Of a Feather, by Dayna Lorentz

I really enjoyed this middle-grade novel of love, belonging...and birds of prey. 

The writing was engaging and I loved the characters.  Rufus’s point of view chapters were a little uneven as far as the bird-ness, but I still enjoyed them.   

4.5 STARS.  I will certainly read more by Dayna Lorentz

Tom's Thumb--A great hike in the Phoenix area

Despite hiking a lot in the Phoenix metro area, I'd never been to Tom's Thumb until a few weeks ago.  It was totally worth the drive. 

For scale, try to spot the person standing on the ridgeline:

If I were in the Czech Republic, I would call these "rock towns"  

I named this formation "The Exasperated Backpacker."  Can you see it?  

Tom's Thumb itself:

A beautiful female Phainopepla:  

I took the long way, from the Gateway Trailhead (18333 N. Thompson Peak Pkwy. in Scottsdale), and the trail passed several distinct landscapes and areas of vegetation.  Beautiful.  Once I got away from both trailheads, it was pretty quiet too.  A lovely day.

WARNING:  I did this a few weeks ago, on a cooler day.  If you attempt this in shoulder season, go early and start from the closer trailhead (Tom's Thumb Trailhead).  I would NOT advise doing this in full summer, unless you are well acclimatized, pick a less-hot day, carry plenty of water, start at sunrise, and only do the shorter version.   

MY ROUTE:  From the Gateway Trailhead (easy access from the 101), I took the Saguaro trail to the Gateway Loop trail to the Windgate Pass trail to Tom's Thumb Trail.  I enjoyed a detour to Lookout Point, played a little on the rocks, and went about half a mile on the gorgeous Tom's Thumb Trail northbound before I turned around.  Then I went down the East End trail to the Bell Pass trail, which eventually connected back up with the Gateway Loop trail near my original trailhead.  According to my tracker, it was just over 14 miles and only about 3100 feet of gain (but it felt like more).   

A map of my route, if the forty trail names above confused you (note: all the number on my tracker site are in metric)

The traditional route from Tom's Thumb Trailhead is about 4.25 miles round-trip and 1033 feet gain, a little more if you check out Lookout Point or do any other exploring.  

 

Small Joys

 Found while transcribing a journal of mine from the Czech Republic:

Things I love:

-Strangers lighting their sparklers from yours

-Duck prints on the frozen river

-A billion diamonds scattered in the snow

Total Lunar Eclipse March 13-14, 2025

 Not sure I really need words:

Grand Obsession: Harvey Buchart and the Exploration of the Grand Canyon, by Elias Butler and Tom Myers

As a person currently quite obsessed with the Grand Canyon (though not as obsessed as Harvey Buchart), I thought this was really interesting.  The authors certainly did their research, and though I think it could have been trimmed a bit, it didn’t feel overburdened by the weight of that research.

The style was very readable, and I liked knowing more about Harvey’s early life and later life, as well as the lives of some of his contemporary hiker/explorers.  I also enjoyed the authors’ attempts to recreate some of the routes/climbs Harvey did.  

I enjoyed the pictures.  I wish there had been a few more maps (the famous one on the inside cover was too tiny to be terribly useful)

Overall, a slightly long but very interesting read for someone already interested in the topic.  It might be a bit much for those who aren’t already a little obsessed.

And Harvey…though this book did keep him a bit at arms’ length, it worked for me, because it kept him larger than life.  

4.5 stars

The Secret Language of Birds, by Lynne Kelly

This was a sweet, gentle, middle-grade read about a girl trying to fit in and learning to love birds.

It was a bit repetitive, and some readers might not find it exciting enough for them, but I really enjoyed it.

The cover is beautiful, and of course I loved the details about the birds, the quest to protect endangered wildlife, etc.  

4 stars

Just a Backyard Flower

 Sorry, I took this picture to test my phone's camera, and I thought it was so pretty I had to share: