Notes On A Summer Day

Dude, Chipper and DeeDee waiting for a treat

      We are experiencing a heat wave--temps in the upper nineties, no rain for nearly 3 weeks!  Jack and I spend our days watering the garden and flower beds and trying to find 'cool' chores.  The middle of the day is definitely a good time to settle down with a good book or garden magazine.  Or, in Jack's case a nap!

      I make a habit of stepping out the bedroom door onto the porch just before bedtime and savoring the soothing nighttime breeze that is almost always present even after the worst of daytime heat.  I lay on the lounge chair allowing the wind to blow across my face taking away the cares of the day.  If that doesn't do the trick, the "wild night orchestra" will.  The "wild night orchestra" as a guest described the night sounds, is a symphony of crickets chirping, frogs croaking, whippoorwils singing, with an occassional coyote blending in. 

     Speaking of stress!  Many Newtons County residents, including ourselves, are upset (no, angry) that our Carroll Electic Cooperative --supposedly owned by all who pay electric bills to them, are contracting with outside companies to spray chemicals on power line right-of-ways to kill vegetation.  We have many certified organic farms in the county as well as regualr customers that use ground water (this is always been the case, historically) and they want to protect it.  There are are farms and ranches with livestock, as well as other businesses who are also concerned, and rightly so.  Carroll Electric and the board members elected to represent the interests of the coop members has been especially dictatorial and heavy-handed (and rude) to those who speak against this problem at board meetings and such.  (By the way, those who object are some of the most unassuming, peaceful, and 'just plain nice' folks you will ever meet, and they are working to preserve what makes Newton County and the Buffalo River Country so special.)  The company now require a unbelieveable amount of paper work and documents in order to put in a 'no spray' request.  Then, there is still  no guarantee that the request will be granted!  I find it hard to believe this can happen in Newton County where most people are independent and very conscious of the environment. For more on this go to http://www.grassrootsozark.net/.

     Good news!  Our cabin association, Upper Buffalo River Merchants Association is sponsoring a 5k run, The Running of the Elk 5k to benefit Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock.  It will be held September 11, 2010 in Boxley Valley.  We are hoping folks will turn out for a fun time and a good cause. 

     My Ozark garden is coming along regardless of the weather.  All it requires now is water!  We are getting squash and beans.  Tomatoes are beginning to ripen.  I am at war with the moles right now, but I have brought in help in the form of Molly, the Jack Russell, who hates moles and usually clears them out quickly!  Her backup is Daisy, who digs the holes!   If only they could do as well with those pesky squash bugs which Jack 'squshes' by the hundreds everyday!

Must go to get my "Request To Avoid Herbidical Vegetation Management" to the post office.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think on these things.  Phillipians 4:4-8

    

Notes From A Librarian

                                                                                      Bluebirds at the "pool"

    

     Summer is supposed to be a 'laid-back, lazy' time of year with trips to the 'pool'--or river in our case--or just a peaceful afternoon on the porch is nice.  I imagine that image of summer doesn't happen for most of us--unlike to birds in the photo.  However, this summer I plan to set aside time to settle down and 'get lost' in a few good books.  The librarian in me compels me to recommend a few of my favorites---

     The first one, which turns into several on the same subject, goes on my 'all-time most memorable' list.  THREE CUPS OF TEA by Greg Mortenson and David Relin will change the way you look at the people and conflicting religions of Afganistan and Pakistan.  I quote the blurb on the cover, "The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his remarkable humanitarian campaign in the Taliban's backyard."            Mortenson, a lost and weary mountain climber, drifted into a remote village in the Karakoram Mts. of Pakistan, and his life and the lives of thousands of children, especially girls, was changed forever.  When he promised to build a school in return for the kindness the village had shown him, his quest became not to conquer a mountain, but to conquer illiteracy and make possible an opportunity for children to learn by building one school at a time in the most remote and dangerous regions of the world.  His portrayal of the people who are so willing to do whatever it takes, at whatever it cost, to bring education to their villages could be a great novel on its own.  However, it is a true story, and an ongoing one at that.
     You will also want to read the sequel, STONES INTO SCHOOLS, that picks up where the first book left him--confronted by a group of horsemen, much like those in Marco Polo's day, who asked that he build a school in their village--in what is called the 'rooftop of the world'. 
     THREE CUPS OF TEA has a your reader's edition. And, there is a read-aloud version for young children with illustrations by Susan L. Roth entitled
LISTEN TO THE WIND.      "Beach" reads are a great way to 'get away' for a while, but, this one will stay with you for a long time.

Education is the long-term solution to fanaticism.

Col. Christopher Kolenda, U.S. Army, Afganistan

I have made links to Amazon.com in order to make it easier to purchase these books.  All money from sales on my blog, and 7% from Amazon will go to the Central Asia Institute which funds the building of schools and promotes the educations of girls in Pakistan and Afganistan.  By the way, it costs them $1.00 per month for one child's education and $1.50 per day for an average teacher's salary.  What a bargin! 
This will also be true for any books I recommend in the future.
                                                                   After reading these books, I would like to hear your comments.  I hope you are as inspired as I am to do a small part to support education and learning in this part of the world.  I believe the adage--'where much is given, much is required'  though this isn't 'much' as compared to those, including our soldiers, who are on a battlefield much different (or maybe not) from the schoolgrounds of these villages.