It’s Monday and, well, my tea is cold.  That kind of says it all, doesn’t it?  I’ve been trucking through Second Nature by Michael Pollan.  I want to get back to my reading and finish it up today.  But it’s sooooo good I feel it’s only fair to share.

As for passing animals, there’s no shortage of these.  The scents and hues of ripeness in the garden set off a scramble for its fruits – preparation for winter being the animals’ agenda as well.  The woodchucks and raccoons, deer, squirrels and moles rouse from their summer lethargy and pitch themselves into one last great battle for the season’s spoils. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins by all rights mine they consider up for grabs, and their autumn assaults can rival the frost’s for destructiveness.  The last year I planted corn, I hadn’t harvested more than a half dozen ears before a gang of raccoons climbed the fence one night and threw a raucous party on my tab.  They toppled every cornstalk, ruining the crop yet not eating it all – half-chewed ears littered the garden like empties.  It looked as though they’d take a bite or two from an ear, fling it over their shoulder, and then reach for another.  They stomped through the beds, ripped the tops of the leeks and beets strictly for spite, and then deposited several turds – large, impudent turds – smack in the middle of my beds.  Compared to the cat burglaries of deer and woodchucks, this looked like the work of the Manson family.

And you thought your day was looking bad.

Say what you want about Pollan, his writing is always evocative.

Of course, if gardening isn’t your thing I posted a short review of City Life by Witold Witkowzyski over the weekend for all you city slickers.  So enjoy the rest of your Monday!  And don’t forget to take a look at what everyone else is reading over at J. Kayes’ Book Blog.