Bellagio Backstreet

My writing fellowship ends on Monday, and it will be hard to leave this enchanting place. The villa, the people, the food, the quiet, the food – and, I am overjoyed to say, I have finished writing all thirteen chapters of Managing the Wild. Thank you, Rockefeller Foundation.

So now, I can just close the computer, and Elysa and I can start our holiday in Italy. Among othe venues, four days in Venice. 

Study at Villa No. 3

Still here, but just not posting. I am spending a lot of time in the room shown above, the study attached to room V (Villa) No. 3, writing Managing the Wild: Stories of People and Plants and Tropical Forests. The work is going well, and I am on Chapter 7. I still have two more weeks, but I have already started to get sad about leaving this beautiful – and extremely quiet – environment.  What a place.

Lake Como

Well, I made it to Bellagio, and this is the view of one of the arms of Lake Como visible from the balcony of my study at the Villa Serbelloni. Not my room, my study. I can't think of a more beautiful place to write a book.

Dendrology/Silviculture Section

Image above shows part of the Dendrology (e.g. Tree Flora of Malaya, The Bamboos of Sabah, Standard Nomenclature of Forest Plants in Burma) and Silviculture (e.g. Forest Stand Dynamics, Silvicultural Systems, Principles of Silviculture) section of the bookcase in my office. Notice the Wilhelm/Baynes (1950) translation of the I Ching sitting on top of the Tree Flora of Malaya. Always helps to bring as much information and insight as possible to every situation.

After taking the picture, I decided to throw the I Ching and post the hexagram that resulted. Didn't really have a question, but the I Ching always gives you something useful (and unexpected) to reflect on. My  six coin tosses produced hexagram 4, or Mêng (蒙)/Youthful Folly. The upper trigram is Kên/Keeping Still, Mountain; the bottom trigram is K'an/The Abysmal, Water.

From the commentaries: "The two trigrams show the way of overcoming the follies of youth. Water is something that of necessity flows on. When the spring gushes forth, it does not know at first where it will go. But its steady flow fills up the deep place blocking in progress, and success is atained". Not surprised that  youthful folly is playing a key role at this stage in my life. [NOTE: The really observant will notice that Red Pine's lovely translation of Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom by Sung Po-jin also, for some reason, has a place in the Dendrology/Silviculture section (far left. second shelf)].  

Workbench

Everyone should have one of these in their basement. A (more or less) fully-stocked workbench where you fix things that need mending (see Pre-Columbian Statue), make new stuff, e.g. a standing desk for Elysa's office or a couple of knife handles (see Knife Handles), or just have a seat, sip some tea, and look at all of your cool tools while your clothes are spinning in the dryer. [NOTE: I mean, really, look at that beautiful yellow DeWalt circular saw (lower left)].

More Mỹ Sơn

Another image from the ruins of Mỹ Sơn in Central Vietnam (see Mỹ Sơn). The brickwork and statuary is so beautiful, and it had lasted 500 - 600 years and survived several dynasty changes – and then some fighter planes dropped bombs on it. Our planes. Wonder if the pilots aimed for the temples? Or even knew what was down there? Sigh.

What I Carry

Shown above is the stuff that I carry. Not to the field, but to the office everyday as part of my "going to work" kit. Start bottom left and the move counterclockwise: 1) Timbuk2 Custom Laptop Messenger Bag. Have only had it for 7 months, but it is truly waterproof and holds everything I need. Those bike messengers know how to make bags. 2) BUILT Bento sandwich box. Currently holds a peanut butter (crunchy) and sliced banana sandwich on whole wheat with some mutsu apple slices. Yum. 3) Tom Bihn organizer pouch for flashdrives, and chargers, and cables, and dongles; have tied a prayer flag from Nepal to the zipper (because it never hurts). 4) Apple earpods and carrying case (thx, Josh). 5) Smateria sleeve containing my iPad Air. The sleeve was made in Cambodia from recycled nylon fishing nets (thx, Thibault). 5) ten-trip ticket on MetroNorth and ID's from NYBG and Columbia University. 6) manila folder containing my dharma talk on Case 87 from the Blue Cliff Record for this Sunday at EHZC. Gulp. 7) An assortment of gel pens (Pilot G-2 05 and 0.38 Signo uni-ball), a Sharpie yellow highlighter, and a wooden Faber-Castell mechanical pencil that I have had for 20 years. 8) Field Notes and Moleskine notepads. Can't decide, I carry both. 9) Sunflower yellow, Davek Traveler umbrella. Without a doubt, the best collapsible umbrella you can buy. Only problem is if you ever set it down, leave it in a taxi, or loan it to someone–it will disappear. And, 10) my faithful  iPhone 4, which is not in the picture because I used it to take the picture. Probably use it more for Spotify than to make calls or send text messages, but it has been all over the world with me. Sturdy and reliable.

Long post. Sorry. I carry a lot of stuff.

Cabin In The Catskills

The little cabin in the Catskills (see Hermitage and Building the Hermitage). The door is always inviting, but especially in winter when it's snowing and the woodstove is fired up and glowing. And then you step in, close the door, start boiling some water for tea, and dig out Red Pine's The Zen Works of Stonehouse: Poems and Tales of a 14th-Century Chinese Hermit. And fluff up the sleeping bag.

Above the Canopy

Looking out over the canopy of the Selva Maya (see Selva Maya) in Campeche from the top of one of the pyramids at Becan. The forest seems to extend as far as you can see in all directions. Not because of forest policies from the central government, or multi-lateral funding initiatives (REDD+), or international conservation mandates–but because local communities have decided among themselves to keep their landscapes forested. [NOTE: Reflections from an air-conditioned office in New York City. Very much missing Campeche].

Journal

I keep a journal every day that I am in the field. Have done so since the first trip to Myanmar in 2005 (see Hukaung Valley Rattan Survey). Was actually Elysa's idea (thx, Elysa) to keep a record on this trip and she gave me my first journal. I am currently on journal number five. Given time and motivation, the idea is to turn all of these observations into a book at some point. We'll see. [NOTE: As shown above, my journal of choice is the classic 5 X 8.25 inch Moleskine Ruled Notebook. The vintage Cleveland Indians cap is also a classic. Oh, and the Pilot G-2, extra fine point, retractable gel pen is a real jewel].