I just finished reading Watership Down. What a great story! I had always been familiar with the story and my daughter had read it. I was browsing through the library the other day and picked it up.
Watership Down began as stories Adams told to his children as they were on car trips. When the kids were older they suggested that their Dad write down the stories. He finally did and then worked them into a major story.
The characters in Watership Down are rabbits that have been given human personalities. However they are rabbits and Adams has been extremely diligent in researching and following rabbit behaviour. For example, he uses the keen senses of rabbits to navigate through some of the crises the group gets into. He also is very precise when it comes to plants in the habitat the rabbits are set in and how the rabbits use the plants. So there is much attention paid in the story to the setting and setting is used to move the story along as the rabbits travel to find a new place suitable to set up a new warren. All kinds of dangers lurk in the natural setting. Setting also plays an important part when they set out to obtain more females from another warren.
The story begins when one rabbit in an established warren senses that there is some danger looming in the near future for the warren. He persuades some of the rabbits to leave and set up a new warren in a safe place. They successfully set up a new warren when it dawns on them that they have no females in the group and that without females their new warren will not succeed. They discover that a nearby warren which is tightly controlled by a head rabbit has extra females and they decide to get females from the neighboring warren. A first direct attempt to request females is refused. They then make a plan to go back to the warren and engineer an escape for females. This is a dangerous plan and there is much conflict during the event. After much hardship they get the females back to their warren.
The warren they raided finds them and attempts to get their does back. After a terrible struggle the bad guys are defeated and Watership Down is established as free and happy warren.
I read some fantasy and so I found this story very believable and easy to buy into the themes developed. So pick up Watership Down and enjoy a good story.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Severe Winter Storm in Central Alberta.
So when I brag, as I did in my last post, I end up suffering a few days later when a severe winter storm comes into Central Alberta.. Jan. 6 was a beautiful winter day. I bragged about my nice weather. A gradual change took place on Jan.7. Clouds came in and in the evening we began to get light snow.
Jan. 8 and 9 we have had a severe winter blizzard. We've had high winds from about 30 kmh to gusts of 60 or 70kmh. This really blew the snow around and caused whiteout conditions in the country. Visibility in the city was down to between one half to one Km. We received about 20 - 25 cm of new snow. The snow is very dry and powdery at this time of year. Highways were closed and a large number of fender benders occurred.
I didn't have to go anywhere so I could stay safely at home. Shovelling snow from the sidewalks and driveway gave me plenty of exercise. With the wind some of the snow had drifted and then it becomes somewhat hard so that it becomes much more difficult to shovel.
So the next time I have a nice day, I'm going to keep my mouth shut and not brag about it.
Jan. 8 and 9 we have had a severe winter blizzard. We've had high winds from about 30 kmh to gusts of 60 or 70kmh. This really blew the snow around and caused whiteout conditions in the country. Visibility in the city was down to between one half to one Km. We received about 20 - 25 cm of new snow. The snow is very dry and powdery at this time of year. Highways were closed and a large number of fender benders occurred.
I didn't have to go anywhere so I could stay safely at home. Shovelling snow from the sidewalks and driveway gave me plenty of exercise. With the wind some of the snow had drifted and then it becomes somewhat hard so that it becomes much more difficult to shovel.
So the next time I have a nice day, I'm going to keep my mouth shut and not brag about it.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Beautiful Winter Day in Central Alberta
Today was a beautiful day in Central Alberta as the temperature was about 0 C (I know this one 32 F). There was a good stiff north west wind in the morning and most of the day was clear. An awesome winter day!
What do you do on an awesome winter day? Well you guessed it...cross country ski. So I went out on my own private ski trail around the close behind my house. We had 5 cm of snow yesterday so conditions were about as good as they get. Since I've been out 5 or six times in the last 10 days I'm starting to feel in better condition.
The usual magpies were out enjoying the day. A merlin showed up and the magpies got very excited. The merlin took a couple of runs at the magpies and got them screaming mad. The merlin left as I guess he thought the magpies were in too good of shape for him to handle. A few minutes later a pileated woodpecker showed up and checked out the Schubert cherry trees that are planted in the front of every body's yard. To finish the bird theme a lone raven flew over. So as well as a good ski it was fairly interesting bird wise.
I also accomplished some stuff in the house. We took down the Christmas tree and decorations and stored them away. Home Farm Girl says never again! That's the last time she's doing Christmas decorations! But I've heard these oaths from her before and they are not serious. I also made a rhubarb stew for supper
Today the sun sets at 4:39 PM . It's earliest setting here was 4:24 PM around Dec. 7 so you see the days are starting to lengthen ever so slightly as we've gained 15 minutes of daylight by my calculations. We haven't started to gain anything back in the morning as this morning the sun rose at 8:43 AM. I think tomorrow or the next day we finally gain a minute in the morning.
So it was a day that makes for pleasant times during the winter.
The usual magpies were out enjoying the day. A merlin showed up and the magpies got very excited. The merlin took a couple of runs at the magpies and got them screaming mad. The merlin left as I guess he thought the magpies were in too good of shape for him to handle. A few minutes later a pileated woodpecker showed up and checked out the Schubert cherry trees that are planted in the front of every body's yard. To finish the bird theme a lone raven flew over. So as well as a good ski it was fairly interesting bird wise.
I also accomplished some stuff in the house. We took down the Christmas tree and decorations and stored them away. Home Farm Girl says never again! That's the last time she's doing Christmas decorations! But I've heard these oaths from her before and they are not serious. I also made a rhubarb stew for supper
Today the sun sets at 4:39 PM . It's earliest setting here was 4:24 PM around Dec. 7 so you see the days are starting to lengthen ever so slightly as we've gained 15 minutes of daylight by my calculations. We haven't started to gain anything back in the morning as this morning the sun rose at 8:43 AM. I think tomorrow or the next day we finally gain a minute in the morning.
So it was a day that makes for pleasant times during the winter.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A Great Topic Machine
The other day I noticed a comment on my niece's face book page that really got my curiosity going. She said right off the wall, " It appears that there will always be a lot of things in life that I'll never understand." I made the comment back, "Am I missing something here? I'm curious." My niece really surprised me with a list of things that genuinely puzzled her. These ranged the whole gamut from scientific to philosophical.
Her list included things such as why do people wear jeans to a symphony concert?, how sound is recorded, life changes such as tadpole to fog and caterpillar to butterfly, why people suffer from others bad choices, plants surviving arctic conditions, man made highs and lows in the economy and brutal things people do. This is a list that really makes one sit up and think. Each idea can lead off in hundreds of directions.
I'm sure that for some of these questions Jocelyn will sooner or later find answers. Others will have to be open ended answers. What intrigued me was that she was thinking these thoughts and was smart enough to wonder out loud about them and then write them down.
So here I thought is a real topic generating machine. What great luck!
I'm sure that many bloggers find it difficult to come up with topics for their blog. I found it easy in Dec. when I did a Christmas theme. I'm going to sit down and see if I can come up with other themes. Sometimes topics come easily. I usually like to find a topic and roll it around in my head for a few days. When I start writing most of it comes very easy. I do the usual deleting a sentence here and there and adding other things. Sometimes things have to be moved. I learned this year that at certain times I should make something into two posts instead of one.
What really makes it easy is to have a bank of topics. So to start out 2011 I will have some topics to work with.
Her list included things such as why do people wear jeans to a symphony concert?, how sound is recorded, life changes such as tadpole to fog and caterpillar to butterfly, why people suffer from others bad choices, plants surviving arctic conditions, man made highs and lows in the economy and brutal things people do. This is a list that really makes one sit up and think. Each idea can lead off in hundreds of directions.
I'm sure that for some of these questions Jocelyn will sooner or later find answers. Others will have to be open ended answers. What intrigued me was that she was thinking these thoughts and was smart enough to wonder out loud about them and then write them down.
So here I thought is a real topic generating machine. What great luck!
I'm sure that many bloggers find it difficult to come up with topics for their blog. I found it easy in Dec. when I did a Christmas theme. I'm going to sit down and see if I can come up with other themes. Sometimes topics come easily. I usually like to find a topic and roll it around in my head for a few days. When I start writing most of it comes very easy. I do the usual deleting a sentence here and there and adding other things. Sometimes things have to be moved. I learned this year that at certain times I should make something into two posts instead of one.
What really makes it easy is to have a bank of topics. So to start out 2011 I will have some topics to work with.
Monday, January 3, 2011
The New Year Milestone
Some how or other I just couldn't bounce into the new year without some acknowledgement of the milestone. MK did the first post of 2011 with her usual thought provoking comments. I thoroughly enjoyed the piece but some readers were a little perplexed because it didn't sound like me. Sharp readers!!!
For 2010 I struggled with some blogging challenges. I am somewhat limited when it comes to how blogger actually functions. As a result some of the things I set up or did not set up have puzzled me. Some of the things I am not aware of. I'm searching and learning. I'm still puzzled as to why when I follow someone blogger does not say that I have a blog. It only shows sites I follow. As a result some people don't realize that I have a blog so do not follow me. So If anybody has some hot tips I would be most appreciative.
It's been interesting to watch what sells and what doesn't sell. Some of the things which bring readers have been surprising. Each of these events teaches me something.
I've also discovered that I have to work harder to gain more traffic. I have been doing eight to ten posts a month. In December I worked harder and did 15 or 16 posts. I will have to make a list of things I should do on a regular basis. I have done some things with pictures and then forget for awhile. I also know that I should research and use links. Too often I get something in my head and run with it and then afterward say, "Oh, a picture would have been nice with this." To do pictures I find that I have to start with a picture and then plan the post as I did with the soapstone carvings.
When I look back over the year I am amazed at how much was written and were the blog took me. I seem to wander widely when it comes to topics. If any one has ideas of what they would like to see changed on the blog let me know. I would look at it as constructive comment. I know that I have to do something with my title page to make it more attractive. One day I will be brave enough to dig in there and throw the thing away and start with something new and hopefully more pleasing to look at.
Needless to say I have enjoyed the blogging for this year. I certainly look forward to another year. As always the readers make the blog so much more interesting. Thanks for dropping by Hiawatha House in 2010. Thanks for the comments which really keep me going and give me new ideas.
All the best to you in 2011!
For 2010 I struggled with some blogging challenges. I am somewhat limited when it comes to how blogger actually functions. As a result some of the things I set up or did not set up have puzzled me. Some of the things I am not aware of. I'm searching and learning. I'm still puzzled as to why when I follow someone blogger does not say that I have a blog. It only shows sites I follow. As a result some people don't realize that I have a blog so do not follow me. So If anybody has some hot tips I would be most appreciative.
It's been interesting to watch what sells and what doesn't sell. Some of the things which bring readers have been surprising. Each of these events teaches me something.
I've also discovered that I have to work harder to gain more traffic. I have been doing eight to ten posts a month. In December I worked harder and did 15 or 16 posts. I will have to make a list of things I should do on a regular basis. I have done some things with pictures and then forget for awhile. I also know that I should research and use links. Too often I get something in my head and run with it and then afterward say, "Oh, a picture would have been nice with this." To do pictures I find that I have to start with a picture and then plan the post as I did with the soapstone carvings.
When I look back over the year I am amazed at how much was written and were the blog took me. I seem to wander widely when it comes to topics. If any one has ideas of what they would like to see changed on the blog let me know. I would look at it as constructive comment. I know that I have to do something with my title page to make it more attractive. One day I will be brave enough to dig in there and throw the thing away and start with something new and hopefully more pleasing to look at.
Needless to say I have enjoyed the blogging for this year. I certainly look forward to another year. As always the readers make the blog so much more interesting. Thanks for dropping by Hiawatha House in 2010. Thanks for the comments which really keep me going and give me new ideas.
All the best to you in 2011!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Thoughts on the New Year
Red asked me to write a message for the start of the new year...and I have been trying to think of something meaningful to say on the subject. My mind pretty much wandered over the usual things, like starting anew, resolutions, and all such things that I suppose most people consider at this time of year.
But then I got to thinking of things a tad broader, and perhaps more philosophical (or annoying?). Like, how do we really know what year this is? According to whose calendar? Calendars, after all, have been changed and adjusted over time, and vary from culture to culture. Many religions follow a separate calendar with other dates as "new year" markers, along with various traditions, festivities etc.
Which leads to more questions... like, how does anyone know if any of these calendars are right? There are all kinds of accounts of ancient peoples and their star gazing accuracy, predictions and so forth. All the hype over the so-called "end of the world" coming thanks to the Mayan calendar, which presumably will stop counting time as of late 2012. I'm quite willing to bet there will be as much disappointment over that day coming and going as we experienced back with the Y2K scare. Which, incidentally, was out by a year anyway, as there was no acknowledged "year zero" in the Judeo-Christian calendar (the BC/AD thing, or, if you prefer, BCE and CE now) so therefore the new millenium actually started on January 1, 2001 - you need a full 1000 years to get there, you see. But, I digress.
Back to the end of the world... likely more anticipation leading to a whole lot of nothing. And just imagine the disappointment and confusion for all those folks who were so counting on that day to be the end...and not being at all prepared for the next day when it comes! No disaster, no doom and gloom. What a letdown to see all the gadgets of the world carrying and functioning, and all these people going about minding their own business like any other day.
Maybe the Mayans just ran out of space, or figured that working up to 2012 was pretty far enough into the future for their purposes, and left the rest to generations to come (who, of course, didn't - did they see that coming??) to figure out. Seems as silly as thinking that when your "modern" wall calendar is done on December 31st, there's nothing more to follow.
This, of course, just leads me further into my questioning of time and our relationship to it. Certainly today doesn't feel different than yesterday. I don't feel different. It's much like your birthday; it's supposed to feel special, but somehow it just ends up another day. My dog certainly has no sense of any of this. The fact that we (struggled!) to stay up to midnight for a toast with our friends was completely lost on little Maggie; she had abandoned us for a comfy bed hours before we finally called it a night. She seems no worse today for having done so. I'm pretty sure a lot of people can't claim the same this morning! ;)
In the end, yes, it's lovely to have another "new year" with new beginnings, where at least another 365 days of possibilities lie ahead, and there are things both known and unknown to look forward to. But for all the excitement and celebration, I do have to wonder how and why we are so tied to this strange certainty of time and place, when we really have no valid reference point to work from. And does it really matter in the end?
Ah well, I need to get my new 2011 calendar up on the fridge, and start planning ahead for all the things that need to be done this year. Enjoy what you have, while you have it, whenever you may be!!
But then I got to thinking of things a tad broader, and perhaps more philosophical (or annoying?). Like, how do we really know what year this is? According to whose calendar? Calendars, after all, have been changed and adjusted over time, and vary from culture to culture. Many religions follow a separate calendar with other dates as "new year" markers, along with various traditions, festivities etc.
Which leads to more questions... like, how does anyone know if any of these calendars are right? There are all kinds of accounts of ancient peoples and their star gazing accuracy, predictions and so forth. All the hype over the so-called "end of the world" coming thanks to the Mayan calendar, which presumably will stop counting time as of late 2012. I'm quite willing to bet there will be as much disappointment over that day coming and going as we experienced back with the Y2K scare. Which, incidentally, was out by a year anyway, as there was no acknowledged "year zero" in the Judeo-Christian calendar (the BC/AD thing, or, if you prefer, BCE and CE now) so therefore the new millenium actually started on January 1, 2001 - you need a full 1000 years to get there, you see. But, I digress.
Back to the end of the world... likely more anticipation leading to a whole lot of nothing. And just imagine the disappointment and confusion for all those folks who were so counting on that day to be the end...and not being at all prepared for the next day when it comes! No disaster, no doom and gloom. What a letdown to see all the gadgets of the world carrying and functioning, and all these people going about minding their own business like any other day.
Maybe the Mayans just ran out of space, or figured that working up to 2012 was pretty far enough into the future for their purposes, and left the rest to generations to come (who, of course, didn't - did they see that coming??) to figure out. Seems as silly as thinking that when your "modern" wall calendar is done on December 31st, there's nothing more to follow.
This, of course, just leads me further into my questioning of time and our relationship to it. Certainly today doesn't feel different than yesterday. I don't feel different. It's much like your birthday; it's supposed to feel special, but somehow it just ends up another day. My dog certainly has no sense of any of this. The fact that we (struggled!) to stay up to midnight for a toast with our friends was completely lost on little Maggie; she had abandoned us for a comfy bed hours before we finally called it a night. She seems no worse today for having done so. I'm pretty sure a lot of people can't claim the same this morning! ;)
In the end, yes, it's lovely to have another "new year" with new beginnings, where at least another 365 days of possibilities lie ahead, and there are things both known and unknown to look forward to. But for all the excitement and celebration, I do have to wonder how and why we are so tied to this strange certainty of time and place, when we really have no valid reference point to work from. And does it really matter in the end?
Ah well, I need to get my new 2011 calendar up on the fridge, and start planning ahead for all the things that need to be done this year. Enjoy what you have, while you have it, whenever you may be!!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Hiawatha House wishes the Best to you in 2011
To all Hiawatha House readers and visitors:
Have very good 2011!
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