Saturday, July 13, 2024

In Ann Arbor, Thinking about Paris

On the Water

Enjoying a beautiful morning after two rainy days.


Len kayaked on Argo Pond in the Huron River.

I watched a group of young children tubing on the Argo cascades.
The water in the cascades was too high for kayaks.

A flock of geese swam out from the reeds from time to time as I enjoyed the view.



Reading This Week

Another book in the Leaphorn and Chee series by Tony Hillerman: The Dark Wind (1982). Policeman Jim Chee faces down a group of ruthless drug smugglers who are using the huge Navajo and Hopi reservation lands to conceal their activities. Chee is fantastically adept at tracking humans in the desert and mountain environment — far better than the federal police who don’t have the needed skills to find large vehicles that have been concealed in the uninhabited canyons away from the roads. He’s also very brave and nearly gets killed more than once, but always outsmarts his attackers and lives to star in another book. (In fact, he has outlived his creator: Tony Hillerman died in 2008, and his daughter Anne Hillerman has published nine sequels.)

As he investigates, Chee often has to evade other people — both drug smugglers and other policemen, as well as looking for hidden and buried objects. I was fascinated by the way he watched birds and used their behavior to deduce who and what was nearby. For example, he didn’t want to be surprised while getting back to his truck after looking for signs of hidden activity:
“He spent a quarter of an hour sitting in the shelter of the rocks there, watching for any sign of movement. All he saw was a burrowing owl returning from its nocturnal hunt to its hole in the bank across from him. The owl scouted the truck and the area around it. If it saw anything dangerous, it showed no sign of it until it saw Chee. Then it shied violently away. That was enough for Jim Chee. He got up and walked to the truck.” (p. 119)

Another example:

“A flock of red-winged blackbirds had been foraging along the arroyo. They moved from one growth of Russian olive toward another, veered suddenly, and settled in another growth, farther up the arroyo. … A dove flew down the gully. It banked abruptly away from the same growth of olives. … The only thing that would arouse such caution in birds would be a human. Someone was watching him.” (p. 63)

As always, I paid attention to the occasional mentions of food that Chee eats as he carefully searches the wild areas for signs left by the criminals. One day, he starts very early and eats breakfast outdoors: “hot coffee from his stainless-steel thermos and two sandwiches of bologna and thin, hard Hopi piki bread. As he chewed he reviewed.” Another day, he brings a pack of ice and  “a can of corned beef and a box of crackers.” Once, he has a meal of Hopi stew in a restaurant, which he thinks is not bad — though as he is a Navajo, this isn’t what he’s used to. (Quotes p. 56 and 110)

I read the Tony Hillerman series years ago, and I’m very much enjoying my return to these books. They are among the most interesting police procedurals I know of, because of the extremely careful depiction of the lives and beliefs of the two protagonists Leaphorn and Chee.

Reviewed this week: books by Kenn Kaufman and Stefanos Geroulanos.

An Old Favorite for Dinner

Beef, mushroom, and scallion stir-fry served with sesame-flavor cucumbers.

Paris in July: Thinking about the Eiffel Tower

Viewed from Belleville in 2013


From across the river, 2013

Up close in 2016.

From Montmartre, 2018.

Viewed by Remy the Rat in Ratatouille, 2007.

Fireworks for July 14, 1888, launched from the partially built Eiffel Tower.

July 13, 1989. Bicentennial of the Revolution. We were there — but not this close.
(Photo from National Geographic.)

Blog post © 2024 mae sander.
Original photos © 2013-2024.

20 comments:

  1. I had a red canoe, and I miss it :(

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  2. I have a friend who used to loan me her kayak. The only butterflies I've seen this year are the little white ones you photographed.

    I always enjoy your revues of Hillerman books. I also loved your photos of the Eiffel tower in Paris.

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  3. The kayaking and tubing both look fun!
    Love the shot of the geese and the butterfly with the thistle.
    Beautiful series on the Eiffel Tower.
    Have a great weekend.

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  4. I'm seeing little white butterflies but can't tell that they're stopping at anything.

    I'm thinking about Paris as the Olympic games get closer.

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  5. What a fun post. Yummy food, what looks like a great place to kayak (I hope Len enjoyed himself), and a great book. I enjoy all those Tony Hillerman books myself. Im off to read about that Audubon book. Have a great weekend Mae.

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  6. So glad the rain is done. I'm hoping the basement has dried up -- must check after I finish blog comments. Onward.

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  7. I would love to try kayaking. Except I don't have a lake or a kayak!

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  8. I've read one book from the Leaphorn and Chee series, the first one written by his daughter. I have a lot of catching up to do! I also loved the TV series.

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  9. I love Kayaking! Have a great weekend!

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  10. That looks like such a nice place to kayak! My kayak is sitting near my front door, I have not taken it out yet this summer. It is getting close to dinner time here and looking at your old favourite for dinner is making me hungry! You peaked my interest in Kaufman's and Audubon's books!

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  11. The kayaking looks fun--we're off to northern Ontario tomorrow & hope to get some canoeing in--the weather looks promising.

    The Leaphorn & Chee books are pretty great. I've been rereading them lately myself.

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  12. I love this post Mae! It brought back many good memories. I grew up living at a lake and loved it. Then in the early 80's I lived across
    the road from the Pacific Ocean in Seaside, Marina, and Montery, California. I miss living at the water.

    Your food looks good. I love cucumbers but never tried them flavored with sesame.

    Love your photos of the Eiffel Tower too.

    I hope you have a great week!

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  13. I love kayaking and tubing! What beautiful spots to do both!!!!

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  14. Oh la la! La Tour Eiffel - magnifique

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  15. Some lovely photos!

    The Kenn Kaufman and Stefanos Geroulanos books look fascinating. Hope you enjoy!

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  16. My friend and I often used to go kayaking, but we have had too many distractions lately. I am reminded by your photos of how much I love to kayak.

    It's interesting to me that the detective can use bird sounds in his work.

    And, oh, all those Eiffel Towers! It's odd to think of the fireworks going off beside an incomplete tower.

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  17. I've gone kayaking once and I loved it. I should do it again. I've been wanting to go tubing down my local river but I haven't had the chance yet.

    Love your pictures. The geese look happy in their element. I hope you have a great week!

    My Sunday Post

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  18. The BIrds Audubon Missed sounds like it is right up my alley.

    I love all the Paris.Eiffel Tower photos!

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  19. Those are cool views of the Eiffel Tower. I like the one where it's partially built!

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  20. I had no idea that there were photos of a half-finished Eiffel Tower. There's something shocking about seeing an incomplete Eiffel Tower during a fireworks display.

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