for now the mountain burns

destruction, renewal -- a phoenix will be born

but for now the mountain burns

a jagged, blazing spine against the hazy sky

wafting smoke up the valley

to settle densely on hopeful blooms and buds

and tiny, new green leaves that dance upon the trees

as the mountain cries out for rain,

the dry earth weeping tears of dust

and yet knowing, somewhere in its ancient depth of thought,

that the blackened remains of forest

symbolize not death

but the cleansing beginning

of a slow and beautiful rebirth

photo via

a pair of atypical westerns {mini reviews}

Valley of Dreams (Wild West Wind #1)
by Lauraine Snelling

Historical, western, romance-free, Christian novel -- sound too good to be true? It's not! Hooray! This wonderful book kept me engaged with good character development, realistic details, and refreshing unpredictability. I appreciated the fact that Cassie, despite going on an unexpected adventure, isn't an expert on survival in the wilderness. She did what she could and graciously accepted help when she needed it, showing a great willingness to learn, as well. Although I would have liked more development in the supporting characters, the story seems set up for more on them in the second book. Also, there is a bison named George.

4/5 leaves

True Grit
by Charles Portis

This is a fun spin on the standard western, with a young girl as the protagonist. Mattie is an interesting character -- calculating and stubborn -- and I enjoyed her perspective and voice. However, I didn't much care for the story, which centered on revenge.

3/5 leaves

rural life {mini reviews}

I read quite a few books in the past two months, and I still haven't posted all of the reviews! So here are a few, which, coincidentally, all share the theme of farms and rural life. The first is a YA, the second adult fiction, and the third nonfiction. None of them, sadly, involve dragons, although there are horses in the second one listed, so we will forgive that novel for its lack of flying reptiles. And I like farming, so there is that, too. Enjoy!


Holding Up the Earth
by Dianne E. Gray

This beautiful novel weaves together seamlessly the lives of five girls, belonging to very different generations, tied together by a farm and, more specifically, a meadow. Some of the gripping, emotional stories are told through letters or journals, which sometimes felt unrealistically detailed. But those details do add much-appreciated color. Hope, the main character, is very relatable, as are the other four girls, for that matter.

4/5 leaves

Riding Lessons
by Sara Gruen

I found the premise of this novel interesting -- a horse book with family issues and a dash of romance -- but for almost the entire novel, Annemarie, the main character, acts like an insufferable child. There are no moments (until the end) where she behaves like an adult, which makes her very difficult to relate to. All of her decisions were rash and irrational. By the end, though, she seems a decent human being, and I almost want to read the next book -- mostly to follow the supporting characters (Dan, Eva, Mutti...).

2/5 leaves

The Hills is Lonely
by Lillian Beckwith

This is a hilarious portrait of a small, quaint, Scottish island village in all of its quirkiness. I wonder how many of the stories really are true, and to what extent -- they were all just so funny! Unfortunately, the author seemed to lack much respect for the people who live in the village, as they're all portrayed as being rather backwards. And I could have done with a dose of seriousness now and again as well as some form of a plot.

3/5 leaves

*******

Have you ever continued a series simply to follow the supporting characters? And what do you think -- does nonfiction require a plot?

{an Easter poem}

I sit on the rooftop to escape
the stifling sorrow below
and am greeted instead with mournful silence --
could it be? I cock my head
but no, even the birds do not sing
today
as if they, too, know
that their Maker lies sealed in a tomb.
Oh! That we had gone with Him,
or even in His stead,
that we had borne the pain
and now lay dead
but here is our punishment
for fleeing -- cowards!
to live without even birdsong.
And why should we know joy
when God is dead?

In the morning I return
to my silent hell upon the rooftop
as the sun begins to rise
on another meaningless day
and the women set out to embalm the body
-- his body.
And there -- a chirp!
But no, I am only imagining hope
where it cannot be
just as a rooster crows only
to mock poor Peter.
I can only pray he doesn't hear it --
pray to whom?
Do we even have that anymore,
as our Lord lies breathless in a tomb?
But birds have, indeed, begun to sing
and others join them in a lilting, crescendoing chorus
as the sun climbs higher
and the women come
running
yelling incomprehensibly
He is alive.

bookshelf love: the results

I ended up reading 10 books in my seven-week challenge, and I have started an eleventh one. Although I did not get to all 12 that I had listed at the beginning of the challenge, I did read far more than I usually do in that amount of time, so I call this a successful challenge. And, at the end of it, I got rid of almost all of the books. Which, if you remember, was the whole point!

I added two books to the challenge, True Grit and Upon This Rock, so I decided that I could allow myself to keep two unread books at the end of the challenge, since the original pile was only 12, not 14, books. In the end, I kept Valley of Dreams, Refuge, Black Beauty, and Upon This Rock -- the first two because I really liked them, the third because, although I didn't get to it in the challenge, I've read it before and loved it, and the last because I just started reading it.

Links in the list go to my review (if I've written one) or to Goodreads.

The Hills is Lonely by Lillian Beckwith

Holding Up the Earth by Dianne E. Gray

Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen

Grace at Low Tide by Beth Webb Hart

Blessed are the Meek by Zofia Kossak-Szczucka

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
Wolf Speaker by Tamora Pierce
True Grit by Charles Portis
Upon This Rock by Frank G. Slaughter

Valley of Dreams by Lauraine Snelling

Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Flying Changes by Sara Gruen
The Art of Losing Yourself by Katie Ganshert

If you'd like to join in the Bookshelf Love reading challenge, jump on over to the introductory post. And in case you missed it, you can view more details about my personal Bookshelf Love challenge here.