Tuesday October 25, 2005

Kokanee

A recent article in the Tahoe Tribune took my wife and I to the Taylor Creek visitor center to see the salmon in their last act of life. It was interesting that on the day that we choose to go another article talked about opposition to the taking of eggs from the Taylor Creek salmon. While its impossible to learn enough from two short newspaper articles to build an educated opinion I was amused and irritated that the soundbites that the public was being fed seemed to treat what was a fairly complex system as if it was linear. As if a simple line exists between what is nature and what isn't. Or what good interaction with nature is and what isn't. Or how long it takes a species to mate, spawn, and die in a place before they become of that place.

These ducks were definitely having a fruitful time kicking up the sand for eggs.

These are not the greatest pictures but they show the view from within the observation tube at Taylor Creek. The second picture is of a salmon that seems to have reached an advanced stage of decrepitude. ( Oct 25 2005, 06:05:02 PM PDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Killer Angels I finished listening to Killer Angels a few days ago but I havn't really wanted to write much about it until now. Written a couple of decades before Gods and Generals Killer Angels deals with the events leading up to (after Fredericksburgh) the civil war battle at Gettysburg. Much like Killer Angels the focus is largely on the southern generals although there is some coverage of the decisions made by the union leading to the first major union victory. If I was reading this book it would have only been due to the capable story telling that I would have been able to finish it. Picking up a book to read which talks about such a depressing set of events on both sides would have been painful. But as an audiobook I was hooked into listening to more every time I got into the car. Much like in Gods and Generals the character development in Killer Angels was riveting. I strongly recommend this book to anybody who likes historic novels and is interested in the civil war. Just be warned that its an emotional roller coaster. ( Oct 25 2005, 05:34:31 PM PDT ) Permalink Comments [0]