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Poetry Sunday: St. Patrick's Day: With an Irish Shamrock by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all who celebrate it...and even those who don't! And here's a poem for you from almost a hundred years ago in honor of this day. St. Patrick's Day: With an Irish Shamrock by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna From the region of zephyrs, the Emerald isle, The land of thy birth, in my freshness I come, To waken this long-cherished morn with a smile,      And breathe o’er thy spirit the whispers of home. O welcome the stranger from Erin’s green sod;   I sprang where the bones of thy fathers repose, I grew where thy free step in infancy trod,   Ere the world threw around thee its wiles and its woes.          But sprightlier themes          Enliven the dreams, My dew-dropping leaflets unfold to impart:          To loftiest emotion          Of patriot devotion, I wake the full chord of an Irishman’s heart. The rose is expanding her petals of pride,      And points to the laurels o’erarching her tree; And the hardy Bur-thistle stands rooted beside,     

This week in birds - #583

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  A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : An American Goldfinch has a snack of crape myrtle seeds. *~*~*~* You are not imagining it; winters are getting warmer . It's true of the oceans as well where the Great Barrier Reef has suffered a fatal heat wave . *~*~*~* Humans share many characteristics with whales. It turns out that one of the things we share is menopause. *~*~*~* For the first time in its documented history, Toronto has a pair of Bald Eagles nesting there. *~*~*~* Size dimorphism of the sexes is a common trait of mammals but it isn't always the males that are bigger. *~*~*~* Plant hardiness zones are changing as the climate changes. *~*~*~* When England's famed "Sycamore Gap" tree was chopped down by vandals, scientists sprung into action to try to ensure that the tree would have a second life. *~*~*~* The Biden administration has issued a draft proposal to provide protections for the imperiled  Greater Sage Grouse . *~*~

Poetry Sunday: A March Glee by John Burroughs

The birds are definitely sensing the coming of spring. I see them busily searching out nesting sites and nesting materials. I hear them staking out their territories with song. The bluebirds are checking out the nesting box and I hope it will soon be occupied. Yes, spring is surely coming; "her couriers fill the air."  A March Glee by John Burroughs I hear the wild geese honking From out the misty night,— A sound of moving armies On-sweeping in their might; The river ice is drifting Beneath their northward flight. I hear the bluebird plaintive From out the morning sky, Or see his wings a-twinkle That with the azure vie; No other bird more welcome, No more prophetic cry. I hear the sparrow's ditty Anear my study door; A simple song of gladness That winter days are o'er My heart is singing with him, I love him more and more. I hear the starling fluting His liquid "O-ka-lee;" I hear the downy drumming, His vernal reveillé; From out the maple orchard The nuthatc

This week in birds - #582

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A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment :  A male Belted Kingfisher enjoying a sunny day by the creek. *~*~*~* Texas has been scorched by the largest recorded wildfire in its history. It almost certainly will not be the last .  *~*~*~* Last month was the hottest February on record , thanks largely to global warming. Not only was the month record-setting but it was the ninth straight record-setting month. *~*~*~* And there's more to come.  El Niño is likely to supercharge global heating and deliver record-breaking temperatures from the Amazon to Alaska in 2024. *~*~*~* The last living member of Edmund Hillary's Mount Everest team says the once pristine mountain is now too crowded and dirty . *~*~*~* Gray whales became extinct in the Atlantic Ocean two centuries ago but now they are back , likely thanks to climate change. *~*~*~* Was the mosasaur the world's nastiest prehistoric reptile ? *~*~*~* Sadly, Flaco the Eurasian Eagle-owl that escaped fro

Poetry Sunday: Spring and All by William Carlos Williams

William Carlos Williams was an American poet who lived from 1883 until 1963. He was a practicing physician. That's how he made his living. But poetry was his second job and his joy. Here is one of his poems. Spring and All by William Carlos Williams By the road to the contagious hospital under the surge of the blue mottled clouds driven from the northeast-a cold wind. Beyond, the waste of broad, muddy fields brown with dried weeds, standing and fallen patches of standing water the scattering of tall trees All along the road the reddish purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy stuff of bushes and small trees with dead, brown leaves under them leafless vines— Lifeless in appearance, sluggish dazed spring approaches— They enter the new world naked, cold, uncertain of all save that they enter. All about them the cold, familiar wind— Now the grass, tomorrow the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf One by one objects are defined— It quickens: clarity, outline of leaf But now the stark dignity of en

Apology

My apologies to "This week in birds" readers. No post this week. I hope to get back to my regular schedule next week. Thank you for your patience.

Desert God by Wilbur Smith: A review

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  I finished reading this one on January 30 so let me just think what I can remember of the plot. Hmm...not much. But I will try to at least give you a brief summary. Well, it's a novel of ancient Egypt. It says so right there on the cover. The main character is Taita, a slave. He is a eunuch because, apparently, that was a requirement for male slaves. He has in his care two princesses whom he always refers to as "my princesses." Taita, as he will readily tell you, is very, very good at everything he does, especially warfare, languages, and games. Moreover, he is much appreciated and admired for his many talents. (This assessment, again, is according to him.) The other characters in this tale are all essentially stick figures. We never get to know them very well. There was one character, in particular, who I found interesting and who seemed to have the potential to add depth to the story. Her name was Loxias. She was a Greek girl who became a tutor for the princesses. But