The Russian River has been flooded for several days now, and it just keeps raining on our friends in the North. The Napa beaver pond is flooded under several feet of water and their lodge isn’t visible anymore if it’s standing at all. One of Worth A Dam’s most gracious and courageous members evacuated from the house her grandparents built on the river whose lower story is now underwater. The level was supposed to crest at their doorstep last night. My own sister in Forestville is sequestered on an island, cut off from the road and all civilization until dryer days. Last night I thought of the old saying
Nothing is a soft as water,
But who can withstand the raging flood?
Fingers crossed the waters recede today and everyone survives to pick through the mud and start over again. Of course beavers will be fine in their watery world, but we as usual will have a much harder time.
They say there is no great loss without some small gain, and it’s not small at all that Ben Goldfarb’s book “Eager” won the Pen award for outstanding science writing last night.
Since 1963, the PEN America Literary Awards have honored many of the most outstanding voices in literature across diverse genres, including fiction, poetry, science writing, essays, sports writing, biography, children’s literature, and drama. With the help of our partners, PEN America confers over 20 distinct awards, fellowships, grants and prizes each year, awarding nearly $370,000 to writers and translators.
Aside from being good news to beavers, it is great news for Ben, who will take home a tidy prize of sum as a result.
A $10,000 science writing prize was given to Ben Goldfarb’s “Eager.”
Congratulations Ben! We beaver lovers knew from the very start that you’d make the right kind of waves. Here’s hoping that this award makes MORE people read your book and MORE people understand beavers. Here he is accepting the award in New, York New York.
