Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Monday, December 18, 2017
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Tuesday, December 12 - The Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck
An epic account of traveling the length of the Oregon Trail the old-fashioned way—in a covered wagon with a team of mules, an audacious journey that hasn't been attempted in a century.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Saturday, November 18, 2017
December 12 - The Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck (2015)
In the bestselling tradition of Bill Bryson and Tony Horwitz, Rinker Buck's "The Oregon Trail" is a major work of participatory history: an epic account of traveling the 2,000-mile length of the Oregon Trail the old-fashioned way, in a covered wagon with a team of mules--which hasn't been done in a century--that also tells the rich history of the trail, the people who made the migration, and its significance to the country.
Spanning 2,000 miles and traversing six states from Missouri to the Pacific Ocean, the Oregon Trail is the route that made America. In the fifteen years before the Civil War, when 400,000 pioneers used it to emigrate West--historians still regard this as the largest land migration of all time--the trail united the coasts, doubled the size of the country, and laid the groundwork for the railroads. The trail years also solidified the American character: our plucky determination in the face of adversity, our impetuous cycle of financial bubbles and busts, the fractious clash of ethnic populations competing for the same jobs and space. Today, amazingly, the trail is all but forgotten.
Rinker Buck is no stranger to grand adventures. "The New Yorker "described his first travel narrative, "Flight of Passage," as "a funny, cocky gem of a book," and with "The Oregon Trail "he seeks to bring the most important road in American history back to life. At once a majestic American journey, a significant work of history, and a personal saga reminiscent of bestsellers by Bill Bryson and Cheryl Strayed, the book tells the story of Buck's 2,000-mile expedition across the plains with tremendous humor and heart.
He was accompanied by three cantankerous mules, his boisterous brother, Nick, and an "incurably filthy" Jack Russell terrier named Olive Oyl. Along the way, Buck dodges thunderstorms in Nebraska, chases his runaway mules across miles of Wyoming plains, scouts more than five hundred miles of nearly vanished trail on foot, crosses the Rockies, makes desperate fifty-mile forced marches for water, and repairs so many broken wheels and axels that he nearly reinvents the art of wagon travel itself. Apart from charting his own geographical and emotional adventure, Buck introduces readers to the evangelists, shysters, natives, trailblazers, and everyday dreamers who were among the first of the pioneers to make the journey west.
With a rare narrative power, a refreshing candor about his own weakness and mistakes, and an extremely attractive obsession for history and travel, "The Oregon Trail" draws readers into the journey of a lifetime.
In the bestselling tradition of Bill Bryson and Tony Horwitz, Rinker Buck's "The Oregon Trail" is a major work of participatory history: an epic account of traveling the 2,000-mile length of the Oregon Trail the old-fashioned way, in a covered wagon with a team of mules--which hasn't been done in a century--that also tells the rich history of the trail, the people who made the migration, and its significance to the country.
Spanning 2,000 miles and traversing six states from Missouri to the Pacific Ocean, the Oregon Trail is the route that made America. In the fifteen years before the Civil War, when 400,000 pioneers used it to emigrate West--historians still regard this as the largest land migration of all time--the trail united the coasts, doubled the size of the country, and laid the groundwork for the railroads. The trail years also solidified the American character: our plucky determination in the face of adversity, our impetuous cycle of financial bubbles and busts, the fractious clash of ethnic populations competing for the same jobs and space. Today, amazingly, the trail is all but forgotten.
Rinker Buck is no stranger to grand adventures. "The New Yorker "described his first travel narrative, "Flight of Passage," as "a funny, cocky gem of a book," and with "The Oregon Trail "he seeks to bring the most important road in American history back to life. At once a majestic American journey, a significant work of history, and a personal saga reminiscent of bestsellers by Bill Bryson and Cheryl Strayed, the book tells the story of Buck's 2,000-mile expedition across the plains with tremendous humor and heart.
He was accompanied by three cantankerous mules, his boisterous brother, Nick, and an "incurably filthy" Jack Russell terrier named Olive Oyl. Along the way, Buck dodges thunderstorms in Nebraska, chases his runaway mules across miles of Wyoming plains, scouts more than five hundred miles of nearly vanished trail on foot, crosses the Rockies, makes desperate fifty-mile forced marches for water, and repairs so many broken wheels and axels that he nearly reinvents the art of wagon travel itself. Apart from charting his own geographical and emotional adventure, Buck introduces readers to the evangelists, shysters, natives, trailblazers, and everyday dreamers who were among the first of the pioneers to make the journey west.
With a rare narrative power, a refreshing candor about his own weakness and mistakes, and an extremely attractive obsession for history and travel, "The Oregon Trail" draws readers into the journey of a lifetime.
Friday, November 10, 2017
Friday, November 3, 2017
H is for Hawk on Nature
Hellen Macdonald is on Nature talking about her book and her experience with Mabel
Times--Saturday, 11/4 at 4am
Sunday, 11/5 at 9am
Wednesday, 11/8 at 2pm
Thanks Linda.
Times--Saturday, 11/4 at 4am
Sunday, 11/5 at 9am
Wednesday, 11/8 at 2pm
Thanks Linda.
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Public Art Takes Flight
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/opinion/audubon-public-art-nyc.html?emc=eta1
Special thank you to Maureen for sharing!
Special thank you to Maureen for sharing!
Friday, October 27, 2017
November 24 - The Bees
The Bees by Laline Paull
The novel is set inside a beehive and all the characters are bees. Flora 717 is the heroine. She was born into the lowest class of bee – the sanitation workers who are responsible for cleaning the hive and disposing of the dead. However, Flora is no ordinary sanitation worker and she shows a fierce bravery in protecting the hive, foraging for food and defeating invasions. She feels a great loyalty to the hive and its occupants but she also breaks the most sacred law of the hive …Laline Paull is an extremely talented writer. Her descriptive prose made me feel like I was inside the hive with thousands of bees. She made me root for the underdog, Flora 717. And I wanted to find out what happened in the end (it wasn’t exactly what I guessed!). I learned a lot about bees and the impact our modern lifestyle is having on them. My only grumble about the book is that I found it hard to pick out the other individual characters amongst all the bees. The bees have generic names and, to me, it wasn’t always clear, for example, which Sister Sage bee had done what.
Laline’s inspiration for the novel came via a beekeeper friend. On her website, Laline says, “I knew I had a book when I found out about the laying worker, that one in ten thousand sterile female bees, who suddenly, and for no known reason, start forming eggs in their bodies and become fertile – the sole role of the queen of the colony.” Laline also has some encouragement for other writers, “Don’t give up. I wrote The Bees age 48, in complete obscurity. It can happen.”
So, would I recommend The Bees? Yes, if you want to broaden your outlook and experience some good writing. No, if you like human characters with whom you can identify.
I agree with Tracy Chevalier who said, “A rich, strange book, utterly convincing in its portrayal of the mindset of a bee and a hive.”
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
This Gigantic Lava Tube Could Be Home for Moon Colonists
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/gigantic-lava-tube-could-be-home-moon-colonists-ncna813396
The hollow is so huge it could swallow up a big city like Philadelphia.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Meet Tuesday, October 10 for Basin and Range by John McPhee
10 Facts About the Great Basin Desert
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/10-great-basin-desert-101867.htmlSunday, October 1, 2017
How the Simple Act of Being in Nature Helps You De-Stress
Research shows that ‘forest bathing,’ the practice of spending time in a wooded area is good for your mind, body and spirit.
https://www.nbcnews.com/better/better/how-nature-can-solve-life-s-most-challenging-problems-ncna749361Friday, September 22, 2017
A Chinese perspective on autumn
A Chinese perspective on autumn
By Deborah Byrd in EARTH | HUMAN WORLD | September 21, 2017http://earthsky.org/earth/autumn-equinox-cycles-of-nature-and-chinese-philosophy?mc_cid=1f67c4cb00&mc_eid=8abb4c5e26
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
October 10 - Basin and Range
Basin and Range by John McPhee
One of the most valuable tools for the advancement of geological science has in fact been the humble road cut. United States Interstate 80 crosses the entire North American continent, in the process exposing hundreds of millions of years of geological history. In Basin and Range, McPhee, accompanied at times by Princeton geologist Kenneth S. Deffeyes, demonstrates how the contorted and tilted rocks seen in these road cuts reveal how islands of the earth's crust have floated across the earth's surface, crashing and folding to form basin and range. This is a masterful and sometimes even poetic volume of popular writing about plate tectonics, communicating the profound satisfaction of using scientific research as a tool for understanding the world around us.
Greenland is burning: Wildfires and floods surge worldwide
The Pacific Northwest has been grappling with unprecedented wildfires — but they aren't alone
http://www.salon.com/2017/09/10/greenland-is-burning-wildfires-and-floods-surge-worldwide_partner/
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Our next Meeting is September 12 - 10:00 - 11:30
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
New York Times 10 Best Books (2015)
Winner of the Costa Book Award and the Samuel Johnson Prize
When Helen Macdonald's father died suddenly on a London street, she was devastated. An experienced falconer—Helen had been captivated by hawks since childhood—she'd never before been tempted to train one of the most vicious predators, the goshawk. But in her grief, she saw that the goshawk's fierce and feral temperament mirrored her own. Resolving to purchase and raise the deadly creature as a means to cope with her loss, she adopted Mabel, and turned to the guidance of The Once and Future King author T.H. White's chronicle The Goshawk to begin her challenging endeavor. Projecting herself "in the hawk's wild mind to tame her" tested the limits of Macdonald's humanity and changed her life.
Heart-wrenching and humorous, this book is an unflinching account of bereavement and a unique look at the magnetism of an extraordinary beast, with a parallel examination of a legendary writer's eccentric falconry. Obsession, madness, memory, myth, and history combine to achieve a distinctive blend of nature writing and memoir from an outstanding literary innovator.
Friday, August 4, 2017
The Long Controversial Pebble Mine Project Gets a Nod; Fishing Industry Faces Ruin
EPA Is Ready To Lift Another Protection Of Alaska’s Salmon
By Sarah Okesonhttps://www.dcreport.org/2017/07/20/epa-is-ready-to-lift-another-protection-of-alaskas-salmon/
Friday, July 14, 2017
Ravens are so smart it’s actually kind of disconcerting, new study finds
Ravens are so smart it’s actually kind of disconcerting, new study finds
Unlike so many of us, they actually plan for the future.
http://www.popsci.com/ravens-smart-plan-aheadThursday, June 29, 2017
The People Who Call Yellowstone Home
The People Who Call Yellowstone Home
A new photo book documents the diverse community behind the original national park
https://www.outsideonline.com/2195791/people-who-call-yellowstone-home?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Dispatch-06292017&utm_content=Dispatch-
A new photo book documents the diverse community behind the original national park
https://www.outsideonline.com/2195791/people-who-call-yellowstone-home?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Dispatch-06292017&utm_content=Dispatch-
Friday, June 23, 2017
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Friday, June 2, 2017
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
‘Ocean Smog’ Is Taking Over The Seas And You’re Probably Eating It, Too
It’s a problem for birds, fish, turtles, whales, and now, even humans.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/plastic-pollution-oceans_us_59104e54e4b0d5d9049dc664?hz&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009Saturday, May 20, 2017
Arctic stronghold of world’s seeds flooded after permafrost melts
No seeds were lost but the ability of the rock vault to provide failsafe protection against all disasters is now threatened by climate change
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/19/arctic-stronghold-of-worlds-seeds-flooded-after-permafrost-melts?CMP=share_btn_twThursday, May 11, 2017
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Monday, May 1, 2017
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
April 11 @ 10:00 - Pigeons
Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird by Andrew D. Blechman
In the tradition of Robert Sullivan’s best-selling Rats comes a whimsical and intimate look into the fascinating world of pigeons and the people they collect.Pigeons have been worshipped as fertility goddesses and used as symbols of peace. Domesticated since the dawn of man, they’ve been used as crucial communicators in war by every major historical superpower from ancient Egypt to the United States and are credited with saving thousands of lives. Charles Darwin relied heavily upon pigeons to help formulate and support his theory of evolution. Yet, without just cause, they are reviled today as “rats of the sky.” How did we come to misunderstand one of mankind’s most helpful and steadfast companions?
Author Andrew D. Blechman traveled across the United States and Europe to meet with pigeon fanciers and pigeon haters in a quest to chronicle the pigeon’s transformation from beloved friend to feathered outlaw. Pigeons captures a Brooklyn man’s quest to win the Main Event (the pigeon world’s equivalent of the Kentucky Derby), as well as a pigeon breeders convention dedicated to breeding the perfect bird. Blechman participates in a pigeon shoot where entrants pay $150 to shoot live pigeons; he tracks down Mike Tyson, the nation’s most famous pigeon lover, and spends time with Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Pigeon Handler in England; and he sheds light on a radical “pro-pigeon underground” in New York City. In Pigeons, Blechman tells for the first time the remarkable story behind this seemingly unremarkable bird.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
April 11 - PIGEONS
PIGEONS: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird by Andrew D. Blechman
They've been worshipped as fertility goddesses, and used as symbols of peace. Domesticated since the dawn of man, they've been used as crucial communicators in war by every major historical superpower from ancient Egypt to America and are credited with saving thousands of lives. A pigeon delivered the results of the first Olympics in 776 B.C. and a pigeon first brought the news of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo more than 2,500 years later. Charles Darwin relied heavily upon pigeons to help formulate and support his theory of evolution. Yet pigeons are reviled today as "rats of the sky" without just cause. How did we come to misunderstand one of mankind's most helpful and steadfast companions?
Author Andrew Blechman traveled across America and Europe to meet with pigeon fanciers and pigeon haters in a quest to chronicle the pigeon's transformation from beloved friend to feathered outlaw. Starting with a Brooklyn man's quest to win The Main Event (the pigeon world's equivalent of the Kentucky Derby), Andrew attends a pigeon breeders convention dedicated to breeding the perfect bird and also participates in a pigeon shoot where participants pay $150 to shoot live pigeons. From tracking down Mike Tyson, the nation's most famous pigeon lover, to spending time with Queen Elizabeth's Royal Pigeon Handler in England, and shedding light on a radical "pro-pigeon underground" in New York City, Pigeons tells for the first time the remarkable story behind this seemingly unremarkable bird.
They've been worshipped as fertility goddesses, and used as symbols of peace. Domesticated since the dawn of man, they've been used as crucial communicators in war by every major historical superpower from ancient Egypt to America and are credited with saving thousands of lives. A pigeon delivered the results of the first Olympics in 776 B.C. and a pigeon first brought the news of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo more than 2,500 years later. Charles Darwin relied heavily upon pigeons to help formulate and support his theory of evolution. Yet pigeons are reviled today as "rats of the sky" without just cause. How did we come to misunderstand one of mankind's most helpful and steadfast companions?
Author Andrew Blechman traveled across America and Europe to meet with pigeon fanciers and pigeon haters in a quest to chronicle the pigeon's transformation from beloved friend to feathered outlaw. Starting with a Brooklyn man's quest to win The Main Event (the pigeon world's equivalent of the Kentucky Derby), Andrew attends a pigeon breeders convention dedicated to breeding the perfect bird and also participates in a pigeon shoot where participants pay $150 to shoot live pigeons. From tracking down Mike Tyson, the nation's most famous pigeon lover, to spending time with Queen Elizabeth's Royal Pigeon Handler in England, and shedding light on a radical "pro-pigeon underground" in New York City, Pigeons tells for the first time the remarkable story behind this seemingly unremarkable bird.
Monday, March 13, 2017
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Tuesday, March 14: Grayson - The Whale
10:00 Grayson by Lynne Cox
Grayson is Lynne Cox's first book since Swimming to Antarctica ("Riveting"- Sports Illustrated; "Pitch-perfect" - Outside). In it she tells the story of a miraculous ocean encounter that happened to her when she was seventeen and in training for a big swim (she had already swum the English Channel, twice, and the Catalina Channel).It was the dark of early morning; Lynne was in 55-degree water as smooth as black ice, two hundred yards offshore, outside the wave break. She was swimming her last half-mile back to the pier before heading home for breakfast when she became aware that something was swimming with her. The ocean was charged with energy as if a squall was moving in; thousands of baby anchovy darted through the water like lit sparklers, trying to evade something larger. Whatever it was, it felt large enough to be a white shark coursing beneath her body.
It wasn't a shark. It became clear that it was a baby gray whale-following alongside Lynne for a mile or so. Lynne had been swimming for more than an hour; she needed to get out of the water to rest, but she realized that if she did, the young calf would follow her onto shore and die from collapsed lungs.
The baby whale-eighteen feet long!-was migrating on a three-month trek to its feeding grounds in the Bering Sea, an eight-thousand-mile journey. It would have to be carried on its mother's back for much of that distance, and was dependent on its mother's milk for food-baby whales drink up to fifty gallons of milk a day. If Lynne didn't find the mother whale, the baby would suffer from dehydration and starve to death.
Something so enormous-the mother whale was fifty feet long-suddenly seemed very small in the vast Pacific Ocean. How could Lynne possibly find her?
This is the story-part mystery, part magical tale-of what happened
12:00 The Whale
Narrated by Ryan Reynolds, The Whale is the true story of a young killer whale, an orca nicknamed Luna, who makes friends with people after he gets separated from his family on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. As rambunctious and surprising as a visitor from another planet, Luna endears himself to humans with his determination to make contact, which leads to laughter, conflict and unexpected consequencesSunday, March 5, 2017
Spectacular ‘Super Bloom’ Is Just Days Away In This California Desert
It’s about to transform into a sea of purple, yellow and white.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/california-desert-wildflowers-bloom_us_58bb0fc6e4b0b9989417ffcb?r47pjlp4dzkja714i&
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Friday, February 24, 2017
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
What Can I Do - Eco Edition
What Can I Do - Eco Edition
Scheduled: Mar 12, 2017, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Location: Cathexes, LLC
https://www.facebook.com/events/372244643142114/
Get to know local community organizations dedicated to the environment and sustainability, and then you can decide which you would like to help with money, time or something else.
We're inviting organization representatives to share their information so you can stop by, talk to them, and make donations of time or money to those you're most interested in. Some may even be looking for board members.
Organizations will need to have representation the entire time, and attendees can stay as long as they like. Children are welcome.
If you would like to help with this, or you know of environmental organizations that would like to participate, please contact jackie@jackieshelton.com.
And please invite everyone you think would like to attend.
Participating Organizations:
Powered by Sunshine
Nevada Land Trust
Urban Roots
Mercury Momentum
Friends of Nevada Wilderness
Citizen's Climate Lobby
Nevada Conservation League
Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful
Sierra Nevada Journeys
SWEEP
Chispa Nevada
Friends of Black Rock-High Rock
Lahontan Audubon Society
https://www.facebook.com/events/372244643142114/
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Thursday, February 2, 2017
History of global temperature 1880-2016
Take 14 seconds to watch the change in Earth’s surface temperature from 1880 through 2016.
http://earthsky.org/earth/change-earths-surface-temperature-1880-2016
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Thursday, January 12, 2017
The Map That Changed the World - February 14
The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester
In 1793, a canal digger named William Smith made a startling discovery. He found that by tracing the placement of fossils, which he uncovered in his excavations, one could follow layers of rocks as they dipped and rose and fell—clear across England and, indeed, clear across the world—making it possible, for the first time ever, to draw a chart of the hidden underside of the earth. Smith spent twenty-two years piecing together the fragments of this unseen universe to create an epochal and remarkably beautiful hand-painted map. But instead of receiving accolades and honors, he ended up in debtors' prison, the victim of plagiarism, and virtually homeless for ten years more.
The Map That Changed the World is a very human tale of endurance and achievement, of one man's dedication in the face of ruin. With a keen eye and thoughtful detail, Simon Winchester unfolds the poignant sacrifice behind this world-changing discovery.
In 1793, a canal digger named William Smith made a startling discovery. He found that by tracing the placement of fossils, which he uncovered in his excavations, one could follow layers of rocks as they dipped and rose and fell—clear across England and, indeed, clear across the world—making it possible, for the first time ever, to draw a chart of the hidden underside of the earth. Smith spent twenty-two years piecing together the fragments of this unseen universe to create an epochal and remarkably beautiful hand-painted map. But instead of receiving accolades and honors, he ended up in debtors' prison, the victim of plagiarism, and virtually homeless for ten years more.
The Map That Changed the World is a very human tale of endurance and achievement, of one man's dedication in the face of ruin. With a keen eye and thoughtful detail, Simon Winchester unfolds the poignant sacrifice behind this world-changing discovery.
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