What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies: A review

 

What's Bred in the Bone is actually the second book in a trilogy by Canadian author Robertson Davies, but it was recommended to me as a standalone and indeed it is a book that I had long intended to read. I found that it works perfectly well as a standalone and that it was a very enjoyable read.

Francis Cornish is dead when we first hear of him. We hear of him as three trustees of his estate gather to discuss a biography of Francis that one of them, Simon Darcourt, has been commissioned to write. The other two trustees are Maria Theotoky and Arthur Cornish, Francis's nephew. Maria and Arthur founded the Cornish Foundation, a benevolent body meant to advocate artistic patronage. The biography was the initial work commissioned by the foundation, but Darcourt reports that there is a problem; he has been able to uncover too few facts of Cornish's life to write a comprehensive biography of him, but what he has discovered leads him to suspect that there was much more to that life that he has been unable to track down. He is stymied in his research and does not know how to proceed.

And that might be the end of it but fortunately for the reader, there are two supernatural beings hovering over the scene. The beings are a minor angel of biography called the Lesser Zadkiel and Francis's own personal daimon called Maimas who guided and watched over him throughout his life. These two know all about Francis Cornish's life and they are ready to dish. 

From them, we learn all about his beginnings and the opposite elements that shaped his childhood and were the source of the dichotomies that were evident throughout his adult life. His father was a Protestant from a distinguished family in Cornwall, England. His mother was from a devout French Canadian Catholic family that became rich and powerful through the timber industry. The values represented by these two families warred for supremacy in the adult Francis. (It is possible, as I read in researching this book, that Davies also meant this contrast as an emblem of the forces that contest for ascendancy in the Canadian national identity.)  

Francis was born in the remote Canadian hamlet of Blairlogie, a "jumping off point" as it was called. He later was educated in Toronto and then Oxford. While he was at Oxford, things were beginning to heat up again in Europe. This was in the '20s and '30s but Francis was essentially oblivious to politics; he was consumed with a passion for art. 

He had a talent for drawing and he came to the attention of an artist and art restorer/forger. After Oxford, he went to Italy with this artist and served a kind of apprenticeship with him for several years. During this time, he learned to create art in the manner of old masters of 16th-century painting. He learned so well that a couple of his works passed inspection by art experts and were believed by them to be actual works from that period. But that was much later.

Francis became an undercover agent and aided the allies in World War II. He fell in love with a woman who also served in such a capacity and he lost her - the only woman he would ever truly love - in the bombing of London. He helped to save artworks from the grasp of the Nazis and after the war, he helped to authenticate artworks and ensure they were returned to their rightful owners where possible. As a result of his work, his international renown as an art expert grew. Once back in Canada to handle his family's estates, he began his extraordinary collection of art and campaigned for the museums of the country to obtain top-quality works. 

Throughout Cornish's life, he was strongly influenced by his associations in Blairlogie, particularly that of Zadok Hoyle, an embalmer/bootlegger who helped to show Francis the beauty of the human body and to instill a reverence for it. It was in watching Zadok at work that Francis learned to draw the human body. The strongest parts of Davies's book for me were in these descriptions of his protagonist's early life and influences. After he got out of Blairlogie, in the middle part of the book, the narrative became quite wordy and the action slowed as there are long conversations where my eyes glazed over just a bit. In the latter part of the book, the action picks up again and carries us to a satisfying conclusion. 

I saw one description of Davies's writing of this book as part Trollope, part Samuel Johnson, and part Nabokov. That's quite a combination and I would say that it is not inaccurate. The book is an impressive expression of the author's views on life and art, and in Francis Cornish, he has created a memorable character who embodies and explicates these views. Francis is compelling in the variety and pathos of his life, even as much of that life remained hidden from the view of the world. I pity Simon Darcourt in trying to capture it without the aid of the angel and the daimon. 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris: A review

 

Harris' book begins as a straightforward literary fiction telling of the systemic racism that is inherent in the publishing industry in this country. The protagonist, Nella Rogers, is a young Black woman who works as an editorial assistant to a demanding White woman editor at Wagner Books in Manhattan. Nella is very ambitious and longs to advance to being an editor, but upward mobility seems very limited with her employer. Add to that the fact that Nella is the only Black person employed in the mid- to upper levels of the company; the only other Black employees work in the janitorial or mail departments. Her position seems fraught with expectations as to her "representing" Black people and at the same time, any weakness or perceived error is magnified. A "perceived error" as when Nella speaks frankly in a conference with her editor and one of the firm's most successful writers, an older White man, about the main character in his new book. The character is a Black woman and she is a "collection of tropes...all the unflattering ones." In fact, Shartricia (for that is the name he gives her) is an excellent example of every derogatory stereotype ever imposed on Black women by the dominant White culture. Nella's boss and the author are shocked and angry at her criticism.

So, shortly thereafter, when another young Black woman named Hazel-May McCall is hired as an editorial assistant for another editor, Nella is thrilled. At last, she feels she will have an ally at Wagner Books, someone she can talk with, commiserate with, someone who will understand and relate to her life. Her joy is short-lived, however. Soon, she begins to suspect that Hazel is undercutting her in order to advance herself. Hazel, for example, puts a more positive spin on the book that Nella had criticized, much to the delight of Nella's boss. Hazel's influence grows as Nella seems to fade into the background in spite of all her hard work. And then the threatening notes start appearing.

The notes turn up on Nella's desk or in her portfolio and their basic message is that she should leave Wagner Books now! It is dangerous for her to stay there. Of course, Nella does not report the notes to HR or to the police or to her boss. She does tell her best friend and she tells Hazel. And somehow after that, word does get around to the president of the company who confronts Nella and assures her that she is appreciated and that he has her back. Nella is not pleased that he knows or that he seems quite close with Hazel, who she is beginning to suspect is her enemy and may even be the one leaving the notes.

What had been straightforward literary fiction now becomes a mystery-thriller. The twisty turns keep coming and it begins to take on aspects of the horror genre, sprinkled with more than a little magical realism. And the ending? Well, sci-fi maybe? So which section should this book be filed in? Fortunately, that's a question for librarians and not for me.

Harris is very good at delineating the experience of working in an office in close quarters with other human beings. She gives full rein to the everyday grievances and tensions and she does not even spare us the odors, from stomach-turning food smells to people's farts - it's all here in glorious detail and is, in my opinion, one of the strengths of the book. And, of course, there are the hair odors, particularly cocoa butter, which it seems is a staple of Black hair care. This book contains more about the different types of Black hair and their care than I, frankly, ever knew existed. I knew that Black hair is fragile and requires special care, but that was the extent of my knowledge. I resorted to Google frequently to explain to me what 4A, 4B, 4C, etc. hair types were and how they related to different hairstyles. A Black woman reading this book would probably understand the nuances immediately and feel a connection to the narrative. For the rest of us, all of this was a revelation.

I was less enamored of Harris' genre-bending switching of styles in the book. I found it all a bit disorienting and I generally don't like being disoriented. I like the author to pick a style and stick with it. Overall, the book was saved for me by its sense of humor which seemed to say, "Yes, this is a serious subject, but you don't have to take everything quite so seriously!"        

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Poetry Sunday: This Is How It Will Be by Barbara Quick

Today is my husband's and my wedding anniversary. I won't say which one; no need to age us any more than necessary, but where did all those years go? It seems like only yesterday...

A friend of mine died last week. He and his wife had been together for sixty years. Sixty years! My husband and I are not quite there yet but we have a couple of legs up on it. 

All of this was on my mind when I read this poem last week. It always surprises me how just the right poem seems to find me to express what I'm thinking.

This Is How It Will Be

by Barbara Quick

You’d already said goodbye,
but I wasn’t sure you were already gone.

Emerging from the bathroom, I called your name,
wanting to know if you’d read the news item
about the two women who got lost in the woods,
then were rescued and driven to their car,
then drove their car down a boat ramp in the fog,
at the bottom of a dead-end road—
and drowned.

“Honey?” I called, realizing
I was alone in the house.
Realizing that this is how it’ll be,
for one or the other of us, someday:
Something that wants to be shared
will be unheard.

This week in birds - #456

 A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:

A Common Nighthawk with eyes closed rests on a post at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge on the Texas Coast. This area is often a rest stop on their flight from their winter to summer homes.

*~*~*~*

Once again we are seeing unexplained deaths of birds over several states of the South and Midwest. The victims suffer from crusty eyes, swollen faces, and an inability to fly. Scientists have so far not been able to identify the illness or determine its source. 

*~*~*~*

We are in the midst of Pollinator Week, June 21-27, and the Pollinator Partnership has several recommendations for assisting these vital partners in our existence on this planet.

*~*~*~*

California is on the front line of suffering from the effects of climate change, and as such a large and diverse state, it has an outsized ability to affect and help shape worldwide diversity policy. 

*~*~*~*

We tend to think of dinosaurs as wandering over dry savannahs and munching tropical leaves, but recent finds indicate that this is not a full picture of their time on the planet. Baby dinosaur "microfossils" discovered in Alaska show that at least some of the critters were able to survive in colder and less salubrious climates.

*~*~*~*

According to campaigners and conservationists who are trying to stop it, a massive new oilfield planned for one of Africa's great wilderness areas would devastate regional ecosystems and wildlife as well as local communities. The oilfield would stretch across Namibia and Botswana and would be yet another threat to the population of elephants in the area that have already suffered from a series of mysterious deaths in the past year. 

*~*~*~*

After a forest burns, the resulting erosion can contaminate supplies of drinking water for up to a decade, creating a potentially large and long-term problem for hundreds of thousands of people who may live far from the site of the actual fire.

*~*~*~*

As sea levels rise, the Florida Keys are faced with an unthinkable reality: They will be slowly overwhelmed by the water and not everything or every house can be saved. Hard, almost unimaginable decisions will have to be made. 

*~*~*~*

A heretofore unknown branch of the human family tree has been discovered in China. A superbly preserved fossil head that had been wrapped and hidden in a well for 85 years is said to be from a previously unknown group that is more closely related to modern humans than Neanderthals. The species has been named Homo longi by researchers and given the nickname "Dragon Man." However, not all scientists are convinced about the designation.

*~*~*~*

A disagreement has arisen between the U.N. and Australia in regard to the condition of the Great Barrier Reef. The U.N. through UNESCO says that the reef is in great danger and it has called upon the government of Australia to mitigate the effects of climate change on the natural wonder. Australia argues that it is already doing enough to protect one of its great tourist attractions.

*~*~*~*

The herd of Asian elephants that have been trekking across the province of Yunnan in China for the past year has captured the attention of the internet and they have become stars in China where people eagerly follow videos of their escapades. Their adventurous migration has been a welcome relief to the drudgery of the workaday world.

*~*~*~*

The Limetree Bay oil refinery in St. Croix is apparently absconding from the island after facing millions of unpaid bills and lawsuits resulting from catastrophic errors that have caused pollution and raised fears of homeowners that their water is laced with toxic chemicals. The refinery has announced a cessation of operations.

*~*~*~*

Deveaux Island is a small spit of land off the coast of South Carolina. It covers about 250 acres and is a haven and rest stop for tens of thousands of birds, particularly shorebirds. Most of the 57 coastal water species that the state has designated as of "greatest conservation need" are found on the island. And, of course, the island itself is threatened by human activity. 

*~*~*~*

A basic tenet of global warming has been that the warming would increase humidity since hotter air holds more water. But it doesn't seem to be working that way in the Southwest. The area is actually getting drier and that is not good news for the fire season.

*~*~*~*

You can add this one to that bulging file labeled "Unintended Consequences." Tasmanian devils are an endangered species, and they were introduced to Maria Island east of Tasmania to safeguard their numbers. But now the devils are decimating the population of Little Penguins as well as other birdlife native to the island.

*~*~*~*

Salamanders are moisture-loving animals that you might expect would have trouble adapting to a world that is heating up, but you might be wrong. It seems that at least some salamanders are able to make the transition to a drier world by changing from a creature that lives in or near water to one that is comfortable on dry land. 

*~*~*~*

The buffy-headed marmosets of Brazil are facing challenges to their continued existence from many fronts. They are threatened by disease, invasive species, and loss of habitat, but we still have an opportunity to save them. 

*~*~*~*

Moray eels have a secret weapon. They have a second set of jaws in their throats that help them to grasp and swallow prey. They can even move at least partway out of the water in order to grab a tasty morsel. 

*~*~*~*

We are all probably familiar with the rock from outer space that smashed into Earth off the coast of Yucatan about 65 million years ago creating the Chinxulub crater and putting paid to most species of dinosaurs on Earth with the notable exceptions of those they grew feathers and became birds. But there is another lesser-known crater in Ukraine called Boltysh that came some 650,000 years later and also had a tremendous effect on the tumultuous climate changes of that period.

*~*~*~*

Migratory straw-colored fruit bats are key to seed dispersal across Africa. But Zambia's Kasanka national park to which ten million of the bats migrate each October is now being threatened by a plan to create a huge commercial farming operation next to it. Conservationists warn that it could have a catastrophic effect on the wildlife of the area including the fruit bats.

*~*~*~*

Our oldest and one of our most popular national parks, Yellowstone, is seriously threatened by the changing climate. A new report reveals the extent to which it could be changed. Temperatures in the park that are already the highest they have been in 20,000 years could rise another 10 degrees F by 2100.

*~*~*~*

Kudos to Maine! It has become the first U.S. state to enact a law to require public funds divestment from fossil fuels. The governor this week signed an order for all public funds to jettison investments in coal, petroleum, natural gas, and related products.

*~*~*~*

Margaret Renkl says if we can save the pollinators, maybe we can save ourselves.

Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen: A review

 

Eric Nguyen's debut novel, Things We Lost to the Water, covers thirty years of a Vietnamese family's history, beginning in the chaos of 1975 in Vietnam when so many were desperate to leave the country in the wake of the Communist takeover and ending in New Orleans in 2005 in the chaos after Hurricane Katrina. The thirty years encompass this family's transition from being strangers in a strange land to being Americans. It is, in a sense, the story of all of us.

Huong and her husband had planned to leave Vietnam with their young son, Tuan, on one of the boats carrying refugees. At the last minute, when Huong and Tuan were already in the boat, her husband could not bring himself to get on board. (His reticence is related to his experience with water which is explained late in the book.) Huong is panicked to leave him behind but must keep her son safe. What she has not told her husband is that she is carrying another child. The pregnant Huong and Tuan survive their terrible boat experience which many of their fellow travelers did not. They are delivered into the refugee system and eventually after Huong has had a second son, Binh, they arrive in New Orleans.

In New Orleans, the priest who is coordinating assistance to Vietnamese refugees places Huong and her sons with a totally inappropriate couple. The man is a former policeman but now a full-time drunk. The wife is already overwhelmed, just trying to hold on. Huong takes her sons and her suitcase and walks away, ending up at a hotel. At this point, she speaks and understands only rudimentary English and one feels her frustration and bewilderment as she tries to make sense of this strange language and city and to keep her children safe and fed. She does find allies in the Vietnamese community and she finds a job in a nail salon. She gets an apartment in a complex populated by immigrants and refugees like herself and she begins to make a home.

In the years after arriving in New Orleans, Huong's heart is still in Vietnam and she writes regularly to her husband at the last address she knows for him, and eventually, she sends tapes of herself and her sons to that address. She never hears back from him until finally, she does get a letter from him telling her not to contact him anymore. She is devastated but does as he asks.

Meanwhile, her sons are growing up. The older one, Tuan, as a teenager gets involved with the Southern Boyz, a local gang of Vietnamese refugees. This does not portend well for his future. Binh, who has never really known any home except New Orleans, adopts the name Ben. He is a bit of a misfit in school and becomes best friends with another misfit, a young Haitian refugee girl. As he grows older, he begins to realize that he is not like the other boys he knows; he is not interested in girls. In fact, he is gay and he leans into that, finding comfort in his queerness.

At the same time the kids are growing up, Huong is growing, too. She takes over as a bookkeeper for the nail salon. When she goes in search of a used car to buy, she meets a salesman named Vinh who advises her. She does buy a car but not from him - from the dealership across the street from his. But she keeps returning to the area and "accidentally" running into Vinh until it becomes clear it is not an accident. He becomes her lover, offering her solace and support and finally becoming the fourth member of her family.

These are tumultuous years for the family. They split apart in spite of Huong's best efforts. Tuan ends up with his own apartment, living with his girlfriend who turns out to be that Haitian girl who was once a friend of his brother. Binh (Ben) ends up in Paris, trying to be a writer. Huong and Vinh continue to live at the apartment with the bayou just at their back door.

And then comes August 29, 2005, and Hurricane Katrina and another desperate struggle to get away from the water to higher ground and safety. In Paris, Ben has nightmares about water.

Nguyen escorts us through all of these years, unerringly conveying the vertigo felt by Huong as she strives to learn a new language and a new way of life. Early in those years, she is torn as she keeps expecting and hoping that her husband will follow her to America and they can become an intact family again. She still thinks of herself as Vietnamese. And then one evening the realization hits her: "It was when they were strolling along the river walk, eating ice cream cones, that she realized this had become her city, the place she lived but also a place that lived in her." Almost without realizing it, she has become American. I can't recall ever having read a book that makes this refugee transformation more illuminating. And Eric Nguyen has done it on his first try. Kudos to him!

My rating: 5 of 5 stars   

A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds by Scott Weidensaul: A review

 

My favorite of all the books that I read in 2020 was Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy. It was a novel about the amazing migratory flight of the Arctic Tern and of one woman's obsession with it. Scott Weidensaul's book is the nonfiction version of that and many other birds' migration stories and of the scientists and dedicated amateurs who track and study those migrations to better understand and protect the birds. Weidensaul is a naturalist and an active field researcher himself and he also offers his commentary and insights. We know that the numbers of songbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, and raptors have all plummeted in recent years. The study of their migrations offers some clues as to why this is happening. 

Studying bird migration also offers us a panoply of almost miraculous stories. There are the tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that cross the Gulf of Mexico in a single nonstop flight. Then there are Whimbrels that nest in the Canadian Arctic and in the fall travel east for the width of the continent before flying into the North Atlantic, straight into the violent winds of seasonal storms. It turns out that Whimbrels know what they are doing; the winds give them a boost for their nonstop transoceanic flight from the Canadian Maritime Provinces to Brazil where they spend the winter.

In addition to the actual flight, there are equally amazing preparations for flight. In getting ready for their flights, birds pack on the fat. If they were human, they'd be termed morbidly obese and yet they do not suffer the negative effects of such obesity. They are also able to add muscle where they need it and during the long flights, the birds can actually cannibalize their own organs to provide the sustenance they need. Many species arrive at their destination with their organs shriveled and they need to feed immediately to restore them. And then, of course, there are their remarkable eyes that contain electrons that allow them to "see" Earth's magnetic fields which they can use as navigation aids. Weidensaul is able to relay all of these incredible facts in a manner that is accessible for the layperson but in no way shortchanges the science. 

The writer spends a considerable amount of time explaining the advances in technology that have enhanced the capability of scientists to track the birds every mile of the way on their flights. There are ever-more-sophisticated miniaturized tracking devices that can be attached to the birds (even tiny hummingbirds) without interfering with their ability to fly and these allow the scientists to see not only where the birds end up but also where they stop along the way. Protecting those layover sites where the birds stop to rest and feed becomes one of the most essential parts of safeguarding migratory routes. One of those sites is the Yellow Sea, an expanse along the Chinese coast that provides a banquet for millions of migrating shorebirds each year, including some that are critically endangered. It is absolutely essential to the continued survival of these birds that this area be protected.  

Sensitive readers should be forewarned that parts of this book make for difficult reading. The obstacles faced by the migrating birds on their routes are many and varied and most of them are human-made. For example, songbirds migrating from Africa across southern Europe must evade those humans who consider them delicacies for their cooking pots. Some of the methods that these people use to capture the birds they want to eat are particularly cruel.

But in contrast to these horror stories, there are also some heartening tales of humans working to ease the way of the migrants. In one such instance, conservationists came up with a plan to pay the rice farmers of California's Central Valley to flood their rice fields during the times when wetland birds would be arriving in the area to provide appropriate habitat for them. The plan has worked brilliantly benefiting both the birds and the farmers. A World on the Wing presents such stories as a way that conservation can be a win-win for both birds and humans. 

Weidensaul is a passionate advocate for the birds and he seeks to inspire his readers to take up the battle to staunch the flow of losses that threatens to deprive future generations of the joy of birds. We cannot bring back the three billion birds that have vanished from North America over the last thirty years, but if we can stop or slow those losses, then we can trust birds to find a way to survive and regenerate. They have outlived the other dinosaurs; they are nothing if not adaptable. Given half a chance they will outlive us as well.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars    

Poetry Sunday: Possum Crossing by Nikki Giovanni

Wildlife crossings are an excellent idea whose time has come. They are very popular wherever they have been installed. They are essentially designated wildlife highways that allow animals to safely cross busy highways. They save countless animal lives. But what about all those smaller highways and byways and country roads that most of us travel? There are no designated passages there but animals still cross those roads. And so it is up to us humans who share the roads with them to try to keep them safe, to drive at a reasonable speed that will allow us to stop in time to avoid adding to the roadkill toll. Be advised, therefore, that I do brake for possums and raccoons and armadillos and turtles and snakes and the occasional butterfly and any other living thing that crosses my path. Nikki Giovanni would, too.  

Possum Crossing

by Nikki Giovanni

Backing out the driveway
the car lights cast an eerie glow
in the morning fog centering
on movement in the rain slick street

Hitting brakes I anticipate a squirrel or a cat or sometimes
a little raccoon
I once braked for a blind little mole who try though he did
could not escape the cat toying with his life
Mother-to-be possum occasionally lopes home … being
naturally … slow her condition makes her even more ginger

We need a sign POSSUM CROSSING to warn coffee-gurgling
neighbors:
we share the streets with more than trucks and vans and
railroad crossings

All birds being the living kin of dinosaurs
think themselves invincible and pay no heed
to the rolling wheels while they dine
on an unlucky rabbit

I hit brakes for the flutter of the lights hoping it’s not a deer
or a skunk or a groundhog
coffee splashes over the cup which I quickly put away from me
and into the empty passenger seat
I look …
relieved and exasperated …
to discover I have just missed a big wet leaf
struggling … to lift itself into the wind
and live

This week in birds - #455

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment: 

This ubiquitous (on the Texas coast anyway) Laughing Gull is enjoying the late afternoon sun on a Rockport pier.

*~*~*~*

First of all, happy Juneteenth, now a federal holiday. It has been a state holiday in Texas for more than forty years. We are happy to share it with the rest of the country.

*~*~*~*

It seems to be the zombie that just will not die: A federal judge in Louisiana has ruled that the Biden administration cannot pause new leases for drilling oil and gas on public lands. This includes the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Global warming be damned! There is no word yet as to whether the decision will be appealed. Congressional Democrats are planning to move forward with legislative efforts to limit drilling on public lands.

*~*~*~*

As the state swelters in a heatwave, the Electric (un)Reliability Council of Texas has urged customers to conserve energy, turn thermostats up and delay washing and drying clothes or using other energy-gobbling appliances; otherwise, we may suffer blackouts while temperatures range between 95 and 100 degrees F. or above. Not unlike the blackouts we suffered in February when temperatures dipped below 10 degrees F. for days. You could be excused for imagining that our state government might have addressed these issues during the recent legislative session, but you would be wrong, of course. The legislature was much too busy passing bills to further restrict women's right to an abortion and to try to keep all those brown and black citizens from exercising their rights to vote. And, oh yes, restricting how teachers can discuss racism and current events in school.  And there you have my Texas rant of the week.

*~*~*~*

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, as expected, is recommending to the president that the Bear Ears national monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah be restored to their previous size and protection before the previous administration reduced them.

*~*~*~*

Scientists from NASA and NOAA say that Earth is trapping nearly twice as much heat as it did in 2005. The increase was described as unprecedented and alarming. The study that resulted in this information found that the growth was caused in part by an increase in greenhouse gases and water vapor, as well as decreases in clouds and ice. 

*~*~*~*

In the full budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 that was recently released, the Biden administration has requested increased federal investments that would protect birds, restore habitat, drive energy innovation, and protect communities. The robust funding levels would support bird conservation and climate action. 

*~*~*~*

A dead "murder hornet" has been found in Seattle representing the first confirmed report of the Asian giant hornet in the country this year.

*~*~*~*

Conservationists in Kenya are mourning the death of this 14-year-old lion that was known as Scarface. He was a well-known and iconic presence on the Mara and had been the top lion of many prides. Conservationists say he died peacefully without being disturbed by vehicles or hyenas.

*~*~*~*

The extreme heatwave in the West is breaking long-standing records in many places. Readings have been 15 to 30 degrees above normal and have brought dangerous conditions of temperatures above 100 degrees to 40 million people. 

*~*~*~*

Tawny Eagles are endemic to much of Africa and South Asia, but their numbers have been reported as decreasing throughout their African range. The cause of their decline is undetermined although changing environmental conditions and poisoning are both likely to have played a role.

*~*~*~*

Not only is the plastic and other human debris littering our oceans an unsightly and toxic mess, it is also offering a highway for nonnative species to invade and colonize new territories.

*~*~*~*

This is an incredible but apparently true story: Off the coast of Cape Cod, a commercial lobster diver encountered a humpback whale that was feeding. The diver ended up in the whale's mouth, but fortunately for him, the whale did not find him very tasty and spit him out. The diver estimated he was in the whale's mouth for 30 seconds. I imagine it was a very long 30 seconds.

*~*~*~*

Overexploitation and loss of habitat have combined to drastically reduce the population of fishers, a relative of otters, minks, and martens, along the West Coast of the United States. But now the state of Washington is reintroducing the animals in a bid to restore the native carnivore in the ecosystem. 

*~*~*~*

Tidal turbines can harness the power of underwater currents to turn turbine blades and produce clean electricity. A Scottish-based company has launched the world's most powerful tidal turbine that will be tested off the coast of the Orkney Islands.

*~*~*~*

Severe flooding in Australia has caused many humans to seek higher and drier ground. They are not alone. Arachnids are fleeing to such spaces as well, with the result that some areas are being covered in spider webs.

*~*~*~*

Coelacanths are giant human-sized, slow-moving fish that have been around for at least 400 million years. They had been thought to be extinct but were found alive and thriving off the coast of South Africa in 1938. Researchers believe that the fish can live for up to 100 years.

*~*~*~*

The last two northern white rhinos are a mother and daughter living in Kenya. Their father and grandfather, the last male white rhino died in 2018; thus the species is now functionally extinct. Mother and daughter will continue to live out their days in the care of conservationists in a wildlife conservancy in Kenya.

*~*~*~*

Presenting the first findings of the world's largest-ever expedition to the North Pole, scientists are warning that global warming may have already passed an irreversible tipping point. Arctic ice is retreating faster than ever before and we may have literally passed the point of no return.

*~*~*~*

Fences can be insurmountable barriers to the migration of animals such as pronghorn antelopes and mule deer in the West. Fences can halt or change their migration routes sometimes to the detriment of the animals. Efforts are underway to require more "wildlife-friendly" fences that will allow animals to pass.

*~*~*~*

A new species of brittle star has been found off the coast of New Caledonia. The animal has a thorny set of teeth and eight arms. The echinoderm has been described based on the collection of one specimen.

*~*~*~*

Here's why protecting the Tongass National Forest in Alaska matters.

*~*~*~*

A new ecolabel will identify freight and cruise companies that take steps to keep their ships from colliding with whales. There are specific rules that companies must follow in order to earn the label. It is hoped that companies will voluntarily sign up and comply with the new program.

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith: A review

Patricia Highsmith - yet another famous writer that I've never bothered to read even though she's been recommended to me numerous times over the years. Well, time to rectify that omission starting with The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Tom Ripley is a fascinating literary character. His persona has been adopted and adapted by various other writers and filmmakers since he was introduced by his creator in 1955. I confess I haven't seen any of the films either, yet I felt that I knew him even before I picked up this book. The character has long since passed into society's consciousness and his story is well known even by those of us who have not personally encountered him. At this point, a summary of that story seems almost superfluous.  

The first thing to be said about Tom is that he is a sociopath. A charming sociopath to be sure but totally cold-blooded and lacking in empathy. He is someone who thinks nothing of committing murder when it suits his purpose. He arrives in Manhattan in the 1950s, a young man who is the product of a broken home and a dismissive and abusive aunt who helped raise him and upon whom he is still somewhat financially dependent. He presents a suave and handsome exterior that helps him to gain entrance to the moneyed set. He becomes friends with one of their members, Dickie Greenleaf. When Dickie, who wants to be a painter, moves to Italy against his father's wishes, the father prevails on Tom to go after him (all expenses paid, of course!) and convince him to return home and enter the family business. 

Tom is happy to travel on the Greenleaf dime, but he's not all that eager to persuade Dickie to go home. He likes it in Italy, and he becomes obsessed with Dickie and is jealous of his relationship with an American dilettante named Marge Sherwood. Marge seems to be in love with Dickie but although Dickie likes her as a friend, he is ambivalent, to say the least, about a sexual relationship. Highsmith never straightforwardly addresses Tom's sexuality (or Dickie's) but the clear implication is that he is homosexual. At the time that she was writing, homosexuality was stigmatized and criminalized so perhaps it is not surprising that Tom's sexuality is ambiguous. In the relationships portrayed in the book, he is entirely asexual in his actions.

Highsmith tells the story in third person but the all-knowing narrator is able to give us full entry into Tom's mind. The story is told through him and all the action centers on his personality. We see Europe through his eyes as he travels around the continent. As his obsession with Dickie Greenleaf progresses, it becomes obvious that he wants to be Dickie and the reader can sense that this is not going to end well. At least not for Dickie.

Tom is the character who holds our attention. He is after all the talented Mr. Ripley. Even though we are appalled by his actions, we can't turn away and we can't get enough. Highsmith relates the tale in a propulsive manner that makes it very hard for the reader to disengage. And even after we've finally shut the book for the last time, Tom still lingers there, a smiling louche character who we almost root for in spite of ourselves.

In the event that you are not fully apprised of the story, I don't want to offer any spoilers, but just let me say that the book turns into a taut thriller with characters that almost leap off the page, a plot that engrosses, and an ending that leaves you wanting more. Good thing there are five books in the series.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars  

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - June 2021

(Linking to May Dreams Gardens.) 

Happy June Bloom Day! Since last month's Bloom Day, my zone 9a garden here in Southeast Texas has seen a lot of rain. During one twelve-day period, it rained every day. And not just light showers but real gully-washers. And then it stopped and the 90+ degree F weather started and everything dried out. Today the high temperature is forecast to be 98. Now we need rain again.

All that rain sure encouraged the weeds in my garden but the May showers also brought flowers and quite a lot of them.

Portulaca blooming in a pot on the patio table.

Just before the rains started, I had transplanted zinnias. The poor little plants were completely beaten up by the heavy rains and they still look rather battered. But they are blooming!

Here's the yellow variety.

And the orange one.

The summer phlox is in bloom. I wish you could smell the wonderful scent.

The purple echinacea is just starting to bloom.

There's quite a bit of variety in the shades of purple. This is a much more vibrant one.

Cosmos. What would summer be without it?

I thought I had lost this buddleia in the February freeze, but it came back from the roots and now it is in bloom.

 

This buddleia is called 'Pugster Amethyst.' It was just planted this spring.

 

The birds planted this sunflower, along with several others around the garden.

'Laura Bush' petunia that reseeded itself.

'Bees' Knees' petunia just recently planted. I have high hopes for it.

Bergamot, just beginning to bloom.

My old orange canna.

Four o'clocks come in many colors.

I quite like this gaudy one.

And then there is this more sedate-colored one.

This is a wildflower, tickseed, that reseeded itself in one of my beds.

The fennel is in bloom.

But it is being stripped by a posse of Black Swallowtail caterpillars. That's okay though. They are one of the reasons I plant it.

'Caldwell Pink' polyantha rose just beginning its second flush of blooms.

'Julia Child' rose.

'Lady of Shallott' rose. Always beautiful.

Pink Knockout rose.

Asclepias tuberosa, the native butterfly weed. I'm growing it in pots and it seems to do very well there. Better than it did in the ground here.

Cestrum.

'Starcluster White' pentas in a pot with lemon coral sedum and red cordyline.

This is the dark blue variety of plumbago.

The vitex has been absolutely glorious this spring. It has been in bloom for about a month and is on the wane now. This picture was actually taken about a week ago. That's yellow canna in the foreground and some of the old orange canna in the back.

The quirky little blossoms of the buttonbush.

As they age, the blossoms of the oakleaf hydrangea start to turn from a creamy white to a creamy pink. I think they are still beautiful. If only we could age as gracefully!

Thank you for visiting my garden. I hope you and your garden are flourishing this June and I look forward to visiting you there.  

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata: A review

 

I frankly don't have a clue how to sum up this strange little book or how to rate it. I was fully on board with the plot for about three-quarters of the book and completely sympathetic to the protagonist, Natsuki. Then in the last quarter, the plot really began to go off the rails for me. No spoilers here but I found the ending to be a bridge too far and the writer lost me with it.

But first, let's concentrate on the positive three-quarters.

Natsuki is nine years old when we meet her and she is a complete misfit. She has an older sister who is the favorite of her parents, especially her mother. The mother is psychologically, emotionally, and physically abusive to Natsuki. The child cannot do anything right in her eyes. The father seems to be a bit of a cipher. He really doesn't take much interest in his children. He certainly does not defend Natsuki.

Natsuki's "best friend" is a plush toy hedgehog that she imagines comes from a far planet with an unpronounceable name. She holds conversations with her hedgehog and he assures her that she has magical powers.

Every year the extended family gathers in the mountains at the home of Natsuki's grandparents during the holidays. There, Natsuki plays with her cousin, Yuu, who is also emotionally traumatized by his mother. (His father is absent.) These two abused children bond. Yuu confesses that he is from that same far planet that the hedgehog hails from and Natsuki decides that she probably is, too. The two 9-year-olds make a secret pact to eventually get married and, in the meantime, to do whatever is necessary to survive.

The idyll in the mountains ends and Natsuki's family returns to their everyday life, which for her means going to school. There, the horror of her life multiplies when she is sexually assaulted by her teacher. When the assaults begin, she cannot tell anyone, but sometime later she tries to tell her mother with predictable results. The mother accuses her of lying and describes the teacher as a paragon of virtue. The assaults continue.

During the next family vacation in the mountains, she convinces Yuu that they should have sex. The two prepubescents are caught in the act and punished. The two do not see each other again until they are adults.

As an adult, Natsuki enters into an empty, contractual marriage with an asexual man named Tomoya, who also comes from an unloving family. By so doing, she at least gets out of the home with her cruel mother. She and Tomoya live as roommates in a spacious apartment. They feel that they have escaped the clutches of their hateful families and of a repressive society that expects them to be part of the "Baby Factory." They deny their sexuality and live in their own fantasy. Natsuki still believes herself to be an alien.

Meanwhile, Yuu is now living in that mountain home where their misadventure took place all those years ago. Tomoya is entranced with stories of Natsuki's vacations there and he wants to visit. The two do go to visit Yuu and the platonic duo becomes a platonic trio and things begin to get very, very complicated and weird.

Earthlings at its core is essentially about the effects of child abuse on the adults that these children become. All three arguably suffer from PTSD and struggle mightily to construct a world in which they can feel safe and secure. If that world is a fantasy based on their being aliens from outer space, then so what? If it works, it works. Murata tells their stories in a kind of flat, expressionless prose that reminds one almost of anthropological texts. She might be Margaret Mead writing about the traditional cultures of the South Pacific. And so she is able to report about child abuse, rape, incest, murder, and cannibalism as a disinterested observer. Unfortunately, I can't really disengage that completely. I have opinions and biases and they interfered with my enjoyment of the last quarter of this book. But I have to admit that Murata is an imaginative writer with a fertile imagination. That imagination encompasses a rather dark view of humankind.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Poetry Sunday: Mingling by Kim Stafford

Remember how it was in the "before times"? Before the pandemic changed everything. Will we ever get back to those times? Will we ever be able to once again thoughtlessly mingle without concern about the people around us? Kim Stafford remembers how it was.

Mingling

by Kim Stafford

Remember how we used to do it—
weaving through the crowd, brushing
shoulders, fingers touching a sleeve,
adjusting a lapel—first an old friend here,
then turn to banter with a stranger, finding
odd connections—“You’re from where?…You
know her!”—going deeper into story there, leaning
back in wonder, bending close to whisper, secrets
hidden in the hubbub, as if in the middle of this
melee you have found a room and lit a lamp…
then the roar of the crowd comes back,
someone singing out a name, another
bowing with a shriek of laughter,
slap on the back, bear hug void
of fear? Imagine!
Just imagine.

This week in birds - #454

 A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:

I always enjoy his dulcet songs when I'm out and about in my yard. House Finches are an almost constant presence.

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One of the biggest environmental stories of the week was the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. The sponsor of the pipeline pulled the plug on it after Canadian officials were unsuccessful in changing President Biden's mind about the project. Environmentalists who had fought the project since it was first announced in 2008 called the cancellation a "landmark moment" in the effort to curb the use of fossil fuels.

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More good news for the environment: Officials of the Biden administration have moved to reinstate the roadless rule in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. This revives the 20-year-old protections for the forest that were stripped by the previous administration three months before the end of its term in office.

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And in more reversals of policies put in place by the previous administration, President Biden moved to undo many of the ways that administration altered the means by which habitats of plants and animals on the verge of extinction are protected and kept from total collapse.

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Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the U.S. by volume but it has fallen to historic lows as a result of the devastating drought in the West. It will be at its lowest point since the 1930s when Hoover Dam was built and officials are expecting it to go even lower. The human-made lake is currently at approximately 36% of its capacity. 

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In a 2011 survey by the Fish and Wildlife Service, it was found that 93% of birders were White and only 4% were Black. Black Birders Week was instituted to bring attention to the hobby for those who might feel left out of it. The message is "Birds are here for everyone."

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How can the world's richer countries best help poor countries deal with the challenges associated with climate change? The G-7 leaders meeting this week acknowledge that adequate climate financing for the most at-risk countries must be a central priority.

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One of the climate problems facing some of those poor countries is wetter monsoons. Scientists have known for years that climate change is disrupting the monsoon season. Increased moisture in the warmed atmosphere is expected to result in rainier summer monsoon seasons and unpredictable, extreme rainfall events.

*~*~*~*

The desert seems an ideal place for constructing large solar projects to generate clean energy but it is important to plan such projects so that they do not harm rare plants and animals.

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In 2019, Audubon reported that without meaningful action to mitigate the effects of climate change, two-thirds of American bird species like this Northern Parula could be at risk of extinction. Now they have published the Natural Climate Solutions Report that provides a scientific framework for addressing the existential threat.

*~*~*~*

Salmon are facing extinction in the American West and four dams are the prime cause of their plight. But 17 million juvenile Chinook salmon that need to reach the ocean in order to complete their life cycle are getting a helping hand from the state of California. The state is transporting the fish to the ocean in trucks.

*~*~*~*

Microscopic animals called rotifers that were frozen in the Siberian permafrost when woolly mammoths still roamed the planet have been restored to life as though no time had passed. These must surely rate as some of the toughest creatures on the planet.

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Analysis of the fossil record shows that there was a mysterious mass extinction of sharks some 19 million years ago. The event decimated the diversity of sharks in the world's oceans and they have never fully recovered that diversity.

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Protection Island, Washington, about two-and-a-half miles off the coast of that state, has one human resident and plenty of wildlife. The human, Marty Bluewater, has a lifetime tenancy on the Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge that has been his home for fifty years. 

*~*~*~*

Peacocks that are descendants of a small population that were imported by a wealthy businessman in the late nineteenth century are threatening to overrun Los Angeles County. The birds have flourished in the climate there and are often fed by residents. But now such feeding is being forbidden by ordinance and scofflaws can be fined up to $1000 or sent to jail for six months.

*~*~*~*

In other news from California, the majestic redwoods that were seriously damaged by wildfires last year are showing signs of recovery.

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Republicans in several states around the country are taking their stand on the side of global warming. They are threatening retaliation against banks that refuse to lend to coal, oil, and gas companies. Apparently, they don't believe in the power of the marketplace after all - at least when it behaves in ways they don't approve of.

*~*~*~*

This story just makes my blood boil! A drone that was being flown illegally over the Bolsa Chica ecological reserve in California crashed on a beach that was the nesting site of Elegant Terns. The frightened terns, believing they were being attacked by a predator, abandoned their nests. Those nests had about 3,000 eggs in them waiting to hatch.

*~*~*~*

The EPA is set to reverse the previous administration's efforts to scale back the number of streams, marshes, and other wetlands that fall under federal protection. The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers will craft a new set of protections for waterways that provide habitats for wildlife and safe drinking water for millions of Americans.

*~*~*~*

The annual count of Red Knots along Delaware Bay beaches has shown another severe drop in the numbers of the birds. It is the steepest decline in years and it threatens the Red Knots' continued survival.

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Scientists have compiled a detailed database from tens of thousands of hours of observation of African elephant behavior. 

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The Lesser Prairie-Chicken will now be protected under the Endangered Species Act according to an announcement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week. The bird's range includes parts of five states: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico.