Review of Three Junes, by Julia Glass
In Three Junes, winner of the National Book Award in 2002, Julia Glass has published an excellent study of a family, of three sons, one of the sons a homosexual, and their relationship with their parents. The father, after the death of his wife, a fanatical pet lover, also finds a new and younger love and his relationship with this woman is explored. The gay brother has his own relationships which are depicted well and with an attention to detail. The places of the book, Greece, Scotland, and New York City are entrancing and kept me reading. It’s a character study, not an adventure yarn, but you should make room for it.
virginia on 11.21.05 @ 02:35 PM EST [link]
Review of The Great Marsh, An Intimate Journey into a Chesapeake Wetland
I highly recommend The Great Marsh, An Intimate Journey into a Chesapeake Wetland, by David W. Harp and Tom Horton, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002, for a fascinating photographic visit to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Some of the pictures that I found particularly interesting were the aerial views of the waterways, the close-up shots of the denizen animals and the faces of the human inhabitants. The gnarled hands of a waterman working the steering lever of his boat as he patrolled for blue crabs and the determined expression of a young girl as she assisted her father in setting muskrat traps are two of the images that linger in one’s mind as representative of this special place. All in all though, the natural beauty of the wetland is the real star of this book.
dhh on 11.21.05 @ 02:33 PM EST [link]
How's Your Weather? (Where to place your birdbath in your yard)
The other day I came across an excellent article, which I refer to you. Have you ever wondered where the best place in your backyard might be to place a birdfeeder or a birdbath? Certainly we all have our preferences but have we ever looked at the problem with a scientific understanding of weather? In the piece “How’s your weather” in the booklet by Sunset, Great Patios and Decks, Sunset Books, 2000, the developmental editor Linda Selden gives us some ideas. As she writes, the site’s exposure to sun, wind, rain and snow can limit the appeal to humans, and if I can add, to wildlife. Microclimates can be caused by these factors. The sun’s rays strike the yard at “predictable” times during the year. Wind can be determined by studying “annual prevailing winds, seasonal breezes, and stormy blasts". A study of the wind currents can tell you where you might need shelter or where the area is sheltered. Also, you may want to locate the feeder where it gets less of the storm blast. Cold spots, which aren’t any more hospitable to wildlife than they are to humans, also occur where the “air puddles in basins” as it flows downhill. Remember, hot goes up and cold goes down.
dhh on 11.21.05 @ 02:30 PM EST [link]
