At Carlsbad Caverns National Park

It's a hot summer night and we are all awaiting the bat flight from the cave. They are Mexican free-tail bats, bigger than I imagined them, flying out in a gigantic swarm to feed on moths along the Pecos and Black River valleys.

Wonderful Photography

Every Day A Photo is Alex's photo blog. He's an amazing photographer. As now it's autumn in New England, many of his photos are leaves and trees and color. Since it's every day a photo, his photos are seasonal. Look back over them. He's posted over 300 so far. I hope he never stops.

This one is my favorite.

Or maybe this one.

My Top 20 Books

In order, 20-1...

20.Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey
19.Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut
18.The Executioner's Song, Norman Mailer
17.On the Road, Jack Kerouac
16.The World according to Garp, John Irving
15.Self Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson
14.Walden, Henry David Thoreau
13.The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison
12.Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow
11.The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe
10.Sophie's Choice, William Styron
9.Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
8.All the President's Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
7.The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
6.West with the Night, Beryl Markham
5.Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
4.Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
3.The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
2.To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
1.Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry


My favorite book of poetry is Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman.