Friday, August 29, 2014 at 12:17PM 
Lovely Chinese statue of Avalokiteshvara at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Western Xia Dynasty (1038 - 1227), wood with traces of pigment and gilding.
Avalokiteshvara, Cincinnati Art Museum in Art, Dharma | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 9:29AM 
More from the insect house at the Cincinnati Zoo. A group of sun beetles (Pachnoda marginata) from west Africa climbing all over themselves. The signage describes them as "a fleet of taxicabs jockeying for position". Kind of does look like that. Also lists their prey "as ripe fruit and tree sap". Says they make great pets.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 9:37AM 
The Cincinnati Zoo (and Botanical Garden) has a wonderful insect house with a display that allows you to determine your weight in insects. Couldn't pass this up. Result is shown above. [NOTE: Let the record show that the scale value includes the weight of my camera].
Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 9:21AM
The Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio has ninety-nine acres of forest that have been set aside for rock climbing and rappeling. I don't actually do either of these, but I certainly appreciate massive sandstone outcroppings. [NOTE: Go here for a little about the geology and cultural history of the Hocking Hills].
Monday, August 25, 2014 at 10:05AM Just back from a week in Ohio, taking daughter Amy (see World's Best Carrot Cake) to college, relaxing in a cabin in the Hocking Hills, and spending some time with oldest son, Case (see VietClimb). Also logged a lot of driving time. Wasn't as tedious as it could have been thanks to the lovely sounds of Crooked Still (thx, Case), an "alternative" bluegrass band with banjo, cello, stand-up bass, fiddle, and incredible vocals by Aoife O'Donovan. Their album Some Strange Country, the title song from which is featured in the video above, is particularly tasty - and good for driving long distances.
Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 8:43AM 
Woodcut (above) and verse (below) from the beautiful Copper Canyon Press reprint of Sung Po-jen's Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom. Published in 1238, this beloved text is the world's first book of art and poetry. Translation by the incomparable Red Pine (Bill Porter).
this applies to men or crows
view an icy branch with care
the moon is bright and rest is welcome
but still it circles a tree three times.
Good advice.
Plum Blossoms, Red Pine, Sung Po-jen in Art, Dharma | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 11:03AM 
Taking a break from counting maguey plants in Acateyahualco (see Measuring Maguey, Waiting for Team 2, Mescal Re-Visited, Meeting in Acateyahualco, and several other posts about this cool project). Couple of things to notice in the image. First, the large flower spike, or calehual, on the Agave cupreata plant growing behind the man (kneeling) on the left. Second, the enormous machete and wooden scabbard carried by the man on right. Third, the really great sombrero that each of them are wearing.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014 at 2:21PM 
Another exquisite statue of Buddha at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon (see Peaceful Countenance). The red lips, saffron scarf and elaborate golden urna were what originally prompted taking the picture. [NOTE: Posting the image, I discover that the simple eyes are still captivating. Hard to pull away].
Buddha statue, Shwedagon Pagoda in Art, Dharma | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article Monday, August 11, 2014 at 11:33AM 
Ranger from Htamanthi Forward Station piloting us to Nam Sabi village (see More Pressing Plants). Something about the focus and skill, the seriousness, of the people who drive the boats in northern Myanmar. Very photogenic. Like the ferryman here.
Friday, August 8, 2014 at 10:54AM 
So, we we had just started the afternoon session of our training workshop at the Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary forward station (see Foresters Measure Tree Height) and were going over the methodology for correcting the slope of the transect. And then I looked across the Chindwin River and noticed that the wind was starting to pick up and that a sandstorm was developing. And then the wind on our side of the river really started blowing, as well.
And sand and dust were blowing everywhere. And everybody just kept trying to measure the slope and ignore the weather event (i.e. the start of the monsoon) that we were engulfed in.
But then the wind really started blowing, and the sand got so thick you couldn't see. And then sheets of corrugated aluminum started blowing off the roofs and smashing into things. And people started running to take shelter and screaming. At this point, we all thought it best to put the training workshop on hold until things calmed down a bit.
