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The Man Who Planted Trees

The Man Who Planted Trees

Jean Giono

The Man Who Planted Trees

Jean Giono

80 Pages

Published 1954, 1985

Fiction, Essay, Nature, Trees

This essay was originally published in the French edition of Vogue in 1954. It was soon translated into several languages including English. It has been published many times in many formats and has inspired songs, short animated films, its own documentary, and other interpretations.

The Man Who Planted Trees is a moving tale of a man who is traveling a parched land in 1911. He has been without water for two days and is in desperate need of shelter from the sun and to quench his thirst. It is in this moment that he meets a gentle, quiet, simple man who leads him to a little cottage and restores him to health. The traveler observes this man carefully picking through acorns and then planting the 100 best the next day. The traveler visits this man several times over the next 40 years. With each visit the land has more trees, more sources of water, and happier and healthier people until it is sustaining a thrumming community. The change is gradual enough that most people assume the trees have always been there and were spontaneous eruptions of nature. All the while it is has been this man who is happy with how he has lived his life and unassuming that he is responsible for the happiness of at least 10,000 town dwellers. 

This tale inspires in the most un-pedantic way what can be achieve through small efforts and the importance of living in balance with nature.

You can access the essay in both the French and English versions for free online.

Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)

Stephenie Meyer

Breaking Dawn

Stephenie Meyer

756 Pages

Published 2008

Fiction, Vampires, Romance, Science Fiction, Werewolves

The fourth and last in this series is a bit different from its three predecessors. Sex, while not described in detail, is often discussed and actually happens - a lot. The story is told both by Bella Swan and Jacob Black in large alternating sections.

Apparently, this last book received many bad reviews from reporting agencies like Publishers Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, and the Washington Post but many regular fans of Twilight loved it, including me.

!!!SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT!!!

One savvy reviewer did mention that it builds and builds and then there is no really big climax and I would agree with that. I remember actually thinking - "geez Meyer - what a tease." But the biggest complaints seem to be that it ended happily and that the birth scene was shocking and unrealistic. Unrealistic? Just a reality check here... we are talking about a vampire story. At what point did it move from being realistic? Like first book, page 1? And I liked the fact that everyone got everything they wanted and that it ended happily. If I want reality and unhappy endings, I will read some non-fiction.

Dreamers of The Day

Dreamers of the Day: A Novel

Mary Doria Russell

Dreamers of the Day

Mary Doria Russell

270 Pages

Published 2008

Historical Fiction

Agnes is a middle aged school teacher who has never married. She loses her whole family to the 1919 flu epidemic. This is sad, of course, but it also lends Agnes and enormous amount of freedom as she is released from her overbearing mother and whose fortune she inherits.  After visiting a fortune teller, Agnes decides to take a trip to Egypt. While in Egypt she becomes friends with Winston Churchill and Lawrence of Arabia who are there for the 1921 Cairo Conference.

The story lends an interesting perspective to decisions that were made for the middle east at the time and that we can still see the effects of today. "Rarely has so much been decided by so few to the detriment of so many as in that fancy hotel in 1921." If the middle east is interesting to you and if you are somewhat already familiar with the history then your enjoyment of this book will be enhanced. While it was gripping in some parts, altogether it was not that exciting of a story. It is told by Agnes who is speaking posthumously, which I found a little odd and never was able to suspend my sense of disbelief. It is a fairly smooth read and Agnes is a very likable character. Her last words of advice were quite good, "Read to children. Vote. And never buy anything from a man who is selling fear!"

Calvert Cliffs State Park

I went on a hike in Calvert Cliffs State Park today.

Pond

Swamp

Lilly Pads

There were lots of little green frogs jumping about. We heard what sounded like a quaking duck and it turned out to be this toad hiding out in a tree trunk.

Toad 2

Bog

Our trip included the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

Bay

Shells in the Wall

Cliffs

Imprint

Dug Out from the Wall

Jelly Fish

Falls

Patterson Park

I went for a walk in Patterson Park on Easter Sunday.

Pagoda Easter 2009

Ukrainian Catholic Church 2

Easter Eggcellence

Some friends came over last night and we had fun dying eggs. It is much harder then it looks on the box but I was pretty proud of these two...

Flower Garden

Rainbow

DC Monuments Moonlight Tour

Friday I went on a moonlight walking tour of the DC Monuments. This was led by an incredibly knowledgeable and spry Sierra Club member who kept us moving at a fairly good pace for 7.5 miles. This was the first time I have seen any of these in person and no picture can compare. Due to lighting restrictions and the lack of a tripod to keep things steady, I was not able to capture it all.

Washington Monument

The most compelling was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I have no personal ties to that war, no one in my family was lost to it or fought in it (my father was not allowed in the military because one leg is shorter then the other due to a hunting accident in his adolescence). Even so, as I walked down the wall I could feel the weight of over 58,000 names. The flowers and notes tugged at me while at the same time I willed myself not to tear up - who am I to feel such emotion over something I have done and lost nothing for? I think every American needs to witness that wall.

My favorite was the Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt Memorial that spans all four of his terms and captures aspects of the Great Depression and World War II.

Franklin

 

Franklin 2

Freedom

Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Worship
Freedom from Want
Freedom from Fear

Eleanor

Among the other sights we took in were the Washington Monument, US Capitol, Korean War Memorial, World War I Memorial, World War II Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. We aslo walked past the Hirsshorn Museum, US Department of Agriculture, and a couple of the Smithsonians. 

Jefferson

Lincoln 2

I was surprised that even though it was after 11:00 PM on a Friday night, the Lincoln Memorial was crowded with visitors.

US Capitol 2

Hirshhorn Entrance

Washington Monment 3

Eclipse (Twilight Saga #3 )

Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)

Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse

Stephenie Meyer

Fiction, Vampires, Fantasy

629 Pages

Published 2007

Much much better then the second. If you wanted to quit after the second I wouldn't blame you, I wanted to as well. I promise this one is worth the leap of faith. Eclipse lacks annoying minutia. It moves along at a breathtaking pace with a couple sweet spots of rest.

Flat Rachel

My eight year old niece's class is is doing a Flat Stanley project and my niece sent her flat version of herself to me to have adventures. Here is what she did on her visit...

Flat Rachel...

Arrives in the Mail

Going to Work with Aunt Susan

Aunt Susan Takes a Bus to Work

Buckle Up

Bus Driver Meets Flat Rachel

Security Guard Carla Meets Flat Rachel

The security guard gave Flat Rachel a VIP visitors pass.

Flat Rachel at Aunt Susan's Desk

Lunch Break!

Everyone Loves Flat Rachel

Flat Rachel at the Pull Up Bar

Aunt Susan Hiking with Flat Rachel

Wildlife Refuge

Wildlife Refuge 2

Wildlife Refuge 3

Falt Rachel at Sequeahanna

Kellie and her Medical Service Dog Dega

Hiking

Daffodils

Flat Rachel at the Mill

Springtime

Three Cups of Tea

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

Greg Mortenson

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time

Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Non-Fiction, Adventure, Humanitarian

349 Pages

Published 2006

Greg Mortenson is an underdog, hero, and miracle worker. The book starts out with Greg getting lost on a climb of K2 in Pakistan and finding his way to a village that was not on the map. The villagers save his life. Greg is overwhelemed by their generosity and in the memory of his sister, decides to build the village a school. Greg is stubbornly driven to keep his promise. He then continues on a path of building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan unphased by imcomprehensible obstacles and adventure. I was grabbed into this story before the end of the first page.

The story starts in the late 1990's and spans across 9/11 to 2006. The schools Greg built, provided for many girls of the region a first time opportunity for education and independence. While not part of his original goal, Greg also winds up fighting terroism. He sees schools built with the intention of cultivating terroism first hand and also sees that his schools provide an unbiased and well balanced education - literally fighting terroism with education.

Greg is still at it and you can contibute. For more information: http://www.threecupsoftea.com/