Mark's Reading Place: Chapter Twenty

Lake Superior-Lawren Harris (1885-1970) -Group of Seven



-Red-Tailed Hawk

Audiobook:



Graphic/Comic:



September:

101) The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin 4.6 stars (audio)
102) Vesper Flights by Helen MacDonald 4.2 stars E
103) Burning Bright: Stories by Ron Rash 4.4 stars E
104) Migrations: A Novel by Charlotte McConaghy 4.3 stars
105) Postcolonial Love Poem: Poems by Natalie Diaz 4.7 stars P
106) Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life by Ulli Lust 4 stars GN
107) How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi 4 stars (audio)
108) Tiny Love: The Complete Stories by Larry Brown 5 stars

October:

109) The New Wilderness by Diane Cook 3.6 stars
110) The Home Place: Memoir by J. Drew Lanham 3.7 stars
111) The Pale-Faced Lie: A True Story by David Crow 4 stars (audio)
112) Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell 4.2 stars ER
113) Blue Pills: A Positive Love Story by Frederik Peeters 4 stars GN
114) Lost in the City: Stories by Edward P Jones 3.6 stars
115) Righteous (An IQ Novel 2) by Joe Ide 4 stars E
116) Erosion: Essays of Undoing by Terry Tempest Williams 4 stars (audio)
117) The Lives of Edie Pritchard by Larry Watson 3.7 stars ER
118) New Poets of Native Nations by Heid E. Erdrich 3.3 stars P

November:

119) Lupus by Frederik Peeters 4.4 stars GN
120) Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir by Natasha Trethewey 4.5 stars (audio)
121) The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu 4.2 stars
122) The Sea by John Banville 4.3 stars
123) The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado GN
124) Or What You Will by Jo Walton 4 stars
125) How to Fly: Poetry by Barbara Kingsolver 3.7 stars P
126) Dinosaurs on Other Planets: Stories by Danielle McLaughlin 4.3 stars
127) Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer 4.3 stars (audio)
128) Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart 5 stars
129) Welcome to the New World by Jake Halpern 4.2 stars GN

December:

130) F*ckface: And Other Stories by Leah Hampton 4.4 stars
131) Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks 4.3 stars
132) A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston 4.2 stars (audio)
133) Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore 4.5 stars E
134) Winter Count by Barry Lopez 4 stars E
135) Jack by Marilynne Robinson 3.7 stars

Happy new one, Mark! I saw there were only 3 posts here and thought maybe I was jumping the gun in commenting, but given the time lapse, I think I'm safe! No dozens of opening posts for you, eh :)

Happy new one, Mark. I love how you and Ellen are celebrating our Canadian artists! You've both chosen some great ones for toppers lately!

And >3 msf59: still tickles the funny bone. Making him truly go away, though, seems to be a daunting task.

>4 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie. I usually keep to 3 or 4 opening posts. I know some folks have many, almost like reading a short book. Grins...

>5 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. I enjoy these Canadian artists and I don't recall if I have looked into Harris before. He has a striking style. I had to include that poem again. It makes me smile every time.

Happy new thread, Mark!

Happy new thread! Have a nice Sunday. Don't think I will stay up for the second half of the game. Work tomorrow...

Happy new thread, Mark!

Happy New Thread, Mark!

>6 msf59: - Mark, do you know about the Steve Martin/Lawren Harris connection? It was a big deal here a few years back. Here is the radio interview he did. Worth a listen:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sunday/getting-it-wrong-steve-martin-art-curator-in-pra...

Happy new one, Mark!

Thanks, Anita, Chelle, Rhian & Mamie!

>8 alphaorder: Thanks, Nancy. I know our lowly Bears will have their hands full against the Pack. I will probably go to bed early too. LOL. Rodgers & Co have been incredible this year.

>11 jessibud2: No, I did not know this, Shelley. How cool is that? I did know that Martin is a huge art lover. I love that "Lake Superior" is featured in the article. Here is another gem:



-North Shore, Lake Superior, 1926.

Happy new thread, Mark!

>14 richardderus: Thanks, Richard!

"F*ckface is a brassy, bighearted debut collection of twelve short stories about rurality, corpses, honeybee collapse, and illicit sex in post-coal Appalachia."

Wow, F*ckface sure sounds like my cuppa and what a great title. These promising story collections just keep on rolling out. This came from a list that Richard shared with me. I am starting it today.

Ahem.

>12 Crazymamie: >17 Crazymamie: LOL. Actually, I did thank you in post #13 but in group fashion.

My bad. I won't cry about it then.

The birds have finally come back to our feeders, I am happy to report. Cardinals and sparrows and chickadees today. What our cats are most impressed with are the Eurasian collared doves come and go throughout the day.

Happy new thread!

Lawren Harris sure does striking work. Wow.

Happy new thread!

Nice topper, Mark. Happy new one.

Happy 20th thread!

>19 Crazymamie: Yep, there is no crying on Marky-Mark's thread, Mamie. Only smiles and giggles. Love the feeder report. I do not think I have seen a Eurasian collared dove. Some day?

>20 quondame: >21 drneutron: >22 BLBera: >23 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Susan, Jim, Beth and Figs! Glad you like the topper.

Hi Mark, I finished Shuggie Bain and loved it. Now I'm reading a short story collection you might like: How to Pronounce Knife which recently won Canada's Giller Prize.

Happy new thread, Mark. Harris' work reminds me a lot of the work of Tony Only, another Canadian artist.

Happy new thread, Mark.

Happy new thread, Mark!

>1 msf59: Happy new thread, Mark. I love that painting!

>25 brenzi: Hi, Bonnie. I am glad all my pals have enjoyed Shuggie as much as I did. How to Pronounce Knife definitely sounds like my cuppa. Thanks for the rec.

>26 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. I had not heard of Toni Onley. I will have to check him out.

>27 PaulCranswick: >30 banjo123: >31 EllaTim: Thanks, Paul, Rhonda & Ella!

-Toni Onley (1928 - 2004)

^This is the Canadian artist that Meg recommended. I had not heard of him but I am now a fan.

‘Morning, happy Monday, and happy new thread!

From your previous thread, yes, your four Bs are birds, beer, books, and Bears, not necessarily in that order at any given time. *smile*

>3 msf59: I loved it so much I sent to my friend Karen in Montana.

>34 karenmarie: Morning, Karen and thanks. I think I will have to drop that 4th "B". It is a depressing one and does not fit with the joys of the others. Glad you enjoyed and shared the poem. I am glad I carried it over from the last thread.

>33 msf59: Love that painting Mark. The artist is new to me too.

>33 msf59: How unearthly gorgeous that is!

I received your recommendation on GR, blast you!!

Hello Mark - the FRONT PAGE of the Wisconsin State Journal today, Monday,

features "Birders flock for a rare sight" =

"Wisconsin species shows up in local woods" = Black-throated Gray Warbler!

We're closely watching our feeders. Any sign around Chicago?

>36 Caroline_McElwee: Glad you like the artwork, Caroline. I will be sharing more of his work.

>37 richardderus: I agree, Richard. I am loving F*ckface: and Other Stories and I think it is your cuppa too, plus it is mostly set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which I LOVE. More warbling to come.

>38 m.belljackson: I adore my WI LT pals! Nancy all ready shared this lovely sighting with me earlier today. I had not even heard of a black-throated gray warbler until now. No local reports. I wish Madison was a bit closer.

Happy new thread! Glad to see your days of reading and bird watching continue happily, Mark.

Thanks, Mary. It is cold and windy here today, so it is keeping me indoors. I hope I can venture out tomorrow.

Perhaps the World Ends Here



Joy Harjo. Our current poet laureate.

I am sure I posted this one before but I had to share it again. One of my faves.

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread, Mark!

Nice toppers, and artwork. And poems - that Joy Harjo one is one of my faves, too. I just got the big Louise Gluck collection in the mail, so that'll be an ongoing project. It's humongous plus one.

Have I been here before? Actually, I do know I've visited this spankin' new thread, but I left no trace of my having scanned your shelves. At least I hope not. Cheerio, old bean.

>43 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver!

>44 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe. Good to see you. Glad you like the toppers, artwork & poems. I will watch for your thoughts as you slowly make your way through the "humongous" Gluck collection.

>45 weird_O: Hey, Bill. I hope you got a healthy chunk of reading in today.

Oh, a new thread and filled with Canadian art - how lovely. I particularly like the Toni Onley. Best wishes for a great week, Mark!

>47 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, Judy. Great to see you. Glad you like the Canadian art. As you can tell, I am a big fan.

'Morning, Mark, and happy Tuesday to you.

I'm sorry it may be a 3Bs fall for you. Your Bears and my Panthers. Not the stuff dreams are made of this year.

I'm enjoying the Cardinals - two of them have been chasing each other around in the crepe Myrtle. They're not happy that the sunflower feeder's empty. I will be buying 50 lbs today. Ah, a female Cardinal just landed on the wild bird seed feeder and is chowing down. She's also chasing the Finches off.

Morning, Karen. Boo to our football teams and yah to our feeder watch. Always makes us happy. My cardinals are bullies at the main feeder too.

Morning Mark! Started my day with a few more pieces from Field Notes and a little book shopping, for me this time. Can't go wrong! Hope you have a great Tuesday.

Oh and right after I posted on your thread I saw this: https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#view=covers&year=2020

Going down a rabbit hole before work!

>51 alphaorder: >52 alphaorder: Morning, Nancy. It sounds like you know how to get ready for work. My girl! I like that NPR list, after a quick glance. I will have to swing by and take a closer look. Lots of titles I am not familiar with.

Greetings from snowy Cleveland! We’ve already gotten about 6” of snow with more on the way.
Poor little birds can’t get to their food as it’s covered with snow. I’ll go out in a bit to clear it off.
A great day to snuggle with books.

>54 Carmenere: Morning, Lynda. Boo about the snow! That really stinks and thanks for doing your bird feeder duty. I am proud of you. Enjoy those books.

>55 msf59: I was rewarded with a pair of cardinals, blue jay, red bellied woodpecker. It’s snowing like crazy but it’s really quite nice. So, also cleared the walkway and unsnowed our inflatable Santa.

Welp. Looks like it's Tuesday, Old Thing, so what do you plan to do about it?

Morning, Mark! Happy Tuesday!

>42 msf59: I like this poem, but I am very thankful not to have given birth on my kitchen table.

I invested great expanses of time in a lot of ultimately pointless endeavors. But, having finished Tuck Everlasting in one day, I returned to All the King's Men. Read a substantial number of pages, folding at about 4:30 a.m., 20 pages from the end of a nearly 100-page chapter, 20 pages from the half way point. This morning, I signed onto the group read of A Promised Land.

One commenter on the group read thread posted: I particularly liked Mrs. Obama commenting something like "How are you going to get this all done - do you have magic beans or something?" That's what I now am asking myself. Especially considering my bookish track record since summer.

>52 alphaorder: Also too, this is brutal to one in such precarious...eh...uh...condition.

>59 weird_O:
That's quite a contrast- All the King's Men and A Promised Land. Are you doing a study in contrasts?

Hi, Mark, and happy new thread! I love that red-tailed hawk image up there in >1 msf59:. Did you take it?

>56 Carmenere: Hi Lynda. Boo about the snow but I enjoy those feeder reports. Our red-bellied drops by now and then.

>57 richardderus: Hey, Richard. I was out with my birding buddies, but it was COLD. Not sure it got out of the 20s by the time we finished. Books in the warmer P.M.

>58 Crazymamie: Hi, Mamie. Glad you like the Harjo poem and I am certainly glad you didn't have to give birth on a kitchen table. Whew!!

Mark, your warbling aboutF*ckface captured my attention, and I was happy to see it included in this month's Kindle Monthly Deals for $2.99 :)

>49 karenmarie: >50 msf59: Bills Mafia is accepting new members lol.

>63 katiekrug: Hey, Katie. I am glad I got your attention with F*ckface: and Other Stories. It is a very good collection. I am close to finishing it.

>64 brenzi: LOL. Hey, at least your Bills are having a strong season. I will be rootin' them on!

Hey, there, my friend. Did you miss me up there at >61 Storeetllr:? I post so seldom, maybe you thought your eyes were deceiving you?

>66 Storeetllr: I did forget you, Mary. LOL. I read it but forgot to reply. Sorry. Glad you like the RTH and yes, I did take that photo, just after sunrise.

'Morning, Mark! Happy Wednesday to you.

I lugged a 40-lb bag of wild bird seed and a 50-lb bag of black oil sunflower seeds out of the car yesterday - didn't do my back much good but the birds will be happy after I dump it in the metal trashcans in the garage and fill their feeders.

Morning, Karen. Can Bill help you with those 50lb bags? Sounds heavy. Glad to hear you are stocking up for the birdies. Good job.

"Rufous hummingbirds are the most northerly hummingbird species. Their breeding range extends through the Pacific Northwest, western Canada, and into southern Alaska. The birds prefer deciduous or mixed coniferous forests, mature parks, or yards, often with widespread flowers or forest edges that border flowering meadows. These hummingbirds follow a circular migration route each year."

^How this Rufous Hummingbird found it's way far east, into a cold Midwestern yard, (it was in the mid-20s) is a mystery but another LIFER. This was in someone's front yard and they were kind enough to let us crazy birders hang around for awhile and watch and photograph this beautiful little bird. I was happy with the shots I got.

>70 msf59: Another great find!

>71 alphaorder: It sure was Nancy. There are rare bird sighting apps for your cellphone and we get these notices. We were at the Arborteum and got this alert. It was 10 minutes away. Very nice homeowners.

Fuck Your Lecture on Craft, My People Are Dying

Colonizers write about flowers.
I tell you about children throwing rocks at Israeli tanks
seconds before becoming daisies.
I want to be like those poets who care about the moon.
Palestinians don’t see the moon from jail cells and prisons.
It’s so beautiful, the moon.
They’re so beautiful, the flowers.
I pick flowers for my dead father when I’m sad.
He watches Al Jazeera all day.
I wish Jessica would stop texting me Happy Ramadan.
I know I’m American because when I walk into a room something dies.
Metaphors about death are for poets who think ghosts care about sound.
When I die, I promise to haunt you forever.
One day, I’ll write about the flowers like we own them.

-BY NOOR HINDI

Morning, Mark!

>73 msf59: That is one very angry poem.

Love the hummingbird photo - so cool you got to see it. And in December!

>70 msf59: I always suspect that really strange sightings like a rufous hummingbird in Illinois mean that someone's aviary sprung a leak.

I hope the little thing survives. Have a happy Wednesday's reads.

>70 msf59: - I hope that beauty survives the winter! Great photo!

>74 Crazymamie: Hi, Mamie! Yes, that poem hits hard. That is why I like it. Glad you like the hummingbird photo. Funny, I have not seen a ruby-throated hummingbird in nearly two months and those our are hardy hummers.

>75 richardderus: Hey, Richard. I am thinking this Rufous is a wild bird, made hardy by his wayward travels. I am sure he will be heading back west soon.

>76 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. It was such a treat to see this little guy.

>67 msf59: Thanks, Mark! Usually, I'd just let it go, but I really wanted to be sure you took that photo because I want to paint it, if that's okay with you.

>73 msf59: That really speaks to me.

Happy Hump Day, as if we care anymore.

We had a dusting of snow this morning, a thin layer on the deck and the north-facing slope opposite. All gone by 10:30.

>70 msf59: A beautiful visitor. Great shot Mark.

Albino owl.

Scares the fuck outta me.

>78 Storeetllr: Please use my RTH as your model. I would be honored, Mary. Glad you like the poem.

>79 weird_O: Hey, Bill. Glad the snow didn't stick around. It is getting very cold here, over night but warms up nicely during the day. I'll take it.

>80 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline.

>81 richardderus: LOL. Actually I think the little owl looks pretty cool. I wonder how long it could survive in the wild?

"As the young Englishman Stephen Wraysford passes through a tempestuous love affair with Isabelle Azaire in France and enters the dark, surreal world beneath the trenches of No Man's Land, Sebastian Faulks creates a world of fiction that is as tragic as A Farewell to Arms and as sensuous as The English Patient."

I know there are many Faulks fans here on LT, and I have had Birdsong on shelf for years so I have no explanation to why I have yet to read him. Well, Bonnie finally supplied the nudge I needed. I am 50 pages in and it has grabbed me immediately.



^I prefer this cover, which is the one I have.

^I caught this Great Blue Heron on one of my solo rambles last week. He really posed pretty for me too.

>83 msf59: I saw your mention of Birdsong over on Bonnie's thread, Mark. Bonnie and I are usually in lock step with our opinions on books. So perhaps it goes without saying that I loved Birdsong, too. I read it several years before LT and it was one of the first "war books" I'd read that drove home the horrors of World War I in a way I hadn't grasped before. It's one of my all-time favorite books.

'Morning, Mark! Happy Thursday to you.

Excellent photos of the Rufous Hummingbird and the Great Blue Heron.

I put out a Cherry Crunch suet block yesterday and Blue Jays, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Tufted Titmice, and Carolina Chickadees all went at it. I also think there was a Carolina Wren in the mix.

A lot of skimming...hope I didn't miss any information about life-changing developments...how can it be Thursday already???

>83 msf59: Mark, like you Birdsong is somewhere on the shelves. Unlike you, I'm not sure where to find it.

It is a cold week. I need to get out and get some groceries, but I am procrastinating.

Happy Day to you.

>81 richardderus: Hmmm. Mayperhapsbe a snowy owl. I know it's an albino, but the appellation "snowy" certainly fits it.

>73 msf59: very good!

Sorry for the delay folks, in responding. A bit under the weather yesterday but better today, just in time for our Mexico trip.

>85 lauralkeet: Hi, Laura. Thanks for chiming in on Birdsong. I can see why it has many fans over here. Less than a 100 pages in but I am hooked. I have not reached the war yet.

>86 karenmarie: Morning, Karen. Glad you like the photos. Ooh, the "Cherry Crunch" suet block sounds like a hit. Sadly, we rarely get blue jays at our feeders.

>87 laytonwoman3rd: Hi, Linda. Good to see you. You have not missed anything of importance, other than retirement has been wonderful.

>88 Whisper1: Hi, Linda. Good to see you. I hope I can inspire you to track down Birdsong. It has been excellent so far. Enjoy your weekend.

>89 weird_O: It does not look like a snowy owl, Bill. I am curious which owl it is.

>90 The_Hibernator: Hey, Rachel. Glad you like the poem.

Hi Mark, and happy Friday to you! Good luck with all the cleaning and packing for your trip. I hope you have a wonderful and safe time in Mexico.

Morning, Karen and thank you. We are definitely hoping for a safe and relaxing trip.

Via con dios, Mark! My understanding from recent research is that it's not the planes that are a problem, it's the airports and lack of distancing. Be safe.

>95 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie. I have heard that too and in these instances we will be the most cautious.

>83 msf59: I've still to get to this one myself Mark.

>84 msf59: Great photo. I think it's a she, in her oldest but favourite coat.

Enjoy the trip, and come home safe and well.

>97 Caroline_McElwee: Hi, Caroline. I am loving Birdsong. I hope you move it up the queue. You might be right about the GBH. I have hard time telling the difference in the sex.

>98 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. Looking forward to warm weather, gazing at the ocean and drinking those cocktails.

"I've always hated birds."

^This is uttered by Stephen, the main character in Birdsong. How do I recover from this?

Safe travels, Mark, and have a good time!

Have a great trip.

Stay healthy and have a lot of fun!

>101 FAMeulstee: >102 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita & Figs. We are looking forward to it.

^We are returning to Mazatlan MX tomorrow for a week's getaway. We had to postpone twice. It is a beautiful location. We will most likely be keeping to ourselves for most of the trip. I plan on getting plenty of reading in, along with some birding. I am sure cocktails will be in the mix too.

I will not be on LT much, but I will update when I can.

>104 msf59: Have fun, Marc. It looks really nice and sunny!

>100 msf59: I don't know if my daughter hates all birds, but she really hates cockatiels as house pets.

>104 msf59: Happy vacationing!! Stay safe and enjoy the sunshine. And books. And cocktails. : )

Count me in as another lover of Birdsong. Mark.

Enjoy your trip and soak up enough warmth and sunshine to last you through your cold winter.

>105 EllaTim: Thanks, Ella. Looking forward to it.

>106 quondame: I wonder why cockatiels are so bad? Not familar with them as pets.

>107 Berly: Thanks, Kimmers. Looking forward to all of that.

>108 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, Judy. I am fast approaching the halfway point in Birdsong and enjoying it very much.

^I do not run across mink, very often on my bird rambles, so it was nice to see this guy. He was crossing the ice and gave me a few photo ops.

>109 msf59: I don't know if they are more troublesome than other pet birds, it's just that they were my sister's pets while we stayed with her and had, during the daytime, freedom of the house. It could get messy and I totally freaked out when one of my glass head (bright red) pins went missing. It was found, but I kept them covered from then on.

Enjoy your holiday Mark!

Adios, compadres!!

>104 msf59: Sounds perfect Mark, enjoy.

>110 msf59: Great to see your new friend.

>110 msf59: how cute!!

Have a safe and fun trip!

Hi Mark!

>110 msf59: Great photo of the mink. I especially loved the fluffed-out tail.

I am glad to note that you are not solely concentrating on birds. There are other animals in the forest and I am happy that you took a picture and alerted the rest of us to the other comings and goings that you find during your rambles and wanderings. Minks are rare in Kansas, but they can be found. Otters and beavers are much more likely.

I too will be journeying this week. I leave for Kansas on Thursday. We are celebrating early this year so that I can return early in order to meet the current quarantine requirements that I will have to do before classes start on January 13. UA is being very strict about following the protocols - any out-of-state-travel will be followed by a 14 day quarantine. It doesn't matter what mode of travel - it is all travel, so I need to comply. Some states are not requiring people who drive in to quarantine - only those who use public transportation. This is a rule I don't understand at all. The public modes of transportation are meticulously and rigorusly cleaned on a regular basis. They are probably safer than being in a car with the person next to you, but we can't implicate family members as carriers, can we?

The Magnificent Frigatebird has landed...

Safe travels, Mark. Frigates are cool. I like most birds but will confess that I do not like crows or geese.

Keep safe and have fun Mark.

>104 msf59: Wow Mark that is brave in these times!

Safe travels and safe return. Enjoy all the bits in between.

Buenos Dias, everyone. Como estas? It is stunningly beautiful here. Sadly, I am having issues posting on my iPad so I won't be posting much.

>100 msf59: Hahaha, I know, right? Hard to believe there are some people who don't like - or even hate - birds. I get that sometimes when I offer to introduce someone to Nickel. I mean, who could hate this sweet face? Be afraid of it - yes, I get that beak is fearsome, but hate?



Hope you are enjoying your vacation in the warm climes of Mazatlan! Stay safe and have fun!

Finally resurfacing to find you on holiday ;) Enjoy.

Hope you and Sue are having a good time in Mazatlan, Mark. I'll bet it's beautiful there.

You're missing chilly and dank here, poor guy. Luckily we've got a sunny little girl here to brighten it up.

Big Girl, Small Town is different and very good. I'm drawn into a life unlike any I've known.

Buenos Dias, LT pals. Gorgeous here. Spent a nice chunk of time on the beach yesterday and got a surprising amount of birding in, as well. At least 5 lifers, but I need to ID a couple of them. One of them was a Vermillion Flycatcher, which is strikingly beautiful. I took photos too.

Hi Mark! I'm glad you're having a good trip and congrats on 5 lifers. I just looked up the Vermillion Flycatcher - gorgeous bird!

Oh gosh, flycatchers are so beautiful! Do they really catch flies, or is that just good PR?

Anyway, have a beautiful day there in the not-quite-too-hotness.

Hi Mark. I haven't yet read anything by Sebastian Faulks but he is an author I'd like to explore.

>110 msf59: Wow!!!!

Buenos Dias! Sweet Thursday, everyone. The trip has been wonderful. 80F every day, plus plenty of food and drink. As a bonus, I am adding a new bird sighting now and then.

Starting to get more reading in too and will wrap up Birdsong soon. This was 500 pages, so it took me awhile. Excellent read, though.

Lighter crowds here, so pretty easy to practice social distancing, which is a bit of a relief. The plan, is to spend a big chunk of the day, reclining on the beach.
We return Saturday.

>132 msf59: Sounds like a great time, Mark.

Looks like we're dodging a bullet on the predicted 16 inches of snow on Saturday, Mark. Down your way, maybe nothing but up here in my part of Chicagoland, one weather model is showing 3 to 4 inches, the other just a bit less, and the other one about a foot of snow. It's been in the 50's yesterday and today. It seems to change by the hour though.

Hi Mark, I hope you are enjoying plenty of beach time before having to come home to face the winter weather. I bet you are glad that you don't have to go to work in that weather anymore!

For my Christmas trek to Kansas I went to the library today and got Born to Run (the biography of Bruce Springsteen). It is 20 hours in length so it will take me all the way there. I was ready for a new book in the car so this worked out nicely. As soon as I got it out of the library I punked the first CD in the player and away the biography went.

For the trip back I am going to listen to the second Harry Potter book. I listened to the first one a year ago on the trip back from Kansas to Alabama so I figured it would be a nice tradition to start for the Christmas trip.

Ahhh, the blessings of COVID come out at last: Light crowds = very good thing.

Travel safely.

>135 benitastrnad: My drive is considerably less than yours. I always enjoy picking out the books I'll listen to on my drive.

Glad to hear good comments about Birdsong. On my wishlist!

>84 msf59: Mark, I truly believe you have a way of drawing birds to you! The amount of sightings is incredible.

^The Bird Dude has returned. Everything went perfectly, other than I couldn't post much on LT, a minor inconvenience. This photo is from our last trip to Mazatlan, exactly 2 years ago. If you recall, I helped rescue a Cattle Egret, that had been tangled in fishing line and couldn't get out of a tree. I did go on another of these bird watching tours this time too, and Sue joined me, driving the little boat and getting me close for photos. Funny, I saw more "Lifers" while birding on my own. Much more on that later, with photos and details.

So glad that you've returned safe and sound! It's felt very strange to not have Mark sightings every day.

Thanks, Caroline, Chelle, Karen, Rhonda, Bonnie, Paul & Bekka!

>118 benitastrnad: Hi, Benita. I like the outdoors and all wildlife. I have to venture up to WI, to see otters .I saw one there, this summer. I hope you have a nice and safe trip to Kansas, my friend.

>124 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary. We had a great time. Nickel is a beauty. How can you not love that face?

>126 jnwelch: Hi, Joe. We had a great time and we got back just in time for a cold snap. Yah! Hey, at least we aren't returning to 6 inches of snow.

>128 karenmarie: >141 karenmarie: Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. I missed posting too. I spent most of my cell phone free time, researching Mexican birds and migrants, which really helped me with identification. Lot more detail to come.

>129 richardderus: Hey, RD. Yep, flycatchers are primarily insect eaters, as they flit among the foliage. It was also good trip for seeing American Oystercatchers. I saw them several times. I know they are favorites of yours.

>130 EBT1002: >138 EBT1002: Hi, Ellen. I highly recommend Birdsong. I will be reading more Faulks.

Oh goody, new pictures!

We have pied oystercatchers

on the beach here. They nest in the lee of the boardwalk and seem to adore the microclimate here.

>133 lindapanzo: Hi, Linda. Did you get any snow? It was just cold when we got back last night. It looks like it will be chilly the next few days. That I can handle.

>134 DeltaQueen50: Hi, Judy. We did clock in a lot of quiet beach time this trip. It was wonderful. And yes, it is nice to have winter arriving and I only have to go out, when I feel like it.

>135 benitastrnad: I think the Springsteen memoir is a perfect choice, Benita. Hanging out with Bruce for 20 hours, is not a bad way to pass the time. The book could have used some editing. My only complaint.

>136 richardderus: We were blessed with the lighter crowds, Richard. So far, I feel fine but I think I will get tested soon, just to be on the safe side.

>139 Whisper1: Hi, Linda. I had some great sightings this trip too. My perseverance really paid off. More details to come.

^^Sorry, if I missed anyone up there.

"It’s February 1976, and Odessa, Texas, stands on the cusp of the next great oil boom. While the town’s men embrace the coming prosperity, its women intimately know and fear the violence that always seems to follow. Valentine is a haunting exploration of the intersections of violence and race, class and region in a story that plumbs the depths of darkness and fear, yet offers a window into beauty and hope."

^Solo birding seemed to get top priority on this trip but I did get a fair amount of reading in too. I finished Birdsong, (500 pages, although I read about 300, on the trip). Excellent read. I also started Valentine, which Joanne so wisely recommended to me. I love alternating POV chapters. A great fit. Into the second half of that one. I am also loving Whale Days, the latest poetry collection by Billy Collins.

>145 msf59: Welcome back, Mark.

When I went to sleep there was no snow. I think I read that we got an inch and a half of rain. When I got up this morning, there was a dusting of snow on the lawn.

>146 msf59: Welcome home, Mark!

Daniel (from Boswell) gave me an ARC of Valentine. He loved it too. Guess I need to move it up my stack!

Welcome back, Mark! We've missed you around here. I'm glad the warbling will now resume.

Hi Mark - glad you made it safely back and had a great fun time, birds and all!

We got your expected 5-6 inches of snow up here - very welcome as the
farmland was super dry. We could also track our two fawns and the gentle
mother doe as well as a dawn visit from Coolio, our neighbor's cat.

No neighbor's chickens so far - wonder how long they will be deterred by the snow...our neighbor just cleared the driveway so that may be their path.

They prefer our wilder forested acres to the clipped lawns of their home.

Feeders have cardinals, robins, juncos...and a few little darker ones that we
can't yet identify. The last(?) of Horicon's geese flew over before the storm.

>147 lindapanzo: Thanks, Linda. Glad you missed the snow. I haven't been out much but it looks like a decent day out there.

>148 alphaorder: Thanks, Nancy. I am glad you have a copy of Valentine at hand. I highly recommend it, a nice surprise read for 2020, but for forewarned- the opening chapter is brutal.

>149 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. It was an excellent getaway. And yes, expect plenty of warbling in the near future.

>150 m.belljackson: Thanks, Marianne. Boo to the snow but hooray for all the local bird sightings. I filled my feeders but I haven't checked out the birds much. I swear I saw a small flock of Sandhills flying in Mexico.

^The top photo is the main resort, where we stayed. The second photo is from the marina resort, a short shuttle ride away and our favorite place to chill. It was a quiet setting and the birding here was fantastic. Yes, this is my new hat and I am holding both my Kindle and a cold one. Heavenly...

On the other side of the jetty is the channel that leads into the marina. We cross over by water taxi. This channel, along with a network of others, was excellent for birds.

>152 msf59: I can't see the photos. They are showing the broken photo icon.

Welcome back, Mark!

>152 msf59: - no photos showing here either, Mark.

^Are the photos showing up now?

Welcome back! What a wonderful vacation, >144 richardderus: is very impressive.

>152 msf59: Now I can see the pictures it really looks lovely. Envy.

>152 msf59: :-( white squares...

Welcome back!

Sorry, about the photo issues. I am trying to share the images from my cell and for some reason, I was having a difficult time. Funny, I can see the images too. Are the images coming up now?

>153 thornton37814: >155 jessibud2: >158 Caroline_McElwee: Any better, Lori, Shelley & Caroline?

>154 banjo123: >157 quondame: >159 drneutron: Thanks, Rhonda, Susan and Jim.

I can see them now Mark. Weird that some people can see and others can't. Thank you.

Looks like you had fun Mark. Are you listening to the audio of Valentine? It's going to be my audio of the year. So good. Cassandra Campbell is getting to be one of my favorite narrators.

Yes, the pics are there now. Thanks. Looks beautiful!

>160 msf59: They are showing now. Looks like you had a relaxing time.

>152 msf59: Cool pics! A really pretty spot to spend some escape-winter time.

>161 Caroline_McElwee: Hopefully, I corrected the problem, Caroline.

>162 brenzi: Hi, Bonnie. I am reading Valentine on my Kindle. I snagged it on a ebook deal. Glad to hear that you are also a big fan and that it is also a terrific audio. I also like Cassandra Campbell, as a narrator.

>163 jessibud2: >164 thornton37814: I am glad you can finally see the images, Shelley and Lori. Sorry for the hassles.

>165 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. It sure was a pretty spot. I have been slowly working on my bird pics, which I hope to start sharing tomorrow.

Bruce and I made it back to Kansas and I can tell you that he made the trip! What a storyteller! As well as a great song teller.

I really liked this memoir and in places I was surprised by his bare naked honesty and candor. It might have been more than I wanted. I didn't think he sugar coated anything and laid his penchant for dictating what the band was going to do right out there for everybody to see. There is a reason that he is called "The Boss." One of his essays on the necessity of an artist in dictating and controlling his message was very well done. He also made an excellent narrator. It was a great way to pass 19 hours in the saddle.

>167 benitastrnad: Sounds like Bruce made perfect company, Benita. Good Choice. Have a great holiday in Kansas, with the family.

Morning, Mark! Welcome home. Nice photos - I like the hat.

>169 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie and thanks. That hat brought me good bird luck. The best 12 bucks I spent. Grins...

-Vermillion Flycatcher. I was very fortunate to see one or two of these beauties nearly every day. Good looks for photos too. LIFER



Great-Tailed Grackles. These guys were everywhere at the resort, especially when any food was being consumed. They are also extremely noisy. Fortunately, they are beautiful to look at.



-Whimbrel. Get a load of that snoz! There were only a few different shorebirds feeding in the surf but I was happy to get some great looks at this one. LIFER

'Morning, Mark, and a very happy Monday to you.

Excellent photos, so glad you had such great birding in Mexico.

Rainy day here, with Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, and House Finches so far.

Love the pics! So many lifers for you too! Do you have a notebook or somewhere you keep track?

>171 msf59: Beautiful flycatcher! I've never seen one of the snozzy ones before. Great shot, though!

Enjoy re-entry.

>171 msf59:

Hi Mark - we love the photos - the WHIMBREL is an award winner!

Hope you send it into the online contests - surf, shadow, lift-off, being at
the very right place at the perfect bird time! It was posing for you!

>172 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen. Glad you like the photos. Love the feeder report. I always enjoy those.

>173 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. I may have had around 12-14 Lifers on this trip. I keep track of my Life List on an Audubon app. I should keep it, in multiple places, to be safe.

>174 richardderus: Hey, RD. Glad you like the Vermillion. Yep, the Whimbrel is the Jimmy Durante of the bird world.

>175 m.belljackson: Thanks, Marianne. I was also very happy with the Whimbrel photo. With all the incredible bird photographers out there, I still feel quite daunted by them.

Hi Mark, I’m so happy you enjoyed your trip to Mazatlan. Although we’ve never been to Mazatlan, I do miss Mexico greatly.
Your pictures are outstanding! I especially like Whimbrel. The angle makes it look like his feet are 5 inches off the sand. The oncoming wave is a sample of perfect timing.

>177 Carmenere: Hi, Lynda. We had a great time in Mazatlan. Glad you like the photos. The Whimbrel was a happy accident. Several of my photos of this bird, were just so I could identify it later. I do love the surf in the background.

>171 msf59: Love the birds!

The egrets we see regularly in the Midwest are the stately Great Egrets. Snowy Egrets are a rarity, so I enjoyed seeing several Snowys while in Mexico. They are nice looking birds and I LOVE those yellow feet.



Hooded Oriole. One of my favorite solo discoveries while on the trip. A pair were hanging in these same palm trees, so I got to see them 3 or 4 times. They were a bit more shy, so it was tough to get a super clear photo. LIFER



American Oystercatcher. On my last trip here, I saw my first of this beautiful shorebird. This time, I saw them several times. I also like their wing patterns, as they fly around.

Ooh, gorgeous bird photos, Mark. You're lucky to get so many lifers!

Look at all those beautiful photos Mark!

Glad to see you are back, Mark!

Love the pictures, it looks like a great place to stay. And so many birds, congratulations on the lifers!
The Vermillion Flycatcher is an eycatcher. My favorite is the Great-Tailed Grackles, I love black birds.

>181 lauralkeet: >182 brenzi: >183 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Laura, Bonnie & Anita. Glad you like the photos. I have quite a few more to share. At least 15 Lifers.

Wow on that hooded oriole!

Welcome back! Great vacation and birding pics! I especially like the snowy Egret!

>180 msf59: Orioles are the most gorgeous birds!

Great bird shots, Mark! And it looks like a great beach!

Mark, the Hooded Orioles are incredibly beautiful. Are they like goldfinch who travel in pairs?

It is great to see you enjoying your retirement!

We had a dusting of snow today. Granddaughter Kayla and her friend Mason, help and stay with me three days a week. Today, they went to the library to take back some of my books and obtain new ones that were in my queue.

Weather forecast is for 16 inches of snow on Monday. Kayla and friend will leave tomorrow. Thankfully, I have a wonderful neighbor who will help with the snow blowing. I bought a snow blower for Will years ago. He couldn't figure out how to use it. He was a great eye doctor, but not so go with mechanical things.
Receipt still attached, I gave it to my neighbor. In return, he will take care of my driveway and sidewalks.

I also spend a lot of time with his little six year old child, whom I just love to pieces. He is in kindergarten (on line.) Last week, after teaching him about octopus facts, he was incredibly interested. We went to google and called up a lot of different images and colors. He was so interested that he didn't want to go home when his father came to take him home.

The next day, he learned about the barn owl. Using the stickers, he developed words. We both had fun!

Glad to see you had such a good trip Mark. Love those pictures. The Vermillion Flycatcher, Wow, such colour!

>185 jessibud2: I was fortunate to see the Hooded Oriole several times, albeit briefly. I am pretty sure there was a female hanging with him too.

>186 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Figs. Glad you like the Snowy Egret.

>187 richardderus: There were a couple of different orioles listed, as being in the general region too but no such luck there.

>188 Copperskye: Thanks, Joanne.

>189 Whisper1: Hi, Linda. Great to see you. Retirement has been wonderful, as you are well aware. It did look like the Hooded Oriole was hanging with a mate, but I only saw glimpses. She had a duller color. How much snow did you end up with? I am glad you have a neighbor to rely on for snow removal. That could be daunting and expensive. I am glad to hear you are finding joy in hanging with your neighbor's son. Those little pleasures, right? And he likes owls to boot? Grins...

>190 EllaTim: Hey, Ella. Glad you like photos. I have another lovely shot of the Vermillion Flycatcher that I will share. I was lucky to see these guys as often as I did.

Beautiful photos Mark. Congratulations on the successful spots.

I saw you were warbling around the threads about Valentine - great to see this book get the attention it deserves. I liked it a lot, hope it finds more readers.

Morning, Mark! Thanks for sharing the photos.

>193 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. It was a great trip and all great bird sightings were a major bonus. I loved Valentine. It will be one my favorite surprises of the year. I will continue to warble about it.

>194 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie. I have more bird photos to share. I hope this doesn't turn off any of my visitors, but I love sharing them.

F*ckface: And Other Stories by Leah Hampton 4.4 stars

Wow! I loved this story collection, set mostly in post-coal Appalachia. I adore the Blue Ridge Mountains and she captures it beautifully here. Tough but big-hearted stories about human struggles and environmental concerns. Highly recommended.

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks 4.3 stars

A multi-generational war novel that spans the years from 1917 to the late 1970s. The main focus is WWI and the horrors of trench-warfare. The incredible detail presented here is both harrowing and fascinating, counterbalanced by a sweeping love story. Very well-written and researched. My first Faulks. Thanks to Bonnie for the perfectly timed nudge.

A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston 4.2 stars

Breaking Bad is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I was not aware of Cranston before this show but became a huge fan, along the way. I heard terrific things about this memoir and those glowing reports were spot on. Cranston narrates the audio, so hanging out with him was a joy.

BIRDING

A gray bird with a crest and a black mask.
Gilt edges the slim
tail feathers.
An eye drop of arterial blood in a flask

of gray water is the flashing red
under the wing.
A large wader, gimlet-­eyed, under
the sun’s gimlet eye,

spearing frogs in the cattail
marsh. The sun itself a larger bird,
its wings manufacturing
the solar wind

that devours, that is what can devour a person—
floating in the vacuum
of perpetual space,
which is what there is and also is

itself a bird, a blackbird,
its black eye, black in black,
its sidewise look that makes you
look back.

-Vijay Seshadri

This is from his latest collection: That Was Now, This Is Then which I just finished and enjoyed.

>195 msf59: "I hope this doesn't turn off any of my visitors, but I love sharing them." It's YOUR thread, Mark - you get to call the shots.

‘Morning, Mark, and happy Tuesday!

>195 msf59: As Mamie says in 198, your thread It's YOUR thread, Mark - you get to call the shots..

>196 msf59: Bill and I loved Breaking Bad too. We still haven’t watched the movie about Jesse, El Camino for some reason. Have you watched it?

The snowy egret shot is beautiful! Back in 2018 when I was in Florida for a few months, we used to see them all the time. Those feet are definitely distinctive!

>198 Crazymamie: Sometimes I forget I am calling the shots over here. Grins...Thanks, Mamie.

>199 karenmarie: Morning, Karen. Hooray for calling the shots. If you like memoirs and Breaking Bad, you might want to give the Cranston a try. I have not seen El Camino. I had heard mixed things, so I thought I would rather keep the fond memories intact.

>200 drneutron: Hey, Jim. Always nice to hear from another Snowy Egret fan.

-Harry Bliss

>152 msf59: Great pics! Glad that you had a great time! I miss beach vacations!

>203 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle. It was an excellent getaway. I am not a big beach person but this setting was perfect for me.

-A group shot: A Tri-Colored Heron, (LIFER), a Snowy Egret and a White Ibis, which I saw for the first time, on the last trip.



-We have Green Herons here in the Midwest but it is always nice to see these guys, especially this close up.



-Black-Necked Stilts. I especially like that second shot.

>205 msf59: Loving the bird photos!

>205 msf59: BOTH the stilt pictures are excellent! I think those gorgeously origami'd legs are the highlight of the compositions.

Mercedes, TX, had orioles galore. I loved their brilliant and beautiful presence!

You're becoming quite the bird photographer, Mark. Love the reflections of the stilts.

>206 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori.

>207 richardderus: Glad you like the stilt pics, RD. They are striking birds. Our summer time orioles are Baltimores and Orchards. Anything else would be a rarity.

Wow! Mercedes is way down in south Texas. I am sure the birding there is fantastic.

>208 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. Sometimes I just get lucky. I do pretty good sometimes, especially since I have a fairly basic camera, compared to my bird photographer buddies.

"The moving true story of a group of young men growing up on Chicago's West side who form the first all-black high school rowing team in the nation, and in doing so not only transform a sport, but their lives."

^Despite A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America's First All-Black High School Rowing Team being set on the Chicago west side, in the '90s, I was completely unaware of this story. Thankfully, Nancy read it earlier this year and put it firmly on my radar. I started the audio today and I think this will be a gem.

Wonderful bird spottings and photographs Mark.

Glad the Cranston autobiog hit the spot too.

Mark - for years,

I have made Calendars of both my Cats and Dogs and
nature, notably an incredible Box Elder in the front yard.

It would be great to inspire you to create a Bird Calendar,
starting with orders from your LT Thread!

>211 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. Hooray for birds and the Cranston memoir!

>212 m.belljackson: Hi, Marianne. Making your own photo calendar sounds wonderful. I think by 2021, I should be ready to give it a try. Grins...

^As soon as I returned from our trip, I requested these titles from the library and I picked them up today. They really need no introduction. I have not seen a whole lot of activity on Transcendent Kingdom, other than a ringing warble by Ellen. I am trying to go out of 2020 with a slam dunk. I plan on dipping into Jack tomorrow.

I also snagged an e-library copy of:

>205 msf59: OMG!!! Love.
>210 msf59: You will appreciate
>214 msf59: My copy is on the way to me. I hear it is very Spokane-y, which is where I was born.

Wowie on the great Mexican vacay. All the birds! You've seen them and photographed them, while I've never even heard of them. Glad you are still reading with enthusiasm.

Good to see the Toni Onley on your thread, Mark. I was surprised to see that you had a vacation in Mexico. According to our health orders since November we aren't supposed to go out of our community. I'm envious of your trip.

>215 alphaorder: Thanks, Nancy. I am enjoying A Most Beautiful Thing. Were you referring to The Cold Millions up there? I didn't know you were born in Spokane. I also didn't know you were a fan of Walter.

>216 weird_O: Hi, Bill. I try to educate over here, whenever I can, even if it is mostly about birds and yes, I am trying to read as much as possible, although the stacks never seem to get smaller.

>217 Familyhistorian: Hi, Meg. Yes, I was made an instant Onley fan. Great to see you. Yes, no restrictions to fly to Mexico from the states. The resort where we stayed relies heavily on it's Canadian vacationers, so they sorely miss them. I would say the bulk of the guests we saw there were Mexican nationals.

-Mexican cardinal. Official name Pyrrhuloxia, (that's a mouthful) or desert cardinal. Lucky that one landed at the top of a tree, gave me a chance to snap a pic or two and then promptly flew off. Never saw another. LIFER



-Yellow-Crowned Night Heron. I saw several in the channels. First time I have seen an adult.



-Inca Dove. The doves I saw mostly at and around the resort were white-winged doves. I am sure I missed a couple of the others but I did get some good looks at a couple of these. LIFER



Rufous-bellied Chachalaca. A couple of marina workers mentioned seeing Mexican chickens around. Sue and I heard some loud squawking behind one of the buildings and sure enough there were two of these guys feeding in a tree.
LIFER

133) Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore 4.5 stars

West Texas. 1976. Pumpjacks, rattlers, heat and dust. Glory, a fourteen year old Mexican girl is brutally attacked by a young, pick-up driving roughneck. She appears on the front porch of a rancher's wife, naked and broken. The rest of the novel unfolds in alternating view points, each featuring a woman, that has been touched by Glory's assault. It also explores the injustices and trials of being a woman in a male-dominated world. This is tough stuff and the author handles it all with a deft and insightful approach. She grew up in this region and you can feel it on every page. An impressive debut and one of my favorite surprise reads of the year.

*Thanks for Joanne for putting this gem on my radar.

'Morning, Mark, and happy Wednesday to you.

Wonderful photos and so many lifers! Congrats and thanks for sharing. For some strange reason the Inca Dove looks like a pine cone with head, feet, and tail to me.

>220 msf59:
Valentine - This book was one of the titles that was being pushed at the ALA Midwinter in Philadelphia in January 2020. I have an ARC of it, but haven't read it yet. When I get back from the Christmas holiday I will have to pull it out. I also have Transcendent Kingdom on my radar.

I am in Kansas. I was not planning on making the trip. I figured that I was safer in my own home, but my mother (85 years old) got Covid and spent 3 days in the hospital. My sister is working all the time and in no shape to deal with the after effects of hospitalization, so I packed in a hurry and made the trip. I listened to the entire 20 hours of Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen and it made the miles into smiles. I loved this (probably overly honest) memoir! There was lots of insight into the creative process and things to think about regarding the power of art and the artist.

I am now dealing with Mom. She was released after only 3 days because the local hospital is small and they needed the bed for somebody who was sicker than she was. For the first three days she was home, she was on a high caused by the steroids they give to keep the lungs functioning at a higher level. She didn't nap. She didn't sleep. She didn't sit down. She wanted the house decorated for Christmas, put the tree up, get the ornaments out of the storage shed, etc. etc. She said that she didn't understand what the fuss was about this "Covis thing." The followup nursing visit yesterday the nurse tried to explain to her about what steroids do and the only thing my mother listened to was that she was also on an antibiotic. The nurse warned me that there was going to be a crash. It came. Then last night she began to complain about how tired she was. I only hope that I can have enough patience to deal with this. It is certainly going to be interesting.

I am NOT getting much reading done. I am trying to get my Christmas letter out, but that might be coming after Christmas. Today I am going to bake cookies for Mom to give to a few of her friends.

>221 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen. I certainly enjoying sharing my photos and I still have more to go. Yes, the Inca Dove has such a distinctive look, it really helped me with the ID. It also has a smaller bird and has long tail.

>222 benitastrnad: I would love to hear your thoughts on Valentine and I am looking forward to starting Transcendent Kingdom in a week or so. Sorry, to hear about your Mom and her bout of Covid. How did she contract it? Good luck with her care, my friend. I am glad you made the trip.

>223 msf59:
We think she got it at the outpatient clinic she was at on November 17. She wore a mask to get into the building and then pulled the mask down below her nose. She says she can't breathe with them on. the timing for contracting it on that date is right because a week later (Thanksgiving Day) she told me she had a cold. By the time she went to the hospital she was severely dehydrated and weak. The nurse at the hospital gave both me and my sister the lecture about how we need home health care to come in and meals on wheels, etc. We are already doing that, but my mother didn't tell the hospital nurse that information. (Sheesh - she said it wasn't any of their business.). Home health care nurse was here yesterday. At least, I have some warning of what the various stages of this illness are and I just have to have patience.

Your LIFER list is most impressive and only gets better. These Mexico jaunts are amping up your competitive stance!

>224 benitastrnad: I hope your Mom has a full recovery, Benita. Good luck with it all.

>225 richardderus: Thanks, RD. I think I had 15 or 16 Lifers on the trip. That is a record and I was able to figure them all out on my own, without a guide. My photos as a reference sure helped.

^This one needs no introduction. This will be my 5th novel I have read of hers and she has been remarkably consistent. Lila, her last one, was one of my favorite of the bunch. I am 50 pages into Jack. Lots and lots of dialogue but the pages keep turning.

>218 msf59: Yes, Cold Millions and Jess Walter. Loved Beautiful Ruins.

My dad grew up in De Pere and went to St. Norbert. After graduate school, his first job was at Gonzaga, which is why my sister and I were born there. Nine months after I was born, my dad was recruited back to De Pere by St. Norbert and worked there for 45 years. I consider De Pere my hometown, but I was born in Spokane and was fortunate enough to visit for the first time in 2014. Loved it!

It. Is. Snowing. Started early afternoon and the TV weather persons say it'll end about sunrise. Could be as much as 16 inches on the ground by then. We'll see.

I did get my wife to the pharmacy today for a flu shot. Long overdue.

We've been back and forth about getting a tree, and decided yes on Sunday evening. But the local grower we've bought from for the last several years wasn't open Monday. Open tomorrow and Friday afternoon, then the weekend. Don't know if we will be out tomorrow, but surely by the weekend.

Reading only in fits and starts, never for very long.

>228 alphaorder: Hi, Nancy. I am glad to hear that you also loved Beautiful Ruins. Thanks for supplying your history and it is nice that you made it back to Spokane for a visit.

>229 weird_O: 16 inches? What the heck? I am listening to the weather now and they are talking about the East getting hammered. Bummer, dude. We are not decorating this year, since no one is coming over.

Having a problem concentrating on those books? Not finishing All the King's Men? What is going on, Bill?

-Great Kiskadee. These chatty beauties were regulars at the Marina Resort. Near the main entrance, there were a group of trees and several kiskadees hung out there.



-Bronzed Cowbird. We have Brown-Headed Cowbirds here in the Midwest but I had never seen a Bronzed. Once again, I was at the right place at the right time. This male was hanging with 2 or 3 females. LIFER



-Gila Woodpecker. I was hoping to get at least one local woodpecker and I spotted this one, hanging out near the kiskadees. LIFER



-Groove-Billed Ani. Wow! I just happened to be making a trip along a treeline and I spotted two of these large birds. They were very near the spot I first saw the Hooded Oriole. It took me awhile to figure out what this bird was. thankfully, my photos helped me succeed. LIFER

There were a few more birds I would have liked to have seen but I especially would have loved to see a parrot or parakeet, but you can't win 'em all.

Morning, Mark!

>227 msf59: I *need* to read more Robinson. Maybe I'll bump her up the list...

Wow!! That Kiskadee is stunning! And your photo is, too! So clear! Is it a large bird? You didn't mention if this, too, was a lifer. Was it?

Your threads are becoming ever more ornithological, Mark - and nothing wrong with that!

The Gila Woodpecker caught my eye. Gila means crazy in Bahasa Melayu and I guess the little fellows must be missing a feather or two to bang their heads against tree trunks all day long.

Morning, Mark! Love how vibrant that Kiskadee is.

>232 scaifea: Morning, Amber. How many Robinson titles have you read?

>233 jessibud2: Morning, Shelley. The kiskadee is medium-sized, like a robin. On our first trip to Cancun, Mexico, a couple of years ago, is when I first saw the kiskadee. They are regular residents down there. We just had one show up southwest of here, which is very rare. Many birder pals did see it but it was gone when I got back.

>234 PaulCranswick: Hey, Paul. Good to see you. These photos are all from my Mexico trip, so that is why I have posted so many. It will quiet down. Grins...I loved the Gila Woodpecker too. There are several other types, I would have liked to have seen down there.

>235 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie. I had seen the Great Kiskadees all week, but never took any photos until the last day. Glad I got such good looks.

'Morning, Mark, and happy Thursday to you.

I've located Gilead, right on the shelf the location tag says it's on. Lots of chatter again about this series by Robinson. I might read it next. I'm reading Camino Island by John Grisham, a thriller with stolen originals of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels and bookstores. it's amusing. It even has a North Carolina connection.

>236 msf59: >236 msf59: I've only read Housekeeping, but it loved it so much.

>231 msf59: Once again, loving the bird pics Mark!

Ran across this report from the EPA about birds tending to move north and inland due to climate change. It was a bit of interesting analysis.

https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-bird-wintering-...

>231 msf59: Those are some lovely animals and great that you can add them to the Lifer list. The kiskadee is particularly agreeable to my color sense.

Spend a splendid Thursday.

Wow, you did see a lot of gorgeous birds on your travels. Congrats on the lifers! Great photos, too!

>220 msf59: I'm glad Valentine was a winner for you. I feel for 2020 debut authors in that their excitement over publication is certainly dampened a bit with the pandemic and all. I'm certainly missing author events.

>230 msf59: I debated whether or not to decorate inside this year and we finally compromised on a (gasp!) fake tree (first in my life - not bad once it was fluffed up). So we have it and the mantle garland. Outside lights are on, too. Chris is home which is why we opted for a tree. He self-quarantined (fairly easy when you're teaching remotely and half your "pod" is visiting TX) and will hang with us until just after Christmas when he'll head back to his apartment in Denver and his girlfriend will be visiting from IL.

>238 karenmarie: Hi, Karen. I hope I can deliver the right nudge, to get you to pull Gilead down off the shelf and finally start it. Fingers crossed.

>239 scaifea: I also loved Housekeeping, along with the wonderful film adaptation. I hope you can give Gilead a try one of these days.

>240 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. I have enjoyed sharing my bird pics.

>241 drneutron: Sweet Thursday, Jim. Thank you so much for the EPA study. It definitely helped explain the changes in bird migration, even I have been noticing, of course on a small scale. It is endlessly fascinating how birds and nature learn to shift their behavior to survive.

>242 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. It looks like the Great Kiskadee has been hit. I took a couple other photos too.

>243 Copperskye: Thanks, Joanne. I seem to be getting more comfortable with my limited photography skills and this recent trip gave me a chance to really get some prime practicing in. Yes, Valentine was an excellent recommendation from you.

Have a great holiday with Chris and the fake tree. Bree and Sean are coming over Christmas Eve. That will be the extent of our guests. It is that kind of year.

When we got back this past weekend, I saw that there were reports of a Western Tanager being seen, about 30 miles southwest of here. These birds generally do not venture east of the Rockies. I drove down there on Monday and sure enough I got another LIFER, along with a few good photos. It seemed to really like these huckleberries. It was reported as still being there, this morning. Wow!

Housekeeping is my favorite Robinson but they're all good aren't they Mark?

Being a bit late to the birding discussions I have to ask, what exactly is a LIFER?

>247 brenzi: Hi, Bonnie. You REALLY liked Housekeeping. Wow! Birders usually keep a Life List of birds they have seen. There are approx. 18,000 species in the world. If you see your first- It is a LIFER.

'Morning, Mark, and happy Friday. I was going to ask how far you drove to get the Western Tanager but you answered my question above. You're getting pretty serious when you'll drive a distance.

I hope you enjoy today's solo birding adventure.

>246 msf59: Such a lovely bird!

>230 msf59: Having a problem concentrating on those books? Not finishing All the King's Men? What is going on, Bill?

"Aw gee, boss." Looks at feet, kicks a pebble. "I'm really working on it, boss. I'm really trying. You know how much I hate to disappoint you and my teammates. Don't bench me. Please?" It's this decade of 2020. But the light at the end of the tunnel is just around the corner.

I did finish the Tony Hillerman I've been reading for the AAC. A Thief of Time. Quite a few Hillerman devotees recommended that book, and I'm glad I took their advice. Back to AtKM.

Jeez, I want to at least get 80 books read this year. And 120 in 2021.

>249 karenmarie: Hi, Karen. I had a very good bird ramble this morning, despite the cold. You mentioned the Western Tanager. Birders will drive crazy distances to see a bird. 30 miles is nothing. LOL. Honestly, it is not uncommon for a birder to drive 2-plus hours.

>250 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori. Glad you like it.

>251 weird_O: Hey, Bill. We would never bench our favorite Weirdo! We need him around, to supply the occasional giggle or guffaw. Glad you enjoyed Mr. Hillerman and I hope you make 80.

^Illinois has just passed 15,000 deaths since this began. How sad is that?

Hey Mark! Loving the birding adventures you have captured so well. Such a great way to get outdoors and just be :)

>253 msf59: Very sad. In LA county we're approaching 9000. California is 22221. Arrrgh!

>254 LovingLit: Hi, Megan. It was a great trip and the birds were a BONUS!!

>255 quondame: 22,000? I know CA is a big state but WOW! That is sad.

Our death rate is fairly low for the number of cases, I suppose. We'll be over 500,000 cases when the total comes out tonight. (There was some sort of processing error that is delaying the report, but they did give a total that will be somewhere in the ball park of today's new cases, so I can safely say 11,000+ will give us more than the less than 7,000 needed to put us over the half million case mark. Yesterday's death total for Tennessee was 5845.

>210 msf59: I absolutely have to look for that one, Mark. You know me, I love Chicago books.

You've got some great photos.

Today was my last day at work. I've got a long stretch off, not going back to my at home workspace until December 28th. Hoping to get some reading in.

The vaccines in warehouses for lack of 45's minions given delivery instructions makes me ill.

>257 thornton37814: Thanks for your state's Covid update, Lori. It is definitely affecting all of us.

>258 lindapanzo: Happy Saturday, Linda. You are correct- A Most Beautiful Thing would be a perfect fit for you. I am well into the second half and has been quite good.

>259 richardderus: I heard something about this alleged atrocity but not a lot of detail. We really can't be surprised how low 45 can and will go.

^This is my first year that I will participate in our area's Christmas Bird Count. Between work and my lack of experience, I was never able to attend. I think I am ready now. Several groups of birders will be dispersed to certain areas in our county and will count all the birds they see for this weekend. Of course, being winter, it will be a challenge to see a large number of birds. Wish us luck.

Have a great CBC! Zoe is participating too. She is the Milwaukee compiler.

'Morning, Mark, and happy Saturday to you!

Yes, have a fun and bird-filled Christmas Bird Count.

>253 msf59: I'm puzzled. The Illinois Covid-19 website reports 15,015 deaths. Both the worldometers.info/coronavirus and Johns Hopkins website report 16,206 deaths. Either way horrific, but I wonder why such a huge discrepancy. NC deaths are reported consistently across all three sources.

>261 msf59: I hope it goes well, Mark! Maybe even a lifer...it *IS* Yule after all.

>246 msf59: Another beauty Mark.

>253 msf59: :-( indeed.

London has just gone into the new Tier 4. Back to the original lockdown rules of stay at home except for essential shopping.

Good luck on the bird count.

Having completed the Hillerman, I got a burr under my saddle and have pushed to the final 80-or-so pages of AtKM. Finish it today or tomorrow. Yipee!

Good luck with the Christmas Bird Count, Mark. The Covid numbers are very concerning which is why no social gatherings for all of BC this Christmas season.

^Despite a cloudy winter's morning, my birder partner and I clocked in 30 species, which we were very happy with my maiden voyage. I did not see get a solid look at the red-breasted nuthatch, so I had 29, which is still more than respectable. Highlights were yellow-rumped warblers, Carolina Wrens, Fox Sparrows and White-throated Sparrows. Just over 4 hours and we walked over 6 miles.

>262 alphaorder: Thanks, Nancy. Glad Zoe is participating in the CBC. Let me know how she did.

>263 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen. We definitely had a bird-filled CBC, as you can see. I have no idea why there is a discrepancy in the death count for Illinois. It was all over our local news, as we passed the 15,000 bleak milestone.

>264 richardderus: Hey, RD. Seeing a LIFER today would have been nice but also very difficult. It was a great morning, though.

>265 Caroline_McElwee: Hi, Caroline. Glad you like the Western Tanager. Sorry, to hear about your latest lockdown. It is sad that this is still necessary.

>266 weird_O: Hey, Bill. It was a great CBC this morning. Worth the miles we covered. Hopefully, you were able to finish up AtKM today.

>267 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. It was a successful CBC. I was happy with my maiden voyage. Bummer about the ban on social gatherings for Christmas. We are only having Bree and Sean over Christmas Eve and that is it.

>263 karenmarie:, >269 msf59: The official Illinois confirmed deaths are the lower figures. However, Illinois also keeps track of "probable deaths" and Worldometers adds these into their figures. I only know this because I emailed the Worldometers website with this exact question, and they actually answered me with that explanation.
Illinois displays both figures (confirmed deaths and probable deaths) here (about mid-way down the page): http://www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/diseases-a-z...

>268 msf59: Thirty species sounds like a lot, Mark. Congratulations.

>270 msf59: We're allowed to have two people over as well. Keeping to all of the social distancing rules at the same time. We've decided not to visit my mother for Christmas, it's not really possible to keep a safe distance with several people there. She's 94, I feel we have to be extra careful with her.

>271 kac522: Thanks, Kathy for supplying that Covid information for Illinois. The "probable death" explanation makes sense.

>272 EllaTim: Thanks, Ella. It was a good bird outing yesterday. Sorry you can't visit with your Mom for the holidays but that is completely understandable.

The Winter Bird

Thou sing’st alone on the bare wintry bough,
As if Spring with its leaves were around thee now;
And its voice that was heard in the laughing rill,
And the breeze as it whispered o’er meadow and hill,
Still fell on thine ear, as it murmured along
To join the sweet tide of thine own gushing song.
Sing on—though its sweetness was lost on the blast,
And the storm has not heeded thy song as it passed,
Yet its music awoke in a heart that was near,
A thought whose remembrance will ever prove dear;
Though the brook may be frozen, though silent its voice,
And the gales through the meadows no longer rejoice,
Still I felt, as my ear caught thy glad note of glee,
That my heart in life’s winter might carol like thee.

-Jones Very

^ Far to many "thous & thines" for me but I still like it and how can I not share a poem with that lovely title?

-Kim Warp

I love that you are willing to travel a distance to find Lifers. How fun!

Good luck in your bird hunt!

‘Morning, Mark, and happy Sunday to you! Good luck to your Bears and enjoy the books.

>271 kac522: A logical and meaningful explanation. Thank you, Kathy.

>275 msf59: Thank goodness!

>275 msf59: :)

>268 msf59: Warblers in December?! Amazing. Is that a usual sighting in your area in December?

Perfect for the Birddude!

>271 kac522: Thanks for that helpful info. The other day, I also learned why Illinois shows confirmed cases and probable cases. A positive on one kind of test is shown as confirmed and a positive on the other kind is shown as probable.

It appears that numbers are dropping in my Region 9 (Lake and McHenry counties).

>274 msf59:

Hey Mark - I'll take the "thees and thous" for a poem with no death or pain or blood!

>276 ChelleBearss: Hi, Chelle. I will travel a bit to see a special bird but I have not gone full berserk yet. Grins...

>277 karenmarie: Hi, Karen. Go Bears! It has been a good afternoon with the books and football.

>279 SandyAMcPherson: Hi, Sandy. Yellow-Rump Warblers are our hardiest warblers and I think a few of them can stick around for the winter, as long as they can find enough food.

>280 richardderus: Hey, RD. I LOVE the birdy Christmas cards!

>281 lindapanzo: "It appears that numbers are dropping in my Region 9". Well that is good news, Linda.

>282 m.belljackson: Hey, Marianne. Glad you like "The Winter Bird" poem.

Before I get caught up in the Christmas rush, I wanted to stop by and send you these greetings:

Hi Mark, I just wanted you to know that I listened to Memorial Drive today...yes the whole thing lol. Anyway you recommended it, I believe, and I'm too stunned right now from the impact of it to write anything up. It was just so powerful.

Hi Mark, I am loving all these great bird pictures! I see you enjoyed Valentine which is good as I have it on my Kindle. Currently I am reading and enjoying Only Killers and Thieves which I do believe I heard about from you! :)

>285 brenzi:
I felt that way about Just Mercy when I finally sat down and read it a month ago. I read the entire book in about 4 days (and those were work days.). I couldn't believe how powerful that book was in its message.

>284 figsfromthistle: Merry Christmas, Figs. I love that image.

>285 brenzi: Hi, Bonnie. I am so glad you powered through Memorial Drive and in one day too. It is a terrific memoir and one that packs an emotional punch.

>286 DeltaQueen50: Hi, Judy. I am sure you will love Valentine, once you get to it and yes I did plenty of warbling about Only Killers and Thieves so I am glad I inspired you to give it a try. There is a sequel coming out soon too. It is called "Dust Off the Bones" and comes out next summer.

>287 benitastrnad: I agree Benita. Just Mercy was an excellent book and should be required reading. The film version was okay but nothing like the book.

‘Morning, Mark, and a very happy Monday to you. Enjoy your owling afternoon.

>280 richardderus: Clever Tom Gauld and thanks, RD! First smile of the morning.

Morning, Karen. I love the Gauld too. We are hoping to see some Short-Eared Owls today. It is supposed to be a prime spot.