December 8, 2019 DOWN BY THE RIVER

Did I ever tell you about my fire-bellied frog?? Well it's REALLY not my frog--BUT it's become my responsibility. LIKE I NEED MORE TO DO??  It's just like getting a puppy. The kids beg and promise to take care of it BUT that only lasts a week.  Yup--who's the one buying the crickets--ME. Who's the one cleaning the tank--ME. Who's the one changing the water--ME. Who'd a thunk a little frog would live SO long--it's been three years. We used to have two frogs. One escaped and his remains were found behind a bureau months later. We bought another AND that one escaped too. Not sure what happened to that little guy SO now we are back to ONE--just ONE little fire-bellied frog. He escaped ONCE too but I found him hip hopping down the stairs.  They are tricky little fellas. If you leave the top  open for more than a minute--GONE. Wish we never got the frogs in the first place--BUT it's til death do us part--for my sake AND his--I hope he goes first--no one else is gonna take care of him. All this frog talk has me thinking about nature and the book I just finished by Peter Heller called The River. 

Wynn and Jack, the main characters in The River, have been best friends since college orientation. They bonded because both love adventure and the outdoors. The pair decide to canoe the Maskwa River in Northern Canada before starting their final year of college. At first the trip is peaceful and everything they hope for, but before long they smell fire and realize that they have to outrun a wildfire. In addition to the fire, the pair hear a couple violently arguing as they paddle by an inlet. The next day the man appears on the river in his canoe without his wife. The pair must decide whether they should turn back toward the fire to search for the woman or make their way to safety. This is a story about friendship, strength and the power that nature really has over humans. Find out if the pair make it out alive and if they find the woman when you read this real page turner for yourself. It's only 270 pages or a 3 mile run that you won't be able to put down.