Good Friday, Redwoods, and Krishna

One must always be open to a new adventure. Today I took one of my usual walks around the lake at Riverfront Park. I have blogged on this park before and it is one of my regular walks. Please note that the photos in this adventure are not my own. My camera was not at hand, and I don't post photos of children unless it is with very specific permission.

It was lovely, just after the rain yesterday. Lots of birds, not much people. Walking all the way around the lake is usually impossible in rainy times, but with the drought and all the creek was not a problem.

On the way to the car park, I walked thru the picnic area, I was not surprised to see a group of people playing volley ball, a church group as it turns out. What was less typical was that they were from India or Pakistan. (My discernment was not good enough to decipher which, but it was both as it turns out.) The church is a Krishna group from Milpitas, about an hour and a half from here.

The taller people were playing volley ball, and the smaller folk were playing kickball in the parking lot. And I was scoping out which was the person to talk to about riding herd on the wee ones so I could back out without squishing someone.

That is when I saw the girl, 6-8 year old with beautiful thick pony tail and gold painting on her face. She had found a bit of redwood bark, you know the stuff that gets fluffy. She thought she had found a small animal. She was curious, some of her friends were “EEEWWW” And of course this triggered a full blown case of Granny of the Trail in me. I showed here how it belonged to the tree, and we looked at a tree and she asked me if the holes in the tree were from the bad bugs. No that is where there was a small branch. These were city kids, with parents that do not know the local trees.

We found an appropriate tall person to accompany us as I took them over to a stand of 70 year old trees, with the accompanying tree growth. We discussed poison oak, and how to not touch it. And what the new growth on the tree looked like, and felt like. And what the clicking sound in the trees was. And how they should walk all the way around the lake after lunch.

I came away with some new friends, and a book about Krishna.

Comments

Piorama Bag Review

I am always seeking the perfect bag, so I was delighted to do a review on this duffel. I hate reviews that feature "The Unboxing". I really don't care how it arrives, and I don't care how pretty the features are. I want to know how will it preform in the field, especially under stressful conditions. Just FIY I did not receive any free product from them, but they did give me a discount. The opinions here are my own, and the photos are mostly my own. Piorama has designed a duffel bag that collapses into itself. This allows the bag to be configured for under seat, overhead, or checked sizes. As my trips often have more stuff in one direction than the other, I had high hopes for this bag. I ordered two different styles the A10 and the S3. I got the A10 for myself. It is their middle of the road bag. The next step up is the B3 , which is more back pack than I am able to use at almost 70 years old. As far as I can see, there are two major...

Bosch Parade June 2024 unfinished

Please note I haven't yet finished this piece. There are some technical things i have to learn, but my illness last fall has slowed the process. But i want it to be in the list at this point, so here it is in its rough form. Any event based on inspirations from the work of Hieronymus Bosch is bound to be a bit weird. Add to this my inability to understand a lot of the world around me, stuff like immersive art of the modern sort, the internet, and Dutch, and it gets even weirder. Having been in 's-Hertogenbosch I have a bit more of an understanding. I recommend reading my post on the town for that perspective. To understand the parade, one must understand 's-Hertogenbosch and vice versa. I have put together a separate post to describe the town and museum. I am not a proficient photographer, nor am I a historian. I also claim no expertise in art or art movements. So this offering is a personal sketch of one of the finer odd parades I have attended,...

Aberdyfi, Aberdovey, UK

So much is written about all of the big stuff around the UK, and yeah it is grand. But I think the one of the finest things one can do is to spend a couple of quiet days at a seaside town. This is a short piece about a day I spent at Aberdyfi. Aberdyfi is a very Welsh town tucked in at the mouth of the River Dyfi. There is not a lot of flash and fancy there, but everything there is such a perfect example of a great traditional village. One gets there by train on one of the loveliest route. Catch the train in Shrewsbury. Make sure to ask a conductor if you are in the right car as the train splits one part going north, the other south to Aberystwyth. (Note: you risk permanent damage to your tongue if you try to pronounce some of the towns on the way.) Or if you insist, drive in thru Machynlleth or down the coast. The main draw is the beach. The estuary is huge, and full of the estuary kind of the stuff one would hope to find. Boats, osprey, fish, water, mud. ...

Bad Knees Travel

Search This Blog