1. Saturday night's patio discussion about books woke me up to how negligent I've been when it comes to reading books. It's fun when Patrick and Meagan visit (or when we see them in Portland), in part, because Meagan always spends the time we aren't yakkin' or going out to do something reading a book.
So, today, I followed Meagan's example. Things slowed way down around the house this afternoon and I retired to the bedroom, invited Copper to join me, and I continued reading Maurice Hornocker's memoir, Cougars on the Cliff, a recounting of his early days sixty years ago studying mountain lions (or cougars) in the wilderness of the Salmon River basin.
It's just the sort of book about a kind of animal I like to read. The more Hornocker studies the cougar, the more he's able to challenge and disprove long standing ideas about the mountain lion, observing that the cougar plays a key role in the ecosystem of its habitat, is a shy and secretive animal, and hunts elk and deer in ways that not only nourish them, but improves the overall health of the Salmon River basin ecosystem.
He confronts hunters and guides who are skeptical and sometimes hostile toward him and his work, but Hornocker persists. I hope to finish the book soon and see how these conflicts get worked out and how Hornocker's work holds up.
2. I pursued another outcome of Saturday night's patio book discussion today. I decided to make my first stab at reading the books on the book Leah Sottile published on her Substack blog. One thing I liked about how Sottile presented this list was she linked each book to an independent bookstore -- no doubt as a way to encourage people like me to buy from them. She linked Jess Walter's book on Ruby Ridge to Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane. I'd decided the second book I'd order would Fire Season by Leyna Krow, a Spokane writer. Sottile linked Krow's book to Powell's Bookstore in Portland, but I had a sneaking suspicion it would be available at Auntie's. I looked it up. It was. So I ordered both books from Auntie's and am eager for them to arrive.
3. A few years ago, Patrick and Meagan introduced Debbie and me to Skyline or Cincinnati Chili. It so happened that we had some cans of Skyline Chili in the basement and Patrick and Meagan continued what feels like a bit of a tradition and fixed us each a bowl of spaghetti, chili, beans, diced onion, grated cheddar cheese, and oyster crackers. I also added hot sauce to mine.
It was a great dinner, not only tasty, but it brought back fun memories of past Skyline Chili meals.
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