Is there any message that can’t be improved by the addition of the humble smiley?
Yes. Yes, I think there may be. Continue reading “Elemental”
London off the beaten path
The funny thing about tourism is that designating certain areas as worthy of the foreigner’s inquisitive gaze immediately calls their authenticity into question, so that a tourist in search of — for example — the Real London must steer clear of the guide books and rely instead upon the idiosyncratic recommendations of Real Londoners. Continue reading “London off the beaten path”
Carriage of Falcons
- As general rule falcons should be carried in belly compartments, properly caged and subject to appropriate excess baggage charges system.
- Under certain circumstances carriage of Falcons may be permitted in the Cabin provided the following arrangements are made:
- Falcons shall be carried in specially designed boxes.
- The quantity of Falcons shall be limited to a maximum of three per box.
- Seat unit(s), to be removed to accommodate these boxes should be the rear – most economy class seats.
- As for VIP/CIP passenger(s), the rear – most Oasis Class J/C seat unit(s) to be removed to accommodate these boxes provided the owner/attendant seated next to it.
- Falcons carried according to this procedure should always be accompanied by trained attendant.
- A veterinary health certificate of fitness to travel is to be issued.
- No Objection letter from the Kuwait Public Authority of Agriculture and Fishery Resources for all animals including pets for export or import to the State of Kuwait.
- Failure to comply with any of the above will result in the Falcon not to be accepted on the Flight.
- Passengers carrying Falcons should contact the nearest any Kuwait Airways Sales office.
Unknitting
I have company on my porch these days. Knitting is happening,
Continue reading “Unknitting”
Wowed
We hadn’t planned our Adirondacks camping trip to coincide with the peak of fall color — in fact, my hiking buddy Lucy and I hadn’t really thought about it at all, because we see the fall foliage display every year, and we knew that if we didn’t catch it at its peak there, we’d certainly see it here. We just wanted to show Rachel one of our favorite places. (It also didn’t hurt that another blogger friend happened to live less than two hours away.) Hell, we were even foolish enough to think the campgrounds would be virtually deserted, as they had been the last time we’d visited the Adirondacks in October. No such luck.
Instead, we found ourselves hopping from campsite to campsite as spots became open in what had otherwise been a fully booked campground in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. (Thank you, rainy weather!) The cold rain might have made hiking and camping less than optimal, but it did nothing to diminish the autumn colors. And our British visitor seemed suitably wowed — that’s her arm in the photo above, gesturing in inarticulate appreciation at the drops of water dangling from the ends of shed white pine needles ornamenting a balsam fir bough. Though I did bring my own camera along, I had a hard time seeing things afresh. There’s just nothing like seeing something for the first time, as Rachel’s Adirondacks photo set attests. Go look, and prepare to be wowed yourself.
How dogs see the wilderness
(Just back from a week in the Adirondacks. More soon.)
Peak experience
I’m taking a break and highlighting some classic posts from my first full year of blogging, 2004. A trip to the Adirondacks supplied the material for my 400th post at Via Negativa, a milestone I reached after only eight months of blogging. (Please click through to read the whole thing.)
We find a shelf of rock facing east where we can sit and watch the clouds swirl past, ogling the iconic, landslide-scarred face of Mt. Colden whenever they clear. The lunch is as luxurious as I can manage; my only regret is the absence of a white linen tablecloth. After tea – Earl Grey steeped with spruce – I sit with my back against the stone. My companion lies supine for a while, and finally says, I can feel the whole mountain underneath me.
Lime kilns
I was at Canoe Creek State Park in central Pennsylvania on Tuesday evening for our local Audubon society‘s annual picnic. After supper, most of us stuck around for a stroll, which took as as far as the old lime kilns. Though the light wasn’t great, a few of my photos turned out O.K. Continue reading “Lime kilns”
Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area, 2012: life after death
The last time I visited the old-growth stand of eastern hemlocks at Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area, in central Pennsylvania’s Bald Eagle State Forest, the hemlocks were succumbing to a wooly adelgid infestation, and I figured they’d all be dead in a few years. That was early June 2007. My hiking buddy Lucy and I felt we should go back five years later and see what was taking the hemlocks’ place.
Continue reading “Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area, 2012: life after death”
Return to Bear Heaven
I last blogged about Bear Heaven in October 2006. This was my fourth visit to the highly scenic, ridgetop campground in the Monongahela National Forest.