E.O. Wilson, an 80-year-old Harvard biologist, has just published his first novel, called "Anthill." One section of the work tells, in great detail, of the triumphs, the conflicts, and the downfalls of four separate ant colonies in Alabama. The other parts of the book are more autobiographical, and tell the story of a man who gives up a successful career in law to protect the particular plot of land where he learned, as a boy, to love nature -- the plot of land on which the four ant colonies are based.

Here's an excerpt from "Anthill," recently published in The New Yorker.

And here's the Globe and Mail review.

Ben Saunders, the Arctic adventurer who was interviewed for (Cult)ure a couple of weeks ago, has had to abandon his attempt to reach the North Pole only a few days into his expedition, due to a broken fuel container that contaminated most of the food he was carrying. He has decided to try again next year, rather than having more fuel and food flown up to him for a renewed attempt on the receding ice this spring. (You can read the full story at the expedition's website, here.)

Following on a previous post mentioning David Grann's "The Lost City of Z," here is some (very old) footage of Theodore Roosevelt, a few years after his presidency, looking for thrills by joining an expedition to map the source of the River of Doubt, in the Amazon rain forest.
Roosevelt went in 1913-14, but much of the footage of the actual river was taken in 1927, by George Dyott, another American explorer who followed the same route.

 

Call for Artist Submissions.
Bloom n' Art 2010:  A festival of Art and Nature
Deadline for Submissions:  March 15th, 2010
Beyond the House will be hosting the second edition of our art and garden festival on July 17th and 18th 2010.
This juried outdoor art festival is held at our display gardens 40 minutes south east of Ottawa.
An artist's information package and submission form can be downloaded at:
http://www.beyondthehouse.ca/bloomnart/artist/Invitation2010.pdf
We look forward to welcoming both new and returning artists to this year's expanded festival!
cindy@beyondthehouse.ca