New Year's Eve

Let myself go to bed,
New Year's Day is only a matter
for tomorrow.

Both the painting and the haiku are from Yosa Busan, a Japanese poet and painter from the Edo period. Cogent expression of my thoughts at the moment. The crows, the snow, the moment.  Bows of gratitude for another 365 days. Happy New Year.

Rattan Counters

Base camp of one of the field crews counting rattans (see Where Are Those Transects?) in the Song Thanh Nature Reserve in Central Vietnam. The five-man teams would go out into the forest for ten days at a time and run inventory transects. In total, the crews at Song Thanh identified, measured, and recorded 29, 319 rattan canes from at least 14 different species. [NOTE: I say "at least", because it seems that several new species of rattan were encountered during the survey].

Field Trip

Took a stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake during my last morning in Hanoi and met this lively group of school kids waiting to cross the bridge to Ngoc Son temple (see Lake Hoan Kiem). I especially enjoy the contribution of the little boy at the end of the clip.

Blizzard

Snowed all last night with gusts of wind up to 50 mph. Rattled the windows.  By the time I made it outside to start digging out the car, there were about 18 - 20 inches of snow on the ground.  Sun came out, but the temperatures never made it over 25° F and nothing melted. Snowplows have blocked all the driveways and made white mountains on the street corners.  A real New England blizzard. 

Waiting for the Snow

Four to six inches of snow predicted for today. Great incentive to make some bread. [NOTE: Dough shown is at the sponge stage. Slight bubbles of yeast in warm water with flour and honey to feed on].

'When I cook, another body comes alive. Not the body of walking or typing, not the body of sitting or talking, but the body of cooking. Hands awaken, boundless with their own knowledge, picking up, handling, putting down. A whole body, nothing but food, offering."

Ed Espe Brown
The Tassajara Bread Book (1970)

Christmas 2010

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11
English Standard Version

[NOTE: Image is from one of the many nativity scenes that we have spread around the house (thx, Amy)].

Christmas Eve

We try to buy a Christmas ornament in each of the different places we live. This one is a clay, meticulously-painted, Andean Santa from Peru. It's about 25 years old and still no cracks or chips (thx, Elysa). [NOTE: Our tree this year is a beautiful Fraser fir (Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poir)].

Quan Âm

Beautiful statue of Avalokiteshvara, or Quan Âm, as the Bodhisattva of Compassion is known in Vietnam, on the grounds of Chuc Thanh pagoda (see Chuc Thanh Pagoda and Chuc Thanh Pagoda III). May all beings be healthy, happy, and peaceful during this holiday season. 

Mr. Manh Serves Tea

During the 600 km drive from Hanoi to the Song Thanh Nature Reserve (see Song Thanh N.R. and Rattan Workshop), we would stop every couple of hours to take a break. Our driver, Mr. Manh, always took charge of cleaning the cups and serving the tea. [NOTE: I have done this trip three times now]. 

Details of a Door

One of the side temples at Pha That Luang in Vientiane has a large statue of Buddha in front of an enormous door which is one of the most exquisite examples of Buddhist iconography that I've ever seen.  

As is shown below, the door is covered in gold bas relief sculptures representing different periods in the life of the Buddha. The amount of detail is amazing, and I spent a long time gazing at this incredible piece of art. The folds on the robes of the five ascetics, the leaves on the Bodhi tree, the deer in the background. [NOTE: The image shows the Buddha's first teaching in the deerpark at Sarnath].