Sparrows

Often there are so many birds — sparrows, mostly — in the bushes that the rustling of their flitting about sounds like a much larger animal rattling about in there. It can sound downright alarming if you don’t see them. Then I look up through the branches of my little viburnum, and there they are […]

Pea is for Progress

Oh my! The foolish, brave little pea is making a peapod. Aww. So sweet.

Re:Think Like A Dinosaur

When I first read “Think Like A Dinosaur,” by James Patrick Kelly, and put the book down, all I could think was, Wow. What a wrenching story.

Re: Faith

If you’re a big enough gardening geek to know who Luther Burbank was, you might like “Faith,” by James Patrick Kelly. Or you might be in the mood for a nerdy love story. I just liked the way the title character, Faith, flings a Stephen King book at the floozy in her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s car, putting […]

The cleanup continues

Raking and sweeping and bagging. Raking and sweeping and bagging. There was a bit of frost on the hill this morning. It’s a warning. Time is running out to get the fall cleanup done. And it’s a warning to turn off the outside tap and open the hose. But it’s an opportunity, also, to sink […]

Re: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Unlike yesterday, I only found metaphorical spiders in “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” by James Patrick Kelly. Oh, sure, this spider seems cute, but by the time you reach the singing, the story has taken you to uncomfortable places.

Orb Weaver

I can’t say I think they’re as cute as bees or ladybugs, but I approve of spiders. I approve of the beautiful marbling on this Cross Orb Weaver I found on a recent sunny day. I approve of her broad, round web. And I approve of her hard work, still catching fat juicy flies. Yum?

One bed squared away

Now I’m falling behind on getteng the yard cleaned up. I’ve got exactly one patch weeded, and covered with compost. You can’t see them, but the upper right corner also has 20 slivers of garlic planted from the cores of a couple heads of garlic. That one leek is the last of a batch I […]

Earthworm’s pantry

I like seeing the earthworms in the ground; it tells me that the soil is good and nutritious for nightcrawlers. It’s getting cold and wet (very wet, today) but lots of leaves are covering the ground. the organisms that break down the leaves are good eats if you’re a worm. So it’s stocking up for […]

Re: How High the Moon

“How High the Moon,” by Patrick Lundrigan is a charming story in which a couple argue over who is a robot and who programmed whom. It sounds almost like a game they’re playing with each other. But if one of them really is a robot, maybe they’re programmed to say that. Shades of Blade Runner.