Sunday shambles
Cross your fingers and whisper your incantations. As you read this, I think Pablo has finally managed to get back to Roundrock after a three week dry spell (in visits, not in precipitation). What surprises does the game camera hold? Have any more cattle come by to muddy the lake? Did any trees fall across the road? Will Pablo get the chance to swim in his lake for only the second time this year?
Some time in the last week, the visit count here at Roundrock Journal "surged" past the 60,000 mark. Normally that would be cause for celebration and intensive (and sometimes successful) research into who number 60,000 was. But I decided long ago to stop paying attention to visit count on this humble blog. In comparison to most of you — even you whippersnapper startup blogs — my numbers are dismal. Rather than take that as an indication that my writing or subject matter is typically dismal, I ignore the numbers and go one my merry way, blissfully ignorant of any unpleasant facts.
On our trip to Springfield, Illinois several weeks ago, Libby and I skirted Hannibal, Missouri. The river was high then, but the devastating floods had not arrived yet. If you’d like to see some pix of what Hannibal looked like in flood, head over to Larry’s blog, Riverside Rambles, and particularly this post.
And as long as you’re rambling, why not head over to Hal’s blog, Ranch Ramblins , and help him come up with a name for his place. The name "Roundrock" suggested itself to me for my patch, but Hal is juggling a few clever choices, and he has asked for advice. I gave him my idea.
#2 Son Adam returned from India last Sunday, full of tales about squalor, poverty, disease, and wading through water knee deep on the streets of Mumbai to get to his clinic during the monsoons. He was only with us for two days, though, before he hopped another plane for sunny California to be part of a friend’s wedding. He’s due home this evening, though his flight lands long after Pablo will be in bed, so #1 Son Seth gets the pick up duty.
The 25th Edition of the Festival of the Trees is now up over at Earth, Wind & Water. It’s a beauty, written in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the first publication of the theory of natural selection. It was an idea that was slow to catch on but that now is the foundation for all of biology and much of the rest of natural science.
Tai Haku has gone beyond simply listing the links to posts about trees. He gives informative background with a scientific perspective that is easily accessible to those of us liberal arts majors. I know you’ll enjoy it.
What is Pablo reading now? I can’t believe my summer of free reading is already one third over. (One half actually. The next library discussion is in August, and it is of a difficult, 19th Century work, so I’ll have to devote August to reading it I fear.) I finished The Virgin of Small Plains last week. It was a satisfying mystery story with a convoluted plot that tied up neatly in the end. So what am I reading now? I’ve picked up a book called Bound for Canaan , which is an erudite tome about the Underground Railroad in U.S. Civil War history. It will probably tell me more than I ever wanted to know about this subject, but I know so little now that it can’t hurt.
That photo above is of an astilbe in a pot in my backyard in suburbia. It’s an old photo, but I think it gives suitable floral fireworks for this weekend.
Missouri calendar:
- Texas horned lizards bask in open areas on sunny, hot mornings in the southwestern corner of Missouri.
- The Democratic National Convention began on this date in St. Louis in 1904. It nominated two candidates who barely campaigned, and Theodore Roosevelt was re-elected in a landslide.