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Books: The Rain Wild Chronicles

March 31, 2012 by Pat Bean

“The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” – Albert Einstein

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.” – Dr. Seuss

Don’t Do That To Me Robin

Look what you did to me Robin. My hair might not last until the fourth Rain Wilds book is published. -- Art by Pat Bean

I’m a big fan of fantasy books, but particular about which ones I read. Actually I’m that way about all the books I read, which includes just about all genres except horror, or books where the dark side dominates the pages.

Along with wanting a good plot that keeps me turning the page, a book’s characters must have both strengths and failings and grow in depth as the story progresses.

Without a character with whom I can connect, a book gets tossed aside at my self-imposed 50-page benchmark — or at the end of the first free chapter that Amazon provides Kindle users.

Poor writing, naturally, will turn me off much sooner.

I have many mystery authors that I follow but far fewer fantasy authors. That’s because an abundance of them seem not to measure up to my 50-page limit. This means when I find an author I enjoy, I usually read everything they write, and eagerly await their new offerings.

I took this photo today at the Sonora Desert Museum in an area that talked about prehistoric Arizona. It's only connection to this blog is that it reminded me of the kind of creatures on finds in fantasy books. -- Photo by Pat Bean

George Martin, whose series, “Game of Thrones,” I started reading when it first came out, taught me a lesson, however. His lengthy sabbatical between books convinced me to wait until a series was completed before beginning it.

With this in mind, it was with great delight that a few years ago I came across the work of Robin Hobb. I read her first book, “Assassin’s Apprentice,” in the Farseer Trilogy and was deeply hooked. In rapid succession, I absorbed the other two books in the trilogy and then continued n with her Liveship, Tawny Man and Soldier Son trilogies.

Soldier Son was weird, but even that I couldn’t put down. Of the other three trilogies, I would be hard-pressed to name a favorite as I loved each and every one of them.

At the time I discovered her, Hobb was still writing her Rain Wilds Chronicles. I patiently waited until the trilogy was finished before I began reading them. Last night, I finished the third in the series, only to be left hanging.

Unbeknownst to me, this series has a fourth book, which isn’t out yet.

AAAAccccchhhhh!!!!

Posted in Books, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments »

My Kaleidoscopic Life

March 30, 2012 by Pat Bean

“If in the last few years you haven’t discarded a major opinion or acquired a new one, check your pulse. You may be dead.” – Gelett Burgess

Royal terns and laughing gulls are common sights on the Texas Gulf Coast. -- Photo by Pat Bean

New Landscape, New Thoughts

My morning walks around here in the desert above Tucson the past few days have been exotic ones, full of new plants, new birds, new views and conversely new thoughts.

And the ocotillo cactus is in bloom in Arizona. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I love the variety my life is currently offering, although there was nothing wrong with waking up every morning  to a view of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, which I did for 25 years, either. And one of these days, I know, I will once again have time to intimately get to know one particular landscape.

 It’s not that one lifestyle is better than the other, just that they’re different. Actually that can be said about all lifestyles, as long as they do no harm to others or to this beautiful planet we live on.   

Meanwhile, my current wandering/wondering life as a full-time RV-er is continually full of new sights and things to do.

When visiting my Texas Gulf Coast son, I have a beach to walk and a plethora of shorebirds to watch. Here in Arizona, where my youngest daughter recently moved, I have a desert landscape, particularly beautiful in the spring, and a whole different set of birds.

On this morning’s walk, I saw a pyrrhuloxia and a phainopepia, rare sights except in southeast Arizonia, plus doves, lots of Gambell’s quail, a raven, a black phoebe, a large flycatcher (not sure which one) and a curved-bill thrasher. While none were birds not on my life list, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen most of these species.

A visit to my oldest daughter in Dallas offers opportunities to take in a play and to watch northern cardinals hanging out in her backyard trees.

In Chicago, where I recently visited my youngest son, I got to take in an art museum and had a marvelous nighttime view of the city lights and Lake Michigan from the top of the Hancock Tower.

A visit to a granddaughter in San Antonio opens up an opportunity for me to take in this city’s fantastic river walk; In Austin, where another granddaughter lives, I get to play with a great-grandson and visit writer friends.

An hour north of Austin, where my oldest son lives, my daughter-in-law always makes the best cabbage, hamburger and rice meal for me that I’ve ever tasted. It’s one of my favorite dishes and I’ve never been able to duplicate her recipe. Sighting deer on my walks here is also a daily happening.

I’ve begun thinking about settling down, but in the eight years I’ve been on the road, no place has shouted loud enough to hold me. I’m beginning to look and listen a bit harder, however.

Meanwhile I’m just going to keep enjoying the ever-changing scenery that is my current life.

Bean’s Pat: Stopping the Wind http://tinyurl.com/772hswd Good advice for all of us, regardless of what age you are.

Posted in Journeys | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments »

This Day

March 30, 2012 by Pat Bean

“Every day that is born into the world comes like a burst of music and rings the whole day through, and you make of it a dance, a dirge, or a life march, as you will.” — Thomas Carlyle

This day cacti are blooming in Arizonia

Tonto Basin cactus -- Photo by Pat Bean

And Bluebonnets color Texas’ roadsides

Goose Island State Park, Texas -- Photo by Pat Bean

“If you’ve never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.” — Audra Foveo

Posted in Favorite Places, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Morning Surprise

March 28, 2012 by Pat Bean

 “There is a road from the eye to the heart that does not go through the intellect.” – G.K. Chesterton

This hot air balloon soaring over my daughter's horse corral was a delightful surprise for my morning. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Up, Up and Away

A common sight for my daughter's family was a rare delight for me. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Shortly after the sun came up this morning, I beheld a wondrous, rare sight. Well, at least for me. It’s one that my daughter’s family sees most mornings from their desert landscaped home that looks down on Tucson.

Soaring above their horse corral was a hot air balloon, low enough for me to hear the whoosh of the flames as they roared their hot air upward into the balloon to keep it aloft. I could also hear the low murmurs of its passengers as they looked down on the sights beneath them. I waved.

Of course I wished I were up there with them, floating along at the pace of the wind.

I’ve been in hot air balloons twice, once over the desert near Las Vegas, and once over Africa’s Serengeti. The joy of floating above the earth and observing it from the advantage of height flooded my memories.

What a fantastic way to start my day.

Bean’s Pat: LavendarDragonfly http://tinyurl.com/6tachfh This blogger would have loved my morning. May we all have such eyes to see the tiny miracles of life around us.

Posted in African Safari, Journeys, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 20 Comments »

 Thorny Thoughts

March 27, 2012 by Pat Bean

“Who wants to become a writer? And why? Because it’s the answer to everything. To “Why am I here?’ to uselessness. It’s the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build up, to create, to be astonished at nothing, to cherish the oddities, to let nothing go down the drain, to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it’s a cactus” – Enid Bagnold

These cactus made me think of John Denver's "Sunshine on My Shoulder Makes Me Happy." -- Photo by Pat Bean

Where Ideas Come From

I was asked this morning where I get my writing ideas.

It’s not the first time I’ve been asked this, and I still stumble over the answer.

This morning, my inspiration for my blog was a walk through a desert landscape filled with many varieties of cacti.

Within 100 yards of leaving my daughter’s driveway, I had seen half a dozen different varieties. Their differences set off my brain on a path of comparing the cacti to the people I know. Tall and short like Mutts and Jeffs; sunny like the blooms on a barrel cactus or especially thorny like the cholla; open to life, like the saguaro’s wide-stretch reach to the sky, or closed up like a low-growing hedgehog cactus.

Perhaps it was this old dead saguaro, looking much like an old man reaching for the sky, that was the real inspiration for today's blog. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I saw a large prickly pear cactus that glowed pink around its edges. It made me think of someone like myself, who prefers to look at the world through rose-colored glasses.

The truth is my writing ideas come from everywhere, at least the starting point. If I’m lucky, as I was today when I went searching for a quote to go with today’s blog and found Bagnold’s great one, I get a bit of inspiration that will tie my thoughts into something more meaningful.

Then there are days when I sit down to write about one thing and end up writing about something entirely different. It’s as if my fingers on a keyboard take charge.

I suspect that unless you’re a writer probably none of this makes any sense.

Oh well. That’s the writing life. Some days you communicate, and some days you don’t.

Bean’s Pat: Wistfully Wandering http://tinyurl.com/dxb8xhp Alice Springs. This blog was my choice for today because it is a place that is calling for this wandering/wondering old broad to visit.

 

Posted in Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments »

Roadside Stop on Arizona’s Highway 79

March 26, 2012 by Pat Bean

Tom Mix Memorial -- Photo by Pat Bean

“I always remember an epitaph which is in the cemetery at Tombstone, Arizona. It says: ‘Here lies Jack Williams. He done his damnedest.’ I think that is the greatest epitaph a man can have.” – Harry S. Truman

Cowboy Memorial

While driving a lonely stretch of Highway 79 in Arizona awhile back, I came upon this Tom Mix Memorial. Mix, just for all you youngsters out there who may never have heard the name, made over 325 movies between 1910 and 1935. All but nine of them silent films.

While this cowboy was a bit before even my time, I did see a few of his last movies when they played as Saturday matinees at the Lisbon Theater in Dallas. Looking at the memorial I could almost smell the popcorn and feel the rough-cushion of the seats in that old theater.

Landscape near where Tom Mix crashed his vehicle and died of a broken neck in 1940. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I wonder if it’s still there, on Lancaster Avenue in South Oak Cliff. I couldn’t find it on the Internet, but I did come across a site for Lisbon Elementary, which I attended in the first grade.

Mix died in 1940, very near this memorial, which it was evident had seen better days.

Traveling is a two-part journey. First there’s the joy of seeing new sights and learning new things, and then comes the connections that take one back to other times and other places.

It takes both things to satisfy my wanderlust.

Bean’s Pat: Things I love http://tinyurl.com/87gobqe I have Portuguese in my genes, but I would love this blog even if I didn’t.

Posted in Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Flying High to Tucson

March 25, 2012 by Pat Bean

 “May all your trails be crooked, winding, dangerous, leading to the most amazing views, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you.” — Edward Abbey

 

A Tucson sunset -- Photo by Pat Bean

Getting Better

I’m in Tucson, where winter has long passed. The temperature’s in the 70s and low 80s, which is too hot for me in humid Texas but great here where the air is dry. Besides, the desert cools off at night, something Texas never does.

I left my RV, Gypsy Lee, parked in Texas yesterday and flew from Austin, to Dallas, to Tucson so as to spend some time with my youngest daughter, Trish. We’re both in a recuperating mode, she from double pneumonia and fractured ribs, and me from losing my canine traveling companion Maggie, and then eight days later her replacement, Princess Meghan.

The view I have out my daughter's large back window from my blogging spot. -- Photo by Pat Bean

We’re helping each other through difficult times. I couldn’t be in a better place.

And as a bonus, there’s new scenery visible from where I sit at my computer. But more importantly, I’m back to counting my daily blessings.

Bean’s Pat: Barb’s Blog http://tinyurl.com/6o67fyf A blog that clearly demonstrates no one can push you around without your permission. I love it.

Posted in Favorite Places, Nature | Tagged , , | 17 Comments »

Weekly Photo Challenge: Through

March 24, 2012 by Pat Bean

Driving through the tunnel -- Photo by Pat Bean

Custer State Park, South Dakota
 
“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!” — Bob Marley
 
Bean’s Pat:  Kindness Kronicles  http://tinyurl.com/82zz9tm  The world needs more people like this blogger, who believes the world truly can be a kinder place in which to live. .
 
 

Posted in Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments »

Favorite Places: National Parks

March 23, 2012 by Pat Bean

“Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars… and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers – for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are.” – Osho

Looking out on Frenchmen's Bay from Acadia National Park. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Acadia

My 2006 visit to Acadia National Park in Maine brought back memories of my daughter’s Navy service. Not strange, since the destroyer tender she served on was named after the park.

I had been curious about this park ever since I had sailed aboard the USS Acadia. The occasion was a 1990 Tiger Cruise from Seattle to San Diego, a public relations opportunity to show parents and other loved ones how safely their sailors lived, in my case my youngest daughter.

How can one not feel at peace in such a setting. -- Photo by Pat Bean

These memories, triggered as I drove into the park, also refreshed my unanswered question of why war ships are named after national parks, as in USS Acadia, USS Yellowstone, USS Grand Canyon, USS Yosemite … It seemed like an oxymoron. Parks are places of peace and war are places of

hell.

My daughter, who was one of 400 women among the Acadia’s 1,200-person crew, was a welder whose job entailed repairing battle ships that females were not allowed to serve on. That gave me some bit of comfort until she wrote to me about being aboard one of the battleships when it went on full alert. She had been taken aboard the battleship via helicopter to do a bit of welding

Maine's sea coast -- Photo by Pat Bean

By the time I reached the park’s Hulls Cove Visitor Center, the lushness of the roadside trees, which were just barely beginning to change into their autumn colors, glimpses of turquoise Frenchmen’s Bay, and the cheerfulness of pastel purple asters I passed, had put me in a more cheerful frame of mind.

Mother Nature has always had a calming effect on me.

Bean’s Pat: Fun and Fabulousness http://tinyurl.com/87jc6bb Spend a day in Paris while sitting in an easy chair.

Posted in Favorite Places, Nature | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Favorite Places: National Parks

March 22, 2012 by Pat Bean

“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.” –Lillian Smith

Looking down from the Island at the Green River -- or is it the Colorado. The Green joins the Colorado near here. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Canyonlands: Island in the Sky

This park, located near Arches National Park, Dead Horse Point Utah State Park and Moab — all fantastic things on any bucket list — is a great escape from our chaotic lives. I try never to miss it when I’m in the area.

I’ve never been there when it felt crowded. It has a  tiny campground, in which I’ve both tent and RV-camped, spectacular aerial views of the Green and Colorado rivers and a fairy land of rock formations.

If you go, don’t miss taking the Mesa Arch Trail. It’s only a short half-mile hike but the view at the end is awesome. Have Fun.

Bean’s Pat: A Year on the Road http://tinyurl.com/79ba6la Al’s a full-time RV-er like me. This column is simply full of trivia, but check out some of his back columns.  While I write more about Mother Nature’s landscapes, he focuses more on the people who inhabit the landscape.

Posted in Favorite Places, Nature, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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