The Sandpiper is a common shorebird that can be seen across most of North America during migration season. They breed in Alaska and Northern Canada and in the winter migrate to the southern U.S. and as far south as central South America. This is a bird I don’t know too much about because I only see them briefly when they stop for a break in their journey.
Yesterday I went for a walk in the nature park near my house and spotted a sandpiper in the muddy area that, before the drought, was a pond. This is the type of habitat that sandpipers look for; they like to forage at the upper edge of mudflats.
This was the first time I’ve seen one in this park. Most likely the change in habitat attracted him. (It could be a her, they look the same).
This guy or gal was walking along the edge of the pond poking his beak in the mud searching for a meal. He ignored the group of bullfrogs sitting in the mud and they ignored him. At the very bottom of the photo is the small amount of green water left in the pond. I got as close as I could without sinking into the muck. Not expecting to find a shorebird on a walk in the park, I was wearing the wrong kind of shoes.
Back in May of this year all the ponds in the park were filled with water but the drought has been so severe that only two of them have any water at all now.
The photo on the right is a shot of the exact same location as where I saw the sandpiper, only it was taken in May. There were several groups of ducks living on the water but they have now moved away.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Tuesday’s Gone
by Nicci French
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Suspense
Publisher: Penguin
Publish Date: July 25, 2012
Format: Hardcover | 456 pages
Rating: 4 of 5
Psychotherapist Frieda Klein is back, once again called on to assist the police in a puzzling case. A decomposing body is found in the apartment of Michelle Doyce, a mentally ill woman living on the fringes of society. The woman isn’t making any sense and can’t or won’t tell the police how the body got there, only that she is taking care of it.
The police assume Michelle must have murdered the man, but after speaking with her, Frieda isn’t so sure. Once the police establish the identity of the dead body as con man Robert Poole, it’s apparent that Frieda was correct. Many of the victims of his schemes had motive to kill him. The police commissioner wants to close this case quickly but more victims continue to surface. Frieda continues to investigate on her own annoying a few people within the police department as she is considered an unofficial consultant.
Familiar characters from the first book have returned and we learn a little more about Frieda’s family and background through various subplots. Plot elements revealed in book one, Blue Monday, add to Frieda’s stress and she is tormented by recurring nightmares. She is an interesting character that’s difficult to get to know with secrets and fears of her own.
Much of the story was told from Frieda’s point of view with occasional passages at the end of chapters from a mentally disturbed and unidentified woman. The story is well-paced and while not edge-of-your-seat suspenseful, the tension and edginess was there. Bit by bit the pieces start to come together. Just when I thought I had the ending all figured out, the author threw in another twist I wasn’t expecting in this well-crafted psychological thriller.
This is book two of the latest series by Nicci French. Threads from the first book, Blue Monday, run throughout the story, but it is not necessary to have read it to enjoy Tuesday’s Gone. It is a standalone novel and any events referred to from the first book are explained, but if you plan to read book one, grab it first as many spoilers are revealed.
Thrillers are often centered around a male leading character and it’s refreshing to have discovered Frieda Klein, a strong, complex female lead. I’m looking forward to reading more about her in future novels.
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Source: Review copy.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
JJT,
Cassandra
and lila
have each won a copy of …
Tigers in Red Weather
by Liza Klaussmann
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and entered the contest.
Check the sidebar for more giveaways.
Almost wordless: The goldfinch’s bright yellow color stands out in a crowd but blends nicely in the yellow coneflower in my yard.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Earth Unaware
by Orson Scott Card
and Aaron Johnston
Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki and cast
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publish Date: July 17, 2012
Format: Audio, 14 hours
Audio Listening Level: Easy – Intermediate
Rating: 3½ of 5
Earth Unaware is the first book in a new series set in the same universe as Ender’s Game, the award winning novel and 2012 World Book Night selection.
Reading Ender’s Game is not necessary to enjoy this new series but I highly recommend doing so because it is a fantastic book and one of my all time favorites. A little background information is all one needs to have as Earth Unaware is a prequel with all new characters and relationships. In Ender’s time, earth had been invaded by bug-like aliens and has been at war with them for over one hundred years. Ender, a child genius, has been recruited to attend the elite Battle School for rigorous military training in the form of war games using computerized battles. A book written in the late 1980s, it was way ahead of its time.
Earth Unaware is the story of the build-up to the invasion and is set 100 years prior to Ender. The subtitle First Formic War is a little misleading as the war does not begin in this novel. There is a lot of world building and character development as we are introduced to the mining families in the asteroid belt, the crew of a corporate ship from earth and a minor story line about an elite military operation (MOPs) that is recruiting new members to their special forces team.
The mining ship El Cavador discovers a fast-moving object coming towards them at a high rate of speed and slowing down. They decide to keep this information to themselves but soon realize this was a mistake. The alien ship was not friendly and destroyed one of the other mining ships. Now the alien ship is disrupting communications and El Cavador is unable to warn earth and the ship is heading towards the planet. One of the miners volunteers to take a small ship unsuitable for long distance travel in a heroic attempt to reach the lunar colony in time to warn earth.
The audio production was excellent. The story is told from multiple points of view and the ensemble cast works well. There is an interesting interview with author at the end of the book. He is an avid audiobook listener. I can relate to him when he says he listens on his iPod while doing errands so he doesn’t waste any time. While he doesn’t write with the audio in mind, he does write as if the dialog was for the stage, which translates well as an audiobook; he writes his books to be performed.
As much as I enjoyed this story, I had a difficult time choosing a star rating for the book. It was entertaining and fast-paced but felt incomplete. This is a problem with many trilogies: They are unsatisfying as a stand-alone book. The novel ended at a crucial point and the reader was left hanging. There were also several plot lines that seemed to serve no purpose. Perhaps they will in a future novel. I realize that was intentional, but I don’t have to like it. Do I rate it on potential or what exists right now? Since some trilogies are never completed, I have to rate it as a standalone book.
I’m looking forward to the next installment in the series and do recommend the book. While this is definitely science fiction, it is not heavy on the technical aspects but instead focuses on the characters and personal relationships and will appeal to a wide audience.
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Source: Review copy.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Mailbox Monday
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. The July host is Jennifer D @ 5 Minutes for Books.
From AudioGO for review:
Cascade
by Maryanne O’Hara
Cascade, Massachusetts, 1935. Desdemona Hart Spaulding, a promising young artist, abandoned her dreams of working in New York City to rescue her father. Two months later he is dead and Dez is stuck in a marriage to reliable but child-hungry Asa Spaulding. Dez also stands to lose her father’s legacy, the Cascade Shakespeare Theater, as the Massachusetts Water Authority decides whether to flood Cascade to create a reservoir. Amid this turmoil arrives Jacob Solomon, a fellow artist for whom Dez feels an immediate and strong attraction. As their relationship reaches a pivotal moment, a man is found dead… more
A win from Pudgy Penguin Perusals. Thanks Kaye!
A Hundred Flowers
by Gail Tsukiyama
China, 1957. Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society: “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, has promised not to jeopardize their safety or that of their young son, Tao. But one July morning, just before his sixth birthday, Tao watches helplessly as Sheng is dragged away for writing a letter criticizing the Communist Party and sent to a labor camp for “reeducation.”
From Atria Books Galley Alley for review:
The Map of the Sky
by Felix J. Palma
The New York Times bestselling author of The Map of Time returns with a mesmerizing novel casting H.G. Wells in a leading role, as the extraterrestrial invasion featured in The War of the Worlds is turned into a bizarre reality.
A love story serves as backdrop for The Map of the Sky when New York socialite Emma Harlow agrees to marry millionaire Montgomery Gilmore, but only if he accepts her audacious challenge: to reproduce the extraterrestrial invasion featured in Wells’s War of the Worlds.
From the publisher for review:
The Lost Antarctica: Adventures in a Disappearing Land
by James McLintock
The bitter cold and three months a year without sunlight make Antarctica virtually uninhabitable for humans. Yet a world of extraordinary wildlife persists in these harsh conditions, including leopard seals, giant squid, 50-foot algae, sea spiders, coral, multicolored sea stars, and giant predatory worms. Now, as temperatures rise, this fragile ecosystem is under attack. In this closely observed account, one of the world’s foremost experts on Antarctica gives us a highly original and distinctive look at a world that we’re losing.
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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
Share what you read last week and what you are currently reading.
Another slow reading week for me with only one audiobook completed and one print book almost finished. I spent a some time looking through cookbooks, does that count? And reading magazines. Maybe I can blame the good weather this week or maybe I spent too much time watching the critters in my yard! And, I’ve been spending even more time on the job search. Amazing how time consuming it can be.
Reading/Listening Last Week:
I’ll have a review of Earth Unaware later this week. This is the first volume in a new series set in the same world as Ender’s Game. Lots of world building and character development left me looking forward to the next book in the series.
I’ll be finishing up Tuesday’s Gone by Nicci French and will have a review this week. Psychotherapist Frieda Klein from Blue Monday is back on another case.
Reading/Listening This Week:
This week, more science fiction with Shadow Show, a collection of short stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury and a book I’ve been looking forward to sitting outside on my deck and reading, Where'd You Go Bernadette.
What Are You Reading?
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Under My Apple Tree 