Treed

Today, my co-worker's friend, attorney, and spare-time tree-trimmer, old-school style, came by to trim the giant maple in the back yard. It's around a century old, and unfortunately, is nearing the end of its life - tho she does have a few good years left in her yet (the TREE....). Two old branch-holes near the top of the trunk have filled with soil (better that than rot) tho sound a bit hollow, so it's only a matter of time before the core rots out with age. But, we'll fill the missing branch-holes with expansion foam to keep them from filling with water and rotting more quickly. At any rate, I think I've found the perfect platform for a good backyard tree-stand.

....and the aftermath......

New Hammock

I picked up one of these cat hammock contraptions recently, because Kathman spends so much time on this windowsill. Here you can see his interesting....weight gain.

Kathman taking a drink

This is not really a spectacular shot - many cats like to drink from running water. What is surprising about this shot is that, moments before, I just learned - completely by accident - that my camera had a built-in flash. My excuse for not knowing was that my owner's manual for this relatively new camera was lost in one of my international relocations. So, thanks to a new download and 147 page print job, I learned the happy secret of the hidden flash.

Friday Surprise

On Friday morning, when I stepped outside to go to work, I heard a distinctive whhhooooooossshh....and naturally looked up. Imagine my surprise to see a hot air ballon, drifting over my neighborhood! Turns out it was part of an annual balloon festival in town for the weekend. Chalk this one up to one more small town surprise.

Saturdy Wandering

Today I wandered over to McComb, Ohio, to check out the Second Annual Cookie Festival. I got much more than I bargained for. First, the cookie festival, which I assumed would have a few cookie booths and not much more, was a full-blown affair. There were carnival rides, a few cookie offerings, handmade doodles for sale, and best of all - an antique car show. This is a long glance at a 58 (I think) Chevy Impala. I've recently discovered some photo editing software on my computer that's good for 90 days I think, but opted to play around with this image a bit. I like how it turned out. For a few more pics from the day's events, check out the last few images on my flickr photo stream here.

A Taste of Culture

This Saturday, I drove up to the big town (Toledo) with a friend from work, Gary, to attend the 17th annual Tala festival - a Hindu festival at the Hindu Temple of Toledo. This was a modest affair, accompanied by an outdoor tent replete with food, clothing, and interesting item vendors. Even though we're having a cool front of mid-80 degree temps under full sun, which without a tent wouldn't be too uncomfortable, the temperature under the tent was very pleasant - even when standing next to the food vendors who were cooking up a storm.

Inside the temple, there were temple tours and a cultural program that was scheduled for the entire day, held in the auditorium next to the shrine. The program started with younger performers and graduated to older kids and eventually, I assume, adults, but we didn’t stay for the duration. There was a great Rama dance, a Shiva courting the maids dance, and a few junior Bollywood scenes right from dvd.

This photo is of a Guatama Buddha statue. Yes, Buddha.

“But I thought this was a Hindu festival…!?”

Well, you’re right. This used to confuse me when visiting Hindu temples as well. A Nepali friend explained it for me though. When Siddhārtha Gautama was an insulated prince in Kathmandu, he was a Hindu of the Brahmin caste, as was his family. Suspecting that there was a lot more going on in the world than he was able to see and experience isolated within the palace walls and princely life, Gautama struck out to experience the real world as a monk. In doing so he came face to face with the harsh realities of caste life, poverty, and injustice, which set him upon a course of wandering and meditation to make sense of it all, prior to reaching enlightenment in India after a series of challenges. At that point he opted to return to the world at large and teach meditation skills so that others could attain enlightenment. There are some later Hindu teachings that indicate Buddha was an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu in an attempt to trick demons, so it's not as simple as I've laid out here, but you get the gist.

At any rate, my Nepali friend Sushil explained that Hinduism and Buddhism are intricately intertwined as a result. I don’t think that’s as obvious anywhere in the world as it is in Nepal, but that’s another story.

It was great to see the festival, the wares, sample the food, visit the temple, and enjoy several performances. For a few more photos of the day's activities, click here.

Get Your Fresh, Hot, Dosas!!

One of the food vendors was working hard to make enough dosas to meet demand! Dosas are a potato dough that's spread thin on a hot grill. Just before it's folded up (like the one on the left), the cook added some masala potatoes in dahl (lentil broth). It's the eastern precursor to the burrito!

Henna tattooing

The requisite henna tattoo booth at the Toledo Hindu Festival... Henna's a natural herb that, when mixed with lemon and honey and cured, makes a long-lasting stain, or temporary tattoo. Typically these are very elaborate and can cover hands, feet, and faces. This booth was offering henna hand tattoos, and the artist was doing a beautiful job.

Shrine by Numbers

I'm sure this is not the case.......surely it's not.....but this beatiful shrine had adhesive number decals that were aligned - the 60's were aligned, the 61s were aligned, and the only thing I could relate this to was the Ikea approach to furniture assembly. "Slide panel 61 into slot 61 after adding wood glue to the inside of the slot..."

The Eagle has Landed!!

On the way back from the Hindu Temple festival in Toledo, we spotted the biggest collection of inflatable characters I've ever seen - at a car dealership, natch. Risking being accosted by a sales person, I pulled in to snap some whimsical photos. We were just in time for the end-of-day deflation....which I was able to capture for one of the characters. To see them all, click here.