What is Christmas without new books? In Iceland they celebrate "Jolabokaflod" or "Christmas Book Flood", the tradition of giving and unwrapping new books on Christmas Eve, cozying up with family, and reading into the night. (Google) Not something I have ever experienced, but it sounds wonderful! As a child I could always expect a book or two from my paternal grandmother Ella. I have two new books this year. One I bought for myself:
Sue Benner has posted her photographs from walks along White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas. Many of her followers have encouraged her to publish a book of these enchanting images and now she has done so. It is very calming and inspiring and covers every season of the year. I'm loving it and so is KoKo.
The other book came in the mail today, a gift from a San Diego friend.
It is about 500 pages and 9" X 11" and has the most fabulous photography I have seen in a long time. Whereas Sue's book has great images of out-of-doors, this book has unbelievable images of vegetables, fruits, and flowers, along with some history, small essays about many plants, recipes, planting instructions, and, of course, seeds for sale. Just look at this picture of Chinese String Eggplant. WOW! I'd like to try it and I am not all that crazy about eggplant!
So, I have a lot of "eye candy" to cherish over the holidays and all days beyond.
In 2004 I copied this flower image from the Internet and never knew what it was. Now I know it is the flower of the Chinese Python Snake Bean plant. The beans look like giant green beans and can grow 60 inches long! And isn't the flower amazing, I wonder if it has a fragrance.
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2 comments:
Your new books look so interesting. I dearly love eggplant but don't like the huge ones in stores that have seeds. These Chinese string eggplants make me want to try to grow them. I read to my cats, too.
Two unusual books! So Interesting and different. Have a lovely, relaxing day.
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