Nature & Books belong to the eyes that see them.
- Emerson
December 30, 2020
Nonfiction November Reading Challenge Results
December 28, 2020
Howards End is on the Landing
December 25, 2020
Merry Christmas!
December 23, 2020
December 22, 2020
Isaac's Storm
Waves form by absorbing energy from the wind. The longer the "fetch," or the expanse of the sea over which the wind can blow without obstruction, the taller a wave gets. The taller it gets, the more efficiently it absorbs additional energy. Generally, its maximum height will equal half the speed of the wind. Thus a wind of 150 miles an hour can produce waves up to 75 feet tall. Other conditions, such as the chance superimposition of two are more waves, can cause waves to grow even bigger. The tallest wave on record was 112 feet, but occurred amid steady winds of only 75 miles an hour.
As soon as they reached the Texas coast, however, they changed shape again. Whenever a deep-sea swell enters shallow water its leading edge slows. Water piles up behind it. The wave grows again. It is this effect that makes earthquake-spawned tsunamis so deceptive and so deadly. A tsunami travels across the ocean as a small hump of water but at speeds as high as five hundred miles an hour. When it reaches land, it explodes.
At 7:30 P.M., the wind shifted again, this time from the east to south. And again it accelerated. It moved through the city like a mailman delivering dynamite. Sustained winds must have reached 150 miles an hour, gusts perhaps 200 or more.The sea followed.Galveston became Atlantis.
While I didn't love Isaac's Storm, I'm glad I finally got around to reading it and learning not only about the history of this particular Galveston hurricane, but also a little bit about meteorology.
December 21, 2020
American Dirt
December 16, 2020
Not-So-Wordless Wednesday
December 12, 2020
December 11, 2020
Looking Back - The Law of Similars
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
December 10, 2020
The Rural Life
December 7, 2020
Once Upon a Town
December 5, 2020
A Month in Summary - November 2020
Books Read (click on the title for my review):
A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read (4/5)
Educated by Tara Westover (2/5)
Under a Wing by Reeve Lindbergh (2/5)
Abandoned:
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (after 100 pages, decided I wasn't interested)
Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl by Susan McCorkindale
Name All the Animals by Alison Smith
First Lines:
There are people who can be happy anywhere. I am not one of them. When the house on the next street went up in flames for the second night in a row, I wondered again what the hell I was doing in Syracuse. (A Field of Darkness)
I'm standing on the red railway car that sits abandoned next to the barn. The wind soars, whipping my hair across my face and pushing a chill down the open neck of my shirt. The gales are strong this close to the mountain, as if the peak itself is exhaling. (Educated)
In kindergarten, one of my brothers told a friend on the playground that our father had discovered America. At about the same age, I dreamed that he was God. (Under a Wing)
Movies and TV Series:
Game of Thrones (Season 8) - We've made it a tradition to only watch GoT while we're camping in our RV and we finally finished the series this past month. I'm ready to watch it again!
December 4, 2020
Looking Back - Cloud Nine
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.