Et tu, Brutus?

If March makes you think of shamrocks and green beer, you may have forgotten about a very dark day for a certain, famous Roman. The Ides of March ("ides" was the term used for the 15th day of March, May, July and October) is quickly approaching, and if you're curious why March 15th is known for more than just being "two days before St. Patrick's Day," you need to read The Ides: Caesar's Murder and the War for Rome by Stephen Dando-Collins.

Here's a paragraph from the first chapter, describing Caesar's physique seven weeks before his assassination: "Caesar was fifty-four years of age. Tall, well built, with a small chin, sensuous mouth, and large, dark brown eyes, his fair hair now gray, he was a good-looking man, if not handsome. Yet he was vain; because he was balding, "a disfigurement which his enemies harped upon," according to his biographer Suetonius, Caesar brushed his hair forward to cover a large bald spot. To further hide his baldness, on public occasions, he wore the laurel crown to which he was entitled as the winner of a Triumph. According to Suetonius, Caesar's vanity extended to having his body hair removed with tweezers." Too bad Caesar didn't embrace the "bald is beautiful" movement...

Pruning pains

My back hurts. Reason? My husband and I spent the weekend pruning our fruit trees. All 19 of them. It was a lot of work. But it was also pretty great being outdoors in our "spring" weather (almost hate to say the word for fear that winter is gonna smack me for it...) - and despite sore muscles, aching back, bruises caused by large tree limbs, etc., our first major pruning adventure turned out to be a success. Whether you're facing a large or a small pruning project, here are some books that can trim your apprehensions about gardening.

P.S. - I was not the official chainsaw operator for our project, and no, I wasn't auditioning for "Saw VII." But a chainsaw-carrying librarian might dispel some stereotypes...from Cycle Jan to Chainsaw Jan...hmmm...

* The Illustrated Practical Encyclopedia of Pruning, Training & Topiary
* Pruning Made Easy: A Gardener's Visual Guide to When and How to Prune Everything, from Flowers to Trees
* Encyclopedia of Northwest Native Plants for Gardens and Landscapes

and as a recent buyer of property in the "country," I'm going to put this one on hold for sure:
* Five Acres and Independence (independence? certainly not from pruning!)

Hail to the chief...of books?

Just came across a list of the best read US presidents. To find out who had a habit of burning holes in his books, or which president took a speed-reading course, or who published an English translation of a 16th century metallurgy text, check out this entry from The Daily Beast. And if reading this list inspires you to read more about a particular president, be sure to check out the biography section of the library.