Randa at Garden Geek tagged me with another book meme. I love an excuse to talk about books, but felt like I needed to narrow the focus a bit, so decided to think in terms of nature books only. As you can see in this pic of one of my bookshelves, my book collection (and my thinking about books) is not very well organized. I tend not to think of books in the terms used in this meme; maybe that’s what made this so very difficult for me. Anyway, here goes…

1. One book that changed your life: Changed my life? I won’t go that far, but should mention Equinox: Life, Love, and Birds of Prey by Dan O’Brien. I remember wandering around a Barnes & Noble and being drawn to this book in the “Discover New Writers” section because it had a falcon on the cover. I was just getting interested in birds and this was the first of an endless series of nature books I’ve devoured in the 10 years or so since reading it. I read each of Dan O’Brien’s books that I could find in the library and have purchased each new one as it is published. I read the authors who wrote *blurbs* for this book and found Jim Harrison, Rick Bass, and Stephen Bodio each of whom has lead me to other authors and other books.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Prior to reading books on the natural world I had been reading a lot of gardening essays. Naturally, I began to find myself favoring those garden authors whose books intersected with my interest in the outdoors. Sue Hubbell is one such author and her A Country Year: Living the Questions is a book that I’ve read over and over when the mood strikes me. It’s the type of book I can pick up and read for an hour or two and return to six months later. Hubbell’s books cover varied topics like bee-keeping and living in the country, but also sea life and bugs among other things. Good stuff that I always enjoy.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: Easy question! Sundial of the Seasons by Hal Borland.

4. One book that made you laugh: Nature books as funny? The only ones I can think of are by Pete Dunne, but he gets less funny the more you read him; he needs some new one-liners! Sorry, Pete!

5. One book that made you cry: The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter. Wonderful book that I enjoyed immensely and have often given as a gift. It tells the story of a Cherokee boy growing up the Appalachians in the 30’s.

6. One book that you wish had been written: I’d love to see someone write a book about Sandy Hook and its environs, something like Season at the Point: A Birder’s Journal of Cape May by Jack Connor. I know quite a few people who have the knowledge to write a book about the Hook; maybe someday one of them will.

7. One book that you wish had never been written: I won’t bother finishing a book if I’m not enjoying it, so can’t really answer this one. The most recent book that was disappointing to me was On the Wing: To the Edge of the Earth with the Peregrine Falcon by Alan Tennant. It got good reviews, but nearly bored me to death.

8. One book you’re currently reading: Whispers in the Pines: A Naturalist in the Northeast by Joanna Burger. I haven’t made much progress with it yet, but it’s there on the nightstand. I loved one of her other books: A Naturalist Along the Jersey Shore, so I’m bound to enjoy this one too.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: I want to find the time to re-read Scott Weidensaul’s Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds. Every one of his books is great, but this was a favorite.

10. Now tag five people: I’m not sure that I want to trouble anyone with a tag, so I’ll just extend a general invitation to anyone that might feel like doing this. In particular, I would love to hear (maybe just in comments to this post) about your favorite book about the natural world. Nothing is better than a book recommended by a friend! I’d also like to know if anyone has read any of the books that I mentioned here and what your thoughts were. Let’s talk books!

Silly ducks with their backs turned and butts in the air – how are we supposed to know who they are?
At least these were a bit closer – can you name them?
Close, cooperative ducks, finally! What are they?

* Note: Don’t bother checking the photo tags, most of you won’t find any hints there. The only hint I will give is that these ducks are not what they seem to be. Have fun!

You are the season of retirement,
of full barns and harvested fields.
The cycle of growth has ceased,
and the busy work of giving life
is now completed.
I sense in you no regrets:
you’ve lived a full life.

I live in a society that is ever-restless,
always eager for more mountains to climb,
seeking happiness through more and more possessions.
As a child of my culture,
I am seldom truly at peace with what I have.
Teach me to take stock of what I have given and received;
may I know that it’s enough,
that my striving can cease
in the abundance of God’s grace.
May I know the contentment
that allows the totality of my energies
to come to full flower.
May I know that like you I am rich beyond measure.

As you, O Autumn, take pleasure in your great bounty,
let me also take delight
in the abundance of the simple things in life
which are the true source of joy.
With the golden glow of peaceful contentment
may I truly appreciate this autumn day.”

— Edward Hays

Autumn is my favorite season of the year – I love the colors and the cooler air, but I loathe the shortening days. The hours of daylight have been decreasing since the summer solstice, but the shortened twilight becomes most noticeable now. No more do I have an hour or so outside after my evening coffee when I get in from work. It’s darker when I get up too, which makes it next to impossible to rouse myself from bed. The cooler nights make wonderful sleeping weather with the windows wide open, and the crickets and katydids still sing me to sleep, albeit a bit slower now. The last few weeks I’ve been hearing the great horned owls and even a screech owl one night very late.

The farms I pass on my way to work are advertising u-pick pumpkins and apples. The weekend traffic heading west becomes unbearable on the local roads through the *country*, filled with people from away who come to pick apples and pumpkins. The summer beach crowds are gone, replaced with these same people to harvest peaches, then apples, then pumpkins. Before long it will be Christmas trees. I’m seeing deer again in the fallow fields and the young horses that I’ve watched grow up on the horse farms on the way to work are gone to begin their training for the racetrack, I suppose.

One of these weekends I need to get to Cape May and spend a little time at the hawk watch there. If no hawks are moving there is always the monarchs to see, or the huge numbers of flickers, or maybe a fallout of migrant robins. There is always some magic to be found at Cape May in the fall. What do you love about the coming season; what magic does it hold for you?

Toileting as a social activity

If you have a visitor counter on your blog, you might pay attention to the searches that bring people to your site. I’m not sure how useful this info is to us bloggers, but it can be an amusing look into what deep questions the internet-using public is pondering. Here, I get quite a few hits that relate to rabbits and more specifically to rabbit poop. I thought I’d share a list of these search terms for your amusement (and mine). I’m certain it’s this post from March that interests searchers.

bunny poops too much
is rabbit poop clean?
rabbit care smaller poop
how much rabbit poop in the veggie garden?
rabbit poop smaller
what does rabbit poop look like?
rabbit poop problems
photo of rabbit poop
rabbits poop a lot
bunnys poop
rabbit poops on couch
rabbit poop orange
rabbit poop health indicator

All the garden blogs I read seem to be featuring fall flowers the past few days, so I thought I’d buck the trend and post a summer flower while I still can. These morning glories are blooming on the fence around the pond and are putting on a pretty late-summer show. It’s called “Chocolate Silk” and has large flowers and variegated foliage. The only really *chocolate* part of the flower is the center, the rest is a softer rose-purple than is showing in these pics. We have it planted with some moonflowers and at the base of the fence we planted french marigolds. I thought the contrast of orange and purple would be pretty, but now that the morning glories are blooming well the marigolds are on their way out. We grew these from seeds which is a first for us.

Two of them – oh boy! What a joke. The six pepper plants kept dropping their blossoms – what is that about? Too much rain? These two nicely-sized peppers have been mocking me since Saturday when I picked them and tonight I’m going to make one of my favorites – stuffed peppers. My dad made the best stuffed peppers, but was always very vague about his recipe, like all good cooks are. I’ll share my recipe, but must warn you that I’m no cook.

2 large green peppers (how convenient; that’s all I’ve got)
3/4 lb. ground beef, pork, lamb, or sausage (I use lean ground beef)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 7.5 ounce can tomatoes, cut up (fresh would be nice; I use a petit cut with Italian spices)
1/3 cup long grain rice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (I’m generous with it – love the stuff!)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil or oregano (I use both)
1/2 cup shredded American cheese

Halve peppers lengthwise, removing stems, seeds and membranes. Immerse peppers in boiling water for 3 minutes. Sprinkle insides with salt. Invert on paper towels to drain well.

In a skillet cook meat and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain. Stir in undrained tomatoes, uncooked rice, Worcestershire, basil and oregano, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in 1/4 cup of the cheese. Fill peppers with meat mixture. Place in a baking dish and bake at 375 for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

This same mixture can be used to fill zucchini or cabbage rolls. There is always just enough meat mixture left in the pan after filling the peppers that I can stand over the stove and eat hobo-style. I especially like this recipe because the peppers are just blanched and stay nice and crunchy. I always serve this with mashed potatoes and extra sauce on the side. Yum! Off to eat and enjoy.

“Lord, make us mindful of the little things that grow and blossom in these days to make the world beautiful for us”. – W.E.B. du Bois