Another week in the wilds of western Iowa is done and I'm back in the cozy arms of my home for a short break. It was hot as snot most of the week and last weekend was plagued by Armageddon-like fog but I did stop and enjoy many wonders.
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| Many folks don't realize that grass has flowers with petals. This is Indian Grass in bloom. |
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| The prairie is full of these crab spiders in a wide array of colors that blend in with a flower to sit and wait for some poor nectar gatherer to come along. |
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| Hummingbird Moth! |
It's Labor Day weekend here in the U.S. and I'm taking a breather from field work to spend a few days at home. One of the motivators was that this weekend is the Des Moines Kennel Club Dog Show. Through the blog, I don't know if you have picked up on the fact that I am a serious dog nut. Besides having two myself, I own at least two picture books on dog breeds and can identify most breeds at 20 paces. If I am ever called upon to do a survey of dogs inhabiting a particular area, that's going to be a piece of cake:). (Dang it, now I want cake). Anyhow, as a young person I made a list of all the dogs breeds I'd like to have as companions at some point in my life and one of the saddest things about getting older is I realize a) I'm running out of time! and b) because my preferences run to the-larger-and-hairier-the-better, my actual physical ability to manage such dogs is quickly diminishing. Oh, to win the lottery so I can buy my hobby farm today.
So what's on my list?
(this is a rare breed, difficult to find puppies)
(NO Cropped Ears!)
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| This woman says she gathers the undercoat and weaves it! |
(of course)
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| The Glamor Dogs from the show. |
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| My goofy Jasper |
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| My goofy Rudy |
And then of course I always want to have at least one rescue/shelter dog. My two boys are from a local Golden Retriever rescue organization. So yeah. I like dogs. How about you? Do you have any groups of a animals you have obsessive interest in/knowledge of? Do you have any pets? Do you have a favorite breed? Yes, Heinz 57 counts;)!
Finally, this is happening in my little town right now:
READING, WATCHING and BLOGGING
Watching
I'm not watching much of anything these days, being out in the sticks, BUT I am SO flippin' excited about the 4th season of Longmire being released on Netflix Sept. 10!! I am also flippin' mad that I will not be anywhere near an internet connection on that date! I'll probably gabble about this a bit on my season 3 wrap up post tomorrow but in the meantime here's the season 4 trailer!
Reading
A few weeks ago I posted a stack of awesome YA audiobooks I got from the library in preparation for being on the road a ton. I'm almost done with all those - I only have 1.5 to go! So I went and got another awesome stack:). I am really trying to make some progress on series of which I am in the middle!
I'm finally continuing on with my Harry Potter re-read. I had stalled for a bit because I couldn't find Goblet of Fire with the other HP audios (in juvenile fiction) at the library and I illogically just assumed it was always checked out. Come to find out, from Goblet of Fire on up in the series, the books are shelved under YA instead of juvenile fiction. I had this revelation while reading the first three books, that J.K. was brilliant to kind of mature her books and their content with her characters. Apparently it's like an established, official thing and I'm a slow revelator:).
SUNDAY: Sixth Longmire post featuring the first 5 episodes of Season 3!
WEDNESDAY: A Liebster Award post! Thanks to Rebekah at Wordsmithing and Worldbuilding for tagging me!
FRIDAY: Review of Ghost Story by Jim Butcher.
Beyond that I hope to write and schedule some reviews but not sure what yet.
A few weeks ago I posted a stack of awesome YA audiobooks I got from the library in preparation for being on the road a ton. I'm almost done with all those - I only have 1.5 to go! So I went and got another awesome stack:). I am really trying to make some progress on series of which I am in the middle!
Finished (in the) Last Week (and a half):
- Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone: Despite my real misgivings about the number of series I'm in the middle of, I picked up a new one. It was great but I feel in love with Tara and looking at how this series works I doubt I will ever see her again:(.
- The Duchess War by Courtney Milan: This is a historical romance novelist that I've heard great things about. This is my second book by her and while I totally get all the praise, her books and I aren't really getting along.
- Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier: I actually read the second book in this series first (horrors!) while I was out in the wilds last year so it seemed appropriate to pick up book one this year while out in the wilds.
- Doctor Who: The Art of Destruction: This was only a 2.5 hour audio so very quick listen.
- One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MaClean: This was another re-read prompted by my recent Sara MacLean post. It held up and maybe got better with a re-read.
Currently Reading:
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: So maybe some day I'll pick this up again? Until then it will sit here on the currently read and look encouraging.
- The Founding (The Morland Dynasty #1) by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles: This is the first book in a series that follows a single British family through numerous generations into modern times. This first book takes place in the early 15th century. This is such a fascinating idea and I have high hopes but I have to say the characters in this first book are shallow and are doing nothing for me. I made some progress this week in this book!
- Of Noble Birth by Brenda Novak: Despite the presence of pirates it is not making me happy mostly because of deficient humor and boring main characters. I also made some progress in this one which I had kind of been avoiding.
- Unfinished Business: Women, Men, Work, Family by Anne-Marie Slaughter: This is a non-fiction ARC addressing work-life balance and feminism.
- Abarat by Clive Barker: Reminding me a lot of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland... which in turn reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. Fun, strange book.
On the BLOG LAST WEEK:
FRIDAY: Sarah MacLean-apalooza | Three Books, Many Thoughts. I think I have found my favorite historical romance writer!SUNDAY: Sixth Longmire post featuring the first 5 episodes of Season 3!
WEDNESDAY: A Liebster Award post! Thanks to Rebekah at Wordsmithing and Worldbuilding for tagging me!
FRIDAY: Review of Ghost Story by Jim Butcher.
On the BLOG NEXT WEEK:
SUNDAY: Final Longmire post covering season 1-3. This will be about the last 5 episodes of season 3 and speculate a little on season 4.Beyond that I hope to write and schedule some reviews but not sure what yet.
Hope everyone is having a peaceful and fun weekend!
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