Sundays in the Garden | The Nomadic Life Starts to Lose Its Shine

OUTSIDE and LIFE (because they are one and the same these days)

I ain't gonna lie.  It has been a very frustrating week in the field though I'll let you decide if that really would even register on the scale of bad.   I had to abort two surveys in the middle and take a 20 minute break in the middle of another because of weather and some bison that were feeling capricious.  I am down to the final ten days to get my field work done and deadlines and pressures back at the office are starting to mount.  I got a nasty-gram from the deputy head of the agency about something I hadn't done in the allotted time frame (because it requires a good bit of internet access and the time frame was established the day before I went into the field for 6 weeks with no internet).  Hence why I am back in civilization to spend a day in the office tomorrow. Yippee!  My job is awesome and I'm lucky to have it and have the opportunity to run around in the prairie as part of it so while I may whine a little I try not to really complain but the nomadic life?  I am done with thee!

I love blue flowers.

They're pretty.

I'm not sure if you can tell but it is raining where I am standing, taking the picture.  A mile to either side of where I was, it was blue skies with hardly a cloud. I paused my survey and just stood there for 15 minutes and got rained on while looking resentfully at the nearby blue sky. 

Is it just me or can anyone else imagine a hand rising from the lake holding an enchanted sword...

These are the bison.  They are standing right smack dab in the middle of my survey parcel looking at me nervously. For good measure, the herd was split and the other half was lounging right in the way of the survey parcel's exit.  That, along with a brisker wind than I was expecting, scuppered my survey ambitions for today:(.  

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Watching

Nada.  The thing I am most looking forward to when I am done with my field work is binge watching season 4 of Longmire on Netflix!

Reading 

Finished Last Week:

• Abarat by Clive Barker:  It reminded me a lot of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland... which in turn reminded me of Alice in Wonderland.  Fun, strange book though it lacked something...forward momentum perhaps...which kept me from loving it.
• A Kiss for Midwinter by Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister 1.5):  A novella in this romance series that tells the story of Minnie's best friend Lucy Charingford. It was okay.
• Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor:  I loved this middle-grade/ YA novel that takes place in Nigeria and am super excited that it is the first in a series!  Not that I need to get sucked into any more series...
• The Interrupted Tale (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #4) by Maryrose Wood: This series, ya'll!  I seriously can't imagine anything more charming and delightful than it!  It's middle grade fiction about three children raised by wolves and their plucky governess.  The audio read by Katherine Kellgren is the best thing ever.
• The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black:  I liked this book a LOT more than I was expecting to - it was fantastic!  

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.
• 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.
• Unfinished Business: Women, Men, Work, Family by Anne-Marie Slaughter:  This is a non-fiction ARC addressing work-life balance and feminism.  
• This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart:   I had only ever read Stewart's Arthurian novels.  This is romantic suspense and I have gobbled it up.  
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling:  Re-read:)

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

SUNDAY: Seventh Longmire post featuring the last 5 episodes of Season 3!  Bring on Season 4!
TUESDAY: Review of Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
THURSDAY: Review of The Duchess War by Courtney Milan

On the BLOG NEXT WEEK:

This week is up in the air as I expect only to be in internet land for a short time but that could change. 

May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.

- Irish Blessing