Almost wordless: The flowers are beginning to close and transition to seed heads. A sure sign that summer is coming to an end even if the temperatures here are still scorching.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. Today’s linky is hosted at Beauty in Ruins as the scheduled September host is MIA.
Here’s what arrived last week:
Print Books:
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent from Little, Brown.
A brilliant literary debut, inspired by a true story: the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.
Art & Sole: A Spectacular Selection of More Than 150 Fantasy Art Shoes by Jane Weitzman, a win from Harper Design.
Art & Sole features in printed form for the first time Jane Weitzman’s selection of the best of this collection, approximately 150 shoes of the more than 1,000 she has discovered and commissioned for display since the first Stuart Weitzman retail shop opened in the mid-1990s on Madison Avenue.
What are you reading?
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Ghost Bride
by Yangsze Choo
Narrated by Yangsze Choo
Genre: Historical Fiction / Supernatural
Publisher: Harper Audio
Publish Date: August 6, 2013
Format: Audio, 12 hours | 18 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy – Intermediate
Rating: 3½ of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family’s only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, traditional ghost marriages are used to placate restless spirits. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.
My Thoughts:
Li Lan refuses the offer of a ghost marriage but soon finds her dreams haunted by the potential groom, Lim Tian Ching, who believes he has been murdered. She then travels to the land of the dead to learn the truth about how he died and why he is so determined to marry her. Along the way secrets about his family and hers are revealed.
Although this was an entertaining story, and I enjoyed the journey, I never fully engaged with the characters. The first person narration may have been the reason; some of Li Lan’s stories went on a little too long and my attention began to wander. There was too much telling and not enough showing. The book did pick up the pace towards the end and the conclusion was a bit of a surprise with an unforeseen romantic twist.
I listened to the audiobook and was pleased with the production. The author was the narrator and did a beautiful job. Her soft, pleasant voice was a delight to listen to. Characters were easily differentiated and she added emotion and excitement to the narration. The audio version is an excellent choice.
Overall this was an interesting premise and an original tale. I was drawn to the story for its mix of historical fiction, journey into the supernatural and Chinese mythology. Even though I wasn’t thrilled with the first person writing style, I did like the book and recommend it, especially the audio, to those who enjoy this genre.
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Linked to the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, VIII event.
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Source: Review copy provided by Harper Audio.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Red-eyed Vireo is a summer resident across much of North America and is very common in the Eastern forests. I took this photo back in June while out monitoring birds for the Forest Preserve. Soon they will be migrating back to their winter homes in South America. At only 5-inches long (13cm) this is an amazing journey for such a tiny bird.
During breeding season the Vireo sings from sunrise to sunset. Their cheerful song sounds a bit like a robin and they are usually heard rather than seen. This one was kind enough to pop out of the leaves for a few seconds before flying off to another branch and resuming his song.
The field guides describe the Vireo as a small, drab bird but I think they are rather cute. Their olive coloring is plain but they have a pretty eye stripe and dark red eyes. Unfortunately the red eye is not visible in my photo because of the angle of the lighting.
This is not a bird you’ll find at a backyard feeder but they can occasionally be found in shade trees in residential areas and are plentiful in woodlands and forest preserves.
Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. For the summer it will be hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The herb garden is overflowing with goodness this time of year. This week I’ll begin harvesting the heat loving herbs like basil, tyme and tarragon for freezing while they are at the height of their flavors, but the rest of the herbs will continue growing despite the autumn chill.
Sage is one of the herbs I have fresh in every season except winter. People often ask me what I do with all that sage when it’s only good for the Thanksgiving turkey and the occasional roasted chicken. Well, fried sage is delicious. Warning, it’s not healthy, but once in a while I need an indulgence. I’ll forgo the ice cream that night!
Lemon Sage Chicken is one of my favorites.
Lemon Sage Chicken
Ingredients
• 4 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast Halfs
• 4 Tbs. Fresh Lemon Juice
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 28 Fresh Sage Leaves
• 4 Tbs. Butter
• 1/8 cup dry white wine (optional)
• Salt
• Pepper
Preparation
Place chicken in an 8″ square baking dish. Add lemon juice, olive oil, wine and sage. Coat evenly, cover and refrigerate for 1/2 to 1 hour.
Remove chicken and sage from marinade. Set the marinade aside. Add butter and 3 Tbs. olive oil to a large pan and fry chicken on medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn chicken, season with salt and pepper and add sage leaves to the pan. Fry another 5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken to serving platter. Garnish with cooked sage leaves.
To make the glaze, pour off grease from pan and add the reserved marinade and 2 Tbs. of water. Cook on medium heat while stirring and scraping bits from the bottom of the pan. The glaze will thicken and brown in about 1 minute. Pour over chicken and serve.
Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Participation is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Almost wordless: I was cutting some basil in the garden when I noticed this pair of grasshoppers doing something that looked suspiciously like mating — except they were sitting almost perfectly still.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Wild Ones
by Jon Mooallem
Narrated by Fred Sanders
Genre: Non-Fiction / Science / Nature
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publish Date: May 16, 2013
Format: Audio, 10 hours | 19 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy
Rating: 4 of 5
From the Publisher:
In WILD ONES: A Sometimes Dismaying, Weirdly Reassuring Story About Looking at People Looking at Animals in America, New York Times magazine writer Jon Mooallem ventured into the field to examine what modern conservation efforts look like. WILD ONES merges history, science, and on-the-ground reporting with a gripping personal narrative that illuminates the mysterious and enduring bond between humans and nature.
My Thoughts:
The title is a little misleading. We’re not only “looking at people looking at animals”, we are looking at the state of conservation in North America, past, present and even the future. While observing his daughter, the author noticed how young children are drawn to wild animals. Their presence is everywhere, yet as adults we act indifferent and often tolerate their destruction.
The author focuses on three endangered species to illustrate his research on conservation: The Polar Bear (Churchill, Manitoba), the Lange’s Metalmark Butterfly (Antioch Dunes, California), and the Whooping Crane (Wisconsin‐Florida migration flyway). All three were fascinating and very different accounts of humans attempting to co-exist with the animals and manage the ecosystems.
Polar bears have become the poster child for climate change, and eco-tourism is a booming industry for people who want to see the bears in the wild before they are gone. Meanwhile the Lange’s metalmark butterfly exists in a small, fragile ecosystem and is little known to the public.
My favorite was the last part on the Whooping Cranes and Operation Migration. In the 1940’s the cranes nearly went extinct with only 15 known birds in the wild. Birds bred in captivity and released into the wild didn’t know how to migrate as migration is taught by the parents. Operation Migration uses ultralight aircraft upon which the cranes have imprinted to guide them along the migration route from Wisconsin to Florida. A fascinating account.
As we learn about these spectacular efforts involving time, money, and management, many questions begin to arise. Should we even try to save these species in the wild? Is it even possible without continuous management? Species are disappearing from the planet at an alarming rate. There is controversy and some scientists don’t believe we should.
The book is well-written in an engaging, story-telling style without technical or scientific jargon. I listened to the audio production which was read in clear and pleasant tones by Fred Sanders. This is the perfect kind of book to choose audio over print. It’s easy to pick up where ever you left off and not have to worry about losing the plot.
This is an important and timely book, but in the end, there are no easy answers on saving endangered species and, ultimately, our planet. What it will do is make the reader ponder the subject a little more intently.
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Source: Review copy
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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