season three of The Gilded Age and cannot wait until season 4 is released later this year. What an exceptionally good show. I loved everything about it. Will start current season of Bridgerton soon. 

Resumed watching Mad About You--Jamie and Paul are finally pregnant. I loved this show in the 1990's and am so impressed with all the great comedians that Paul Reiser induced to be on his show. We're talking Carl Reiner, Jerry Lewis, Mel Brooks, Stephen Wright, and I know Carol Burnett shows up as Jamie's mom later on.  And then, of course, there were the crossovers with other NBC shows: namely Friends and Seinfeld.

Set up to record the new Count of Monte Cristo on PBS, which starts on March 22. Gearing up to watch Death by Lightning about the assassination of President James Garfield.

Tried to watch How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, assuming it would be like Derry Girls, but too weird and spooky for me.

Watched the first two episodes of the rebooted Scrubs. Definitely a keeper!

Happy Spring! So glad we are back on daylight savings time--walks in the evening, reading on the back deck in the evening. Garden planning is underway.

Best wishes for a wonderful March full of good books!