What The Dog Saw

I was given the book, "What The Dog Saw and Other Adventures" by Malcolm Gladwell in January of this year.  A fellow traveler in the Galapagos Islands finished it and offered it to me because she didn't want to carry it all the way home.  I guess it has taken me almost ten months to finish it.  It's not a bad book.  It's one of those books you can set down and pick up a month later without a problem because it's a series of essays that were published in the New Yorker magazine by the author.  the book comes in three sections. The first deals with little known geniuses, the second with the problems of prediction, and the third with psychological topics.  The topics vary from "why are there 30 kinds of mustard and only one kind of ketchup?" to "are pit bulls really the most dangerous breed of dog?"  One of the more interesting essays was on corporate climate.   Enron, for example, promoted those employees with "talent," an unmeasurable quality.  Employees were promoted because they gave off a perception of talent and were often promoted and rewarded far beyond their abilities.  Other companies, Southwest Airlines, for example, pay modestly and give raises according to seniority. Southwest has become, according to Gladwell, the most successful and efficient airline.  This is not a book I would have chosen to read but I am glad I did.  Gladwell's writing prods me to question my assumptions and to to think about topics I normally don't bother to consider.

House Wrens

House Wrens nested in the bluebird nest box.

Looks like they lined the nest with pine needles, spider webs and dryer lint.

House wrens nested in one of my bluebird houses this year.  I know they had two, if not three, clutches of eggs.  There was a lot of care and feeding involved in raising all those young.  The male wren fills the box with short sticks.  He might fill other bird houses and nesting cavities in the vicinity just to reduce competition.  Then the female comes alone, surveys his work, tosses out any unnecessary sticks, and lines the nest with softer items.  The female will lay between two and eight eggs.  House wrens are not as spectacular looking as bluebirds but I do appreciate their pugnacious attitude.

Gaslight

I watched an old movie today named "Gaslight."  The movie is a black and white mystery thriller from 1944.  In case you didn't know, gaslight is also a verb for ruthlessly manipulating an individual, for nefarious reasons, into believing that they are going crazy or imagining things.  The story takes place before electric lights.  Houses are lit with gas lights.  If someone in the house lights another light, it can make the light currently burning go dim.  If the lights go dim when no one else lights a lamp, how can that be explained except by insanity?  As old as this movie is, it totally stands up as great entertainment.  Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer are the main characters.  At one point in the show, Ingrid gives Charles a talking to that made me want to stand up, pump my fist, and say, "That is right!  You go girl!"  You should see it.

Laugh Out Loud

Today I was doing chores in the yard all afternoon so I let Pamela and Meredith roam while I cleaned the gutters, emptied the compost bins, and set up a new bird feeder.  My girls like to get their exercise.  They roam the yard, scratch in the leaves, and peck at things that lie under the leaves.  I saw Meredith find a cherry tomato that fell off my deck and spit it out.  I guess she doesn't know good food when she finds it.  I happened to be looking at them out of the corner of my eye as they drank from my pond.  The pond is lined with limestone rocks.  Meredith stepped off the rock and into the pond.  I guess the thick duckweed and algae made it look solid.  You should have heard her squack.  It was hilarious.  She flapped her wings to safety but her left side got pretty wet.  I believe she has fully recovered from her fox attack.  She is moulting but her feathers look much better.  She has regained her position as the queen chicken and is back to telling Pamela what to do and being the leader.  Meredith is resilient.  A year ago, in the beginning of October, she was lost for ten days.  And it snowed several of those days.  She survived and was brought home again.  She survived a fox attack too.  Meredith is a touch chick.

Golden Trees

Outside the building where I work is a series of  three sidewalk islands in the parking lot.  Each island has two beautiful trees, one on each side of the sidewalk.  In the fall the trees are especially beautiful because of their horizontal branches and intense color.  The color starts out with a lemon yellow and then deepens into a rich gold.  These trees stand in a line like sentries in front of a castle.  They are truly gorgeous.  Because I go to many meetings, and I always sit on the side of the table where I can look out of the window, I have plenty of time to admire them.  This year I decided to figure out what kind of trees they actually are. So today, at quitting time, I nonchalantly took my camera outside to get a picture and bring a leaf inside.  I guess I wasn't nonchalant enough because I was asked if I was involved in the "hit and run" that just happened in the parking lot.  I suppose he noticed the camera in my hand.  Anyway, I just walked past the police car and snapped this photo.  I have a small pamphlet about Minnesota trees that has a scientific key.  As it turns out the alternate, compound egg shaped leaflets with finely toothed margins belong to a honey locust tree.  When they're older, the trees will probably get those 10-18 inch long seed pods that remind me of beans.  Honey locust - even the name is beautiful.

A Chicken Walks Into A Bar

"Pamela," says Meredith, the tall ginger chicken on the right, "Did you hear the one about the chicken who walks into a bar?"



A chicken walks into a bar, hops up on the bar stool,

looks the bartender in the eye and says, "You got any raisins?"



"No, I don't have any raisins!" the bartenders says.

"You'll have to go to the grocery store down the street."



So the chicken hops down and goes off down the street.



The next day the same thing happens. Chicken walks into the bar,

asks for raisins and is booted out by the bartender. On the third day,

the chicken comes in, hops up on the bar stool, and asks for raisins.

The bartender is fed up.





"If you come in here one more time asking for raisins, I'm going to

staple your little feet to the floor."



The next day, however, the chicken returns, hops up on the bar stool and says, "You got any staples?"

"No, I don't have any staples!"

"Good. You got any raisins?"

Lost In The Woods: Danger and Survival In The Northwoods

I read this book about two men lost in the boundary waters between Minnesota and Canada.  This is an account of two men and their experiences being lost.  Dan is a tour guide who hits his head when he falls on the rocks looking for a portage.  He hits his head so hard he becomes unconscious for some time.  Days pass before he regains all his senses.  Jason is a medical student who gets lost hiking through the blow down area.  Cary J. Griffith writes about their experiences in a detached, almost clinical point of view.  He writes about the rocky shores, the tamarack stands, the bogs, the stands of white pine, maple and basswood, and the rocky hill tops.  This is an important and beautiful area.  Right now we're hearing about the boundary waters in the news in part because of the wildfire and in part because of potential copper and nickle mining.  Both Dan and Jason were prepared and experienced and both nearly died.  Both had families who worried about their safety.  I was on the elliptical machine when I read the part where Jason's parents were contacted by phone and told their son was found alive.  Drops of water fell on the elliptical and they weren't all sweat.  I was so moved I was crying in public.  I would recommend this book if you enjoy reading about adventure and survivors.