American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #12)
To me this photo represents a lot of what Ithaca was like in the 1980s. This VW Beetle was parked in front of the Ithaca Diner and the goat inside seemed quite content. I can’t remember what article in American Demographics that it was used to illustrate, but it shows how creative Mike Rider and Jim Keller were in choosing images. Pretty cool.
The opening of the exhibit is a week from today. I’ll probably be jet-lagged, but stop by and I’ll mumble a heartfelt hello.
Kathmandu / Dhangadhi /Dadeldhura
On our way to visit schools in Achham, we flew from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi on Buddha Air. It is only about an hour and fifteen minutes by air. It was quite warm when we landed, and the monsoon hadn’t quite started yet, but was very sticky and humid.
Our first stop was for breakfast at the Hotel Redsun Plaza. Most meals in rural Nepal are dal bhat although this place made us some nice omelets.
After breakfast, we immediately started climbing out of the valley towards our first night’s lodgings in Dadeldhura.
I did a lot of shooting out of the front window. The World Education driver, Nanda Ram, had driven out from Kathmandu and met us at the airport. It took him two days of driving to get there, a distance of about 670 kilometers (415 miles).
The scenery is beyond breathtaking. For us, calling this area “The Western Hills” is a bit of a misnomer as these are the biggest hills I have ever seen. But compared to the Himalayas, they are small.
Again, this was just pre-monsoon, but the rice terraces were a beautiful green.
Goats are everywhere on the roads in Nepal, as are dogs and cows. This is for my friend Tania Werbizky who loves goats.
This is a major crossroads near to our hotel in Dadeldhura. Helen Sherpa mentioned that these plinths used to hold statues of the King, but after the monarchy ended, local politician’s likenesses began to appear.
I like the graphic on this sign that was stuck to the wall of our room at the Raino Hotel (amazing, they have a Facebook page!)
Cris and I usually travel with my grandfather’s cribbage set. I especially like the Michigan Abrasive Company playing cards.
It was a beautiful evening with a full moon. The bazar was hopping.
Tomorrow, off to our first school visit.
Goats / Tulip
I have always liked goats, and my friend Tania Werbizky really likes goats. I was driving through Hadley this afternoon and I passed these guys. I stopped, took a few photos and then just as I was about to leave, a trailer pulled up with MORE GOATS! That is why most of these ones are looking to the right. The new arrivals were let into the field and all these guys ran over to greet them. Some head-butting was noted.
About 10 years ago I planted a bunch of daffodil and tulip bulbs. At the time I remember reading that the daffs would keep coming up annually, but that the tulips had a life of around five years. This is the last of them to flower; a lone red tulip in the middle of daffs and baby’s breath. I’ll be surprised if it comes back next year, but this one showed some resilience.
Field and Goats
When I am not away from home I drive past this field almost every day. It is on the East end of the Town of Amherst and is one of my favorite views in the valley. It is lovely to have farm fields right in the middle of things. A few days ago I noticed some white fencing and as I looked closely I saw that there were goats inside the enclosure. I had known that there was a business in the area that rented them out to eat brush but this was the first time I have seen them in action.
They are really small, but have been at it in this field for about a week and are making great progress.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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