Working Goats Back at Neary Lagoon

 Courtesy of Titangos Photography Studio

 Last Friday at noon, we paid an annual visit to our old friends, the goats, at Neary Lagoon. We spent an hour there, watching them grazing, resting and walking around. There were about 300 goats, male & female, kids & mothers, and with goatee or goatee-less. They were surprisingly peaceful and content.

Since we arrived at noon, I was a little concerned about the heat and that their drinking tubs were unreachable on the wood ramp. But there was ample shade along the long fence; before long an attendant came by with a hose and started to fill three empty tubs. Quite a few goats gathered as soon as a tub was filled.  Comforted at the thought that they were being well-taken care of, we left those lovely and hardworking goats with a quiet wish that we would meet again in 2018!

  Courtesy of Titangos Photography Studio

We never went back to see them after June 16. Maybe last year's melancholy of missing their presence, and seeing only well-grazed grass left, is still hovering in our thoughts.

The following shows more photos chosen from over 200 iPhone photos Paul took to show how happy and harmonious they are. The last photo here displays the grass before their work (on the right side of the walkway) and after (on the left). Enjoy!

 

Courtesy of Titangos Photography Studio

So long, ISS

The month of June is an ISS (International Space Station) month. Paul and I had three viewings since last Saturday with varied experience. The best advantageous viewing belonged to 10 June 2017. ISS appeared promptly below a building roof on East Cliff Drive, and climbed above our heads at an angle of about 85° and then disappeared into the sky according to the schedule.

We drove to the same location again on June 11, Monday night. As the sky was covered with patches of dusky clouds, with only a narrow blue opening over Moss Landing and Monterey, we missed ISS entirely, but kept up the good spirit and finished our evening walk.

Yesterday, we did not go anywhere after dinner, as I had to stay later at work to finish my self-appraisal and later workout. Unexpectedly we had an excellent viewing right in our neighborhood. As it was still very light at 8:57 pm, we did not see ISS until it was up in the sky. Seeing it proudly marching forward, we were simply happy to see our old friend again. We realized  that it might be the last viewing until the fall, but felt comforted at the thought that it could be viewed and shared by people in other parts of the world. So long, ISS, for the Summer!

 

Happy Birthday, Chippy and Elijah!

Both Elijah and Chippy turned 15 yesterday. What a turbulent decade and half for all of us! Fortunately we have had this pair of siblings living with us side by side since the moment they stepped out their adoption basket into our arms, on the steps of Main Post Office one midday in July 2012. They stayed temporarily in our Pacific Avenue HQ office until they could go home with Gail and me. So many people passed through admiring Elijah's blue eyes and Chippy's pinky ears.

The brother was so happy with his sister next to him, but totally lost and heartbroken after she was picked up by Paul towards the end of the day. The siblings met once when we organized their 5th birthday party. Chippy was surprisingly calm but Elijah was scarred.

They have been our true love and companion all these 15 years and many years to come!

Chasing ISS Two Days in a Row

Last Friday and Saturday (April 15-16), two days in a row, Paul and I went to East Cliff to watch and chase ISS' route over Santa Cruz. They were different experiences for us.

The Friday's chase was such an easy one with a dark and clear sky at 8:55 pm. As the route was advantageously high, we spotted it right away the moment it appeared below a treetop, and watched it disappearing into the sky minutes later.

The Saturday's chase was an entirely different experience with big patches of clouds all over the dusky sky at 8:05 pm. It was Paul who spotted ISS, but it was already over our heads then. It did not disappoint us though. It shone over the cloudy darkness and moved forward, with a resolute and clear goal.

At that moment I wished that our life would be like ISS' clearly charted routes. Strangely speaking, life is almost similar: sometimes it is easy, sometimes it is not. But we always need a goal in mind, without which we will be headless and rootless.

Spotting ISS in March

Right after our dinner at 8:00 pm, Paul and I drove to Pleasure Point to spot the International Space Station (ISS) over Santa Cruz. 

Both of us were excited about the sight, even though we had observed it many times. For one thing, it was the most advantageous position in the months of March and April, 2017. For another, it was like greeting an old friend that might not been there anymore, in the time of budgetary cuts.

At exactly 8:29 pm, the faithful ISS appeared over the starred sky at the maximum height of 75°. Normally, five minutes are just a blink, but now, an eternity. It passed over us proud and determined along its charted course. Wish we could do so with our life and future.

Because of our optimal observing position at the corner of the 38th and East Cliff drive, ISS was visible longer than usual before it finally disappeared in the sky. We finished our night walk and went home feeling accomplished.

SightingLocation

Leaflet | Powered by Esri | National Geographic, DeLorme, HERE, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, increment P Corp.

Location: Santa Cruz, California, United States

The following ISS sightings are possible from Monday Mar 27, 2017 through Tuesday Apr 11, 2017

Date	Visible	Max Height	Appears	Disappears	Share Event
Mon Mar 27, 8:29 PM	5 min	75°	10° above SW	18° above NE
Tue Mar 28, 9:16 PM	2 min	23°	22° above NW	17° above N
Wed Mar 29, 8:23 PM	4 min	40°	34° above WNW	11° above NE
Thu Mar 30, 9:08 PM	2 min	13°	12° above NW	10° above N
Fri Mar 31, 8:15 PM	3 min	20°	19° above NW	11° above NNE
Sun Apr 2, 8:07 PM	2 min	11°	11° above NNW	10° above N
Fri Apr 7, 10:14 PM	< 1 min	11°	11° above NNW	11° above NNW
Sat Apr 8, 9:22 PM	1 min	14°	10° above N	14° above NNE
Sun Apr 9, 8:31 PM	< 1 min	10°	10° above NNE	10° above NNE
Sun Apr 9, 10:06 PM	< 1 min	15°	15° above NNW	15° above NNW
Mon Apr 10, 9:14 PM	3 min	25°	10° above NNW	25° above NNE

Miracles in the Winter Sky

Monday, January 30th, 2017,  Paul and I observed, with awe, one miracle after another in the sky. I was so glad that I had the day free for us to share all these magical moments together.

Around noon, there was a low rattling sound in the sky. We went out in the side-yard and saw five military helicopters flying by in a majestic formation.

Right after finishing the late afternoon call with Hui, the two of us left home and arrived at Moran Lake Park at 5:25 pm. Five minutes later we saw one of the most magnificent sunsets. Bold strokes of brilliant colors splashed generously over the whole sky. When we retreated to Pleasure Point, the sky became dusky. It was a perfect moment to sight the International Space Station (ISS) over Santa Cruz. At 5:57 pm, a bright ISS was passing by the moon at an advantageous 88 degrees, as scheduled.

Courtesy of spotthestation.nasa.gov

Once the ISS disappeared in the clouds, we turned and watched the evening sky: there was an impressive formation of celestial bodies, Mars, Venus and the Moon. What a sky we have! What a beautiful life we enjoy!

Courtesy of skyandtelescope.com

A Short but Full-Lived Life -- The Nomad

After reading The Nomad: the Diaries of Isabelle Eberhardt (Interlinks; 2003) edited by Elizabeth Kershaw, I could not help but be drawn to the intimacy that oozed from Isabelle Eberhardt's diaries covering her three years' life as a nomad, from 1900 to 1903. Never content with the genteel city life, she set her mind on the Algerian Desert to seek both adventures and peace, which took real courage and inspiration. She started with a need to flee inertia and stagnation, but ended with the realization that "The fact of the matter is that constant, genuine attention to things outside ourselves that bring us no material gain will mellow and uplift the soul and raise it above trivial mundane concerns (page 162)." Not surprisingly she did manage to find her true destiny in the sun-drenched El Qued.

I started to read Isabelle Eberhardt in the early 1990s through the recommendation of our Australian friend Daisy, and her own global trekking. What I love most about Eberhardt's writings is their timelessness. There is no time limit on themes or characters in books like the Oblivion Seekers and In the Shadow of Islam published more than a hundred years ago. Today, we may still observe similar day laborers waiting for work in front of San Lorenzo Lumber on River Street. Ethnicity and physical locations may change, but the same nomad life style lingers.

Eberhardt's short, 27-year life was fraught with poverty, uncertainty, disaster and even an assassination attempt on her life. She did live a full life, however, with her increasing domestic bliss with her husband Slimane Ehnni. She never seemed to feel satisfied with her learning and literary endeavors. Just a few months before her death, she was planning to write one article per week for La Dépêche du Midi. After collecting enough stories to make a book, she was hoping that she and her husband would be more serene (page 187) and stable.

The Winner Takes It All

Thursday night when Paul told me that Leonard Cohen had died, one thought jumped into my mind: The Nobel Committee for Literature should have given Cohen the prize, since he was more poetic than any musicians alive. I could not believe my eyes on reading the first thing in the morning, Jonathan Wells's article Forget Bob Dylan. Leonard Cohen should have been the first songwriter to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. "Great minds think alike," I texted to Paul immediately.

This year's Nobel Prize for Literature is the most controversial one I can ever remember. It silenced Bob Dylan for more than a month, which fermented a rumor circulated on WeChat. Now I would not be surprised if it might have contributed to the passing of a disappointed Cohen.

If we put Dylan and Cohen together for a comparison of poetic expression, Cohen is definitely the winner judging from his literature education, novel and poetry publishing, and his being a top lyricist and musician since the late 1960's. Perhaps the Committee was looking beyond poetic expression, for something bigger and more enduring, such as influence. In so far as influence is concerned, Dylan does surpass Cohen and most of his fellow musicians worldwide, thus The Winner Takes It All, as ABBA sings.

Cohen himself realized the paradox of life a long time ago in Anthem,

I can't run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.

Courtesy of http://cdn.thegentlemansjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/cohen5-670x359.jpg

Mind and Soul Occupied (Okkupert)

After watching Occupied, a 2015 Norwegian TV series, Paul and I have found our minds occupied ever since. The TV series is based on the original idea developed by Jo Nesbø, and directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg. It is a futurist piece about fictitious Norwegian Prime Minister Jesper Berg's hopeless efforts against the energy crisis to ensure independence and peace for Norway. He is seen gambling on thorium-based nuclear energy at the beginning of the show, but shaking hands reluctantly with the subversive ex-military leader towards the end of season one.

Hans Martin Djupvik, a member of Norwegian special police force and Berg's former bodyguard, is Nesbø's Harry Hole in the series. He is brave, resourceful, but frustrated with his surroundings. His loyalty to his country lands him the label of Russian collaborator, ruining both his own and his wife's promising careers in law enforcement. Meanwhile Wenche Arnesen, the Norwegian Police Security Service chief, has sabotaged every single operation by Djupvik and his team, with her clandestine maneuvering. Even her suicide is played to muddle the political water. Throughout the series, our traditional values have been greatly challenged, such as war vs. peace, patriotism vs. nationalism, loyalty vs. betrayal and resistance vs. terrorism.