Rural Routes, Blog Version

Until yesterday, I boiled up four cups of hummingbird nectar every day. Once it had cooled, I poured the liquid into the six-station feeder and re-hung it under the eave above the deck.

Every day the birds drank those four cups and asked for more.   The babies had grown and fought with the adults for space at the feeding stations.

Adding to the congestion at the feeder were the wasps which viciously defended their own right to feed.

I have an allergy problem, but even if I didn’t, I woudn’t enjoy taking down or putting up the feeder when the wasps are there.

Bumble bees say, ‘live and let live’. Honey bees say “I won’t hurt you unless you hurt me’. But wasps can be malevolent. Wasps say, “I’m coming to get you.”

As of yesterday, however, I am down to three or four birds. The babies have started their southward journey. They always leave earlier than the adults do. The adults will stay a while longer, leaving sometime after the Labour Day weekend.

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION

I work out of my home, so spending a vacation there is not always my definition of ‘getting away from it all’. We had no big travel plans this year, so this would be a ‘staycation’, but I was determined that it would be a time of relaxation, rather than housecleaning.

So I set up a puzzle on the dining room table, a picture of hummingbirds and flowers, and I worked at it slowly, looking up to watch the real birds within my view.

I took pictures of kittens, I went for walks and I refused to look at my list of things to do. I let it grow dust along with everything else in the house.

AND I READ:

“Intruders in Eden” By Arthur Stringer. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, New York 1942.

Earlier this summer I worked at a used book sale in Neepawa, a fundraiser for Margaret Laurence House. One of the nice things about working at a used book sale is that you get to buy books too! This one was a hard cover still in its original book jacket with the words “Mona Brown, October 12, 1945’ handwritten on the flyleaf. I had never heard of Arthur Stringer, but apparently he wrote 45 novels, as well as non-fiction, poetry, plays and articles. A Canadian, he moved to the United States and one of the criticisms of his work was that he didn’t seem to know a whole lot about Canada.

This particular book is about a man and woman, both wounded psychologically by World War 2 experiences, who begin a relationship on a dilapidated farm in southern Ontario.The rural folk are horrified by their sinful living arrangement and the man is racked with guilt on two counts; he cannot afford to support the woman financially and he has exposed her to neighbourhood gossip. The guilt increases when he comes into some money in an immoral, if not illegal, manner and the relationship suffers.

“Round the Bend” by Nevil Shute. William Morrow & Co, New York, 1951.

My husband found this one at Black’s Books before it closed. We both had read Shute’s “On The Beach”, but had never heard of this particular book, although it was apparently Shute’s favourite of all those he had written.

The book tells the story of Connie Shak Lin, a British citizen born to a Russian mother and a Chinese father, whose unique way of linking faith to job performance in the aviation industry earns him a spiritual following across the middle and Far East. Written in a conversational style, the book is narrated by Tom Cuttler, Connie’s employer and friend.

“Lures” by Sue Goyette, Harper Collins Canada, Toronto, 2001

Another Black’s find; we already miss that store. Sue Goyette is a well-known Canadian poet; “Lures” was her debut novel.

It tells the story of two dysfunctional families in Montreal and how the lives of their members intersect in sometimes horrifying ways. The language is poetic, focusing often on the sights, sounds and colours of the changing seasons.

“My grandmother asked me to tell you she’s sorry” by Fredrik Backman, Washington Square Press, New York, reprinted 2016. Original Swedish printing 2013.

I purchased this one at Barnes and Noble in Fargo when my husband and I were there in late June. I hadn’t previously read any of Backman’s books, but now plan to read them all. “My grandmother asked me to tell you she’s sorry” is the charming story of a seven-year old girl whose dying grandmother asked her to deliver a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged. It is funny and poignant, fairy tale and reality woven together in a celebration of life and diversity.

“Mischling” – Affinity Konar, Random House Canada, 2016

Another recommendation by my husband, not because he thought I would enjoy it, but because he wanted to hear my thoughts on the book.

“Mischling” tells the story of two identical Jewish twins who endured the atrocities of Joseph Mengele’s lab at Auschwitz. A dark and disturbing subject, but the tone is almost mystical. My husband said it reminded him of a Grimm’s fairy tale.

I checked out the on-line reviews, of which there are thousands. They range from 5 stars, all the way down to 1. It’s the kind of book that you either love or don’t.

I myself cannot make up my mind whether the tone of the book adds to or detracts from the story. In a way, it reminds me of Sue Goyette’s book “Lures” in that words and tone can sometimes obscure the meaning they seek to reveal.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL

The students go back to school this week.

Pencils. Crayons. Scribblers. Loose leaf.

Non-skid marking shoes.

A new lunch kit.

A new outfit for the first day of school.

First day photographs.

I miss all that.

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