This blog feature amusing and heartwarming stories about our late Leonberger dog Bronco, as well as other Leonbergers. It also has a lot of information about the Leonberger breed, the history, care, training, Leonberger organizations, etc. I also wrote a Leonberger book, which I am featuring in the sidebar.
This is a Leonberger blog, but I also post book reviews of books that are not about Leonbergers, non-Leonberger books I love and want to promote. With this post I would like to promote a truly great novel featuring Neanderthals and other archaic humans. The book is called Badlands and is the second book in the savage land trilogy by Jacqui Murray.
To visit my review for the first book in the series, Endangered Species – Click here. To visit my contribution to the book blast for Endangered Species, Click here. To see the Neanderthal super fact post (facts given to me by Jacqui Murray) – Click here.
Below is an overview of the three formats of Badlands
Paperback – Structured Learning LLC (April 15, 2025), ISBN-10 : 194210166X, ISBN-13 : 978-1942101666, 259 pages, Item Weight : 12.5 ounces, dimensions : 6 x 0.59 x 9 inches, it cost $15.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Kindle – Structured Learning LLC (January 2, 2025), ASIN : B0DFCV5YFT, ISBN-13 : 978-1942101673, 311 pages. It is currently $4.99 on Amazon.com and free with Kindle unlimited. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Audiobook – Structured Learning LLC (January 4, 2025), ASIN : B0F5NGVJ3H, Virtual Voice, listening length 8 hours and 22 minutes, it is currently $4.99 on Amazon.com. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Front cover of Badlands. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the paperback version of the book.
Amazon Description of Badlands
Savage Land is the third trilogy about prehistoric man in the series, Man. Vs. Nature.Written in the spirit of Jean Auel, Savage Land explores how two bands of humans survived one of the worst natural disasters in Earth’s history, when volcanic eruptions darkened the sky, massive tsunamis crossed the ocean in crushing waves, and raging fires burned the land. Each of the tribes considered themselves apex predators. Neither was. That crown belonged to Nature and she was intent on washing the blight of man from her face. Join me in this three-book fictional exploration of Neanderthals. Be ready for a world nothing like what you thought it would be, filled with clever minds, brilliant acts, and innovative solutions to life-ending problems, all based on real events. At the end of this trilogy, you’ll be proud to call Neanderthals family.
In Badlands, Book Two, the tribes must split up, each independently crossing what Nature has turned into a wasteland. They struggle against starvation, thirst, and desperate enemies more feral than human. If they quit or worse, lose, they will never reunite with their groups or escape the most deadly natural disaster ever faced by our kind.
The adventures of Yu’ung continue in this book. Yu’ung is a female Neanderthal and a healer and a leader of her tribe. The world she and her tribe inhabit is threatened by massive volcanic eruptions. The Neanderthals, referred to as The People, as well as the Tall Ones (the Homo Sapiens), and other Uprights (Home Erectus, Denisovans, etc.) are forced to relocate. Yu’ung’s tribe and many other tribes are migrating towards the shoreless sea. Unfortunately, Yu’ung has to leave her tribe as she accompanies an old member of her tribe to meet up with the mountain clan. Both groups are accompanied by smart and loyal canines. There are disasters, unexpected events as well as dangerous enemies along the way.
Like all Jacqui Murray’s novels this novel is very intense, captivating and realistic. Life was harsh back then and the author has a great way of depicting this vividly and realistically. You connect with the characters and their struggle for survival. There is kindness, generosity, heartbreak, cruelty, battles and betrayal. The importance of cooperation and belonging for survival becomes clear and you understand the advantage of everyone having a role and a purpose in the tribe. Jacqui imagines what pre-historic man must have felt and experienced and she does this very skillfully. She has also done her research regarding the way pre-historic man, including Neanderthals, lived and what they were capable of.
The novel features a number of pre-historic dogs or semi-domesticated wolves referred to as Canis, including Ocha, Ragged Ear, Blaze, White Streak and Ump. These Canis cooperate with the Neanderthals in various ways and together they are much stronger. Neanderthals may not have domesticated dogs, and the author admits to using a creative license or narrative license in this regard. However, the Canis adds a lot to the story. Her use of the loyal and smart Canis makes it easier to relate to the pre-historic tribes in the story and it allows her to add interesting plot twists. Somewhat ironically, the Canis adds humanity to the story.
At the end of the book is the first chapter of the next book in the trilogy, Balance of Nature, followed by information about Neanderthals. The beginning of the book features a helpful list and explanation of terms used in the book as well as an explanatory list of the characters in the book, including the Canis. It is a nice habit the author has, which makes it easier to follow along, especially if you forget a character, or you did not read the first book.
I loved this book just like I loved the other books written by Jacqui Murray. It is both captivating and interesting and it makes you think about all those millions of pre-historic humans who came before us long ago. Our modern civilization has existed for such a very short time, and it is easy to forget how privileged we are. I believe you can read this book standalone without getting confused, but it is better if you have already read the first book in the series (Endangered Species). I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in adventure.
Back cover of Badlands. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the Kindle version of the book.
About the Author of Badlands
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also the author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. When not writing, she is grad school teacher, author of over a hundred tech ed resources including K-12 technology curricula, and an Amazon Vine Voice.
You can find her resources at her publisher, Structured Learning LLC. She lives in So. California with her husband of forty years, Labrador Casey, and lots of contact with her adult children, one a Cdr in the Navy, the other a SFC in the Army. Feel free to reach out to Jacqui at her blog, WordDreams, or her social media platforms.
I’ve been missing in action for a bit more than a week because of a family trip to Paris, France. We visited my wife’s eldest sister and her family, and we celebrated our nephew’s 40th birthday, my wife’s sister’s husband’s birthday, and we got too meet our nephew’s and his wife’s 16-month-old daughter for the first time. We also spent time with an ex-pat friend of my wife and our niece and a friend of hers. She lives in Berlin, but she came to Paris to see us. Naturally we also visited several tourist attractions including several museums, Notre Dame, Montmartre, Sacré Coeur, the Eiffel Tower, and we took a river cruise with dinner and a few of Paris’ 44,000 restaurants. We also went to an opera.
From left to right, my wife’s sister, my wife, me (in the back), and my daughter. This photo was taken in an opera house called Palais Opéra Garnier. I should mention that this was not opera where we saw a performance.
Paris is a fascinating city with so much to offer and so much life. Paris proper/inner-city is 40+ square miles featuring large several hundred years old beautiful buildings, gorgeous esplanades and narrow streets, thousands of restaurants, cafés, bakeries, pastry shops, small stores, thousands of statues, and hundreds of museums, monuments, tourist attractions and parks. Paris is the city in the world with the most restaurants, and the food is great. Italy has been voted to have the best food in the world. I must disagree; it is France. There is culture everywhere and the streets are filled with people long after midnight, and the restaurants are open long after midnight. Paris never sleeps.
The city of Paris (Paris proper) only has 2 million people, but you must add the millions of people working there but living in the suburbs. Paris metropolitan has 13 million people, and the region of Paris called Île-de-France has 12 million people. The city I live in, Dallas, Texas, also has 2 million people (8 million people in the metro) but it has almost nothing to offer in comparison. Dallas has some tourist attractions and offers some culture, it is not bad at all, but Paris has about a hundred times more of that. In Dallas almost all restaurants close before 10PM, which is when Paris really wakes up. That is not to put down Dallas, but to point out that Paris is indeed one of the greatest cities in the world to visit.
Aerial view of the Seine River in Paris. The island Île de la Cité is in the center of the picture and Notre Dame can be seen in the back.
I’ve been to Paris several times before, in 1986 after my Swedish army service, then in 2003 and in 2018. This time was different because I could converse in French with waiters and taxi drivers, read signs and instructions, and newspapers. However, unlike in 1986 and 2003 a lot of French now speak English, at least the younger generation, and they want to speak English. In 1986 even the French who knew how to speak English were kind of offended when you could not speak French. Now they want to practice speaking English, and I want to practice speaking French. The problem I had in 1986 has been reversed. I was so happy when I started talking to a taxi driver in English and he said “Je suis désolé, je ne parle pas anglais. Anglais non. Anglais non.”
I heard a lot of different languages spoken, in addition to French, English, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Spanish, Swedish, Danish and many other languages, and it was all welcome. When I visited Italy in 1986 someone angrily shouted at us that this is Italy and we speak Italian, not English. In 1986 the same thing almost happened in Paris, but I don’t think that is likely to happen in Paris now. The current US government is not popular for understandable reasons. However, there were signs reminding people that the US government is different from US visitors, and I felt that people treated us in a friendly manner.
Anyway, below is an overview of what we did this time with the focus on my photos. In the past we’ve visited Moulin Rouge, Versailles and Le Louvre, which is the world’s largest museum. I highly recommend those attractions but since we have seen them a few times already we did not visit them on this trip.
The Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel tower is one of the main attractions in Paris. We’ve visited the Eiffel tower before. We’ve eaten at the restaurant on the first floor, and we’ve visited the second floor (halfway up), but I’ve been to the third floor (the top) only once before, in 1986. Unfortunately, it has become difficult to visit the Eiffel Tower top. You must buy the tickets beforehand in good time. My wife’s sister was able to get us all tickets from Paris City Vision (guided tours).
Eiffel Tower from the other side of Seine (my photo)Aerial view of Paris featuring the Eiffel Tower and the Seine River. Stock photo (not my photos). Asset id: 2281050257 by Open Films.Scenery from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. The garden you see is called Champ de Mars and there’s a dog park.This is a view from the third floor (the top) of the Eiffel Tower. If I were to take a photo of every view angle I would end up with dozens of photos, which is too much. If I were to take a panorama photo you would not be able to see any details. If you look carefully, you can see Notre Dame about 60% up and slightly to the left. The impressive buildings and garden in the middle is the Jardin Du Luxembourg.This is another view from the third floor (the top) of the Eiffel Tower. In the distance (zoomed in) you can see some skyscrapers. That is NOT “downtown” Paris. It is La Défense de Paris, a business area in a suburb of Paris and it is not considered a tourist attraction. However, the first time I visited Paris in 1986 we visited La Défense de Paris because being from the north Swedish countryside we had never seen a skyscraper before.
Notre Dame
Notre Dame is a very large cathedral located on the island Île de la Cité. The construction of it began in 1163 and it was completed in 1260, 865 years ago. It was severely damaged by a fire in 2019. We’ve visited Notre Dame many times before, but this was the first time we visited Notre Dame since the fire. It looked the same except the big, beautiful pipe organs were missing, and Notre Dame was still being renovated on the outside. We bought tickets beforehand, but you can buy tickets there, but the line is long.
Photo I took of Notre Dame before entering.Inside the Notre Dame cathedral, on the left side.Inside the Notre Dame cathedral, the perpendicular view.
River Cruise on the Seine
We also took a dinner cruise on the Seine. The boat / cruise was called La Seine Ducasse. I started right across from the Eiffel Tower and went a few miles up, passing by the island Île de la Cité and Notre Dame and then turning around. The cruise was a couple of hours long and the sun set during the cruise. The food was amazing (see the menu below). Unfortunately, the beer options weren’t that great, so I had wine.
A photo of the river Seine.The menu at La Seine Ducasse. I had Marinated raw gilt-head bream, Kristal caviar, and delicate gelée. I also had Warm Guinea fowl and foie gras paté and curled endive. After that I had Roasted Culoiseau chicken, girolles and confit lemon, cooking jus. For dessert I had Strawberries in their natural way, purple shiso and marble sorbet.Our table as when we arrived.The Eiffel Tower as seen from the cruise boat at night.
Opera Rigoletto
One evening we went to see an Opera at Opera National de Paris located nearby the Bastille. The opera was Rigoletto by Cristiano Grimaldi. It was sung in Italian but above the scene there were subtitles in French and English.
You were not allowed to take pictures, but I snapped this quick photo before of the scene, before the performance started.Hallway outside the theater where you bought snacks and drinks.
This is two minute and 50 second video of La Donna È Mobile sung by Luciano Pavarotti. La Donna È Mobile is a song in Rigoletto. You may recognize it. I should add, it was not Pavarotti who sang it in our performance (he is no longer alive).
Montmartre and Sacré Coeur
Montmartre is a neighborhood, and a hill located in Paris. It is known for its old picturesque buildings, the plaza, the small stores, cafes and restaurants, and the art. At the top of the hills sits one of Paris most famous cathedrals Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. It is open to visitors, but you may have to stand in line to go inside. The view from the top of the hill is spectacular.
This is the front view of Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. It is one of the most beautiful cathedrals that I have ever seen.This market in Montmartre is located nearby Sacré-Cœur.This market in Montmartre is located nearby Sacré-Cœur.
Sights and Shopping in Paris
Nobody walks in LA but in Paris everyone walks. There is so much to see everywhere, everything is close, and there are several restaurants and shops in every block. So, why not walk a few miles every day. It is healthy too. Below are a lot of photos that I took of things we visited as we walked around Paris.
Avenue des Champs Élysées is a long wide street with lots of stores and things to see.My wife found this purse store called Louis Vuitton. I took the photo as I walked into the store. Husbands sat in comfortable sofa chairs and where served coffee, tea and juice while their wives were shopping. When someone made a purchase, they served you champagne and cocktails. My wife did not buy a purse, but my daughter bought one later. The purses were expensive but cheaper than in the states according to my wife.Arc de Triomphe is located on Avenue des Champs Élysées. You can walk up to the top. We did not do that this time.Palais Opéra Garnier was an opera that we toured. However, it was not the opera where we saw Rigoletto, that was Opera National de Paris. However, Palais Opéra Garnier was without doubt a very impressive building.The auditorium of the Palais Opéra Garnier.Another view of the auditorium of Palais Opéra Garnier.One of the large rooms in Palais Opéra Garnier.An artistically decorated hallway in Palais Opéra Garnier.The ceiling of the hallway in Palais Opéra Garnier.I took this photo from the terrace of an eight-story shopping mall called Gallery Lafayette located nearby Palais Opéra Garnier. The photo shows the back of Palais Opéra Garnier. My wife and daughter spend a lot of time shopping here.Photo of Hôtel des Invalides / Les Invalides, where Napoleons tomb is located. Hôtel des Invalides is very large, and this photo only shows a small portion of it.One of the corners of place de la Concorde.The obelix at Place de la Concorde.Inside a church / cathedral called Saint Sulpice.A sidewalk in Paris
Museums and Gardens in Paris
We visited several museums and gardens in Paris. One of the museums we visited was Musée de l’Orangerie which exhibit all kinds of art from ancient times to modern times but especially paintings including several famous painters such as, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Henri Rousseau, Walter-Guillaume, Amedeo Modigliano, Marie Laurencine, Maurice Utrillo, Eva Nielsen. Some special exhibits were Monet’s gigantic water lily paintings and “flou” art, intentionally blurry paintings and art because life is blurry. We also visited the Auguste Rodin Museum. The museum had hundreds of Rodin sculptures in the museum building as well as in the surrounding gardens. There were also paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet.
Jardin Du Luxembourg feature several buildings including this one. The garden is huge and difficult to show in a photo, but you can get an idea by looking at the fourth photo (aerial view from the Eiffel Tower) in the Eiffel Tower section above.Musée de l’Orangerie featured many large paintings of water lilies by Claude Monte.Ancient African statues in the Musée de l’Orangerie.An intentionally blurry painting. As mentioned above, this style is referred to as Flou. The paintings are blurry because life is blurry.The Auguste Rodin Museum featured one relatively small museum buildings surrounded by a huge garden. Both the garden and the building contained hundreds of statues, mostly by Auguste Rodin as well as paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet.The famous Rodin bronze statue the thinker, located in the garden.Two of the statues inside the building.
Dessert Places in Paris
There are thousands of Cafes, bakeries and pastry shops in Paris and the cakes, pastries, desserts, tarts and other baked goods are probably the best in the world. We visited a number of these stores and creperies and we had desserts at various restaurants. You can find wonderful baked goods in Italy and in the Scandinavian countries, but I have to say that France, and Paris, takes the cake (pun intended). At Angelina’s I had delicious coffee and I had some of their thick and creamy hot chocolate with whipped cream as well as two incredible cakes. At Berthilon I had amazing rhubarb and wild strawberry ice cream.
Rhubarb and wild strawberry ice cream with a wafer at Berthilon.Small section of the to go counter at Angelina (a sit-down pastry shop).
Violin d’Ingres Michelin Star Restaurant
We celebrated a couple of birthdays at a Michelin star restaurant called Violin d’Ingres. In terms of eating that was probably the highlight of the trip. Out of Paris’ 44,000 restaurants only 123 are Michelin star restaurants (10 three-star restaurants, 17 two-star restaurants, and 96 one-star restaurants). I ordered Pigeon, something I’ve never had before. It does not sound appetizing. I joked that you had to go out in the street and kill the Pigeon yourself. However, it was probably the best meal I’ve had so far this year. It was truly delicious.
The menu at Violin d’Ingres. Notice that Entrées means starters or appetizers, just like the word implies. Somehow this got mistranslated into the English language to mean main course.This is my main course, Pigeon in lightly fried bread. It was delicious.
Traffic in Paris
Traffic in Paris is horrendous. Paris has successfully promoted the use of bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, buses and the metro. As a result, the air is much cleaner than it used to be, but the traffic is still bad. One of the reasons is that it has become quite popular to disturb the traffic in various sorts of protests. When we were there the taxi drivers were on strike. You may think that you could just take an Uber instead, but the taxi drivers were blocking other traffic as well, including blocking the entrance to train stations. We were afraid they might block the entrance to the airport on our return day. I have a hard time understanding this since this kind of behavior is obstruction and is illegal in the United States as well as in Sweden.
However, the striking tax drivers were not the only problem. One day when I was accompanying my wife and daughter shopping, I got bored and decided to walk back to the hotel. It was two miles, and it took me one hour. Since the sidewalks are of such high quality and there is so much to see along the way and so many opportunities to stop if you need, this is easy to do.
Along the way I saw two large demonstrations. One was “dépénaliser cannabis” and there were hundreds of people, many with green hair and weird clothes, carrying flags with green leaves on them, marching down the street and playing music. There were also hundreds of police and the entire street, Rue Voltaire, which is a major street, was blocked. Then came the bicycle demonstration. Hundreds of bicycles blocking traffic and lots of police. Well at least it was not a boring walk. Oh, what I saw on Rue Voltaire!
This is another post with the “25 Leonberger photos” theme. This time the theme is “25 silly Leonbergers”. The post feature Leonbergers looking silly or being in funny situations. A lot of the photos are of our late Leonberger Bronco but there are also Leonberger photos provided by friends as well as a couple of Leonberger stock photos. Below is a list of the previous posts using the theme 25 Leonberger photos.
Also if you have not checked out my new superfactful blog feel free to do so.
25 Silly Leonbergers
The first photos are not really silly, but they are photos of Leonberger puppies and they are cute and act silly. The first photo is of our Leonberger puppy at three months old. It was a chore to get him to sit still.
This is a photo of our Leonberger Bronco when he was three months old.Two light colored Leonberger puppies playing. My guess is that they are three months old. Shutterstock-ID: 2141564415 by AnetaZabranska.The silly Leonberger puppy is kissing a chihuahua who is getting annoyed. Stock Photo ID: 2166660069 by cynoclub.Baby our German Shepherd is playing with our four months old Leonberger Bronco. Baby loved Bronco as if it was her own puppy. They were playing all day long. Silly dogs.Our Leonberger Bronco at the White Rock Lake dog park at about five/six months old. He is wearing a bandage on his knee because at the time he had a condition from growing too fast. He had fun playing with the little dog. The two ladies are the owners of the little dog. As you can see one of them has an issue with her knee, just like Bronco.Our one-year-old Leonberger Bronco wants to give me a hug. He wanted to give hugs all the time. We also danced a lot. He was a good dancer and a silly Leonberger.Our Leonberger Bronco is sitting in my wife’s lap. He was 167 pounds at the time. Silly Bronco thought he was a lap dog.
A Leonberger in Action Illustrated
For a couple of weeks there was a peeping Tom who trespassed on our property and sat outside our bedroom window shouting obscenities and threats primarily at my wife. As it turned out the peeping Tom was doing the same thing to a lot of other women in the neighborhood. He had been quite busy looking through bedroom windows at night.
The police were not able to do anything about it, so I hired private detectives. The plan was that they were going to catch him in the act and turn him into the police. They sat in our backyard behind the bushes with a whole bunch of instruments, cameras, recording devices, and metal detectors. They also hid in a dark car parked nearby our house. My father-in-law was surprised that I was able to find the detectives. He did not think people like them existed and he asked me “how did you find them?”. I found them in the phone book (phone books still existed back then). They reminded us of the Ghost Busters with their enthusiasm, dress, and all their instruments.
Unfortunately, Ghost Busters, I mean the detectives did not catch the peeping Tom, so I had to let them go. However, that’s when Bronco stepped in. One night we heard a shuffling outside the house, and I sent Bronco out to chase him. It worked. The peeping Tom was really frightened, and he never came back. Bronco probably just wanted to say hello and lick him, but the peeping Tom did not know that. Bronco saved the entire neighborhood. Well Bronco was not the one who was silly this time, but everyone else was including the detectives.
Bronco is chasing off a peeping Tom who was terrorizing the women in the neighborhood including my wife. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
Back when Bronco our Leonberger was young, the kids had pet hamsters—Moldova and Montenegro. The hamsters escaped from their cages sometimes, but Bronco usually helped us find them whenever they did. Claudia would tell him, “Bronco, find the hamsters,” and he would go around the house sniffing until he found them. One time he found them in the linen closet; another time he found them on a shelf in the living room.
On one occasion, a friend of David trusted us with his two hamsters while he and his family went on vacation. A couple of days later, Claudia noticed that the two hamsters were missing from their cage. The next thing she noticed was that Bronco’s cheeks looked puffy, so she said, “Bronco, drop it!” Out came the two hamsters, both unconscious.
In a panic, Claudia started performing CPR on the unconscious hamsters. She put one hamster at a time in her hand and gently compressed each tiny chest using the finger of the other hand. Fortunately, one hamster revived right away. The CPR didn’t seem to be working on the other hamster, but Claudia put both of them back in their cage, and soon the second hamster also woke up. We decided to keep the incident to ourselves. Hamsters don’t squeal. In this case I think Bronco was silly, even though he might have been a hero.
Bronco’s puffy cheeks hold two hamsters he probably was trying to save. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
On yet another occasion Bronco was really silly. He had a toe amputation, and we were instructed to keep him inside for ten days and keep him as still as possible. We were to make sure he wouldn’t bump the cast. This was, of course, almost impossible to do, but we were going to try.
However, Bronco really wanted to go out, which he showed us in various ways, such as scratching at the front door. After a week or so, Claudia suggested that we take him outside a little bit, just in our driveway. I agreed. When I handed her the leash, she said, “He can barely walk; do you think he’s going to run off without it?” We laughed, and I agreed that it didn’t seem like we needed it this time. So, Claudia walked out with Bronco slowly limping beside her.
Less than a minute had passed when I heard shouting outside. I opened the door and looked outside to see what was going on. First I saw our neighbor and his two corgis running down the street as fast as they could. Our neighbor was screaming at the top of his lungs, “Get him off me! Get him off me!”
Behind him, Bronco was running with his cast going kabonk-kabonk-kabonk as it hit the sidewalk. Behind Bronco ran Claudia, who was also screaming at the top of her lungs. “Bronco! Sit! Stay! Stop!” Finally, Bronco stopped, and Claudia grabbed him. Holding his collar, she led him back in. This time Bronco was really silly.
This is an illustration showing Bronco running down the street while wearing a cast. He was not supposed to bump the cast. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
Another time that Bronco was silly was when he started barking and jumping around when he saw a dog across the street. In the process he accidentally pushed our German Shepherd baby into a storm drain. I had to lay down on the ground and lift Baby out of storm drain all while holding onto Bronco. The owner of the other dog lifted up his dog into his arms and ran as fast as he could down the street. That was embarrassing and stressful. Silly Bronco.
Once when Bronco was not so well behaved. He pushed our German Shepherd into a storm drain and I had to get her out while holding onto an agitated Bronco. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
Additional Silly Leonberger Photos
Bronco our Leonberger get washed off at a fairly young age. He liked water.Bronco standing by the kitchen gate. The kitchen gate was there to keep him from going inside the kitchen and do counter surfing.Bronco and our Pug Daisy. Daisy is leaving because she thinks Bronco is hogging the sofa.Our Leonberger Bronco is sleeping on our big leather sofa.Our Leonberger Bronco in the bushes.Our Leonberger Bronco in the backyard. He was a saint. This time it is me, the photographer, who is silly.It is Bronco’s 11th birthday.After a toe amputation due to toe cancer, Bronco needed to wear a cone, a big soft cone. Unfortunately, he frequently cleared tables as he swung the cone back and forth. Here he has just pushed a pile of books and papers off a table.Bronco and our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy Rollo. Bronco is nicely welcoming our new puppy, but the size difference is silly.
In the photo below it is really our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo who is being silly. But he is very silly pulling Bronco’s tail. He even swung in it like a swing.
A rambunctious Rollo is biting Bronco’s tail. Bronco was very patient. One time Rollo swung in his tail as if it was a swing.
Below is a photo of silly gingerbread stealing dogs.
Bronco our Leonberger with Daisy our Pug in the Kitchen. Bronco says, “look what Daisy did to the gingerbread house that stood on the counter”. Actually, what really happened was that Bronco grabbed the gingerbread house and shared it with Daisy.Digory and Obi are two Leonbergers. Digory was a very brave Leonberger who fought cancer. He was featured in the Leo-Letter a Leonberger Magazine Photo by Jen O’Keefe. Jen is a friend in the Leonberger community.Five Leonbergers including Digory on 4th of July 2023. Photo by Jen O’Keefe.Six Leonbergers celebrating a birthday. Photo by Jen O’Keefe.
When you are gone your dog misses you so much that his heart is sick. When you are gone his love for you is killing him. When you leave his life stops. He is howling, but no one can hear him.
Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd is looking out the window. He is watching the neighborhood and waiting for us to come home.
“Rollo go look out the window” is what we tell our dog Rollo when we leave. He runs to the window, and he looks out the window. We used to have two other dogs, a large Leonberger dog called Bronco, and a little Pug named Daisy. Bronco and Rollo were best friends, and he loved his little sister Daisy. They both died and now Rollo is alone. Now he is alone looking out the window when we leave. However, he does not accept any other dogs so there is not much we can do.
Are you leaving your dog to face his despair all by himself?
Are you going to leave your dog at home, sitting by the window all alone waiting for you? He is looking out the window, looking for you. It is like he is in a dark train station at night. There is only emptiness. When you are gone, he is like an orphan, like a stupid lonely kid singing to himself, howling into the emptiness. He does not have a life anymore. After you leave him, he cannot dream. He feels ugly without you. He feels dirty without you. He feels sick without you. Are you abandoning him? You should be happy dogs don’t drink whiskey to comfort themselves.
I wrote the above with the song below in my mind. It is a French song called “Je suis malade…” (I am sick…) by Lara Fabian about a lover leaving his beloved. However, I think it fits the way the dogs seem to feel when you leave them. We listened to it in French class. That’s how I came across it. I am learning French as a hobby. It is the saddest song I’ve ever heard but it is also a very beautiful song, so you may want to get your tissue box out. There are English subtitles.
Sometimes you have to leave your dogs for a little bit, and it is difficult. They are not happy. We cannot get a dog sitter every time we leave for a short bit, but we try to take him with us as much as possible. We are lucky. We have found a very professional dog sitter willing to stay almost 24/7 with our Rollo when we go on vacation. She is a veterinary assistant and Rollo loves her.
French Song Lyrics for « Je suis malade »
Je ne rêve plus, je ne fume plus Je n’ai même plus d’histoire Je suis sale sans toi, je suis laid sans toi Je suis comme un orphelin dans un dortoir
Je n’ai plus envie de vivre ma vie Ma vie cesse quand tu pars Je n’ai plus de vie et même mon lit Se transforme en quai de gare Quand tu t’en vas
Je suis malade, complètement malade Comme quand ma mère sortait le soir Et qu’elle me laissait seul avec mon désespoir
Je suis malade, parfaitement malade T’arrives on ne sait jamais quand Tu repars on ne sait jamais où Et ça va faire bientôt deux ans Que tu t’en fous
Comme à un rocher, comme à un péché Je suis accroché à toi Je suis fatigué, je suis épuisé De faire semblant d’être heureux quand ils sont là
Je bois toutes les nuits, mais tous les whiskys Pour moi ont le même goût Et tous les bateaux portent ton drapeau Je ne sais plus où aller, tu es partout
Je suis malade, complètement malade Je verse mon sang dans ton corps Et je suis comme un oiseau mort quand toi tu dors
Je suis malade, parfaitement malade Tu m’as privé de tous mes chants Tu m’as vidé de tous mes mots Pourtant, moi j’avais du talent avant ta peau
Cet amour me tue, si ça continue Je crèverai seul avec moi Près de ma radio comme un gosse idiot Écoutant ma propre voix qui chantera
Je suis malade, complètement malade Comme quand ma mère sortait le soir Et qu’elle me laissait seul avec mon désespoir
Je suis malade, c’est ça, je suis malade Tu m’as privé de tous mes chants Tu m’as vidé de tous mes mots Et j’ai le cœur complètement malade Cerné de barricades T’entends, je suis malade
Song lyrics English Translation for “Je suis malade”
I no longer dream, I no longer smoke I don’t even have a story anymore I’m dirty without you, I’m ugly without you I’m like an orphan in a dormitory
I don’t want to live my life anymore My life ends when you leave I no longer have a life and even my bed Transforms into a station platform When you leave
I’m sick, completely sick Like when my mother went out in the evening And she left me alone with my despair
I’m sick, perfectly sick You arrive, we never know when You go back, we never know where And it will be almost two years That you don’t care
Like a rock, like a sin I’m clinging to you I’m tired, I’m exhausted To pretend to be happy when they are around
I drink every night, but all the whiskeys To me they taste the same And all the boats carry your flag I don’t know where to go anymore, you are everywhere
I’m sick, completely sick I pour my blood into your body And I’m like a dead bird when you sleep
I’m sick, perfectly sick You deprived me of all my songs You emptied me of all my words However, I had talent before your skin
This love kills me, if it continues I will die alone with me By my radio like a stupid kid Listening to my own voice that will sing
I’m sick, completely sick Like when my mother went out in the evening And she left me alone with my despair
I’m sick, that’s it, I’m sick You deprived me of all my songs You emptied me of all my words And my heart is completely sick Surrounded by barricades You hear, I’m sick
Comics about Dogs love for you and you leaving them
This is a Leonberger blog but sometimes I post about other topics that interest me. This post is about five facts about Climate Change that I think everyone should know. It is also an opportunity for me to bring attention to my new blog. I should say that I am posting this on this blog because my Leonberger blog is the one that gets the most attention.
Climate Change, or if you call it Global Warming, is a huge problem that has been getting a lot of attention, but despite this fact a lot of people don’t understand the simple basics. The confusion and misinformation are especially widespread here in the US. You can thank the fossil fuel industry propaganda and right wing think tanks for that. I was bamboozled and misled myself until I took a deep dive into the subject and learned what the facts were. It helped me a bit that I have a strong science background. The five facts I have in mind are:
(1) We know that climate change is happening
(2) We know that we humans are the cause
(3) Nearly 100 percent of climate scientists agree that we are the cause
(4) Climate change has always been around but that does not change the facts above
(5) It is not important whether you call it Global Warming or Climate Change
We Know that Climate Change is Happening
The evidence that Global Warming (or Climate Change) is happening is overwhelming, in fact conclusive. It includes the temperature records collected by numerous organizations, NOAA, NASA, the Hadley Centre, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the Japanese Meteorological Agency, the World Meteorological Organization, and many more. These organizations collect data from land-based weather stations, ocean buoys, satellite measurements, and other sources to monitor Earth’s climate. Comparison with the palaeoclimatological record shows that the rise in average global temperatures is extremely fast.
Other evidence is the measurements of global sea levels, the fact that glaciers are retreating, that the arctic ice is melting, that the Antarctic ice sheet is losing ice, that eco zones are generally shifting northward, that the climate is changing, and that snow seasons are getting shorter, something that is directly visible to old guys from northern climates like me. You can read more about this evidence by clicking here. Below are two 45 second videos from NASA illustrating global warming.
Historical global temperature map
To see the NASA web page from where the YouTube video of the shrinking arctic ice is taken click here.
We Know that we Humans are the Cause
Climate scientists have done thorough studies of atmospheric physics, paleoclimatology (past climate), oceanography, geology, and biology related to climate change, as well as climate modeling, and have produced tens of thousands of research papers in the process. The evidence they have collected points to us as the culprit behind the recent rapid rise in overall global temperatures and other climate change.
The evidence that we are the cause behind climate change includes the climate models, which have gotten extremely good. What we see is pretty much exactly what you expect from our fossil fuel emissions. The upper troposphere is cooling, which shows that the global heating is from greenhouse gases and not from the sun or from earth’s orbital cycles. To understand how the lower atmosphere is warming while the upper is cooling, think of the greenhouse gases as a blanket. The fact that winters and nights are generally warming faster is another indicator that the cause for the warming is greenhouse gases. The speed of the warming is so fast that there is no known natural forcing that could cause it. Isotope studies show that the origin of the greenhouse gases added to the atmosphere are from burning fossil fuels. To read more about this evidence click here.
This is a short one-minute overview of the causes behind global warming.
This video from NASA is a bit longer, 13 minutes, but it is very informative. Click here to see the page this is coming from.
Nearly 100 Percent of Climate Scientists Agree that we are the Cause
Climate Scientists agree that Global Warming or if you call it Climate Change is happening, and that it is caused by us primarily because of our burning of fossil fuels. There is a long-standing scientific consensus on these two facts because the evidence is conclusive. Typically, studies show an agreement of at least 97% or 98% among climate scientists. To read more about this topic click here.
Climate Change Has Always Been Around But that does not Change the Facts Above
Climate has changed for natural reasons, for as long as our planet has been around (pun not intended). The sun’s irradiance has changed, life evolving effect climate, especially microbe evolution, crashing asteroids can affect climate, earth has three orbital cycles, orbital eccentricity, change in axial tilt, and axial precession, and volcanoes spew out carbon dioxide and aerosols. However, past climate change is not a reason to dismiss human caused climate change. First, our scientific organizations keep track of natural causes and if you remove our greenhouse gas emissions from the equation it should not be getting warmer right now. Second, the different causes of climate change have different effects, different fingerprints if you will, and the way climate change is happening is pointing to human greenhouse gas emissions (a fingerprint match), not anything else.
A very common objection to human-caused climate change is that climate has always changed, it’s been warmer before, a 100 million years ago it was much warmer, carbon dioxide levels were much higher before, etc. This is a very bad objection that reveals the ignorance of the objector on this topic, as well as him/her not thinking through what they are saying. Think about it, the experts on past climate are the ones telling us that climate change is not natural this time. If you use this objection, you should ask yourself, maybe there is something you are missing.
This is how the well-known Climate Scientist Katherine Hayhoe introduces herself: “Hi, I’m a climate scientist. You may know me from my greatest hits including, “No, it’s not a natural cycle,” “Yes, I know it’s been warmer before (and the only reason YOU know is because we scientists told you so),”
In my post “Global Warming is Happening and is Caused by us” I wrote a lot about natural causes behind past climate change. To read more click here.
It is not Important Whether you call it Global Warming or Climate Change
Finally, I have come across a lot of people who instantly object if you use both the phrase Global Warming and Climate Change. They think it is proof that there is something sinister going on. A conspiracy. We used to have a big dog, a Leonberger called Bronco. Just because I just called him “a big dog” instead of a Leonberger does not mean that I am lying about having a Leonberger. It is just two descriptions for the same dog. Actually, one time I called him Henry by mistake. There is still no conspiracy.
Climate Change is a broader term. The average global temperature is rising but there are a lot of other things going on as well, weather patterns are changing, some places are getting dryer, some wetter, the carbon emissions are causing ocean acidification, etc. However, both Global Warming and Climate Change are acceptable terms. Whether you use the phrases Global Warming, Climate Change, Climate Disruption, Global Heating, is a personal preference. The popularity of the different monikers has changed with culture, and not just because of popularity among scientists. Implying conspiracies or dishonesty because of different monikers is a popular thing to do but it is silly.
Onions, garlic, alcohol, chocolate, coffee, macadamia nuts, raw bread/pizza dough, foods containing the sweetener xylitol (birch wood), salt, moldy food, currants, grapes and raisins can cause poisoning in dogs. Grapes and raisins are especially dangerous, potentially causing kidney failure, or even death.
Until recently, I did not realize how serious this is. We used to have a very large dog, a Leonberger named Bronco, who weighed 140lbs when he was not overweight. He seemed to have a stomach made of steel. On one occasion, Bronco got hold of a box of chocolates in the shape of small gnomes. Each gnome was filled with liquor—some with gin, some with vodka, some with whiskey, and some with rum. It was a gift from Rachel, our daughter, who had just come back from a visit to China. She had bought the present for us at the airport in Hong Kong.
What happened was that Bronco ate the entire thing—tinfoil wrappers, chocolate, liquor, and all. We were afraid he might get very sick, and we carefully monitored him, ready to rush him to the emergency clinic if necessary. Fortunately, nothing happened, except he threw up a little bit of tinfoil. I guess he had a stomach of steel. Below is a picture from Bronco’s gingerbread house raid. We laughed. It was just funny.
Our Leonberger Bronco raided the kitchen and partially ate a gingerbread house. He shared it with his little companion, the Pug Daisy. The open gate behind Daisy and Bronco permitted their gingerbread-house raid.
What this experience did not teach me is how dangerous certain foods can be to dogs. Bronco was fine eating the chocolate gnomes, and gingerbread houses, and you can laugh when it all ends well. However, recently Claudia and I witnessed the death of a dog who had eaten raisins. This was a shocking experience. It reminded us that knowing what food is dangerous to dogs is very important and preventing them from eating food that is dangerous to dogs is crucial. If you are not willing to keep track of this, don’t get a dog.
The Death of a Dog
Warning: The Story Below Can be Triggering to Sensitive People, Skip if Needed
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we took our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo to the emergency. We took Rollo to the veterinary emergency because he had thrown up three times within six hours. He had been chewing on a lot of rawhide which is a bit risky, so we were worried. He got an X-ray and various blood tests. However, everything was normal. It was probably just a stomach flu or upset stomach. He received anti-nausea medication, and another medicine.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo with a soccer ball.
We like this emergency clinic because you can remain with your dog the whole time and participate in everything they are doing. The drawback is that you are in a big room with a lot of other dogs and their owners, and you’ll see everything that is going on, which sometimes is not pleasant, and this time we witnessed a shocking tragedy. We had to wait a long time because almost all of the attention was given to a dog who had eaten raisins. We were there from about 1:00AM to 5:00AM. We were clearly not a priority, but we did not complain.
About the same time as we came in a man and a woman brought in a sick dog. They also had a very tired little boy with them. He was maybe three years old. The dog was throwing up, and he was lethargic and obviously very sick. We overheard that he had eaten raisins. Suddenly the dog had a seizure. The nurses/doctors took blood samples. Then he had another even more severe seizure, and then another. It looked bad. The tests showed that his kidneys were shutting down. After a while the veterinarian informed the couple, and the boy, that the dog was dying a painful death and that the best might be to euthanize him.
They took the dog and the rest of the family to a private room. After a while the woman ran out of the room. She was crying hysterically as she ran out of the emergency clinic. She couldn’t control herself. The man and the boy came after, also crying, but they were calmer. The man paid the bill at the front desk, and they left. Claudia and I and Rollo, we just sat there, and we watched it all. We saw them bring out the dead dog from the room. It was a show that we had not anticipated and that would stay on our minds, maybe forever. We were told Rollo’s tests were fine and that his stomach was fine, and we paid, and we left. It was quiet in our car on the way home.
When I came home, I walked over to the pantry and I grabbed the raisins box and was about to throw it in the garbage, when I decided to just hide the box far into the pantry and never buy raisins again. I don’t like throwing away food.
This is a Leonberger dog blog but I sometimes post about other topics and today’s topic is a book blast for a new book published by Alex Diaz-Granados. It is called Reunion: Coda: Book 2 of the Reunion Duology. It is a duology, but it can be read independently from the first book. The point of this post is to bring attention to the book. It is a poignant romantic tale delving into the complexities of love. I bought the Kindle version, the paperback version as well as the hardcopy version of the book. Below is an overview of the three versions.
Hardcover – Independently published (April 5, 2025), ASIN : B0F3VRRW3R, ISBN-13 : 979-8316859467, 471 pages, Item Weight : 2.85 pounds, Dimensions : 8.25 x 1.25 x 11 inches, it costs $30.00 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Paperback – Independently published (April 5, 2025), ASIN : B0F3VWJGDD, ISBN-13 : 979-8316867066, 529 pages, Item Weight : 2.29 pounds, dimensions : 8 x 1.2 x 10 inches, it cost $26.00 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Kindle – Publisher : ADG Books via Kindle Create; 1st edition (April 4, 2025), ASIN : B0F3V5HK2R, 473 pages. It is currently $5.99 on Amazon.com and free with Kindle unlimited. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Cover for the Kindle version of Reunion: Coda: Book 2 of the Reunion Duology by Alex Diaz-Granados. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the Kindle version of the book.Front cover of the paperback version for Reunion: Coda: Book 2 of the Reunion Duology by Alex Diaz-Granados. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the paperback version of the book.
Amazon’s description of Reunion: Coda
In Reunion: Coda, Jim Garraty’s journey continues as he navigates the intricate dance between past regrets and present hopes. Now a successful history professor, Jim’s life is a tapestry of unspoken love, haunting memories, and the pursuit of emotional closure.
As Jim reflects on his high school years and the profound impact of his relationships, he grapples with the lessons learned from missed opportunities and the unpredictable nature of life. Through introspective moments and heartfelt letters, Jim uncovers the strength to confront his deepest fears and embrace new beginnings.
Reunion: Coda delves into the complexities of love, loss, and the enduring power of memory. It also explores the significance of friendship and the unpredictable turns that shape our lives. This poignant novel is a heartfelt exploration of the choices that define us, the connections that sustain us, and the hope that guides us on the journey of self-discovery.
Back cover of the paperback version for Reunion: Coda: Book 2 of the Reunion Duology by Alex Diaz-Granados. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the hardcover version of the book.
Trailer for Reunion: Coda: Book 2 of the Reunion Duology by Alex Diaz-Granados.
About the Author of Reunion: Coda
Alex Diaz-Granados (1963- ) began writing movie reviews as a staff writer and Entertainment Editor for his high school newspaper in the early 1980s and was the Diversions editor for Catalyst, Miami-Dade Community College, South Campus’ student newspaper for one semester. Using his experiences in those publications, Alex has been raving and ranting about the movies online since 2003 at various web sites, including Amazon, Ciao and Epinions.
In addition to writing reviews, Alex has written or co-written three films (“A Simple Ad,” “Clown 345,” and “Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss”) for actor-director Juan Carlos Hernandez. You can find his reviews and essays on his blog, A Certain Point of View.
Today’s post is a highlight of Good News from my super fact blog, which I call Superfactful. I am listing eight posts, seven of which are what I call super facts. A super fact is a fact that is important, not trivia, and that is known to be true and yet are either disputed by large segments of the public or highly surprising or misunderstood by many. The super facts included with this post are what you can call Good News. Surprising news, perhaps shocking news, but still good news.
Peace Is Boring News
The first and my most recent post is not a super fact but my musings on the fact that good news tends to be boring news and therefore forgotten.
West Belfast, Northern Ireland,UK; February, 1994; Girl running with plate of chips past wall where two IRA Volunteers were killed by British soldiers Shutterstock Asset id: 1951602385, Editorial credit: RORY NUGENT.com
Emissions of ozone-depleting gases have fallen by 99 Percent
Super fact 41 : Largely thanks to the Montreal Protocol in 1987 the emissions of ozone-depleting gases have fallen by more than 99%, 99.7% to be exact, according to Our World in Data. This has resulted in halting the expansion of the ozone holes and the reduction in emissions of ozone-depleting gases is saving millions of lives every year.
To visit the page for Emissions of ozone-depleting gases have fallen by 99 Percent click here.
The phase out of six ozone depleting gases. Data source UN Environment Program (2023).
Natural Disasters Kill Less People Now Than 100 Years Ago
Super fact 35: Natural disasters kill a lot less people now compared to 100 years ago. That is despite a larger population and despite the fact that climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of many types of natural disasters.
The explanation for this is that we have become much better at warning people, preventing deaths and rescue people.
To visit the page for Natural Disasters, Kill Less People Now Than 100 Years Ago click here
This graph from the Gap Minder article shows the annual deaths from natural disasters in ten-year intervals starting with 1930. The trend is down.
EV Cars Indeed Emit Less Carbon Pollution
Super fact 29: EV Cars emit less pollution than Internal Combustion Engine, even considering manufacturing, disposal and EV Cars being charged by dirty grids.
To visit the page for EV Cars Indeed Emit Less Carbon Pollution click here
Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions comparison of average gasoline car and 300-mile range EV.
Smallpox Killed 300 million People in the Last Century Before Eradication
Superfact 24: Smallpox killed 300 million people in the 20th century. However, there have been no naturally occurring cases of smallpox since 1977, and the world was declared free of smallpox on May 8, 1980, by the 33rd World Health Assembly.
To visit the page for Smallpox Killed 300 million People in the Last Century Before Eradication click here
This world map shows when smallpox was eradicated from different countries. The source is Our World in Data , originally Fenner et al. at CDC.
We are living in relatively peaceful times
Superfact 9 : Despite all the wars going on, the world was filled with a lot more war and violence in the past. Despite the grim news reports we are living in relatively peaceful times.
To visit the page for We are living in relatively peaceful times click here
Death rate from wars since 1946. The uptick in 2022 is largely due to the Ethiopian Tigray war with 162,000–600,000 killed and the invasion of Ukraine, which US and BBC estimates at more than 200,000 deaths (but estimates from most other sources are less).
US Violent Crime Nearly Cut in Half Since 1990
Superfact 8 : Despite all the news reports about rampant crime, the US violent crime rate has fallen to half of what it was in the early 1990’s.
To visit the page for US Violent Crime Nearly Cut in Half Since 1990 click here
The four graphs show that both violent crime and property crime have declined since 1990. Visit the post to see the Pew Research article it is taken from.
Poverty and child mortality has been sharply reduced worldwide
Superfact 7 : Extreme poverty as well as child mortality has been sharply reduced the world over. The countries that are the worst-off today are still better off than the countries that were doing the best at the beginning of the 19th century. Over the last 50 years extreme poverty and child mortality has continued to decline sharply.
To visit the page for Poverty and child mortality has been sharply reduced worldwide click here
This graph from Our World In Data shows a steep decline in extreme poverty over time. Click on the picture to visit the original article.
If you have not subscribed to my super fact blog you are certainly welcome to.
Today I received interesting mail. In addition to the usual junk mail and a couple of bills I got the LeoLetter, the Leoberger magazine, and I got a box from Amazon containing two brand new books that I am very excited to read.
The LeoLetter
The “LeoLetter : Great Dogs, Great People,” is the official quarterly publication of the Leonberger Club of America. You can read about the history of the Leonberger Club of America here. What makes today’s LeoLetter special to me is because I have an Ad in it for my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger”. To visit the Amazon location for my book, click here.
The Leo Letter is the official publication of the Leonberger Club of America.This is my ad for my book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. Click on the picture to visit the Amazon location for the book.The front cover of the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. Click on the picture to visit the Amazon location for the book.The back cover of the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. Click on the picture to visit the Canadian Amazon location for the book.
Badlands
Next, I opened the box in it was two books. One of them was Badlands (Savage Land) by Jacqui Murray. I bought the paperback version. I have only read the beginning, and it is very exciting. It is book two in a trilogy about prehistoric man. I read the previous book Endangered Species, a book I loved, and you can read my book tour post here and my review here. There is an ongoing book tour for Badlands, and you visit the five first book tour posts here:
Front cover of Badlands by Jacqui Murray. Click here or on the picture to visit the Amazon location for the paperback version.
Below is Amazon’s Overview of the Badlands
Savage Land is the third trilogy about prehistoric man in the series, Man. Vs. Nature.Written in the spirit of Jean Auel, Savage Land explores how two bands of humans survived one of the worst natural disasters in Earth’s history, when volcanic eruptions darkened the sky, massive tsunamis crossed the ocean in crushing waves, and raging fires burned the land. Each of the tribes considered themselves apex predators. Neither was. That crown belonged to Nature and she was intent on washing the blight of man from her face. Join me in this three-book fictional exploration of Neanderthals. Be ready for a world nothing like what you thought it would be, filled with clever minds, brilliant acts, and innovative solutions to life-ending problems, all based on real events. At the end of this trilogy, you’ll be proud to call Neanderthals family.
In Badlands, Book Two, the tribes must split up, each independently crossing what Nature has turned into a wasteland. They struggle against starvation, thirst, and desperate enemies more feral than human. If they quit or worse, lose, they will never reunite with their groups or escape the most deadly natural disaster ever faced by our kind.
This is the back cover of the book Badlands by Jacqui Murray.
Reunion Coda
Another nice surprise in the box was Reunion: Coda: Book 2 of the Reunion Duology by Alex Diaz-Granados. I also read parts of this book so far, and I loved it. It also has a lot of nice pictures to support the story. The end of the book features my interview with the author, which you can read here. You can read my review for the first book in the duology (Reunion) here <<Link-10>>.
Front cover of Reunion: Coda: Book 2 of the Reunion Duology. To visit the Amazon page for the paperback version of the book you can click here or on the picture.
Below is Amazon’s Overview of the Reunion Coda
In Reunion: Coda, Jim Garraty’s journey continues as he navigates the intricate dance between past regrets and present hopes. Now a successful history professor, Jim’s life is a tapestry of unspoken love, haunting memories, and the pursuit of emotional closure.
As Jim reflects on his high school years and the profound impact of his relationships, he grapples with the lessons learned from missed opportunities and the unpredictable nature of life. Through introspective moments and heartfelt letters, Jim uncovers the strength to confront his deepest fears and embrace new beginnings.
Reunion: Coda delves into the complexities of love, loss, and the enduring power of memory. It also explores the significance of friendship and the unpredictable turns that shape our lives. This poignant novel is a heartfelt exploration of the choices that define us, the connections that sustain us, and the hope that guides us on the journey of self-discovery.
Back cover of Reunion: Coda: Book 2 of the Reunion Duology.
What if we get it right?
However, before I finish the two books above I will finish another good book that I am reading for my book club called “What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson”.
Front cover of What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. You can visit the hardcover version of the book by clicking here or by click on the picture.
Below is Amazon’s Overview of What If We Get It Right?
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “With a thoughtfully curated series of essays, poetry, and conversations, the brilliant scientist and climate expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has assembled a group of dynamic people who are willing to imagine what seems impossible, and articulate those visions with enthusiastic clarity.”—Roxane Gay
Our climate future is not yet written. What if we act as if we love the future?
A SMITHSONIAN BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Sometimes the bravest thing we can do while facing an existential crisis is imagine life on the other side. This provocative and joyous book maps an inspiring landscape of possible climate futures.
Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations, infused with data, poetry, and art, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. Visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, help us conjure a flourishing future, one worth the effort it will take—from every one of us, with whatever we have to offer—to create.
If you haven’t yet been able to picture a transformed and replenished world—or to see yourself, your loved ones, and your community in it—this book is for you. If you haven’t yet found your role in shaping this new world or you’re not sure how we can actually get there, this book is for you.
With grace, humor, and humanity, Johnson invites readers to ask and answer this ultimate question together: What if we get it right?
Back cover of What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.
Leonberger Life 