Hi all. I hope everyone is enjoying some pretty fall days. It’s starting to get cooler here now. And as it gets closer to Halloween, we might even see a snowflake or two. We’ll see. Last Monday was Thanksgiving here in Canada, which was a beautiful day and my husband and I went for a long bike ride. I shot this photo as we biked along one of our favorite routes, and later we had a nice Thanksgiving turkey dinner at our local golf club, which put out a lovely special holiday meal. No clean-up at home necessary, yay.
Recently we took down our vegetable patch for the year. It was a good season and we still have plenty of squash and cucumbers left, and enough to make zucchini muffins.
On Saturday I will head to the city for the book festival by Wordfest. It’ll be my first of three events. The talk features several female authors: Holly Gramazio (The Husbands), Madeline Ashby (Glass Houses), Robyn Harding (The Haters), and Marissa Stapley (The Lightning Bottles). Have you read any of these? I have read Harding before … her 2017 crime thriller The Party was a doozy. Then on Sunday I will see Irish authors Roddy Doyle (The Women Behind the Door) and Anne Enright (The Wren, the Wren), and Monday’s talk features Rachel Kushner (Creation Lake). Yay.
After Saturday’s talk, I plan to meet up with book blogger Haze from The Book Haze, which should be a lot of fun. A while ago after I found her blog, I discovered she lives in this province as well, so it’ll be great to meet up in person. Check out her blog if you don’t already know it. She reads and reviews a variety of great books.
And now I’ll leave you with a review of a nonfiction book that I finished lately.
Running With Sherman by Christopher McDougall / Knopf / 352 pages / 2019
My sister gave me the perfect gift when she sent me this book early this summer, since I have been interested in keeping donkeys at our back field ever since we moved to a more rural location in January 2023. They seem adorable animals and I have been intrigued by them for a long while. Though I’m still trying to talk my husband into the idea of these braying pack animals. I hope someday it will happen and we will have two here … if all goes well.
As for the book it’s a heartwarming true story that’s very informative too … about an abused, neglected donkey that is given a second chance at life when the author and his family save him from the previous owner and take him to live on their farm in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County. Sherman — as they rename him — can barely walk at the time due to overgrown hooves.
Luckily with vet care they are able to rehabilitate him … and when the trainer says Sherman “needs a purpose,” the author gets an idea to train him for the World Championship burro race in Colorado. This involves running alongside the donkey holding a rope from the harness as the donkey runs (or decides not to run) the mountainous course.
Over several months the author and “his team,” which includes his wife and a neighbor’s college son, train with Sherman along with two other buddy donkeys named Flower and Matilda that lure him along. As the race nears they have to overcome many obstacles just to get to the race — due to unrelated injuries and driving logistics — which miraculously they do.
The book is about donkeys but also about the people in their rural neck of the woods and so much more. Some of the book is the author’s personal story and another part is his journalistic reporting about Amish country, endurance running, and the world of burro racing and those who do it. Who knew? I hadn’t even heard of the sport till this book. But what really won me over are the three donkeys: Sherman, Flower, and Matilda. They are smaller than you might expect but they each have their own funny personalities and egg each other on. I loved them.
It’s a moving story for animal lovers, or for readers of human interest sports stories. I have the paperback copy as well as the audio version, which is entertaining and enthusiastically read by the author.
You might remember the author from his 2009 bestselling book titled Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen about the author’s journey to Mexico’s Copper Canyons to learn the secrets of the Tarahumara Indian native people, known for their ability to run for hundreds of miles without problems, or injury. Well apparently Matthew McConaughey has signed on to star in the movie version, which is still in early development. We will see if it pans out and is made.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read any of these books and if so, what did you think?
Lovely terrain and view for a bike ride. Sounds like a great Thanksgiving. I miss Toronto!
Hi Harvee, thanks. Did you used to live in Toronto? Perhaps it’s not too far from where you are right?
What a beautiful scene in the picture you feature! And who wouldn’t want to have a donkey like Sherman in their backyard?
Thanks Dorothy, I always love that scenery. I’m still working to get my Sherman, lol. We need some fencing work done etc. I think they seem like interesting animals. I keep hoping it’ll happen in the future.
We don’t get any Fall colors (well, not much) in Santa Barbara, but I can live with that. It has been overcast at least half of each day so far this month, and I love that. Our (tiny) back yard has lost all its sun except for the top of the back fence but we are making progress in cleaning it up so we can do a better job planting some pots and succulents back there next Spring.
I am glad you includeded the cover of Husbands; it sounded interesting (and familiar) and it should have. I had forgotten, but I have this on my Kindle. I will have to read it soonish.
Running with Herman sounds like a good read. I have a backlog of nonfiction books to read soon, so I won’t add this one now, but I like the subject matter.
Hi Tracy, good to hear … I hope you are enjoying the fall light in S.B. So pretty.
I heard the author of The Husbands talk about her novel … and it sounds pretty funny. Something about an attic with various husbands coming out of it. I think it’s a time bender kind of story. I think I will get it from the library.
The donkey story was good, especially if you’re interested in farm animals or a different kind of animal story.
Have a great week ahead.
You live in such a lovely place for bike riding! I do miss that about leaving Nebraska, although I don’t miss the wind that was always in my face when I rode.
I hope you’re having a good time at the book festival. Sounds like a good line-up.
Hi Lesley, thanks. We also find it very windy here — so we try to find the rare times when it’s not blowing as much, lol. Riding into the wind is not too fun!
Between the tennis tournament and the book festival … I’m getting a bit exhausted, especially driving back & forth. Now I have one more event! If it snows Monday evening … I might have to pass.
I hope all is well at the Cove.
Lovely photo! I didn’t read The Husbands, though it sounds quirky enough and had I had more time to read this year I would have loved to include it in my reading list. I hope you get to see Rachel Kushner at the Book Festival, as well as the other authors. I’m stuck with her book through no fault of her own (or the book’s), mind you. 🙂 In your last post I confused Held with The Safekeep. I found out that Held was shortlisted for the Giller, which I suspect is the reason of your interest in it. It’s the only one in contention that I have read so I hope it wins, but I was very lukewarm about it. Fall days are proving pretty here lately, though the nights have been cold. We’ll be getting warm day temps in the next few days. Enjoy all the events and have a great reading week!
Thanks Carmen, The Husbands sounds quirky and funny, so I might pick it up from the library. I heard the author talk about it at the book festival … apparently about various husbands coming out of the attic. Lol. I should have had her sign it but I had to be somewhere else so didn’t get a copy there. I’ll see if I manage to get the Kushner talk. They’re calling for snow?
Glad you let me know that it was The Safekeep you were speaking of instead of Held. I guess Held made the Giller shortlist and the Booker shortlist. Is that hard to believe? I don’t think I’m going to get to either in time for award announcements. I’m still on Of Human Bondage. Lol. Which must be long — as it’s says I’m just 12% into it though I’ve been reading forever, ha.
Enjoy your week.
Donkeys in the backyard, really! 🙂 As I remember it, they are charming, but have a lot of personality and are more stubborn and less easy to train than horses. Good luck, if you decide to acquire some! I’m intrigued by zucchini muffins, never tasted that, but would love to try. Great autumn photo, I love the colours.
Hi Stargazer! Where have you been? Busy likely. Yep I think donkeys have a mind of their own … and don’t want to do what they don’t want to do, lol. If I ever get a couple, I will try to find sweet ones. Fingers crossed.
My husband is going to make the zucchini muffins … so we will see. I haven’t attempted it yet. I will try to put up some more autumn pix but most of the leaves are down now. It’s been blowing so much.
I hope all is well there. I’ll check your site soon!
Funny you should mention Born to Run. I read it years ago and really enjoyed it and it popped into my head just this past week. There is something intriguing and fun about donkeys so this latest book sounds good.
Hi Helen, yeah I agree Born to Run was good and kind of different. And donkeys always have been appealing to me. The new one is as unique as his Born to Run, and I listened to it and found it quite entertaining. See what you think. There is still stuff about running in there too. Have a great week.
Hi Susan, a beautiful area to go bike riding and the colors and the mountains in the background are lovely.
I haven’t thought much about donkeys in my life unless we are talking about Miss Betsy’s reaction to them in David Copperfield. LOL. But they seem to be loveable animals and I am glad Sherman was rescued. I knew a woman who kept a miniature horse on her farm named Jack. He didn’t live too long even though this woman took very good care of Jack.
Thanks Kathy, it’s enjoyable to bike with some of the pretty routes around here, but it can be a bit hilly … and windy.
I hope Miss Betsy liked donkeys? But she probably didn’t in the book, lol. There are some miniature horses in our neighborhood so I know a bit about them. The guy shows them in Texas apparently. I feed them alfalfa thru the fence. Cute little horses. And I have a book on donkeys that I bought for reference … but I still need to read it. Much to learn first!
Hope all is well there …
I’ve heard that donkeys make good pets. I’m not big on animal stories, though. You make this one sound enjoyable.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hi Mae, I’m glad you have heard good things about donkeys. I’m hopeful they are close to their owners. The book was a bit different but inspiring too.
Enjoy your week.
The festival sounds excellent, and it is made even more fun by knowing that you will get to meet up with Haze. I always love to meet up with other bloggers.
I have a friend here who is crazy about donkeys, and she finally managed to talk those she lives with into acquiring some. I hope you succeed in your quest, too.
Hi Deb, thanks. It was really fun to meet up with Haze. I’ve only met two bloggers in person but both times it was really rewarding and nice.
I’m pleased to hear about your friend with donkeys. Does she have a space for them there? I hope she is enjoying them. It makes me hopeful for my quest.
Have a great week.
My friend has acreage and she takes in a lot of homeless animals.
I have met Louise from Australia, Marcia from Boston, Melissa from the northwestern part of the US, Helen from New Mexico, Rae from my town (but it was me who talked her into blogging), Cindy from Galveston (and she is a revived blogger, having been one of the first bloggers long ago when she started a blog after returning to college once her kids were grown)…lots of librarian/bloggers…
Wow you have met many bloggers from various locales. It’s fun to chat about all the common things. Someday if I ever get to the Texas book festival … we can meet up – that would be fun.
I’m glad your friend takes in homeless animals. That’s great to hear. I’m very partial to animals.
I want to bike down that road! What a great location…and beautiful photo. 😀 And Running With Sherman sounds like an entertaining and fun book. Have a great week.
Thanks Lark. It was such a nice day that Monday when we biked …. but now we had our first snow yesterday, yikes! Sherman was a good protagonist to tag along with for a while, lol. Hope all is well there.
Wow, what a gorgeous place for a long bike ride. Just stunning! I haven’t read any of the books you mention, though I did sample The Husbands. It seemed just too silly for my mood at the time. Can’t wait to hear more about the book festival. Hope you had a great time!
Thanks JoAnn, we had a such a nice bike ride that day, but last night we had snow … so our nice days are numbered. I missed the Rachel Kushner talk last night due to the storm and I wasn’t feeling that great. So I will have to read the book without the talk. Still the other two events were good. I will try to be in a silly mood if I sample The Husbands …. but perhaps it’s too much?
Hope your week is great.
The book about Sherman, the burro, sounds terrific.
I learned a little about burro racing from this video a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuZAhP2k3qA
Hi Joy, thanks for the link …. I’m enjoying the video of the race. Sort of funny. But it makes me want to get a donkey too … maybe I could walk up & down the hills here with the donkey. I’ll send the link to my husband. I got to talk him into it. Have a great week.
What a beautiful route for bike riding! Our garden is just about done, as well, but I’m still waiting on some zucchini and summer squash. I think the cucumbers are finished. Never heard of the burro races, but how lovely that they rescued that poor creature!
I did enjoy Montana! We’ve been a few times in the past because my husband’s parents lived outside of Missoula for years, but more recently our son-in-law joined a golf club outside of Deer Lodge. It’s gorgeous and we’ve been going through the summers for the last few years. They had a house built there which will finally be done on Wednesday. We fly out there again on Thursday to help set it up. We won’t go out again until New Years…I think.
Hi Rachel, great to hear about your Montana trip. Many areas are so nice! We’ve been to Missoula, Kalispell, Helena, Bozeman, and Butte. I am sure it’s beautiful near Deer Lodge and congrats to them on finishing their home! That’s wonderful and I hope you all enjoy it for many years to come.
We just got snow last night … but I don’t think Montana has it yet, lol. Bring warm clothes.
I guess our bike rides & gardens are about over. It was a good season.
Enjoy your time in MT.
Thanks, Susan! I will bring warm clothes. I’ve been monitoring the weather and it will be cold. I don’t see snow in the immediate forecast, but you know how that goes. Things can change quickly. Ooooh, it seems a little early for snow, but you’re a lot more north than I am. Our first frost date is on average November 15th,(it came early this year!) and we usually won’t get snow for a while. I guess it’s time to pack away our summer/warm weather clothes and get the sweaters out!
Ha. Yep. It’s time to put away the shorts! And get out the coats & sweaters, sigh. I feel winter sometimes can be a dark hole of like 6 months … but we got to stay active & outdoors not to let bring us down. 🙂 I look forward to hearing how the MT trip goes … and the new house. Enjoy.
Who is this person who bakes zucchini muffins??!
The gift of the book was meant to be a cautionary tale about living with donkeys — they seem to be a lot of work! The Instagram cuteness factor, especially of Mini Donkeys, is a hard-t0-resist lure, for sure. I really enjoyed Born to Run many years ago and was happy to find McDougall had written this charming, hilarious tale.
Time to put snow tires on your bike — keep riding!!
Ha, funny. Thanks. Robert makes the muffins! He made zucchini ones & chocolate chip muffins, lol. But it still hasn’t put too much of a dent in the zucchini supplies. So we need more muffins, towers of muffins, ha.
I didn’t realize the gift was meant as a cautionary tale … I guess they are work but now I’m thinking about burro walks, with a little pack on the back. I watched YouTube videos of burro racing in Colorado … looked like fun. And I think of Sherman & hope he’s happy. But I would worry about the animals during the cold nights & days here. We’ll have to get some heat in the barn. … or bring them into the kitchen. ha.
We might have a week or two left of biking … I will try to keep getting out there. You too & keep up the reading.
The donkey story would be great as it is positive. It just breaks my heart to read about abused animals but this one sounds like I could get into it. We are just back from Nebraska on Monday night and tomorrow we head to Memphis to look at houses. We aren’t usually this busy.
Can’t wait to hear about the book festival!
Hi Tina, are you looking to move? You are looking at houses? I hope all goes well. You are busy.
The donkey story is sad at first … but then the author’s family saves him. I have a hard time with hurt animal stories too. Luckily Sherman has a happy ending. I’m looking on owning donkeys but so far I have more reading to do about them.
Enjoy your trip!
That photo you included at the top is lovely. We are still in 90 degree temps here after a couple of cool days. It never lets up! Hard to feel like fall when it’s that warm.
That donkey story is something I’d enjoy for sure.
I always make the Thanksgiving meal but no one is coming this year. No in-laws, no kids and your mention of no clean-up does appeal to me. Maybe I should look for a reservation somewhere. But then, no next day turkey sandwich!
OHB is off the rails. I finished the book because I couldn’t stop at the scheduled stopping point. I must say, it’s been a good read for me. Lots to think about and consider. I just added another Maugham book to my shelf, The Razor’s Edge.
Hi Ti, I have read The Razor’s Edge long ago and it was good! So far I like Razor’s Edge better but I haven’t gotten far enough into OHB … but I think it’s about to change. I still hope to finish by end of October, then chat about Philip! It’s great you finished the long novel so quickly — it must be good then.
Too bad your kids aren’t coming for Thanksgiving. The dinner we went to had a buffet of Thanksgiving food — it was amazing. Perhaps we’ll cook for American Thanksgiving. Hmm. The leftover turkey sandwiches are good.
The donkey story was unique. He has quite a bit in the book of various things, not just the donkeys. People, places, it runs the gamut, but the burro race is at the end.
And I can’t believe it’s still that hot there. That’s crazy! It’s almost November. Enjoy your week. I hope Otter Pup is doing okay.
Donkeys! I love the cover and your review makes me want to rush out and get a copy. Sounds like a fun, interesting read.
Happy belated Thanksgiving! We discovered the joy of eating Thanksgiving dinner out a few years ago and have never looked back.
Sometimes I will still roast a turkey, mainly for the stock-making possibilities, but I like not having the pressure of preparing a perfect meal for a holiday.
Hi Jane, thanks. The donkey book was an entertaining read, a bit different but good and uplifting. And I still would like a couple burros after reading, lol.
I’m glad to hear that you all like eating Thanksgiving out. This is new to me — but I was really impressed by the full Thanksgiving spread at the golf club. And I’m ready to do it again next time, ha! I agree it’s better without the pressure of cooking on the holiday. Thx for the tip. Enjoy your week.
It was so wonderful to meet with you, Susan!! I had so much fun and I’d love to meet with you again some time. Sorry it took me so long to reply your comments, I got sick a couple of weeks ago and I’m still catching up with everything I didn’t manage to get done. And guess what? Woke up today to the snow!
Hi Haze, thanks so much. It was great meeting you too. I feel we have a common bond in books & blogging and it’s so fun to chat. We will have to meet up again another time. I hope you are feeling better now and are a bit caught up. I will keep visiting your blog. Enjoy these fall days … before it gets too wintry. take care.