Review: Where’s the Next Shelter

By Gary Sizer

One of the better of the AT thru-hike books I’ve read. He has a lot of health problems along the way—dizziness, for one, and he more-or-less trashed his feet by wearing hiking shoes that were too small. Apparently that’s a common malady among new hikers. They don’t realize that their feet expand by a size or so, so they end up with blisters and pinched nerves and stuff.

Poor guy. What I liked best about him, and this, is that he doesn’t let the suffering and the human interactions dominate the book. There are a lot of minutes for appreciation of the world around him. And some triumphant moments when the obstacles are conquered, the peaks are surmounted, and he can sit on the top and wonder. (Or hurry down to warmer, less exposed climes below the tree line)

Gardening in my Roots, mid-April edition

 First cucumber is up!  (Amid a lot of weeds)

 

And first pepper has arrived

 

I have no idea what this is, so I'm going to cook it and eat it

Review: A Beginner's Handbook for Rural Texas Landowners

 A Beginner's Handbook for Rural Texas Landowners: How to Live in the Country Without Spoiling It

by Jim Stanley

There is a lot of great information here! A good bit of it I already knew, but it was still good to review and learn some new stuff, too.

My only complaint is that during the second half of the book, he started to emphasize every point with the lessons from and legacy of Aldo Leopold. Not that the guy didn’t have interesting stuff to say and not that he didn’t say the stuff quite well, but it just surprised me. It made the book more of a “feel good” rather than a “how to” manual.

I was also surprised that his list of evil invasive plants didn’t include my personal nemesis, Chinese Privet. And I was surprised, and pleased, that his take on feeding wildlife and birds seems to be pretty sensible – feeding wildlife encourages overpopulation; feeding birds is mostly harmless since they still eat a normal diet outside of the feeder. (I think I got that right)

Good information on brush encroachment and methods of controlling Johnson grass. I hope it works for me.

Review: I Want to Go Where They Went

 I Want to Go Where They Went: Stories from My Life as a Small Animal Vet 

by Jeff Schmidt DVM

Really good. I’ve read a lot of these veterinarian memoirs and this is right up at the top of them. He had some crazy clients, some weird dogs (like the one who was brought in for eating strange things), and some nutcase cats. Including one that savaged the vet repeatedly. How did he stand it?