Need a Ladder?

Sometimes you need a ladder to count fruits. Too hard to carry one to the field, so the most convenient alternative is usually to make one in situ. José Tuanama (see The Water Was Up To Here) makes a sturdy ladder in a flooded forest (bosque ribereño) in the Peruvian Amazon. [NOTE: I believe this is the same piece of forest where we did the yield studies of Spodias mombin].

Accommodations II

When I first started the research on Shorea atrinervosa at the Raya-Pasi Nature Reserve in West Kalimantan (see Illipe Nut III), I would frequently spend the night in a little, run-down, almost abandoned, government hotel right on the border of the nature reserve. No electricity or hot water or towels. Three local Dayak boys as caretakers - and cooks if you brought the food. I can remember numerous nights being the only guest in this somewhat creepy hotel. And then getting up in the morning, having a cup of coffee and a bowl of Indomie with a fried egg, and then hiking up the moutain to my study site (red square). [NOTE: There was a waterfall and a place to swim right down from the hotel. Useful].

A Bow of Gratitude

One of the projects in my letterpress printing class (see Center for Book Arts) was a simple, 3.5 x 5 inch "thank-you" card. Close-up of the printing work is shown above (don't inspect too carefully); I used a nice, dark green rubber-based ink.  And now that I have printed a bow of gratitude, I send it out to all of my teachers, collaborators, and friends, to my wife and kids, and to everyone that has visited this blog over the past four and a half years. Thank you everyone. Gassho. 

Center for Book Arts

Spent the weekend taking an Introduction to Letterpress Printing class at the Center for Book Arts in Manhattan. Founded in 1974, CBA is the first organization of its kind dedicated to "contemporary interpretations of the book as an art object, while preserving traditional practices of the art of the book". Learned the (very) basics of typesetting, ink mixing, and letterpress printing and printed out a few things on the Vandercook Proof Press shown above. Was great fun and a wonderful learning experience (thx, Sarah).

Accommodations

About 15 years ago I spent the night in this rather large house in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea (see Palms of Kikori, PNG and Ten Years Ago in Papua New Guinea). And then walked up into the forest and looked for palms the next day. I remember it was real steep. Lot of slipping and falling down on my part. [NOTE: This is my signature move in the field]. 

Fetching Water in Kathmandu

I spent some time in Kathmandu in the late 1990's doing project evaluations for the Biodiversity Conservation Network, a US-AID funded consortium of the World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and the World Resources Institute (see Scenes From Kathmandu). In the few spare moments that I had, I would walk around the city and take pictures. This one is from a neighborhood near the Boudhanath Stupa. Lady in red (center background) draws water in what, judging from the statues and stupas, looks like a very auspicious spot. Om Mani Padme Hum.

Sầm Sơn Still Life

Shot in the fish market at Sầm Sơn in north central Vietnam (see Sam Son). The market is right on the beach, and fishermen pull up their boats side by side and sell whatever they caught. Agressively. Although the image doesn't really capture it, the ambience here is one of pure commercial frenzy. [NOTE: Freezing in NY this morning and I am ready to go back to Thanh Hoa province. Time for another project]. 

The Known Universe (From the Archive)

Incredible video from the American Museum of Natural History depicting the expanse of the known universe. Every moon, planet, star, galaxy, and quasar seen in the clip is based on the Digital Universe Atlas, the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe maintained and updated by astrophysicists at AMNH.

A useful bit of context and perspective for Tuesday. Goes quite nicely with the previous post, actually. Best viewed full screen with headphones. [NOTES: Film was created for an exibition at the Rubin Museum of Art. Music by Hans Zimmer].

Parinirvana Day 2012

Always try to post an image of a beautiful reclining Buddha statue on Parinirvana Day (see Parinirvana and Parinirvana Day). I've been holding on to this one for almost a year. The replicate reclining Buddhas were off to the side at Keong Preah Bath in Phnom Penh, where I took these pictures. 

From Thich Nhat Hanh:

It was dusk by the time the Buddha and the bhikkus reached the forest of sal trees. The Buddha asked Ananda to prepare a place between to sal trees for him to lie down. The Buddha lay on his side, his head facing north. All the bhikkus sat around him. They knew that the Buddha would pass into nirvana that same night. 

- Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha (1991)

[NOTE: Had a lovely service at EHZC this morning to mark the passing of Shakyamuni Buddha and his entering in to Nirvana. Teacher Susan Jion Postal reminded us "that this is not only about Shakyamuni Buddha, you know". Good point. Be diligent].

To Do List

The blackboard during one of the first community meetings in the Tapajós project (see Tapajós-Arapiuns). Shows a list of the timber species that the villagers want to include in the forest inventory. Can't remember what the circles and astericks mean, or why some species, e.g. ipê and morototó, have both. I also can't remember the signficance of the line drawing to the lower right. Keep the transects on bearing so they don't cross the previous survey line? Pace back from a tree to measure its height? And the dotted semi-circle? [NOTE: Everything seemed so clear at the time].