Tree Revisited

Picture of uprooted tree stump across the street from our driveway entrance.

2 1/2 Inches of Rain Yesterday

We had 2 1/2 inches of a slow, steady, soaking rain yesterday. My basil plant loved it!

If you look at my Flickr site you may remember the leaning tree picture. The tree is in the yard across the street. Early this morning (3:45am) it pulled up out of the ground. There was a loud crunch, crackle, and thump. Then a white flash as it took the power lines with it and then total darkness. Fortunately it fell mostly parallel to the curb, but the top branches were so big they entirely blocked the street. So, we have had an exciting day of big and little trucks and equipment coming and going. Cutting up the tree, chipping the branches, then the bucket trucks for the power lines came and did their thing. By 1:30pm our power was back on, but the cable guy is still out there fooling with the Comcast lines. We were in and out of the house, watching most of the day. Tried to take some pictures, but it's overcast today and they weren't very good.

Edgar Lee Masters

It's the birthday of American poet Edgar Lee Masters, (books by this author)born in Garnett, Kansas, in 1868.

Ray Bradbury

Today is the birthday of science fiction and fantasy writer Ray Bradbury, (books by this author) born in 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. He has written books such as The Martian Chronicles (1950), Fahrenheit 451 (1953), and Farewell Summer (2006).
Ray Bradbury who said, "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them."
And, "Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down."


Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Makes me recall the mindset of the early '50s. Of the future world predicitons: some are pretty close (ear buds), others pretty naive. I love his writing, though, 'Dandelion Wine' is still my favorite.


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Lavinia

Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Author creates a story of Lavinia's life. From childhood, young woman, marriage to Aeneas, childbirth, and on to old age and death.Follows events from the last 6 books of Vergil's Aenid.


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Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday To Grandpa Warren, have a great day!

City at the End of Time.

City at the End of Time by Greg Bear

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Too 'Woo-Woo' for my taste. Had trouble understanding what he was talking about. Loved the 'Radio' books. For some reason I was really taken with 'Moving Mars' ; what a quirky idea!


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August 6th

It was on this day in 1945 that the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. It was the first time that a nuclear weapon was ever used in combat, and only the second time that a nuclear weapon had ever been exploded.

This is an excellent book.
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Excellent.


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New Laptop

Showing Dark Red Cover

With Cover Open.

The FlameTrees of Thika

The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood by Elspeth Huxley

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Interesting.


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Finding Nouf

Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
The author was previously married into a family of Saudi-Palestinian Bedouins. She now lives in California.

The book offers a window into the lives of men and women in Saudi-Arabia. I found this mystery extremely interesting, because of the background area and people.


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