Month: January 2010

• January 17, 2010

  Holiday Parties in January..?

  Yesterday was the ship’s “holiday party.” I put that in quotes because the holiday is seems to be closest to is… well, maybe New Years, but then again, we’re getting awfully close to Valentine’s Day, and to Chinese New Year, as well as Groundhog Day and Presidents’ Day… but I think since tomorrow is MLK…
• January 12, 2010

  The Not-so-threatened Java Sparrow

  We refilled the bird feeders two days ago, and the birds came back within the hour. I enjoy them, and so do the cats (we watch “kitty TV” out the window) so I try to keep fresh seed out there. When I first put in the feeders, I attracted a lot of doves. I don’t…
• January 10, 2010

  The Smell of Rain Forest

  It is the rainy season. Clouds hang low on the mountains so that you can’t see all of the sharp peaks, and the odd sunbeam that makes it through the surface makes the treetops almost glow. It doesn’t rain incessantly in a rain forest, but mists a lot with some occasional drizzle. The ground has…
• January 1, 2010

  A New Year: Resolved

  Last night there was a cacophony starting around six in the evening of firecrackers, sparklers, rockets and full-blown fireworks. While fireworks started with the Chinese thousands of years ago, clearly the entire continent has picked up the tradition in the meantime, and even though the Chinese won’t celebrate the new year until the end of…