March 15^th: an auspicious day for killing dictators, aligning planets, and publishing books.

The Forest Unseen hits the streets today (and wiggles its words through wires in e-books).

A couple of quotes from some fellow writers seem well-suited to the moment:

Franz Wright’s poem, Publication Date, starts, “One of the few pleasures of writing/is the thought of one’s book in the hands of a kind-hearted/intelligent person somewhere. I can’t remember what the/others are right now.” Indeed.

Regina Spektor sings, “No, this is how it works/You peer inside yourself/You take the things you like/And try to love the things you took/And then you take that love you made/And stick it into some/Someone else’s heart/Pumping someone else’s blood.” (from On The Radio). Love? Blood? Isn’t this a book about science? Indeed. Bloody, loving science.

I’m honored that my words are in bookstores, in the pixels of the ether-world, in people’s hands, and perhaps even energizing some ventricles. If you’re interested in learning more, the book’s website has photos, a video, reviews (some new ones out this week and more on the way), and information about upcoming lectures and signings.

Next week, I’ll head out for several weeks of lectures, so this blog will be Rambling further afield than Shakerag Hollow, starting with the Pacific North-West next week. I hope to learn some interesting natural history and meet some fellow rambling Homo sapiens along the way.

Another great sign for the Ides of March: this morning, the first Tree Swallow showed up at Lake Cheston.