Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
Not much reading has been happening here the past few weeks although I’ve still been listening to my usual amount of audio. It’s not that I don’t want to read, it’s just that in the summer I have trouble sitting still.
And then there are the little tasks that manage to expand to eat up the entire day. I start out clipping a few stray branches on a shrub and the next thing I know I’ve got the loppers out and I’m trimming everything along the back fence because this is brush pick-up week. Or I’m rescuing baby birds. Or trying to troubleshoot a problem with my new laptop – it likes to freeze up for unknown reasons and is eating up hours of my time.
Anyway, a few books managed to trickle in . . .
New Arrivals
The Redeemers by Ace Atkins from Putnam.
He is only in his early thirties, but now Quinn Colson is jobless—voted out of office as sheriff of Tibbehah County, Mississippi, thanks to the machinations of county kingpin Johnny Stagg. He has offers, in bigger and better places, but before he goes, he’s got one more job to do—bring down Stagg’s criminal operations for good.
Audio Downloads
From Random House Audio
The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon
The latest novel from New York Times best-selling author Jennifer McMahon is an atmospheric, gripping, and suspenseful tale that probes the bond between sisters and the peril of keeping secrets.
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
Set against the majestic landscape of early-twentieth-century Africa, McLain’s powerful tale reveals the extraordinary adventures of a woman before her time, the exhilaration of freedom and its cost, and the tenacity of the human spirit.
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In responding to a frantic knock on the door, I found my neighbor asking if I could help a bird trapped in their bird house. It was stuck in the doorway and couldn’t get out.
When I climbed the ladder to look in the house, I saw a fledgling House Sparrow with his leg tangled in the nesting material. All the other babies were gone; he was the only one left, and from his squawking sounds he was either injured or angry . . . or both.
Fledgling House Sparrow after rescue
I couldn’t pull him out the door because whatever he was caught in was twisted in more nest material towards the back. I had to hold him still with one hand while pulling excess nest material out of a small hole at the top of the roof.
Nesting material caught on the bird’s leg
Eventually I discovered he was caught on some twine. Once I loosened the twine through the top of the box, I was able to get the bird out the door of the box. The photo above is what was attached to his foot.
By wrapping the bird in a small towel I was able to untangle most of the remaining twine on his foot. I put him in a small carrier and let him rest on my backyard deck for an hour. My goal was to get him back to his parents as soon as possible . . . but only if he was uninjured and his leg was ok.
Mom House Sparrow hears her baby
Within an hour he began chirping and calling out. A group of sparrows soon appeared on the deck and a female perched on the flower box a few feet from the fledgling, calling out to him. I assumed this was mom.
A second attempt to fledge
With mom’s urging he jumped out of the carrier and onto the deck, eventually hopping to safety in the nearby wildflower garden. I saw him again the next day in the vegetable garden; I could identify him by the tiny piece of twine that I couldn’t remove from the top of his leg.
Safe with mom in the garden
Because this was a House Sparrow, I was able to care for him after I rescued him from the nest box. Had this been a native or migratory species, I would have taken him to the wildlife rehabilitation center where they are licensed to treat wild birds. In my county, the center will not accept non-native birds such as House Sparrows or Starlings, so I was able to legally provide care and assistance. Thankfully the result was a happy ending.
What to do if you find an injured bird
Find a small box with a cover and line it with some paper towels and place the bird inside. Contact a local Wildlife Rehabilitator for further instructions. Do not try to feed the bird or give it water.
If the bird has struck a window and is stunned, put it in a box with the lid closed and place the box in a dark, quiet, safe place for an hour or so. This will aid in recovery from a concussion. After an hour, bring the box back outside and if the bird is ok it will fly away. If not, contact the wildlife rehabilitators.
Keep in mind federal, state and provincial legislation makes it illegal for unlicensed individuals to care for virtually any native bird species. I have seen the sad results of people who tried to “keep” a robin or blue jay only to turn it in weeks later – too late to be rehabilitated and released, and now doomed to a life as a cage bird.
I am happy to answer bird questions . . .
Just send me an email or leave a comment.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos.
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Almost wordless: The Bee Balm burst into bloom a few days ago. The bees and hummingbird moths were thrilled. No actual hummingbirds yet though.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
Only one print book and a couple of audio downloads last week. Audio is great to listen to in the garden as I run from the mosquitoes. With all the rain we are having it is so bad they are biting during the day, in the sun. A walk in the woods? Forget about it! I think they are immune to insect spray. On the plus side, my flowers look wonderful and I don’t have to water them.
Print Books
The Race for Paris by Meg Waite Clayton from Harper.
The New York Times bestselling author of The Wednesday Sisters returns with a moving and powerfully dynamic World War II novel about two American journalists and an Englishman, who together race the Allies to Occupied Paris for the scoop of their lives.
Audio Downloads
The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock from Audiobook Jukebox.
Beginning when the dust of the Second World War has only just begun to settle and rushing onward into the 1960s, Benjamin Johncock traces the path of this young couple as they are uprooted by events much larger than themselves. Set against the backdrop of one of the most emotionally charged periods in American history, The Last Pilot is a mesmerizing story of loss and finding courage in the face of it.
The Truth and Other Lies by Sascha Arango from Simon & Schuster Audio.
From the outside, Henry Hayden has a perfect life: he’s a famous novelist with more money than he can spend, a grand house in the country, a loyal, clever wife. But Henry has a dark side. If only the readers and critics who worship his every word knew that his success depends on a carefully maintained lie.
How was your week?
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Thank you to everyone that stopped by to enter the giveaways last few weeks.
Using random.org, two winners have been selected to receive a year of audio downloads.
June is Audiobook Month Giveaway
Sponsored by Recorded Books
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What is a BioBlitz?
A BioBlitz is a 24-hour event in which teams of scientists, naturalists and volunteers work together to find and identify all the living species within a designated area to create an ecological snapshot of the plants and animals that live there.
Marshland
A few weekends ago, the forest preserve in my county celebrated its 100-year anniversary by hosting an open house for the public, NatureFest, and conducting a BioBlitz on the same weekend.
I participated in the BioBlitz as a volunteer citizen scientist on the bird counting team. There were also people surveying plants, butterflies, reptiles, insects, amphibians, snakes, and mammals. At the same time, NatureFest was open to the public with hands-on exhibits, field-study demonstrations, lectures and other educational programs.
Eastern Kingbird in the Meadow
The ‘bird people’ divided into teams, and my group met at our designated area at 6:30am. It was a beautiful morning; clear and cool but warming up fast. The mosquitoes were already ferocious; one of the downsides of a very rainy spring. But the plants and grasses were brilliant green and the marshes were filled with water.
Black-crowned Night Heron
One of the highlights of the day was finding a Black-crowned Night Heron fishing at the edge of the marsh. He would patiently wait, hiding in the leaves of a fallen branch. When a fish swam past, he would pounce. Here he is with a catch. He ate that fish in one gulp!
Fritillary Butterfly on Milkweed
I wasn’t counting butterflies, but I couldn’t resist stopping to get a photo of this Fritillary Butterfly. A robin was busy chasing the butterfly, so I was also able to count a bird!
Poison Ivy
I saw a lot of this dreaded vine but was careful not to touch any of it.
The officials results of the BioBlitz won’t be in for a few months, but when they are, we will find out if any new species were discovered. My team didn’t find anything unusual or discover any unexpected birds, but we had a good time searching for them.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos.
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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An Unpretentious Guide to Craft Beer
Genre: Non-Fiction
Publisher: Voyageur Press
Publish Date: May 2016
Format: Paperback | 256 pages
Rating: 5 of 5
From the Publisher
Ashley V. Routson (aka The Beer Wench) provides the first all-in-one guide that demystifies beer and makes learning fun. She’ll quickly bring you up to speed on beer styles, the brewing process, how to taste beer like a pro, and how to pair beer with food. Unconventional tastings, delicious recipes from killer craft breweries, eye-catching photos–and, of course, plenty of beer–means there’s never a dull moment.
My Thoughts
I love craft beers, but that wasn’t always the case . . .
My first experience with beer was while I was in college, and that was mostly cheap domestic beers. We thought Coors was exotic. Ok, so this was back in the 80s, what did we know. Since I wasn’t crazy about the taste of beer, I pretty much stuck with wine or an occasional mixed drink. It was easy to find a good tasting glass of wine that paired well with my meal. But beer, that was for the folks in the bar watching sports . . . until I stumbled into a ‘beer tasting’ held in conjunction with a wine tasting event a few years ago and found an entirely new type of beverage. Beer had changed.
I admit, I don’t know a lot about beer, it’s history, or how it is made, but I know what I like when I taste it, and I have now developed a taste for craft beers. When I heard about The Beer Wench’s Guide to Beer, and that it was written by a woman, I wanted to read it. I was ready for an informative guide to lead me through the many types of beers that are readily available today. What I got was much more.
The book is divided into three sections: A guide to beer styles and their history, the brewing process, and a recipe section on cooking with beer and pairing beer with foods. Don’t let the fact that it’s paperback fool you. It is a full-size book and nicely laid out with full color photos and graphics on heavy glossy paper.
This is an excellent guide for someone like me who wants to learn more about beer but doesn’t want to read something written in formal textbook style. The author makes learning about beer interesting and even entertaining with her conversational writing style. An extensive assortment of beers are included throughout with enough detail to make this a good reference guide. And with the inclusion of many delicious sounding recipes, this book has a place on my cookbook shelf.
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Source: Review copy from the publisher through AmazonVine.
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