Book Reading List - 2019

• The National Parks: America's Best Idea - Author: Dayton Duncan, Ken Burns
• National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States
• Kiss the Ground: How the Food You Eat Can Reverse Climate Change, Heal Your Body & Ultimately Save Our World - Author: Josh Tickell
• A Short History of Nearly Everything - Author: Bill Bryson
• The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator - Author: Timothy C. Winegard
• Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness - Author: Edward Abbey
• Cadillac Desert, Revised and Updated Edition:The American West and Its Disappearing Water - Author: Marc Reisner
• All the Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West - Author: David Gessner
• American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America - Author: Colin Woodard
• A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918 - Author: G.J Meyer
• Wild Ones: A Sometimes Dismaying, Weirdly Reassuring Story About Looking at People Looking at Animals in America - Author: Jon Mooallem
• The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West - Author: Peter Cozzens
• Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue - Author: Sam Harris, Maajid Nawaz
• The Naturalist: Theodore Roosevelt, A Lifetime of Exploration, and the Triumph of American Natural History - Author: Darrin Lunde
• God: A Human History - Author: Reza Aslan
• The Plot to Destroy Democracy: How Putin and His Spies Are Undermining America and Dismantling the West - Author: Malcolm Nance, Rob Reiner

Ode To My Hoomans - Poem

Ode To My Hoomans is a poem by my dog, Hobie Dawg in celebration of his relationship with his hoomans (humans) who have loved and cared for him for his entire life. According to Hobie, the poem was inspired by another poem titled "Bum" by W. Dayton Wedgefarth 

Ode To My Hoomans

They're pudgy folks, not too quick

as far as hoomans go.

Their legs are weak and wobbly,

I doubt they'd win best in show.

They snore at night and fart a lot

and blame it all on me.

But then I lick my private parts

and kiss their faces with glee.

I talk to them like they're a dog,

They try to understand.

They look at me quizzically,

but I know they're only hooman.

They take me on walks daily

through rain and sleet and snow.

They feed me like a king,

but why, I do not know.

They pick up my poop with nonchalance.

WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?

They stick with me through thick and thin

and always have my back.

So, if you’re wondering how I feel,

About my hooman pack.

I think I've trained them very well

and THANK GOD I'M NOT A CAT!

Winter Solstice - Haiku

In the Northern Hemisphere, Winter solstice 2019 was at 8:19 PM on Saturday, December 21. I love Winter Solstice because it means days are getting longer and hopefully sunny weather is only a few months away. One of my favorite birds is the American Robin because they stay here in the PNW throughout the winter and don’t seem to be affected by the long, dark winter days. Following is a haiku to celebrate Winter Solstice and the American Robin

The Winter Solstice 

Like the song of a robin 

Tonic for the blues

Days getting longer

After the Winter Solstice

Brightens my spirit

First day of winter 

Brought sunshine and long shadows 

Summer is coming

Mammals - Columbian Black Tailed Deer

Found these two Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) grazing in a slough at Vancouver Lake Regional Park, Washington. It was late on a cloudy day but a break in the clouds gave an almost surreal lighting that made them look like they were in a museum diorama.

According to Wikipedia, there are two forms of black-tailed deer that occupy coastal woodlands in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Columbian black-tailed deer are found in western North America, from Northern California into the Pacific Northwest of the United States and coastal British Columbia in Canada. The other, Sitka deer (O. h. sitkensis) is found coastally in British Columbia, southeast Alaska, and southcentral Alaska. Photographed with a Sony RX10IV on December 12, 2019 

Frenchman's Bar - Bicycle Ride

Frenchman's Bar Regional Park

One of my favorite bike rides is a 14 mile round trip ride to Frenchman’s Bar Regional Park.The Park is a 120 acre Regional Park located on the Columbia River about 8 miles west of downtown Vancouver, WA. The park was established in 1997 and is a great place for picnicking, swimming, volleyball and bird watching. Large ships are commonly visible right off shore headed for ports in Portland or Vancouver. Today’s ride was rewarded with several flocks of sandhill cranes, large cargo ship and beautiful sunset.