Rio Negro

January Jabber

Here is something we didn’t know: the number of books we read a year.  So, the plan for 2024: TRACKING OUR READING –  How many books will my son and I read this year?  How many will we start?  How many will we finish?  How many are good enough to make it into the re-read basket? 

Speaking of reading (from our Farmer Brown story problem collection) – Farmer Brown has a library in his farmhands’ bunkhouse.  The library has 200 books, some on ranch animal care, some on tending crops, some are rip-roaring tales of the old west.  Farmer Brown noticed that 20 of the books have never been read (mostly books on personal hygiene and healthy snacks).  

– What percentage of books have been read by the farmhands?
a)    10%     b)     20%     c)     75%     d)     90%

– There are 60 wild west fiction books that have been read over and over by the farmhands.  These books comprise what percentage of the bunkhouse library? (answers at bottom of post)
a)  15%     b)  30%     c)  45%     d)  60%

Our Current Sy Montgomery Books – Sy Montgomery is an author whose writing appeals to us.  Her journal-style books take us around the world as we join her in following the work of dedicated animal researchers (and we especially love her “researcher bios”) –

 – The Hyena Scientist”:   For this study, Sy Montgomery journeys to Kenya to join a team of scientists focused on and fascinated by hyenas.  For us, the most intriguing takeaway:  hyenas gather in tightly knit clans (and there are CLAN WARS) with an extremely structured hierarchy, and the females RULE.  Do not mess with the matriarch.

– “Amazon Adventure – How Tiny Fish are Saving the World’s Largest Rain Forest”:  Cardinal Tetras, bitty sized fish from the Rio Negro (a tributary of the Amazon River, near Barcelos, Brazil) are sought after by home aquarium owners all over the world, and Montgomery spells out why this fish gathering/transporting industry is ecologically important.  OK, OK, but here is the best part of this book:  learning about Barcelos’ FESTIVAL OF ORNAMENTAL FISH!  Oh my gosh, THE FESTIVAL!  Citizens of this teeny town spend months preparing parade floats, stitching flamboyant costumes, and rehearsing for grand “cast-of-a-thousand” performances in the town stadium.  The festival is also a competition:  town citizens are either on the Cardinal team or the Discus (another small aquarium fish) team.  Teams are judged on costumes and performance AND how politely team members watch their rival’s performance! Yes!  Etiquette always!  The Festival of Ornamental Fish is so on the bucket list.

January Jeopardy – We are quiz show ready!  A sampling  of quirky info from our latest batch of books –

1.  The hippo is the most dangerous animal in Africa.  (from “The Hyena Scientist”,  Sy Montgomery)
2. The didgeridoo is the oldest musical instrument in the world.  (from “A Time to Celebrate”, a Lonely Planet Kids book)
3.  Some of the Olympic swimming medalists from the 1948, 1952 and 1956 games started their aquatic training in Maui’s sugar plantation irrigation ditches.  (from “Sakamoto’s Swim Club”, Julie Abery)
4.  Omaha, Nebraska was the home town of dancing sensations Fred Astaire and sister Adele. (from “Footwork – The Story of Freed and Adele Astaire”, Roxane Orvill)
5.  Crescent-shaped, sword-shaped, and star-shaped are three different types of sand dunes found in Algeria’s Sahara Desert.  (from “Algeria, Enchantment of the World”, Martin Hintz)
6.  According to botanists, there are 8 different types of vegetables (leaf, bulb, flower bud, root, tuber, stem, fruit, and seed veggies – it grieves me that my son does not acknowledge 7 types of vegetables). (from “The Vegetables We Eat”, by Gail Gibbons) (answers at bottom of post)

Music + Academics = A+

  • Philip Glass’s “Negro River”, from his 9 movement “Aquas da Amazonia” (composed for a ballet in the late 1990’s), transports us to the site of our “Amazon Adventure” reading experience.   We hear rhythms and echoes of the river – birds, bugs, frogs, water bubbles, an intruder (a snake?) –   
  • Who wouldn’t want to hear the music of the didgeridoo, the oldest instrument in the world!  The didgeridoo (traditionally made of eucalyptus) in this video clip is certainly elegant.  For us, the drone sound it produces takes us by surprise every single time – 
  • And how about some background music for Farmer Brown’s farmhands as they read through the novels of the American west?  We are really liking Virgil Thomson’s “Cattle” movement from his suite that accompanied the 1936 documentary, “The Plow that Broke the Plains”. This short piece is a comforting patchwork of old west melodies –  

Welcome to the best part of my day,
– Jane BH
(story problem answers:  d)  90% have been read, b)  wild west fiction comprises 30% of the library)
Left over from last post:  our San Francisco family member finally sent us a photo from aboard a cable car: