Hacking Our Way Through a Jungle of a Weekly Link Round-Up

It's been busy around here at Casa Kittling. Lots of things getting accomplished-- some of which should have been accomplished quite some time ago... although that would mean that we'd need to do them all over again by now. (One of the reasons why housecleaning, laundry, cooking, and gardening have never had much appeal for me; they never stay done.)

Casa Kittling's front garden?

One of the things we've been doing is rounding up a few things for a little trip we'll be making in the near future. I set myself the task of going through my closet to thin out the wardrobe. If I haven't worn something in the past year, it gets donated. One thing I've learned through this process is that Denis is much more sentimental about clothes than I am.

Probably the main thing we've done this past week is to hack our way through the shrubbery in our front garden. All the winter rain we received made our bougainvillea, Tombstone roses, yellow bells, fairy dusters (and more) go wild, and we've been too lazy to do anything about it. Somewhere deep down inside, we both found the intestinal fortitude to drag out our machetes and start hacking. We split the job equally-- almost. Unbeknownst to us, bees are building another hive under the shed, and when Denis began trimming the overgrown Tombstone roses, he was suddenly surrounded by hundreds of them. I think the only thing that saved him from getting stung was the fact that he hadn't really brought the trimmer down by the entrance to their (soon to be taken care of) home. My heart still wants to leap into my throat when I think of what could have happened!

Now we feel quite smug when we look at the fruits of our labors. It's nice to be able to have a clear view of the front of the house again! But I shouldn't rest on my laurels. Time to head on out to the corral. Those links are getting restless. Head 'em up! Mooooooooooove 'em out!
 

►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• You would be surprised by who pirates the most eBooks. 
• Can librarians save us from fake news? 
• *sigh* Listen to Benedict Cumberbatch read Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale."
• Dames, detectives, and dope: why we still love hardboiled crime.
• An interview with Deborah Crombie.
• I enjoyed Fictionophile's post Same Book - Different Title (A Bookworm's Gripe). Thanks for the link, Reta!
• One of my favorite actresses, Patricia Routledge, has finally been made a Dame.
• Reading by example: what children learn about books from watching you.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• An Iron Age chariot and horses have been unearthed on a housing development in East Yorkshire, England.
• Are you descended from witches? A new digital document could help you find out. 
• A downtown Phoenix grocery store construction site is yielding prehistoric artifacts.
• A prized 1804 U.S. dollar sold for $3.3 million at auction. 
• A popular 1940s map of American folklore was destroyed by fears of Communism. 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• Ten close-up shots of dragonflies. (I still think the first person to attempt making stained glass was inspired by dragonfly wings!)
• Found: A new population of endangered tigers.
• DNA technology and volcanic ash help pinpoint when the bison arrived in North America.
• He should've known better than to use his drone to harass his neighbor's dog.

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• I don't have to wander far at all to visit the fastest-growing county in the nation; I already live in Maricopa County! 
• Eight photos of an abandoned mansion hiding in Arizona. 
• This giant cedar tree has been repurposed as a Little Free Library.
• A journey into the Merriam-Webster word factory. 

►I ♥ Lists & Quizzes◄

• Eleven secret spaces hiding in famous places. 
• The retreats where famous authors found the inspiration to write.
• See young Jack Kerouac's reading list. 
• Pretend to write a book, and we'll guess how old you are. (They guessed 36 for me. WRONG!)
• Twenty honest and magical life lessons from Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales. 

That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!