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WeBlog
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Cluckin’ right along: the adventures of Ramona and Penny |
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Written by Trisha
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Wednesday, 28 October 2009 |
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This bocklog serves as a diary of the two newest members of our family, Ramona and Penny, our hilarious hens (raised and gifted to us by Karen and Rick). Our website isn’t really copacetic with this new theme, but we can change that. We’ll post pics of the ladies soon! So, this is our version of Ramona and Penny’s story in which we'll attempt to transcribe the moods and opinions of our fine feathered friends. Hopefully it will also provide some good ‘ol fashioned entertainment for all you chicken lover’s out there and if ya peck your way through the details you might even find some tasty tid-bits of abel and my adventures here in Oakland. From the farm to the city! Last week the chicken express rolled into Oakland with our cluckers in the back. The ladies were pretty subdued and gracious about the ordeal, that is until they reached Santa Rosa and realized, wait a minute, we’re not in Potter Valley anymore!” I think at first they, especially Penny who seems to be a bit smarter and a whole lot more vocal, were thinking “hey, cluck this!” But city life has its perks too, and I think the ladies are gradually warming up to their new urban-ish digs. The first night of their arrival was Sunday Oct. 18, just a little over a week ago. Abel and I worked into the dark that night to ready the chicken run and spiffy up the coop for their first night in their new home. Last minute home improvements included the ramp and the roost, and oooh were they pleased about those additions. Funny thing is their ramp is pretty slippery so they both go sliding down each morning, arms a flailing in the air. It’s a hilarious sight! Two long mirrors run along the wall inside their run so the ladies feel like they are not alone in there. In fact, Ramona gets a little feisty with her reflection in the mirror because she thinks it is another hen, a Ramona imposter. Ahh, chicken brains! The first morning the ladies slept in and we were a little worried that it was too dark beneath the redwood tree. But by day 2 they were strutting around the run by the time I set off for work. I’m enjoying our light conversations in the morning as I set off for work; although as we learned this weekend, the real lively chatter begins just shortly after I leave (the chickens woke the entire house up this past Saturday. Granted we were sleeping in longer than usual because we stayed up late playing poker). This weekend Abel and I fashioned the ladies a window so more light filters into the coop and stirs them at a normal hour and fashioned up their watering fountain. So all is swell on the home front. The ladies are such a great addition to the McKinley Foundation (our humble abode and the beautiful people who dwell here). I will be sending regular updates on the clucker’s lives and ours, so stay tuned. Love y’all, Sorrel |
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Wrapping up India |
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Written by Abel
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Sunday, 14 June 2009 |
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Hello Yall, We went through our 1300 photos and found the best 627 for you! You can see the slideshow here . Just change the size to 800X800 and speed it up to 3-5 seconds per photo. Cheers, -Abel- PS, we got a new place in Oakland that should be awesome! We will live above some friends, and have a great backyard and garden. We move in on July 1! |
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On to new adventures |
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Written by Abel
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Monday, 18 May 2009 |
Alright!
So, We are back on the west coast and lovin' it. India sure gave us a good run. We got a little worn out near the end due to the stresses of travel and the added stressful envinronment that india provides (and we are not well adapted to.) But what a wonderful country, in fact we are still in wonderment about it. As we chat with friends about our experineces we are still trying to put a finger on it. How do you describe a place with so many contridictions? So, we are trying to take time with friends and family to spread the stories bit by bit.
I've been trying to hold on to all of the ideas and revelations I've had that seemed so clear when we where in India, because they are so easly muddled by the familiarity of being home; it is easy to slip back into life here and forget about this 3rd person perspective on life that was gained by stepping out of our known.
Now we are easing our way back into the easy routine of daily life; seeking out jobs, and thinking about where to settle down for a while. In the interum, the comparatively imaculate environment calls us out to play!
Cheers,
-Abel-
- The final month of photos will be up soon, when we finish going through our 1300 photos!
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"a nice glacier" |
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Written by Abel
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Tuesday, 14 April 2009 |
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we survived our maiden himalayan voyage! we had an amazing time hiking the old stone trails built by the British, scrambling over an incredibly steep pass (almost 8,000ft) and into green terraced valleys and oak, chestnut, and rhododendron forests. we got a day late start due to heavy rain and the first april snow in the mountains in 20 yrs. but we were fortunate to have sunny blue-skied days and clear mornings with spectacular views of the mountains covered in fresh snow. the days were typically really hot and nights/early mornings were freezing!! the forests and snowmelt rivers were just beautiful and sometimes all that we could hear were the chime-like bells of the pack mules, sheep or goats. no horns. no city clamour. just shanti, shanti, shanti. our accomodation varied everywhere we stayed from gov't guest house to tent to wood cottage, to old colonial style home. we discovered a magical little village named khati and stayed there two nights. the village was terraced in beautiful green swaths of wheat and women/children carried the harvested wheat in big bamboo baskets on their heads. it was surprising to see bamboo growing in the forests (mostly on the exposed hillsides) but the locals strip the bamboo with their crescent shaped knives and use it to make rugs, baskets, roofs, etc. each morning the owner of the cottage where we stayed in khati would motion towards the mountains and say "nice glacier." we enjoyed this quirky remark and indeed it was a nice glacier. we spent one full day hiking pack-free towards the pindari glacier, alongside the pindari river. about 6 or 7 km later our plans changed quickly as dark clouds rolled in. we waited out a rainhailslush storm in a smokey little bamboo tea hut, charred back from the litte fire. it was so funny watching the water buffalo's and cows come running in from the storm and the village women walking barefoot between their huts. we were so grateful for the shelter. happy to be warmed by the small smoky fire, a steaming bowl of maggie (the indian masala-flavored version of ramen noodle soup), and the kindness of the little old man shop keeper. by the end of the storm (about 2hours) everything was white: the hillsides, the grooves in the river rocks, the backs of cows. the one gripe we have from our trek is the monotony of the food. no more dhal and rice, please! as you can imagine, there's not much variety in mountain meals. all the food gets hauled in by mules. by the end of our trip we were eager for something, anything, besides the "d" word. so now we are happily stuffing ourselves with naan and trying to refrain from dreaming about all the things we want to eat when we get home! today we will make our way back to the plains, heading towards varanasi/sarnath, and then onto delhi. from the himalayas to sanfrancisco in less than 2 weeks. that's wild. see you soon!! xoxo! |
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out trekking! |
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Written by Abel
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Tuesday, 07 April 2009 |
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hello friends, Just wanted to let you know that we will be out trekking for the next week. We plan to leave Song(near Bageshwar, Utaranchanl, India) on the 9th and take about 6 days to do the "easy" hike to the Pindari Glacier. There are tea shops and guesthouses and small towns the whole way, so it should be nice and easy. We have a train ticket to Varanasi on the 15th-16th, so we will catch you on the flip side! Cheers, -Abel- |
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something for the nature lover, spiritual seeker, and/or hardcore sweet tooth! |
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Written by Trisha
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Saturday, 28 March 2009 |
ooper chalo! "up we go!" we've migrated north to the foothills of the himalaya mountains for our final month in india, along with some striking birds! it's suddenly so cold here and we can actually smell the snow on the hovering peaks! most days we are layered up in every warm piece of clothing we own! and still the teeth chatter. it's quite a climactic change from the heat of the plains, and a drastic cultural change too. we are meeting some amazing tibetan refugees and monks and hearing their stories of fleeing their homeland over the himalayan mountains to seek asylum in india. today is the 50th anniversary of when his holiness, the dalai lama, led his people out of tibet and the chinese officially siezed control of the tibetan government. we joined a rally and march today with thousands of refugees chanting "tibet is for tibetans" "stop genocide. stop killing in tibet." "what do we want? freedom. justice" "people of the world, support us!" the protest was emotional for everyone, and we are really grateful to be able to stand in solidarity with the tibetans as they continue to struggle for their freedom. tonight, after a candle light vigil, they will be showing some footage that was smuggled out of tibet, showing the contemporary torture and oppression. it's a really a sad and brutal situation for the tibetans in and outside of tibet, but there are many efforts here to preserve tibetan culture and spirituality. and the tibetan people in exile have created a supportive community.
we are currently in mcleod gange, daramshala (Himachal Pradesh) near the humble residence of his holiness, the dalai lama. we recieve such warm smiles from the monks that pass by in their maroon robes clutching their prayer beads as we circumambulate the dalai lama's residence and spin the colorful mani prayer wheels. there are great day hikes from here too! just the other day we went on a 20km trek through blooming red rhododendron and pine forest (and eventually snow) gaining 3600' in elevation to a 9,000ft. mountain ridge. we passed a few tea stalls on the way up, and at the top and a really nice indian man served us a warm meal of dhal, rice, and chai. it was a perfect winter picnic. we engaged in a snowball fight until the fog lifted around 3pm, revealing the impressive snowy himalayan peaks against a bright blue sky. we discoverd that if we listened intently we could hear the avalanches thundering down the mountain side! so cool.
the weather shifts suddenly here...from pouring rain to warm sunshine. right now the tibetan buddhist monks in mcleod gange are praying for more snow pack- so we are getting some heavy downpours. but on a clear day the views of the snowy peaks rising up behind strands of colorful tibetan prayer flags are breathtaking. on our first morning here, we woke up at 6:30am shocked to find that the sun was blazing so brightly in our window. we thought our clocks must have been wrong. we have an awesome view of the forested valley from our hotel. this is just the place for the nature lover, the spiritual seeker, and the hardcore sweet tooth! the sweet and pastry stalls are everywhere. also tibetan momo's are served on the street outside the dalai lama's residence for 2rps. each. yummy! |
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