Category: Iowa

  • Blast from the Past Reblog of “Hoofing It Around the Hospital”

    Blast from the Past Reblog of “Hoofing It Around the Hospital”

    I thought it would be interesting to reblog this post “Hoofing It Around the Hospital,” originally posted on July 10, 2019. It’s a landmark of my path to retirement, which was a 3-year phased pathway. I was not on duty all the time in the hospital as a consultation-liaison psychiatrist, so it was sometimes a…

  • Remarks about “James Alan McPherson:On Becoming An American Writer: Essays & Nonfiction”

    Remarks about “James Alan McPherson:On Becoming An American Writer: Essays & Nonfiction”

    I couldn’t think of a less complicated title for this post about the book “James Alan McPherson: On Becoming An American Writer: Essays & Nonfiction.” It’s a collection of James Alan McPherson’s essays, but this humble blog post is not intended to be a review, nothing as grandiose as that. Nobody should think I have…

  • New Book on James Alan McPherson

    New Book on James Alan McPherson

    We just got the new book about James Alan McPherson, “On Becoming An American Writer: Essays & Nonfiction.” Well, new to us anyway. It was published in 2023. I started reading the book yesterday. Sena and I talked about it and she’ll read it herself. I started in the middle, by reading “Crabcakes.” I usually…

  • Hawk Morning Exercises

    Hawk Morning Exercises

    We saw the Red-tail hawk messing with our rake out in the backyard garden. It looked like it was either exercising or trying to fly off with it—to do what was a mystery. It also attacked our property corner marker, which is just a wooden stick. Chuck Norris could kill two sticks with one hawk.…

  • Is it Horaltic or Heraldic Hawk?

    Is it Horaltic or Heraldic Hawk?

    We had a short rain yesterday morning and the Red-tail hawks didn’t like it a bit. Sena’s has been saying there are three hawks out there—and that turns out to be true! Maybe they’re all nest mates. They were flapping around trying to dodge the rain drops. After the rain stopped is when the entertainment…

  • Two Hawks on the Fence Flinch at Mobbing Little Birds

    Two Hawks on the Fence Flinch at Mobbing Little Birds

    We got sort of a comedy show by what we suspect are a couple of young Red-tail hawks on our neighbor’s fence. They looked a little clumsy, like they’re still getting used to their wings. We’re not sure why they were pecking at the ground. And for a couple of seconds they got dive-bombed by…

  • James Alan McPherson Park Update

    James Alan McPherson Park Update

    This being National Park and Recreation Month, I was looking for whether or not a memorial plaque has been dedicated and placed yet at James Alan McPherson Park in Iowa City. The issue of the plaque has been up in the air for years. I remember it being discussed at the dedication of the park…

  • The Hawk is a Head Bobber

    The Hawk is a Head Bobber

    The interesting thing about the Red-tail hawk in the video we got was that it bobbed and tilted its head a lot. It just looked really odd. So, I looked on the web to find out why it does that. It turns out that a hawk’s eyes are fixed in its skull, so in order…

  • Kickball Event Cancelled Due to Extreme Heat!

    Kickball Event Cancelled Due to Extreme Heat!

    Great news! The University of Iowa Psychiatry Dept. annual kickball event has been cancelled because of the extreme heat warning! Now, about that annual cribbage challenge…

  • Extreme Heat Warning!

    Extreme Heat Warning!

    The National Weather Service has issued an Extreme Heat Warning through Wednesday. Temperatures will be in the 90s with heat indices of 105-110 degrees. Do not play kickball. Play matball instead in an air-conditioned gym. Thank you for your time.