Reading

All [fiscal] year long, I have been working towards a goal of reading across "all" genres of YA lit. ("Goal" as in "performance goal": that's how cool my job is. My boss asked, "What skills will you work on in the next year?" and I got to answer "read more.") This December, on a quiet afternoon, I pulled out my copy of my goals to see what quantities or specifics I'd set: to see how I was doing. Imagine my surprise when I saw the goal was to read genre fiction for adults! I quickly grabbed a mystery novel involving a cat, to put myself back on track.

Next on deck: David Baldacci. Only, I'm going to have to renew that volume, because I let a slender paperback by Henry James distract me. Yup, you caught me reading literature. The book, Washington Square (1880), could easily be recommended as a read-a-like for Jane Austen, or even sold simply as a romance, but I don't know that my patrons would fall for that.

In the novel, a young man about to be married tells of "the great advantage" of purchasing a new house: "... you get all the latest improvements. They invent everything all over again every five years, and it's a great thing to keep up with the new things. I always try to keep up with the new things of every kind."


Back Yard Birds

Like everyone else, we mostly get squirrels. Also since we put the feeder up in the late fall:
junco
song sparrow
mourning dove
cardinal
downy woodpecker
carolina wren.

Since we pulled up the pond* (we maintain a bird bath, so as not to cut off anyone's favorite watering hole), we haven't had waxwings. I really suspect that's what attracted them last year. Too bad, too, since now I have nice digital camera to record any cool visitors.

*In the pond's space, I planted bulbs. They've shot leaves up, since it's been so mild!