I love this book. I began reading “Orwell’s Roses” because it was highly recommended in David George Haskell’s new book, “How Flowers Made Our World” and also discussed here briefly in BlueBrewBooks with Trina Carter. I was in search of Solnit’s writing about Columbia’s industry supplying roses to the United States. I continued because of the sheer delight of reading her essays, and then because of my increasing fascination with the similarities between Orwell and Solnit as they were committed to the wonders of nature and good writing. From there, as NPR notes in their review of the book, “‘clarity, precision, accuracy, honesty and truthfulness are values to him, and pleasures,’ (Solnit) writes about Orwell. But she might as well have been describing her own, or this book’s aesthetic values and pleasures as well.” So far, I’m pretty blown away. I’ve been reading the seven sections in any order according to my whim, and it has worked well for me. I’m about halfway through, and I’ve already touched on trees, roses, lilies, the writing of “1984”, and Orwell’s life in the Spanish Civil War and the London Blitz. It all circles round, again and again, to Orwell’s roses. I’m there for it.

#BlueBrewBooks

This week I’m reading

Orwell’s Roses
by Rebecca Solnit
2021 268 p.
plus notes and index

see ALT/text for more

How a particle accelerator illuminated 56 human organs The Human Organ Atlas gives an extremely detailed look at 56 human organs, scanned with the help of a particle accelerator.

I think this counts as #sciart.

As described on the site's homepage, the images are released openly "with the hope that they will provide new insights into our biological makeup in health and disease."

Interview with Science Friday here:
www.sciencefriday.com/segments/hum...

Shakespeare's 'missing' London house mapped with new discovery The exact location of William Shakespeare's only London property can now be pinpointed to a quiet Blackfriars street, thanks to the discovery of a previously unknown floorplan. The discovery, made by ...

Traveling to London this summer? Add a stop in Blackfriars for a Shakespeare connection.

phys.org/news/2026-04...

Ending the day with a short reflection is great advice. Where do you keep your list? #FreelanceFriends

I think you’ll like her! 🧘‍♀️ Her pets often wander through— one cat especially. And she has one filmed outside with her horse in the background! #FreelanceFriends

My mindset is concerned. The year started slow. My mantra now: Do something every day to move my business forward. Micro-actions count. #FreelanceFriends

I think you’ve stated the key idea: a morning routine. Everyone’s will look a little different, but it’s your morning routine that sets you up for the day. #FreelanceFriends

3 Things is one of my favorite gratitude practices. Making a list both in the morning and in the evening is a great idea. #FreelanceFriends

Me too. I’m missing everyone’s posts and it’s making it impossible to comment and reply. Will check back later to catch up! #FreelanceFriends

I do love the water! I’m a very slow and inefficient swimmer, but I’m trying! Florida can be—a lot—so I lean into the outdoor activities on offer. #FreelanceFriends

I return a lot to a 30-day yoga challenge with affirmations. Yoga with Kassandra on YouTube (Morning Yoga Movement playlist). I just pick a routine at random. #FreelanceFriends

My mood was good because I started here. Morning exercise is an essential part of my morning routine. My brain doesn’t turn on otherwise! #FreelanceFriends

Hi Angela and #FreelanceFriends. I'm Jennifer from St. Augustine. I'm a freelance medical writer and editor currently working on the screened-in porch but moderately distracted by the bluebirds and chickadees arguing over the nesting box.

Should be #WindowsonWednesday

A southwest-style church is in the background and a wall of glass windows at Phoenix’s convention center is in the foreground.

I like the juxtaposition of old and new on this street in Phoenix near the convention center. #WindowonWednesday

Opinion | Here's What Joining a 'Street Team' Taught Me About Medicine We cannot treat or prevent disease without understanding our patients' lived environment

Saumya Sao shares her experience in serving on a 'Street Team' www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco... #medsky #publichealth

Thanks, Angela. You have a great week, too!

The shoreline of a branch of Florida’s Ocklawaha River. The trees are reflected in the water and contrast with a bright blue sky.

Happy #BlueSkyMonday, from a Sunday kayak. What are you working on this week?

I’m writing for an allergy and immunology publication and editing for a critical-care nursing journal. I’m reserving spots in May for grant editing. Get in touch if you’re planning a June submission.

Pink azaleas in front of a Chinese fringe tree with white flowers.

Last of the Pearlbush blooms in white backed by green leaves.

Yellow golden ragwort flowers with big round green leaves.

Variegated vinca major and a pretty purple blue flower.

Blooming in the yard today 🌱
#bloomscrolling
#gardening
#SundayYellow
#Stunday
#ECK

Today Ardnakelty is being beautiful in a way that has an eerie tinge: the air is cold and still, filled with a haze that leaches color away so that the greens fade into grays towards the horizon, like the fields are slowly turning to stone.

Tana French, The Keeper #sundaysentence #booksky

I hope you like it! I got it through a library hold also. 📚

The Salt Stones: Seasons of a Shepherd’s Life, by Helen Whybrow:

“I am reminded, as I often am, how nature is invisible to us until we start to notice, and how this noticing is both a source of wonder and undoing, of transcendence and grief.”

#SundaySentence

Book cover of THE SALT STONES by Helen Whybrow

Good morning, Susan, and #BlueBrewBooks. This week I read The Salt Stones by Helen Whybrow. She shepherds a flock of Icelandic sheep on a farm in Vermont and writes about belonging—to the flock, to a family, and to a place. The chapter on harvesting wool will especially interest all the knitters. 🐑

A fun diversion for me. This book is a fantasy of an “academic” novel, complete with footnotes! A curmudgeonly professor is ostensibly writing notes in a journal for her planned book, but the result is simply wonderful storytelling. As you’ll see on the cover, this book was one of the New York Times’ Notable Books of the Year for 2023. A great book to put on your list for when you want a break, but are still willing to be caught up in another world. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and thank the several others here in BlueBrewBooks who recommended it.

#BlueBrewBooks

This week I read the recommended

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
By Heather Fawcett
2023

Book One in a Series of Three

See ALT/text for a little bit more….

Oh I second this recommendation! I enjoyed this book so much and have read on in the series. #BlueBrewBooks

Artemis II astronauts have just one task ahead of them today: Return home After swooping around the moon, viewing an eclipse, breaking an Apollo distance record and testing out a space toilet, NASA's Artemis II mission is about to return to Earth. Here's what the astronauts must face to make it safely home.

After swooping around the moon, viewing an eclipse, breaking an Apollo distance record and testing out a space toilet, NASA's Artemis II mission is about to return to Earth. Here's what the astronauts must face to make it safely home.

2 books sit in front of a large-screen TV showing a live feed of NASA’s Artemis II mission: TO THE MOON AND BACK, by Eliana Ramage, and THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON, by Kelly Barnhill

Tell me you’re a mood reader without telling me you’re a mood reader. #artemis

A hardcover edition of A SOLITUDE OF WOLVERINES by Alice Henderson lies on a quilt. The book cover shows a woman on backcountry skis against a snowy mountain backdrop.

For the readers whose Venn diagrams include environmental science, conservation, and mysteries.
#booksky #bedtimeread

(April 6, 2026) – Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation. NASA

Earthset is a word I’ve never written before.

📷NASA Artemis II
[NASA caption in Alt text]

Amaze! Amaze!

#Artemis