Hawk

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Justin got those pictures of a hawk resting in the shade of our old chicken house. 

It seemed disinclined to move and I contacted Connie, my bird expert neighbor. She said it might be resting in the shade (it's very hot here today) or digesting a big meal or, worst case, feeling the effects of eating a poisoned rodent.

Connie also said she couldn't be sure from the picture  sent her if it's a Red-Tailed (look for red on the tail feathers) or a Broad -Winged Hawk (look for white on the breast,)

We'll try to keep an eye on the critter. Connie also gave a number to call for a rehab group.

Update: As of Friday morning, the hawk is gone. And not lying on the ground, thank goodness. So it must have been the heat or a big meal.

 

Some Neighbors

These are all at a distance, testing the modest limits of my camera's lens. But I caught the elusive Scarlet Tanager again, as well as a not very elusive Blue Jay.

The little jungle of trees at the foot of our yard seems to be a popular hangout.

There's a Downy Woodpecker . . .

And a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, both frequent customers at our suet feeder.

Excellent neighbors, all of them!

                                                                     

Just Breathing

 

Dear Sirs

 Where even to begin? My concerns are legion.

  First of all, the SAVE act is not only unnecessary as the number of illegal voters is vanishingly low and the act would encumber many citizens, mostly women whose married names differ from their birth certificates. This act is yet another blatant attempt by this regime and your president to remove legitimate voters from the rolls.

Secondly, it is deplorable that this corrupt regime panders to big business and big oil by erasing environmental protections for endangered species.

Thirdly, the weaponization of the (so-called) Justice Department against journalists is the mark of a dictatorship. 

The ongoing abuses by ICE must be stopped and the murderers brought to trial.

The Epstein Files are still not released in un-redacted form.

The mind-boggling corruption and self-dealing of this administration are a stain on our country. 

The same administration that pardoned the violent rioters of January 6 has had people arrested for touching the Reflecting Pool. 

And the on-going destruction of the White House and the Mao-style banners in DC are a disgrace.

How blind/corrupt/self-interested must a Congressperson be to condone all these things?

Where Would You Go?

                                                            

This was a fun read for a bookworm such as myself. Quinn describes a magical library that will allow a person in need of escape to enter the world of a book. Not, I hasten to add, to become one of the existing characters and a part of the story, rather to become a character who fits into that world.

For example, one person who loved the Sherlock Holmes stories becomes Mrs. Hudson's niece and spend a lot of time in the kitchen (and, surprisingly, in a 'friends with benefits' relationship with the sleuth himself.)

As I said, a fun read. A little more chick lit-ish than my usual reading but the premise absolutely captures me and got me to wondering which book world I'd choose to live in.

It's a lot to ponder. I spend a lot of time re-reading favorite books--like Jane Austen and P.G. Wodehouse. But much as I enjoy these worlds, I wouldn't choose either--the constraints on women in Austen's world make it a no go, and while I adore the utter silliness of Wodehouse's characters and would like to spend time at Blandings Castle, it's all too two-dimensional to imagine actually living there.

The Aubrey-Maturin books have absorbed me for many hours (I've read/listened to them half a dozen times), but the reality of woman's lot in those times, just  as with Austen, makes it unappealing for an actual escape.

What about the Narnia books? I ponder. Old and dear friends, a mostly happy world . . . could be a possibility.  I'd probably pick The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and hope to be a minor character on board the ship.

I've imagined myself in many favorite books--like Sayers' Gaudy Night, Pratchett's Wee Free Men, Benson's Lucia books, Alcott's Eight Cousins, Wright's Islandia, White's Once and Future King . . .

There's almost always a drawback--burdensome clothing, a manifestly unequal society, lack of sanitation. I'm drawn to English books set between the two world wars--but would I, as a minor character in one of these books, know what lay ahead?

I find it an interesting mental exercise. Of course, Quinn's premise was that people were attempting to escape bad personal situations. And I'm not. But if I were. I might be tempted to escape into one of my own books and spend some time with Miss Birdie and Elizabeth, hoping not to get involved in a murder. And hoping that in their world, DJT is just a washed-up reality show host.

What book worlds would you consider escaping to?

The High Sheriff -- a repost

 

When we first moved to the mountains, I was charmed with the many unusual and antique turns of speech I heard from our older neighbors. "High Sheriff' was one of these, immediately reminding me of Robin Hood's evil nemesis -- The High Sheriff of Nottingham.  

  

Some states actually have High Sheriffs (usually the head sheriff in the state) and in England it is a ceremonial position. But as far as I can tell, in North Carolina it's not an official title -- just one used by the older people. Maybe a survival from earlier days in England or Scotland? I don't know.  But it's still heard now and again.

The word "sheriff" itself is a contraction of the term "shire reeve" -- a position that predates the Norman Conquest (1066). ( Remember the Reeve in The Canterbury Tales?)  The shire reeve was charged  with keeping the peace  throughout a shire or county on behalf of the king.

The mission is much the same today -- keeping the peace.

 The picture below from the early Twenties is 'High Sheriff'  Jesse James Bailey -- shown here with a mountain of seized moonshine stills. The Madison County Courthouse is in the background.

^{Not so much moonshine these days -- meth and marijuana are the illicit substances that today's high sheriff has to worry about.}

Odds and Ends

 

The Creek, The Crone, and the Crow

 I had a lovely visit recently from Leah Weiss, a fellow Appalachian author. She brought me a copy of her recently released novel, as well as some beautiful honey, courtesy of her bee-keeper husband. 

The novel is a heady brew of Appalachian folklore, strong women, and a good bit of magic realism--or woo-woo, as my husband calls it.

It's quite a good read on its own, but folks who enjoyed Leah's first two books--If the Creek Don't Rise and All the Little Hopes -- will find even more to love as familiar characters appear in a new light.

Witches, psychics, hidden secrets, wrongs righted--all make for an absorbing quick-paced story.

For the Birds

 

Still Dancing

I had never seen a fuchsia till we moved to the mountains. My old college friend Vicky Owen had one on her porch--creamy outer petals with a fuchsia colored center. It seemed to epitomize the beauty all around us-- wild day lilies, roses, honeysuckle, and a mimosa tree by their porch, covered in pink powder-puff blooms and swarming with humming birds.

That was the beginning of my love affair with fuchsias, those little ballerina-like flowers. In the early years I bought them hopefully and enjoyed them briefly only to watch them to succumb to drought, white fly, cold, and who knows what all.

For the past several years, Justin and Claui have been giving me big, beautiful fuchsia hanging baskets for Mothers Day and, at the risk of jinxing myself, I think I've found how to keep them alive.

Summer heat is deadly. I hang mine where they get morning sun only and then I water them every day, soaking the soil and wetting the foliage. Sometimes twice a day if they look wilty.

Come cold weather, I put them in my little unheated (we put in a space heater if the temps drop to freezing) greenhouse, up high and away from sunlight. and continue to keep them watered--though only when they dry out. 

Mostly they survive and are blooming right now. I even had luck with rooting a few cuttings. Oh, the joy!

 

The Other Bennet Sister

                                                  

Yes, I know it's a series, streaming on Britbox and Amazon Prime, but I haven't watched it. I have, however, just finished the novel and that's what I'm here to talk about.

I am a serious fan of Jane Austen and have read and reread her works many times, especially Pride and Prejudice. And I have had a fling at various Austen pastiches, some more successful than others but none, in my opinion, as well done and satisfying as Hadlow's imagining of poor, pedantic Mary, the ugly duckling amongst the better favored Bennet girls.

In Austen's telling, Mary is a little ridiculous, the victim of the author's sharp wit. Hadlow approaches Mary sympathetically, exploring the causes of her rather off-putting manner. 

Hadlow often pulls quotes from P & P, which, for me, increased the enjoyment--like coming unexpectedly upon an old friend. And we learn much more about the smarmy Mr. Collins, his wife Charlotte, and the estimable Gardiners.

Like Austen, Hadlow brings her story and her heroine to a not-unexpected conclusion. No matter, it's the journey there that I enjoyed.

Maybe I'll take a look at the series . . .

Random July Blessings

                                                      

 

And Another Thing or Two

 I had meant yesterday's post to be a shout-out to some folks who make me hopeful for the future of our nation, but started with Major Watson and then got sidetracked by the Declaration of Independence.

So here, in no particular order and by no means complete, is my list.

Major Jason Waters

Jack Smith

Heather Cox Richardson

Heather Delaney Reese

The Obamas 

Zohran Mamdani

Pope Leo

The Mount Olive Pickle company

And all the folks who continue to speak out, in whatever way, large or small, against hate and injustice.