Paul Finley Mysteries Book Six Private investigator Paul Finley receives a packet of old police reports from a former colleague. Most of the reports describe cases that have been squashed or sidetracked for power interests. One of them questions the accidental death of Finley’s wife and daughter some years earlier. Before Finley can go back to the source of the reports, the man dies. What follows is a quagmire of a homicide dressed up as suicide, a fanatical religious group, an old-time gang boss, and Finley’s gradual re-immersion in nightmares that he had thought overcome.
Being among bees is a full-body experience, Mark Winston writes—from the low hum of tens of thousands of insects and the pungent smell of honey and beeswax, to the sight of workers flying back and forth between flowers and the hive. The experience of an apiary slows our sense of time, heightens our awareness, and inspires awe. Bee Time presents Winston’s reflections on three decades spent studying these creatures, and on the lessons they can teach about how humans might better interact with one another and the natural world. Like us, honeybees represent a pinnacle of animal sociality. How they submerge individual needs into the colony collective provides a lens through which to ponder human societies. Winston explains how bees process information, structure work, and communicate, and examines how corporate boardrooms are using bee societies as a model to improve collaboration. He investigates how bees have altered our understanding of agricultural ecosystems and how urban planners are looking to bees in designing more nature-friendly cities. The relationship between bees and people has not always been benign. Bee populations are diminishing due to human impact, and we cannot afford to ignore what the demise of bees tells us about our own tenuous affiliation with nature. Toxic interactions between pesticides and bee diseases have been particularly harmful, foreshadowing similar effects of pesticides on human health. There is much to learn from bees in how they respond to these challenges. In sustaining their societies, bees teach us ways to sustain our own.
What does it mean to be fully alive? Magic blends with reality in a stunning coming-of-age novel about a girl, a grandfather, wanderlust, and reclaiming your roots. Things are only impossible if you stop to think about them. . . . While her friends are spending their summers having pool parties and sleepovers, twelve-year-old Carolina — Carol — is spending hers in the middle of the New Mexico desert, helping her parents move the grandfather she’s never met into a home for people with dementia. At first, Carol avoids prickly Grandpa Serge. But as the summer wears on and the heat bears down, Carol finds herself drawn to him, fascinated by the crazy stories he tells her about a healing tree, a green-glass lake, and the bees that will bring back the rain and end a hundred years of drought. As the thin line between magic and reality starts to blur, Carol must decide for herself what is possible — and what it means to be true to her roots. Readers who dream that there’s something more out there will be enchanted by this captivating novel of family, renewal, and discovering the wonder of the world.
The Beekeeper’s Son Sometimes it takes a barren landscape to see the beauty of Gott’s creation. Phineas King knows better than to expect anything but shock and pity wherever he shows his face. Horribly scarred from the tragic accident that claimed his mother’s life, he chooses to keep his distance from everyone, focusing his time and energy on the bees his family raises. If no one sees him, no one can judge him. So why does he start finding excuses to seek out Deborah Lantz, the beautiful new arrival in town? Deborah can’t get out of Bee County, Texas, soon enough. Once her mother and younger siblings are settled, she is on the first bus out of this dusty town. She is only waiting on the letter from Aaron, asking her to return to lush Tennessee to be his fraa. But that letter never comes. As she spends time getting to know Phineas—hoping to uncover the man beneath the scars—she begins to realize that she no longer minds that Aaron hasn’t sent for her. As both Deborah and Phineas try to come to terms with lives that haven’t turned out the way they imagined, they discover that perhaps Gott’s plans for them are more extraordinary than they could have dreamed. But they need to let go of their own past sorrows and disappointments to find the joy and beauty that lies just ahead for them both. The Bishop’s Son Two men offer Leila two very different futures. Will she choose with her heart or with her faith? Leila Lantz has been in love with Jesse Glick from the day she first saw him at his father’s store, but she can’t make sense of his intentions. One day he wants to come courting, the next he seems to be putting distance between them. Jesse may be the bishop’s son, but his faith has been wavering of late. If he is so unsure, is it fair to give Leila false hope for a future he doubts he can provide? Then there’s Will, Jesse’s cousin. He has been trying to keep his feelings for Leila a secret, but he also knows Jesse is wrestling with his faith. Would declaring his feelings for Leila be in her best interest or simply serving his own selfish desires? Leila knows she can choose Will and be secure in her own future. But when her heart speaks, it’s Jesse’s name she hears. When will God make His will known to her? Could leaving everything she knows—even her own faith—be a part of God’s plan? The Saddle Maker’s Son Rebekah Lantz feels imprisoned by circumstances she didn’t create. Tobias Byler is haunted by regret. Can two young runaways from half a world away teach them the healing power of true family? Rebekah isn’t like her sister, but the watchful gaze of her family and small, close knit Amish community makes her feel as if she’s been judged and found lacking. The men avoid her and the women whisper behind her back. She simply longs for the same chance to be a wife and mother that her friends have. Tobias Byler only wants to escape feelings for a woman he knows he should never have allowed to get close to him. Moving with his family to isolated Bee County, Texas, seemed the best way to leave his mistakes behind. But even a move across the country can’t erase the past that accompanies his every thought. A surprise encounter with two half-starved runaway children forces both Rebekah and Tobias to turn to each other to help a sister and brother who have traveled thousands of miles in search of lives of unfettered peace and joy. In doing so, Rebekah and Tobias discover the key to forgetting the past is the one that will open the door to love and the future they both seek.
A beautifully illustrated guide to the vibrant and richly diverse world of bees The Lives of Bees provides a one-of-a-kind look at the life and natural history of bees. Blending stunning photographs and illustrations with illuminating profiles of selected species, this incisive guide takes readers inside the world of these marvelous insects, exploring their physiology, behavior, ecology, evolution, and much more. The Lives of Bees is essential reading for nature lovers everywhere. Features a wealth of stunning color images Covers everything from the social lives of bees to their conservation Written by two leading experts in the field Discusses the cultural, ecological, and economic interconnections between humans and bees Highlights strategies to support bee populations in backyards, farms, and natural areas
Tom began building his real estate fortune with the purchase of his first property at age 19. Despite having no credit or money of his own, a deal presented itself and Tom was able to see the incredible potential profits in real estate. This was his wake-up call.He realized deals are born every day in nearly every city, big or small. The circumstances that create opportunities for buyers are not unique, but rather commonplace. Deals arise from divorce, disasters, death, bankruptcy, bad decisions, inheritances, and retirement. These are the roots of all deals and they happen everywhere in the world. Tom was lucky to learn at an early age that real estate investing is a business where everyone is equal, rich or poor. The person who has the deal in his hands-the contract-is the person who will make the money. Today, Tom owns and manages over 150,000 square feet of property rentals, houses, commercial centers, offices, industrial and flex properties. In this book, you will learn Tom's methods and see links to the top videos on his YouTube channel, FlipAnythingUSA, where he elaborates on exactly how to make money as a real estate investor.You will also learn how Tom developed tools to find the best deals in any community and how to out-negotiate the competition. This knowledge comes from years of experience and hundreds of wins and losses. All of Tom's lessons are explained here in a very conversational and easy-to-understand manner. This is your chance to learn from a friend. The book is based on real stories: the opportunities, decisions, success and-yes, even failures-that have made Tom McKay one of the shrewdest and savviest investors in the country.Tom takes you from the beginning, where he started out with nothing, looking for a deal first and the money second. Because as Tom would explain, when you have the deal you hold all the cards. Even if you are broke, as long as you have a contract to buy a property at a great price, the rest is simple. Getting a deal on what someone has and what someone wants is where the easiest money is found.If you adopt Tom's method and attitude, you can follow in his footsteps, making millions on land, commercial and industrial buildings, apartments and houses.Regardless of whether you are a teenager, a senior citizen, or anywhere in between, it's not too late to change your life. You can make thousands-sometimes even tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tom knows age and income are not a factor with his methods. Taking action is what is important. So, now is the time to wake up and smell the real estate! You'll be glad you did.
A million pounds of honey. Produced by a billion bees! This memoir reconstructs the life of a young man from Pennsylvania as he drops into the bald prairie badlands of southern Saskatchewan. He buys a honey ranch and keeps the bees that make the honey. But he also spends winters in Florida swamps, nurse-maid to ten thousand dainty queen bees. From the dusty Canadian prairie to the thick palmetto swamps of the American south, the reader meets with simple folks who shape the protagonist's character - including a Cree rancher with three sons playing NHL hockey, a Hutterite preacher who yearns to roam the globe, a reclusive bee-eating homesteader, and a grey-headed widow who grows grapefruit, plays a nasty game of scrabble, and lives with four vicious dogs. Encompassing a ten-year period, this true story evolves from the earnest inexperience of the young man as he learns an art and builds a business. Carefully researched natural biology runs counterpoint to human social activities. Bee craft serves as the setting for expositions that contrast American and Canadian lifestyles, while exemplifying the harsh reality of a man working with and against the physical environment.
Millions of people have read, discussed, debated, cried, and cheered with Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee girl whose violent and courageous journey puts a stunning face on the worldwide refugee crisis. “Little Bee will blow you away.” —The Washington Post The lives of a sixteen-year-old Nigerian orphan and a well-off British woman collide in this page-turning #1 New York Times bestseller, book club favorite, and “affecting story of human triumph” (The New York Times Book Review) from Chris Cleave, author of Gold and Everyone Brave Is Forgiven. We don’t want to tell you too much about this book. It is a truly special story and we don’t want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this: It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific. The story starts there, but the book doesn’t. And it’s what happens afterward that is most important. Once you have read it, you’ll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don’t tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.
