Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Herons, Humor and HARRY!!!!!



Herons (as in Great Blue...)

Many of you may not know this, but Michigan is pretty much a bog. We sit LOW surrounded by lakes, and the ground saturates quickly... there are ponds everywhere—here in Ann Arbor, they were often PUT THERE to divert the vast quantities of ground water away from our basements. Oh, I know... could be worse. In some places they don't even HAVE basements. But anyway, because there are ponds all over town, at least several times a year we have a heron sighting. I love these long-legged beauties. They always make me happy.


HUMOR

I like to laugh... and one of the people who MAKES me laugh has offered to INTERVIEW me... or rather the Hamburglar as translated by me, today over at HIS blog, so PLEASE stop by and see Hamburglar and Hart as hosted by The Powdered Toast Man at Just The Cheese.


HARRY HARRY HARRY

These will ALWAYS be my favorite books. I think I benefited from TIMING on these as well. My kids were of an age that I got to read the first four to one, then the other... then reread for the RELEASES of 5, 6, and 7... throw in a couple reads on my own and these are easily my most read books ever. And the more I read, the cleverer I thought they were—so well woven... They even got me WRITING.


26 comments:

Sean McLachlan said...

Does Michigan have a tradition of above ground cemeteries like Louisiana?

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Love those herons! We have a few here, too (not a huge number, though.) And I love the Harry books, too. :)

Old Kitty said...

Herons are amazing!! Love seeing them statue like as they stalk their prey!

Take care
x

Hart Johnson said...

Sean-no above ground cemeteries, but they do seem to be on higher ground. In fact the Catholic one here in town is the highest point you can get to for miles, but the big other one is also at least above the interstate, so there is somewhere for the groundwater to go.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

The HP books are absolutely some of the best, and I can't wait for my niece and nephew to get old enough to read them and to see the movies. :)

Karen Baldwin said...

You live just 45 miles from where I used to live in Toledo, Ohio. Damp and dank are words I used to use often. Here in the tropics, it's just humid, with lots of sun.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

You and Harry and I don't mean the prince kind. I would be shocked if you didn't mention your beloved Harry. :)

Mark Means said...

I'm seeing young Mr. Potter mentioned quite a bit today...good choice! :)

Left and Write

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Hart .. I hadn't realised Michigan was set so low .. marshland almost - the water birds much love the area.

Harry Potter caused quite the stir didn't he - JK created an incredible character ..

Cheers Hilary

M.J. Fifield said...

I love Harry Potter. That's one of those series I like to read over and over again. Amazing books.

mshatch said...

An occasional Great Blue sighting? Wow. Now that spring is here I see them almost every day when I walk my dog past the little swamp on my road. My son is a total birder (or twitcher, if you like)which has made me much more aware of them. There is even a rookery not too far away.

We love to watch the Great Blues. They stand so still just watching and waiting for the right moment to grab a bite.

And it goes without saying HP is up there among the best books ever.

Ella said...

I see Herons daily in my neck of the woods! Oh, sounds like a fun interview ;D sprinkled with humor and sugar~

I haven't read them but seen the movies! I know I must indulge :D

Nicely done Hart!

Hart Johnson said...

I'd love to see them more often--SE Michigan is so urban though, I feel lucky to see what I see.

Dawn Ius said...

Ah Harry...I suspect there are a few hundred H posts with Harry out there today :-)

I think Herons are beautiful.

And I'm going to check out your interview. I'm sure it will be humorous!

xo

Roland D. Yeomans said...

There is a Blue Heron that habitually fishes in the bayou that runs by the blood center for which I work (for the moment - they are downsizing, and no one's job is safe.) The Blue Heron looks so still and majestic standing silent in the water.

In New Orleans, the above ground cemetaries are called Cities of the Dead! Cue the spooky music.

And Harry will always be special to a whole generation of readers!

Lexie Rising said...

Beautiful Blue Herons! Yes, you are way north of where we call home :)

Harry Potter is really high on my all time favorite series list, maybe at the top. If I didn't have a TBR list that ran from here to eternity, I'd have them out reading them again!

Heading over to visit the Powdered Toast Man... :D

Cynthia said...

I love the Harry Potter books. I used to go to the midnight book releases at Borders and wait in those long lines going around the whole store just get my hands on the new book on its release date. Oh, how I miss Borders!

Mel Chesley said...

The Harry Potter books are by far my favorite. I have lots of favorites, but they are at least in the top five. ;)

PK HREZO said...

Lots of Harrys today. But who deosnt love it?/ Srsly have you ever met anyone who doesn't like HP??

Powdered Toast Man said...

Speaking of clever writing, that PTM is pretty clever.

Thanks for playing the part of the Hamburglar.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Harry Potter has been all over today.
And you were an awesome translator for the Burglar!

Diana Wilder said...

I love to watch herons fly. My parents lived on a lake, and we watched them stalking by the water looking grim (the herons, not my parents, though, depending on what I was caught doing, they could look grim).

Some day I will read Harry Potter.

Helena said...

Here in Colorado we have the opposite problem: not enough water anywhere.

Love the herons, and I can tell you about the ones in our local aquarium. In this one exhibition hall with ducks, river otters and herons, there was a small table with open tubs for tadpoles to show kids frogs' growth cycles. But the tadpoles kept disappearing. Finally the staff figured out that at night the herons would walk out of their exhibit, eat the tadpoles, then hope back in. Crafty buggers.

Botanist said...

Well, I didn't know that about Michigan. We have herons, too, but because we're beside the sea. Beautiful birds.

Trisha said...

They're brilliant books, for sure.

Thanks for the lesson on Michigan - as a foreigner I certainly could use the edumacation! :)

Anonymous said...

Love that you are doing the A to Z in THREES! Harry always tops my list, too. Cheers!
Jess / Blogging on the Brink