Books Read In December 2022

Only seven books read this month which brings my total for the year to 95. This is the second year in a row that I've read fewer than 100 books. Guess I'm slowing down in my old age.

The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett is a mystery about rare books and the obsessions of people who collect them.

Total Control and The Winner are two of David Baldacci's older stand alone novels. 

Haunted Hibiscus is the latest, #22, in the 'A Tea Shop Mystery' series by Laura Childs. What surprised me most about this book was that it came out in paper back rather than a hard copy. 

Right Behind You by Lisa Gardner is #7 in her 'FBI Profiler' series which I didn't realize when I checked it out. I thought it was a stand alone, but now that I know, I will read the others of the series in order.

Saving Faith  and Last Man Standing are two more stand alone thrillers by David Baldacci.

Who will be the new, for me, author I read my way through in the New Year?

Winter Branches

 

Winter Branches by Margaret Widdemer

When winter-time grows weary, I lift my eyes on high
And see the black trees standing, stripped clear against the sky;

They stand there very silent, with the cold flushed sky behind,
The little twigs flare beautiful and restful and kind;

Clear-cut and certain they rise, with summer past,
For all that trees can ever learn they know now, at last;

Slim and black and wonderful, with all unrest gone by,
The stripped tree-boughs comfort me, drawn clear against the sky.

((Yes, I know it is not technically winter yet, but it feels like it. And I am already looking forward to warmer days.) 🌞

Hold on to your Dreams

 

Dreams By Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams,

For if dreams die,

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams,

For when dream go,

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

I've never had a problem dreaming or holding on to my dreams. I do have a problem with the cold weather. 😒

Books Read In November 2022

 Only seven books completed this month:

The Perfect Husband and Never Tell are both by Lisa Gardner. 

Daylight and Mercy are the final two of the Mercy Series by David Baldacci.

Whitewash is by Alex Kava, a new author for me and one I'm enjoying

A Truth To Lie For by Anne Perry is the fourth book in her Elena Standish series.

Absolute Power is a stand alone novel by David Baldacci. 

I predict I'll be reading more books in December than I read this month! 

Ten Days In - Nothing New To Report

"I am in the midst of whatever I am thinking of." (Etal Adnan) Which right now is what I want to put in this post. I may have had some good ideas, but they flit away almost as soon as they come. 

The day after my last post we went out for lunch to celebrate our weekend of birthdays and anniverary. Usually we go to the Mexican restaurant but I wanted to try something new so we went to Mario's Sports Bar and Grill. We were both pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere, service and food. I wouldn't mind going back but with the price of eating out now, it won't be soon - probably not until next anniversary.

The only other significant difference in our days was Saturday when we went to my youngest son's for Thanksgiving. Only two of his five children were there. But with fewer people I was able to have some meaningful conversations, most significantly with Kathryn about her new job with the Mayo Clinics and Hospitals and with Greyson. 

He was sitting in a corner by himself, obviously upset. I sat down beside him and asked him what was wrong. "I broke something." He pointed to a small china figurine. I couldn't see anything wrong with it - no breaks or chips. "It's not broken I said." "Yes it is." When I picked it up to show him it wasn't broken, the top of it came off. It was broken, but I showed him it was a clean break and could be glued. "Was Grandma Shalea upset with him for breaking it?" "No, but I feel bad." Oh, my little sweetheart, how I remember those feelings. I talked with him a little longer, trying to cheer him up when he admitted, "I miss my Mom." which is when I learned he had been away for three days, not just that day. Oh, I understand those feelings, too, Greyson.

One of my wishes for the day was to get some new four generations photos. We couldn't quite do that with these two because their dad wasn't there - he had to work. But I did get a good three generation photo of me, my son Preston and his two grandsons, Ayden, left and Greyson, right. Boy those two are really growing fast!

I did get a new four generation photo of me, Preston, granddaughter Kathryn and great-grandson Louis.

Ayden and Greyson always come running to give me a hug and I wondered if Louis would do the same.

With a little encouragement, he did. And oh how it melted my heart. 

It isn't a new revelation, rather a reinforcement of something I already knew - time goes fast - enjoy every minute with those you love.

Our Novembers are full of anniversaries and birthdays - the last of which occurs tomorrow.

Today is the 8th birthday for great-grandson Jack. This photo was taken at Halloween which explains the clowns in the background. 

I haven't seen him and his brother since Easter but his dad (Grandson Brock) sent me photos of them so I could see their Halloween costumes.

There was another November birthday that I always remembered, that of one of my best friends from highschool. Her birthday was the 2nd. I felt bad because this year I let it slip by without sending her a card. I planned to apologize when she called me on my birthday as she usually did.

But on the 14th, our friend Ellen called to tell me she had just heard from Donna's granddaughter that Donna had died September 2. 

Of course I was shocked and of course I began remembering all the times we spent together. 

Another reminder to appreciate friends and family while you still can.

Contemplating My 80th Year On Earth

Tomorrow I will get good wishes for my 79th birthday, which I appreciate.

But today I am thinking about 11:56 p.m. tomorrow night when I begin my 80th year in the only state I've ever lived in or wanted to live in. 

I wonder if I will learn as many new things as I did during my first year? Maybe learn is the wrong word - become aware of - understand.

Author and poet Jim Harrison had some of the same feelings toward his final years as I am having....

Seven In The Woods By Jim Harrison

Am I as old as I am?
Maybe not. Time is a mystery
that can tip us upside down.
Yesterday I was seven in the woods,
a bandage covering my blind eye,
in a bedroll Mother made me
so I could sleep out in the woods
far from people. A garter snake glided by
without noticing me. A chickadee
landed on my bare toe, so light
she wasn’t believable. The night
had been long and the treetops
thick with a trillion stars. Who
was I, half-blind on the forest floor
who was I at age seven? Sixty-eight
years later I can still inhabit that boy’s
body without thinking of the time between.
It is the burden of life to be many ages
without seeing the end of time.

And though I am not blind in one eye, I am getting closer to being so - just one more thing to accept.

The main feeling I have about my life is gratitude. I have been and still am very fortunate. 💛😌

Bare November Days

 

My November Guest By Robert Frost

My sorrow, when she’s here with me,
     Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
     She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.
     She talks and I am fain to list:
She’s glad the birds are gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted grey
     Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,
     The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
     And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know
     The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
     And they are better for her praise.

In The Dreamy Silence

 

Autumn By Alexander Posey

In the dreamy silence 

Of the afternoon, a 

Cloth of gold is woven

Over wood and prairie;

And the jaybird, newly

Fallen from the heaven,

Scatters cordial greetings,

And the air is filled with

Scarlet leaves, that, dropping,

Rise again, as ever,

With a useless sigh for

Rest -- and it is Autumn.

Crows, Grackles, Starlings - Blackbirds All

 The Crow By Mortimer Crane Brown 

I know the year is dying,

Soon the summer will be dead.

I can trace it to the flying

Of the black crows overhead;

I can hear it in the rustle

Of the dead leaves as I pass,

And the south wind's plaintive sighing

Through the dry and withered grass.

Ah, 'tis then I love to wander,

Wander idly and alone,

Listening to the solemn music

Of sweet nature's undertone;

Wrapt in thoughts I cannot utter,

Dreams my tongue cannot express,

Dreams that match the autumn's sadness

In their longing tenderness.

My Corner Post Perch

The old farmhouse of my memories opens to a wide front porch supported by traditional posts and near a double clothesline strung between two trees.

The front yard is enclosed by double looped wire fencing strengthened by connecting boards. 

On the SW corner next to the lane is a corner post which is my perch whenever I need to be alone to cry, mope or dream. 

Such are my memories of home.

A corner post and its braces are the most important point of any fence. They are larger and set deeper to withstand the strain of supporting the fence line. A simile for parenthood?

(My corner post photo is one I took on a walk at Green Valley State Park the first of November.) ⌛

November - The Treacherous Month

 November By Helen Hunt Jackson

This is the treacherous month when autumn days
With summer’s voice come bearing summer’s gifts.
Beguiled, the pale down-trodden aster lifts
Her head and blooms again. The soft, warm haze
Makes moist once more the sere and dusty ways,
And, creeping through where dead leaves lie in drifts,
The violet returns. Snow noiseless sifts
Ere night, an icy shroud, which morning’s rays
Will idly shine upon and slowly melt,
Too late to bid the violet live again.
The treachery, at last, too late, is plain;
Bare are the places where the sweet flowers dwelt.
What joy sufficient hath November felt?
What profit from the violet’s day of pain?

(Treacherous - Involving betrayal or deception)

November 1st - Sunny and 76°

 

When it is sunny and warm on the first day of November, you just have to go for a walk. These bright red berries were the most colorful things I found.

Well, maybe not. The golden tan of the grass and the blue waters are pretty colorful, too.

It has been awhile since we've been out to Green Valley State Park/Lake. I wanted to find a spot to photograph the Platte River which is the source of the Lake - dammed in the early 60's to create it.

This was taken from inside the park looking at the same area of the lake as above.

It is eye-opening to see how low the water is.

There is usually water going through these large tubes.

Now they stand way above the water line.

This is another shot of that bush shown in the first photo. The red berries don't show up as well.

But what does is all the clearing of trees and brush that has been done along that far east side of the water. All along that section of the road has been cleared.

It looks so different.

We only hiked to the top of the hill before turning around and heading back.

It was moderately breezy. When I spotted this little yellow leaf atop the fence post I wondered why it didn't blow away.

And then I saw why - it is impaled by one small twig of that branch. There is some meaning there. I'ma gonna think on it. 

There has also been some clearing - widening of paths on this side, too.

The sun shining on this bit of dead red cedar caught my eye.

As did these small salmon colored leaves among the leaf litter of the dry ground.

A couple more of those leaves - a darker salmon - along with some yellow and green ones.

So there is some color left to be found.

The shape of dry button weeds is fascinating. Stars? Pinwheels? 

There are even some cobwebs on some of these spent blooms. Nature is so varied and interesting.

Finally, a couple treasures - a piece of limestone from the gravel walkway. You can't see it in the photo, but there are some very shiny bits imbedded in the rock.

The other item is a round brass ring with the word "India" on the rectangular piece. What from? From where?

I welcome sweet November, the season of senses, my favorite month, the month of my birth. Snow may fall before the month is over, but this first day of the month has been golden. Fitting, for its birthstone, Topaz, is the stone of love and good fortune. 💛

Books Read In October 2022

 Nine books read for the month of October:

Righteous Prey by John Sandford is #32 in his Lucas Davenport series. Lucas teams up with another Sandford series character, Virgil Flowers in order to identify and bring to justice the members of a vigilante group known as "The Five". I read the paperback version so this was my bedtime book the first part of the month.

Long Road To Mercy and A Minute To Midnight are the first two books in David Baldacci's Atlee Pine series.  

The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci is the first book in a new series featuring Travis Devine.

True Blue and Wish You Well by David Baldacci  are both stand alones. True Blue is a national security thriller in his usual style (paperback, so it was my bedtime read the last half of this month). Wish You Well, a departure from the standard fare, is set in Virginia during the early 1940's. I loved this book. It illustrates that Baldacci is not only a great crime writer but can also write wonderful softer stories.

Find Her and Look For Me by Lisa Gardner are the next two titles in her D.D. Warren series. I'm nearly done reading my way through this series (and will be sad when it ends) so I checked for "If you like Lisa Gardner books, you'll like .....

.....Alex Kava. One False Move is the book I decided to try. I learned that Kava is a local author (Omaha) and her novels are set in Nebraska. At first I wasn't sure if I would read any more than this book but I soon decided that, while she isn't as gritty as some authors I read, she is a good writer and I do like reading books set in the Midwest. Our library does have a number of her titles for me to read my way through. 

That is the wrap-up for October.  

 Happy Halloween!! 🎃💀

"When the leaves, by thousands thinned,

A thousand times have whirled in the wind,

And the moon, with hollow cheek,

Staring from her hollow height,

Consolation seems to seek

From the dim, reechoing night;

And the fog-streaks dead and white

Lie like ghosts of lost delight

O'er highest earth and lowest sky;

Then, Autumn, work thy witchery!

(From "Incantation" by George Parsons Lathrop)

Comes The Festival Season

 

Before the cold and snow of Winter

There comes the Festival Season

When Nature is all aglow

Baled Hay  By Robert  Pack

Wheels of baled hay bask in October sun:
Gold circles strewn across the sloping field,
They seem arranged as if each one
Has found its place; together they appeal
To some glimpsed order in my mind
Preceding my chance pausing here --
A randomness that also seems designed.
Gold circles strewn across the sloping field
Evoke a silence deep as my deep fear
Of emptiness; I feel the scene requires
A listener who can respond with words, yet who
Prolongs the silence that I still desire,
Relieved as clacking crows come flashing through,
Whose blackness shows chance radiance of fire.
Yet stillness in the field remains for everyone:
Wheels of baled hay bask in October sun.
  

I Was Made For Autumn Time

Does the season you were born in have anything to do with your favorite time of the year? Your favorite colors? Your general disposition? Making you who you are? 

Three weeks from tonight I will begin my 80th year on this good earth. I am a child of Autumn.

Autumn Child ~

By Flora Turrill

I was made for autumn time,

Her patient dawns and pensive skies,

Thick, woven scarves and poetry,

The rustling sonnets of the leaves.

I was made for misty days,

The intense scent of life's decay,

A touch of frost upon my nose,

The feral winds that howl and blow.

I was made for autumn rain,

Viewed safely from my window pane,

Beloved books and apple pie,

A glowing hearth and candlelight.

I was made for harvest moons,

All Hallows' Eve and pumpkins too,

The embers of a blessed fire

That sweep throughout a sleepy Shire.

I was made for onyx dawns,

Bewitching noons & breathless morns,

The whispers of a thinning veil,

Enchanted eves and timeless tales.

I was made for cloudless skies,

Autumnal walks and warm attire,

The beauty of each matchless day;

O Autumn, bless me with your ways.

From the Ea

Exploring Jones Township and Otterbein Cemetery

Poking around on the internet a couple months ago, I happened across a mention of Otterbein Cemetery, also known as Buzzard's Roost Cemetery, in SE Union County. Intriqued by the name(s), I added it to my list of 'places to see/visit'. Today was the day. I was hoping the leaves of autumn would provide for some colorful snaps, but they were just past prime. So I looked for other photo ops.

I can never resist a dirt road, even one marked "dead end".

I turned onto the first one I saw. It ended in a cornfield which had been harvested and baled.

And crossed a small creek. 

Jones Township is one of many timbers, windy roads, rollercoaster hills, river valleys - i.e., a few of my favorite things.

I assumed Otterbein Cemetery was named for some of the first family members buried there, but I didn't see any graves with that name.

A bit of research shows me that it most likely was named for the Otterbein United Brethren Church once located in the same area.

William Aughterbine (Otterbein) of Germany was the founder of the Society of United Brethren. Settlers in Chesterfield, Indiana organized a United Brethren Church and named it after the society's founder, Otterbein. There is an Otterbein Cemetery in Madison County, Indiana.

Looking into Buzzard's Roost Cemetery from the lane leading to it.

That dead tree was interesting.

I couldn't help thinking, "I would as soon have this tree as a grave marker as one made from granite."

The top is reminiscent of a woodpecker - perhaps one that once made the tree its home?

Looking into the woods on the east side of the cemetery where there were still some pretty colors.

Continuing North on Umbrella Avenue, at the t-intersection with 197th Rd., I planned to go left. Then decided to go right thinking it would take us to Talmage Hill Park.

Instead I was happily surprised to find us at Thayer Lake Park.

I remember going here when I was young. In my memory there were a number of cottages around the lake.

US Hwy 34 went past the lake. There is still a small stretch of old 34 on the north side.

The narrow gravel road on the south side of the lake takes you to the campground area.

It seemed quiet and secluded this morning with only one camper there.

Back on new US 34 we went west to Talmage Road and North to ...

... Mt. Pisgah Road. Still dirt, just as it was sixty years ago when, on a Sunday afternoon drive, Dad showed us the Mt. Pisgah cemetery where so many Mormons were buried after ending their journey on the way to Utah. 

I blogged about a more recent visit to Mt. Pisgah here:  https://rilynam.blogspot.com/2017/11/revisiting-another-old-sunday-drive-spot.html  

Looking downriver from the bridge across the Grand River. The old iron bridge has been replaced with a new concrete one - not nearly as picturesque as the old one, but the river remains the same.

Some Grand River Valley bottom farmland.

With a few red sumacs for color.

This mowed, well kept, pathway was east of the bridge on the north side of the road.

It looked so inviting. What was it for? Where did it lead? Unfortunately it was posted: "No Trespassing". For a change, I obeyed. 

Doesn't this look like the canopy of a forest?

It is actually moss growing on the concrete bridge along the side.

It was so unlike any moss I have ever seen before.

Pretty and amazing.

Now, turn around and head back on Mt. Pisgah Road.

Toward home and the end of a fun, adventuresome morning.

So, so, satisfying. 

I love the colors of fall.

I was made for Autumn Time .....