Bits 'n Pieces

I'm afraid I've gotten into a bad habit of using our dining room and table as a bit of a messy,  gear-organizing space and kind of catch-all. Cameras and lenses, assorted batteries and chargers, even running or hiking gear wind up there, waiting for their next trip out the door for work or play.

A couple of days ago I decided I owed it to my mate to de-clutter the table, so camera gear got packed away in the closet where it belongs and my hiking stuff got stowed in its proper place in the garage.

As I cleaned up I found a tiny insect wing,  and,  when I showed it to Leah,  she suggested I put it on the window sill in our kitchen -- a place where we keep little miracle-objects we collect from here and there.

The delicate wing now has a spot near a Buddha Eyes pendant we brought home from one of our trips to the Himalaya, and a small bird's egg we found in our yard.  There is also a length of string that came from I-can't-remember-where,  and a piece of red blessing cord from one of the Dalai Lama events I have photographed.

That evening, for no particular reason except perhaps to note the winding-down of summer, we turned on the "party lights"  that hang from the wisteria that grows on our front porch.

This winter, when it is chilly, dark and rainy here -- a season we happen to enjoy for its own qualities -- I suspect it will be nice to look at these pictures and remember the sweet summer.

Whole Milk

After spending most of July in and around the very high mountains of Northern India and Nepal, returning to Seattle and sea level made August my Superman Month.  Everything physical that I have done now that I’m home --  like running trails near my house, or even hiking in the Cascades -- has felt so ridiculously easy.  The air here is like rich, fat-filled whole milk, compared to the non-fat, skim milk atmosphere of the Himalayas.

I lost weight on our trip,  but feel now like I’m gaining it back, just by breathing.

The pictures I’m posting today are images I’ve shot on hikes in the Cascades during Superman August.  Above is Sherman Peak on Mt. Baker as seen from the Ptarmigan Ridge Trail. Below are wildflowers along Lost Creek Ridge near Glacier Peak.

I miss the adventure and excitement of India and Nepal, but, at the same time, it does feel good to be home and enjoying a Pacific Northwest summertime (oh yes, the living is easy.)

 

Kathmandu from a Rooftop

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the 13th of about 15 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Kathmandu, Nepal
July 14, 2014

This is summer monsoon season in Nepal, which made our flight last night from India into this Himalayan city:
A: An Air Travel Adventure, and
B: Visually stunning.

The flight from Delhi to Kathmandu normally takes just a bit over an hour, but, last night, as our flight began its descent into Kathmandu, our pilot was informed that a heavy, monsoon-season rainstorm made a landing impossible. Our plane went back to India.

An hour or so later, the Kathmandu weather improved enough so that our plane could make a second attempt. I had a window seat, and my view of the sun, setting into the abating storm clouds,  was incredible.

We landed safely in Kathmandu. Leah and I made our way through a number of points of security officialdom to get our passports stamped and Nepal visas approved, then, happily  met up with our Nepali friends who, we learned, had been waiting at the Kathmandu airport for 5 hours for our arrival.

Our friends took us to their home where we had a wonderful reunion visit, after which everyone retired for the evening.

During the night, I awoke in a sweat, barely making it to the toilet in time to be sick.
(Leah had a bout with Delhi Belly a couple of days earlier, and now it was my turn.)

Today I still feel crummy, and am laying low at our friends' home, limited to "sightseeing" from the rooftop of their home in the "New City" neighborhood of Kathmandu.

I may not be feeling my best, but I'm well enough to be wowed by what I'm seeing of this amazing city.

Honoring Elders

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the 12th of about 15 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Leh, Ladakh (India)
Sunday, September 13, 2014

Two days ago, Leah and I -- and about 150,000 others who are here this week for the Kalachakra teachings -- took part in the celebration held to honor the 79th birthday of His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Because the Dalai Lama has a twinkle in his eye and a boyish, sometimes-mischievous laugh that seem to belong to someone much younger, I hear that plans are already underway for a party of major proportions when he turns 80.

Though I have photographed people of all ages during our time here, this surely seems to be a culture that honors its elders. Everywhere we went in Leh, there were older Ladakhis and Tibetans who were out, living active, involved lives. The  Kalachakra grounds were in a very remote area that required a lot of walking in the intense, high-desert heat. Nevertheless, it appeared to be a given that grandma or grandpa would join the younger family members on the pilgrimage to the teaching.

We depart Ladakh early tomorrow morning, and I will be sad to leave. I do, however, look forward to getting to a less remote place where telephone service is easier.  My mother is in her 80's,  and, except for the days that Leah and I have been on this trip,  I typically talk to Mom every day. I want to call her and tell her I have been thinking of her.

Hemis Festival

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the 11th of about 13 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Hemis Monastery, Ladakh
July 13, 2014

Today Leah and I hired a driver with a sturdy vehicle and nerves of steel to take us out the winding, bumpy, precipitous road that climbs high above the Indus River out to three secluded monasteries:  Shey, Thikse, and Hemis. Our ultimate destination was the annual Hemis Festival, an amazing and colorful spectacle of Tibetan Buddhist ceremonial dance.

Though we came to Ladakh primarily to attend the Kalachakra teaching by the Dalai Lama, we found that the teaching schedule was such that we could squeeze in the trip to Hemis, and we jumped at the opportunity.

Seeing

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal.  This is the 10th of about 12 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Leh, Ladakh (India)
July 12, 2014

I suspect it doesn't look like it from the number of photos I'm posting here, but I decided to give my cameras a bit of a rest yesterday.

I sat quietly for much of the day's Kalachakra event, listening to the Dalai Lama's message of kindness, compassion, and peace. There were (obviously) moments when I moved around (as is my habit) and photographed what I saw. But,  by and large, I sat.

After a week of teachings and ceremony, yesterday was the point where the estimated 150,000 students made a vow to go out into the world to practice what they've learned. Students tied red cloth over their eyes, like a blindfold, then lifted the cloth to signify -- hopefully -- a clearer way of seeing.

Good Fortune

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the ninth of about 12 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Leh, Ladakh
July 10, 2014

So, within just the past several days, I've gone from being a little depressed over not being able to get a photo pass to cover Kalachakra, to feeling like I'm living a charmed life.

Today Leah and I arrived at the Kalachakra grounds, bright and early, but there were already probably 150,000 people there. Monks were on stage, debating Buddhist philosophy, and the day's actual Kalachakra teaching by the Dalai Lama had not yet begun.

I was making my way thru the huge crowd (with the photo pass I got at the 11th hour!) heading toward the media tent, when one of the press "handlers" said to me: "If you want to go backstage, you better head that way now!" I assumed the handler meant that I could photograph monks making the sand mandala, which is a cool part of the Kalachakra tradition, and I was eager to make pictures of that.

Next thing I knew, I was in a small room, filled with praying monks, and -- I couldn't believe who was in front of my eyes --  His Holiness, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, also chanting prayers!

I was dumbstruck, because security is tight around His Holiness.  Even with my media pass, this was "access" that was beyond anything I could have hoped for. I shot fast-fast-fast because I had no idea how long I'd be permitted to stay. After a few minutes,  a security guard politely tapped me on the shoulder to let me know it was time for me to go.

As I left the room, I folded my hands in front of my face, bowing toward the Dalai Lama.

I looked at my watch and realized it was about 9 PM back in Seattle. I quickly made my way to the media tent, popped my camera memory card into my iPad, and used the media tent WiFi to email several of my just-shot Dalai Lama photos to my Tibetan friends in Seattle. I thought it was pretty cool that the Tibetan Association of Washington would have "exclusive" images for their web site or Facebook page.

I left the media tent (I was still on a big-time high from the good luck I'd had getting access to the Dalai Lama) and walked around in that huge crowd, looking for pictures to complete my coverage...and guess who I ran into? Why my dear wife, of course. The crowd may have been 150,000-strong,  and running into Leah was like finding a (very welcome) needle in a haystack...but remember, I'm a fellow who appears to be leading a charmed life.

The Dalai Lama's Birthday

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the eighth of about 10 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Leh, Ladakh
July 5, 2014

An estimated 150,000 human beings are making the trek each day on dusty and bumpy dirt roads out to the grounds where the  Dalai Lama's "Kalachakra" teaching is being held, and most of the pilgrims, I would say, are Tibetans and Ladakhis.

To say that the Dalai Lama is revered by Tibetans would be an understatement -- he is MUCH loved. Everywhere one goes in Ladakh, there are pictures of the Dalai Lama...which is kind of interesting because, not far from here, in China, pictures of this man of peace have been outlawed.

It happened that today was the 79th birthday of the man Tibetans refer to as His Holiness. Thus, for an hour at least, the teaching was put on hold. It was time for a birthday party.

Actor Richard Gere made the trip here to this relatively remote Himalayan high desert plateau and told the crowd that he has been a student of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism for over 30 years. A number of other dignitaries made speeches praising the Dalai Lama for his lifelong advocacy of human kindness and compassion. And a troupe of Tibetan dancers performed.

It was without a doubt the biggest birthday party Leah and I have ever attended.