Picketpost Mountain

 Gorgeous Picketpost Mountain, near Superior, Arizona.

This is where my family met for an outdoor, socially distanced Christmas.  It was a great day.  

We didn't hike to the top, but I've done it a few times before.  It's a GREAT hike.  You'll probably lose the trail a few times.  You might need to use your hands.  And at the top, you'll want some time to read the comments in the log books.  I absolutely recommend the trail for avid hikers.

NOTE:  The trail signs are a bit confusing and have changed since I hiked it.  If you go, look up current notes.    

Black-crowned night heron at Tres Rios

Spotted at Tres Rios Wetlands in Phoenix in December:

A pair of black-crowned night herons!

The Photo Ark; One Man's Quest to Document the World's Animals by Joel Sartore

This is mostly about the pictures, and…wow!  Those pictures!  They're beautiful, amazing, and paired so cleverly together.  I love, love, love it. 

Sometimes I wish the captions had a little more about the animals, but the point of the book is more to capture their likenesses and make us care…so we can then research for ourselves.  The few tidbits included are fascinating.   

I also enjoyed the written sections, like the forewords by Harrison Ford, Douglas H. Chadwick, and the author, the sections about different conservation heroes, and the behind-the-scenes peaks into the process.  

This is an extremely beautiful book.  Highly recommended. 

5 beautiful stars

Will my Cat Eat my Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty

This is a fascinating topic, if somewhat morbid.  The information is interesting and answers questions I've had and other questions I've never thought to ask. 

The writing is clear and engaging, witty in a way that somehow avoids being disrespectful to the dead or the grieving.

The structure is excellent, creating sections that can be easily consumed in one short sitting…though I usually wanted to read more than one at a time.

 The art adds another dimension, though it messed with the formatting in my version of the e-book, badly enough that I switched to the physical book and enjoyed it much more.

 Highly recommended.  I will certainly read more by Caitlen Doughty, and am pleased to see she does indeed have other books out there.  Yay!  

5 Stars