text:
In Bahasa Indonesian an owl is burung hantu which literally means spirit bird. This year I decided to visit Indonesia to look for owls. It's the best country (by far) for owls, with both the most owls, and most endemic owls. My plan is to visit Sulawesi and some satellite islands, along with a site in Java.
April 19th. This is a regular work day. I have about an hour after work to grab dinner, walk Maile (my dog) and double check I have packed all my stuff. Tui drive me and the boys to the airport. We say goodbye at the departure drop off, and I am off on my owl trip.
I have been working on this trip for so long, that I had little preparation left to do this spring. I have a nagging feeling that I have not attended to the trip. Surly I have forgotten to do something important. The first leg of the journey is a flight to Seattle which goes just fine.
April 20th. I fly on Eva via Taipei to Jakarta. The flight departs at 130am, which enables me to sleep through most of it. Most of the day is lost to the international date line.
April 21st. I arrive in Taipei at 4am. The airport is amazingly quiet. I walk around, re-hydrating at every water fountain. The flight to Jakarta goes well. I enjoy my last beers for a few weeks.
I had set up for Indira Ferdinand ( firstname.lastname@example.com ) to help me with travel arrangements in Java. Indira has arranged for his nephew, Rizki, to meet me at the airport. It takes about half an hour to find him. Rizki turns out to be an English teacher, and we talk about Indonesia for the whole drive.
Jakarta looks a lot flashier than when I was here 15 years ago. Tall condominium towers are everywhere. Of course there are still many people who look like they are struggling.
It's later afternoon, and soon the sky turns dark. A huge storm erupts. Thunder booms, and we see lightening all around the car. Soon the road is thick with run off and traffic has slowed painfully. We eventually reach the mountains. The rain eases, but never stops. At nightfall we arrive at a small hotel in Cibodas, a tourist town situated under a volcano (and national park); Gunung Gede.
Rizki introduces me to my guide, Adun, a thin, chain smoking guy in his late thirties. He's been birding the trails here for most of his life. Adun is soft-spoken and fluent in English. As it's raining He suggest we wait until 4am, I request we make it 3am and he agrees.
I get ready for bed. I feel crappy not going out into the forest on my first night. Rain drums gently on the hotel roof. I fall asleep before 7pm, but am struggle to stay asleep after midnight.
April 22nd. By 130am I finally give up trying to sleep and slowly get ready for the day. My targets for Gunung Gede are Javan scops, Javan owlet, and Bartell's (AKA Brown) wood-owl. At 3am, I meet Adun by the hotel's iron gate. It's a beautiful cool morning. We hike through Cibodas and into Gunung Gede national park. The park guards are asleep, so we walk by unnoticed. The trail in the park is cobbled with big stones, it's not muddy, but the stones are wet from last night's rain, and it's hard to walk with ease on such an uneven surface. After 2km of climbing, Adun starts taping for Javan scops. This is a little know mountain owl. It was once thought to be silent. After birders figured out it's call it was thought to be unresponsive to playback. We try playback at six different spots. Nothing. At the seventh we get a nearby response after a couple of minutes-a wavering, slightly trilled screech, unlike any scops owl I have heard. We tape on and off for a few minutes, but the owl stubbornly stays in a gully filled with an impenetrable thicket of wild ginger. Adun suggests moving down the trail. He tapes again. Immediately we hear a soft four note growl. Adun whispers this is a different call of Javan scops. The owl comes in very close. I can hardly bare the tension. It growls again and again, moving through the trees above us. Adun tries the spotlight but all we see is ancient, twisted, mossy trees. In the distance we hear the original bird's screeching. Then the soft growl, so close. Lights. There it is, perched above us. It's a beautiful orange-eyed owl, with bold pale eye-brows and a rich rufous mantle and breast. It's a brilliant little owl. All too soon it takes off, and is gone. Elated we return to a trail-side shelter. Adun takes out his stove and brews up a couple of mugs of hot coffee, and we celebrate in style, drinking our coffee, sat on a cold stone floor under a pair of volcanoes.
Our next target is Javan owlet. It's predominantly active early in the morning and later in the day. Adun suggests we descend a little and try for it as the sun rises. Sure enough, after a couple of stops we get a response to Adun's playback. The owlet comes close. We hear a flurry of scolding song birds-and assuming they are mobbing the owlet, venture into a thicket. The owlet moves around, calling loudly from many places. I eventually track it down, and catch a brief view of it perched on a branch, only to have a drongo chase it away, before I can enjoy a sustained view. We continue to persevere, with some serious off trail struggles to get closer. Several times I suggest we quit taping and try elsewhere. Adun insists on returning to this place. So we do.
The Javan owlet tree. (No owlet in the photo)
Eventually the owlet completely stops calling and we move on, trying lower down on the mountain. We fail to get any other response. It's about 10:30am when we arrive back at the hotel. I eat breakfast and try to sleep. Mostly I just lay in bed, listen to dogs, kids and chickens. In the middle of the day I hike to an internet cafe and email Tui. Back at the hotel, I watch big clouds obscure the two volcanoes. The sky grows dark. I wait.
I meet with Adun at 3pm. He's thoughtfully brought me a copy of "Birds of Indonesian Archipelago" for me to read tonight. That afternoon we return to the owlet site.
Gunung Gede (left), from Cibodas
We tape a bit and get a distant response. We try a little higher on the trail, but get nothing. Returning to the spot, it's now well after sunset. A big owl flies over us. My first thought was eagle owl. A moment passes, then a barred eagle-owl sings from the trees ahead.
We leave the forest and visit the dinosaur park/campground in search of Sunda scops and buffy fish owls. Both birds I have seen before. I'm almost asleep on my feet. We don't find anything. Our last stop is a small pond behind the mosque, where we look for buffy fish owl, but again draw a blank.
We decide to call it a night and I sleep soundly.
April 23rd. I wake well before my alarm and slowly get ready for the day. My goal is to get a better view of the Javan owlet. After yesterday's excessive taping I'm not feeling optimistic. Adun and I take a bemo (micro bus) to the trail-head. Wild pigs have raided the garbage bins, and trash and pig shit litter the entrance. We hike into the park in darkness and stop at the owlet site. We tape and wait. We walk the rocky trail, craning our necks to search the canopy. Periodically the owlet calls, usually from some distant tall trees, that are largely obscured by other big trees. A couple of times it comes in close, and low, below the canopy. We hustle through the dense undergrowth, fighting spiny rattan vines. We don't find it.
Then it starts to rain. A little at first, the torrentially. We hike up to a concrete shelter with a metal roof. Adun brews coffee. A diabetic hiker shows up in bad shape asking for food, and Adun feeds him some cookies and water. Soon he is looking much better. Adun tells me about a time he found a dead couple at the summit. Most likely they had succumbed to hypothermia. He also describes helping to carry the bodies of ill-prepared hikers from Gunung Gede.
Eventually the rain eases up and we return to the owlet site. The bird comes in, calling but still hidden. Then we see it in flight between two trees, before disappearing into the canopy. We wait around, trying to find it in the canopy. It starts to rain with a vengeance, and we decide to bolt down the trail to the shelter by the park entrance.
The rain eases, and we hike back to the owlet site, hoping for a better view. We hear the owlet in the distance, but that's it. It does not come in. We return to the hotel, vowing to try again late in the afternoon.
By 3:30pm, Adun and I are back at the owlet site. We wait there until dark. We hear it call just a couple of times from far away. A steady stream of tired looking hikers passes us. Adun comments "when they start the hike they are like heroes, but when they return they look defeated". After darkness falls we switch strategies and start taping for for Bartell's (brown) wood-owl. This is either (depending on the taxonomist) a race of brown wood owl, a bird I have seen in Sabah and Kerela, or a rare endemic species found on Java's uplands. Regardless, I don't find one tonight. This does not surprise me, as Adun explains he has never seen or heard one at Gede. Soon the rains start again in earnest, we run through the darkness down slippery cobbled trail to a stone shelter by the entrance. It's packed with soaked hikers smoking and eating snacks. It's a jovial sort of place to while away an hour listening to the heavy rain pound the metal roof.
Eventually we decide to throw in the towel, and return to the hotel, checking the pond behind the mosque along the way (no fish owls there today). I eat dinner, say thanks to Rizki and then a driver takes me, with Adun, back to Jakarta airport. I'm exhausted and fall asleep before we leave Cibodas, waking in a daze at the airport terminal. I walk into the terminal and find a nice bench to sleep on.
April 24th. I wake early on a bench at Jakarta airport. I have several hours to kill before my flight. I WhatsApp Tui and Alfonds (my next guide). As it gets light outside, I see the weather is shit. The sky is a sort of brownish color, and rain lashes the glass wall of the terminal. I check the forecast "heavy thunderstorms in Manado". I look at my new boots, and about 40% of both soles have separated from the uppers. This isn't good. It's hard to buy a big shoe in rural Indonesia and I don't want to be stuck wearing flip flops in the forest.
The flight to Manado, Sulawesi goes well. I meet Alfonds (firstname.lastname@example.com), manager of Mama Roos guesthouse at the airport late in the afternoon. He's a stout friendly guy who speaks great English. It's a slow drive to Tangkoko National Park, but at least it's a beautiful warm sunny afternoon. I'm excited to hear that Alfonds has a detailed plan of how we are going to look for my four target owls; Minahassa masked owl, ochre-bellied, speckled and cinnabar boobooks.
We drive straight to a site near his guesthouse at dusk to look for Sulawesi scops owl-a bird I have seen before, but it's always great to see an owl. There are a few photographers hanging out, and another guide has a speaker playing the scops' call strung up on a tree. It only takes a minute to find the small owl.
Dinner is delicious-I recall eating here back in 2003, and the food was good then. Alfonds and I meet at 8:30pm and hike into Tangkoko National Park. We get to a clearing and lay out a bluetooth speaker on the grass, and retreat to the shadow of a large fig tree. We play a recording of Minahassa masked-owl. This is a local owl that's sometimes very challenging to find. One minute passes and a medium sized, long-winged owl flies over the clearing. I spotlight it-and it's a typical looking barn owl with buffy upper parts, with many fine darker spots. As it flies it makes a series of forceful screeches confirming it's identity. (The Sulawesi masked-owl, a species I have seen before, has a similar call, but it's weaker, higher pitched, and the note tends to change as it calls). The owl disappears into some big trees. More taping and we hear a few responses from different areas of the forest, but we don't see it again. Eventually it falls silent.
We try another site in some littoral forest close to the shore for a better view. We get no response.
Feeling very fucking lucky we return to Mama Roos, where I sleep heavily.
April 25th. I set my alarm for 2:55am and wake up groggy. After a quick coffee, Alfonds introduces me to a guide, Mensur. We all set out to the lower slope of the mountain where there is a staked out spot for Minahassa masked-owl. My goal is to get a good view of a perched bird. We tape a little on and off but only hear a distant response twice. Alfonds and Mensur try spotlightling, but the trees are truly vast and we see nothing but leaves.
We also hear an orche-bellied boobook in the distance. Mensur insists that he can find a roosting bird, so it's ignored.
At dawn we begin searching know roost sites of Minahassa masked owl, both cavities in big trees, especially strangler figs and small shade trees. We don't find any masked-owls, but do see a lovely roosting ochre-bellied boobook. This is a new owl for me. It has a gray-green bill, pale yellow eyes, a dark grayish head and breast and rich ochre belly, lightly marked with fine dark streaks. The back and wings are chocolate colored. The wing coverts and scapulars are spotted white. The tail is barred, apart from the outer-tail feathers. It has rather delicate feet-indicating a preference for smaller prey.
On the way back to Mama Roos, Mensur shows me a family of tarsiers; amazing diminutive primates.
Back at Mama Roos I sleep 'till noon, then eat Nasi Goreng (fried rice and egg) for lunch.
At nightfall we return to the original Minahassa site, set up a Bluetooth speaker and hide under a tree. We wait for a while, then play a recording of the owl. Within a few minutes a Minahassa masked-owl, circles the speaker, calling vigorously. We don't spotlight it, hoping it will perch, but unfortunately it disappears into deeper forest. We wait around, but neither see nor hear the bird again.
Next we drive a few kilometers into the coastal hills to look for speckled boobook. This would be another new species for me. We park outside a recently abandoned lodge. It's a beautiful open building next to a creek. We start playback, and it takes a long time to get a response, a single note call, quite different from the slightly manic series of notes of my recording. Eventually the boobook flies overhead and onto an exposed perch in a large tree. The eyes are yellow, highlighted by prominent white eye-brows. It's brown above, spotted white, with a slightly barred brownish chest (this does not quite meet in the center, giving a waist coat-like appearance), white throat and belly. The feet look sturdier than those of the ochre-bellied boobook, indicating an ability to handle larger prey. Alfonds tells me this bird is locally difficult to find, so I am happy to see it.
I eat a delicious dinner cooked by Alfonds' wife. Alfonds takes off with his family late in the evening to visit his brother, Victor, in Manado, who is unfortunately in the hospital. I have the homestay to myself.
April 26th. Alfonds wakes me at 4am due to some confusion about the start time. We head out again for the original Minahassa masked-owl site, hoping for a better view. Again we lay out the Bluetooth speaker, and retreat under a big tree. It's a while before we get a response, a couple of calls from some nearby trees. In the gloaming we wander under these trees, spotlighting thickets, tangles and palms. The owl does not reveal itself to us and at daybreak we return to Mama Roos for breakfast.
Our plan for today is to drive to a mountain, Gunung Ambang (near the town of Kotamabatu), in search of Cinnabar boobook. This is a small mountain owl only discovered at the end of the last century.
We run Alfonds' dad over to visit Victor at the hospital in Manado. Then Michael (driver), Alfonds and I continue on towards Gunung Ambang. Alfonds explains his brother is in really bad shape and needs a triple by-pass.
The drive to Gunung Ambang isn't far, but its really slow and takes most of the day. The road is really twisty and we rarely get above 50kph. Around noon we stop at a roadside fish restaurant. Michael is excited because the leader of Golkar (the party of the former dictator) is enjoying a fish meal at the next table. (A fittingly flash black SUV is parked out front and armed guards are in attendance). Anyway lunch is delicious.
The last hour of the drive is through torrential rain. Sheets of brown runoff cover the road. This makes me nervous about our owling prospects. We finally arrive at Pak Julius' home around 4pm. He's a forest ranger who has taken many birders out onto Gunung Ambang. We sit on his porch and enjoy a coffee, waiting for darkness, and willing the rain to stop. Eventually we drive with Julius up through some cabbage fields to the end of the road. We park, and Julius, Alfonds and I hike further through the fields and finally into the wet montane forest, just as darkness falls. Julius is a really fast walker, and it's s struggle to keep up with him as we climb the muddy path into the mountains. Thousands of people have walked this way before, creating a well worn trail, six feet deep in places. After an hour of hiking the trail levels out and Julius indicates this is a good place to tape for the owl. It's raining lightly. While getting my gear out I hear a pair of Cinnabar boobooks far below. For half an hour I tape on and off, but the owls don't approach. The very steep hillside is an absolute tangle of thick mossy forest. I am inclined to try and hike down it. I suggest this, Alfonds explains the birds will come in their own time. Then I notice that the birds are no longer below, but to the right. I take off along the trail. Magically both birds start calling really close. They duet a simple two note call. I spotlight one bird right next to the trail, low in a small tree. I get good views of this new owl. It's a small with vivid yellow eyes, a pale bill and pale small feet. It's predominantly a rich chestnut color with some white spots on the scapulars and belly, and some fine barring on the tail). Brilliant! I go and find Julius and Alfonds, and try and show them the owl. Even though they are still calling vigorously we are unable to relocate them in the thick wet forest. Neither are too concerned, having seen them before.
It's a happy muddy walk in the rain back to the car. Michael and Alfonds celebrate with a smoke. I think they are happy that we don't have to get up early to look for owls tomorrow. The weather clears and the moon illuminates the mountain.
Driving back to Julius' home we flush a big owl from a patch of tall roadside grass. Luckily it perches high on a lone dead tree. Michael parks and it's a mad scrabble to get my owling gear from my bag. In the bins I see it's a big, gray faced Tyto; clearly a a Sulawesi masked-owl. Alfonds feels it's a Minahassa masked-owl. I don't press the disagreement.
Pak Julius' wife has prepared an amazing feast made from fresh fish and local produce. I shamelessly eat much more than my restrained companions.
Alfonds had booked a nice room for me in Kotamabagu, while he and Michael have made arrangements elsewhere in town. They are cool guys, and I try and convince them to share the (big) room, but the decline.
April 27th. I am able to sleep until 630am and am able to loaf around, enjoying the WiFi (videochat with Tui and the boys) and good breakfast.
The drive back to Manado isn't as sluggish as yesterday and we make it by lunch. Because I have seen all the owls I am looking for in Northern Sulawesi, Alfonds' suggests dropping me off at a hotel in Manado. This works for me as I have a 7am flight tomorrow, and Mama Roos is almost 2 hours from the airport. Before going to the hotel I visit Alfonds' brother in the hospital. He is asleep when we find him. He is a powerful looking guy with big arm tattoos. His family is camped outside the ward and look like they have been there for days.
Downtown Manado is bustling. I enjoy walking around town as the suns sets over the bay. It's fun to just take in the youthful city.
April 28th. I'm up at 4:45am and find a cabbie sleeping in his car. I wake him and he runs me to Manado airport. There I catch a small prop plane flight to Sangihe. This is a small island half way to the Philippines. It's home of the endemic Sangihe scops owl. The airport at Sangihe is very small and quiet. I'm looking for a cab in the parking lot, when a tall blonde dude, smoking a cigarette asks me if I am going to Wesley's. Indeed I am. Wesley ( email@example.com ) is a local bird guide based on the other side of Sangihe. Wesley had contacted this guy, Michael, a Czech guy who is married to an Indonesian lady to help bring me to his place.
Michael and his wife take me on a leisurely drive around Sangihe to Wesley's. The road is slow, so it takes close to two hours of driving. Plus we stopped for coffee and to enjoy the view, and then to visit some old colonial buildings.
I am really happy when we get to Wesley's. For close to twenty years I have been hearing about his place and the endemic birds that live on the mountain behind his guesthouse (the Rainbow Losman). Wesley is a very soft spoken, lean but powerful-looking guy. He works a small farm, "his garden" and has an intense love of all living things. We have coffee and talk for a while. Eventually the rain sets in. Michael and his wife leave after agreeing to pick me up at 5am tomorrow to bring me back to the airport. (He charges me $20 each way for the airport transfer-which seems very reasonable given how long it takes to drive. Michael can be reached at email@example.com ).
The view from Wesley's front door
During the afternoon I try and sleep while it rains. Later I talk with Wesley's brother, who teaches English. He's an impish older man, with wild long hair and a big toothy smile. He's so soft spoken I have to lean in to catch his words. Wesley's mom, who is 93 makes a nice fish diner for us on an open fire at the back of the losman.
Wesley and I leave at 7pm and walk into his forested yard. We spend about 30 minutes trying to solicit a Sangihe scops owl, but get no response. Several owl-sized bats quietly fly by, adding to the tension. I suggest we try elsewhere and Wesley takes me to his garden, which is about a kilometer away in the foothills above his home. Along the way, we stop and try for the scops-owl at several sites. No response. The moon is brilliant and the night so beautiful. Wesley explains sometimes the owl is easy but other birders miss it even after several nights in the forest. He suggests we wait for an hour then try again. We rest in a little lean to shelter in his garden. I am so tired, I fall fast asleep on a simple bamboo bed, while Wesley waits.
I wake after and hour and we set out again. Wesley shows me a pair of little emerald green vipers he's been tracking for three years. He explains there is a big one down by his home. We descend to an open area of coconut palms and start to tape. After a five minute wait, we get a single response! (The call is higher pitched and longer than Sulawesi scops). The bird continues to call from a distance. Wesley suddenly gets excited-he saw the bird fly by. A minute later I glimpse it in flight between the trees. Soon we see it again and again, flying between trees and hear it-now an excited two note call. Wesley spotlights a perched bird. It's similar looking to a Sulawesi scops, not particularly small, gray-brown (perhaps a little darker than the Sulawesi birds and more strongly marked with a darker crown, wing coverts and stronger breast markings). I am just thrilled. It's after 11pm, and I was feeling I was never going to find this owl. Plus I have my flight early tomorrow. The big moon shines on us. Mountains encircle us on three sides, and the sea stretches out in front of us on the fourth. I feel happy. We hike back to Wesley's. Along the way he shows me the big green viper-it's coiled on a branch at head height. A short, fat vividly colored snake with a remarkable strong triangular jaw. Wesley explains he has known this snake for twenty years. He also shows me a tarsier jumping actively through a thicket to avoid his flashlight.
Back at Wesley's I lie on the hard bed and listen to the sounds of the forest outside. It takes me over an hour to calm down and sleep.
April 29th. It's a short night. My alarm beeps at 4:45am. Michael and his wife have already arrived to pick me up and take me back to the airport. We have coffee and I say goodbye and thanks to Wesley.
Michael drives slowly on the very twisting road back to the airport. Despite this we are first to arrive at the terminal so we loaf around and enjoy another coffee. I then catch the short flight back to Manado.
At Manado, I have a few hours to kill before my flight to Makassar. (Unfortunately I wasn't able to fly directly to Luwuk in Eastern Sulawesi). Again I have a few hours to wait at Makassar airport. Strangely the time on the departure board is an hour later than the actual departure time. I end up running through the airport and am last on the plane. The plane touches down at Luwuk's very small airport at sunset. I take a cab into town and am surprised when the cabbie tells me there is an evening ferry to Salakan on the island of Peleng (my ultimate destination and home to an endemic scops owl). I buy a ticket at the harbor and then find some delicious tofu in a spicy orange-colored sauce.
Back at the boat I am surprised that my seat is actually a bunk-one of over 400.
The ferry that runs from Luwuk to Salakan
It's tiny and hard, and in a very packed, airless and claustrophobic low room. I wrap my backpack around my arm, and fall asleep holding it. I wake around midnight as the boat docks at Salakan, my backpack still wrapped in my arms.
April 30th. I am really tired as I disembark the boat. Salakan is a small town, but everyone is at the harbor. I check into a nearby hotel and dump my backpack. Then find an Ojek (motor cycle for hire). The rider takes me up to Kawalu, the second village north (10km) of town. It's a beautiful night for a motorcycle ride. The rider drops me off at the village. He leaves. No one's around. Just the moon and me. I set off back down the road to Salakan, taping for Peleng scops owl. For the first 3km I get no response. I do see a lot of owl-sized bats.
Eventually I hear a response about a quarter of a mile up from the road. Preferring to avoid the thick forest, I tape from the roadside, but the owl is unwilling to come in. It's a difficult hike in. It's very steep. I climb over a labyrinth of limestone rocks, with precipitous three foot deep fissures. Closer now, I tape again. The owl responds on and off, still not close. Something flies silently right by my face, I can't be certain it's not a bat. Then silence for an age. Mosquitoes harass me, and I consider looking for another territory that's not on a rocky hill. I pull myself through a 100m of viney tangle. I fall and get up. Fall again. I think to about snakes and how they love limestone, and about how my feet are treading unseen into deep holes in the rocks. Finally I emerge under a big tree, silhouetted by the moon. It's so steep that I fall over while scanning the tree. I tape. The owl flies, and I catch it in the flashlight. Eventually I see it perched. It's clearly a scops owl with a whitish throat and streaked chest on a gray-brown owl. Perhaps a little smaller than Sulawesi scops? Importantly the call is completely different-a long querulous note. The owl will sometimes repeat these notes 3-6 times, getting shorter and higher pitched. I also hear the owl duet with an unseen partner. The first bird calls, then the second makes a slightly lower pitched call. This is brilliant. It's great to be alone in the forest with this little known owl. Returning to the road, I end up going through a farm. I tiptoe unseen through the garden. Fortunately no dogs bark.
Back at the road I try and get a ride. It's 3am. The first three bikes have no room, but stop to check on me. The fourth bike runs me back to Salakan. He kindly gives me the ride for free. It's 4am, when I arrive at the hotel. I creep in quietly to avoid waking the clerk.
I wake at 8am. I go down to the docks, where I am told the boat goes at 4pm.
Fortunately my room has a TV and I while away a few hours watching National Geographic shows. For a change of scene I board the boat at 2:30pm, which was the right choice because without explanation it leaves an hour early. It's a beautiful journey by to Luwuk on mainland Sulawesi. The sea is flat calm. I see a few phalaropes and flying fish from the boat. The sun sets over the mountains above Luwuk as we pull into the harbor.
The approach to Luwuk
There are a ton of guys at the harbor hustling for business. One agrees to take me to Ampana (a town about 5 hours away from which I will take a ferry to the Togian Islands). Due to a lack of a common language there is some confusion. I am taken to a small office, where I wait for an hour. Then four other guys arrive, and we load up into a car and finally take off for Ampana. Almost immediately I fall asleep, only to wake with a start when the car takes a corner too fast. It's a swift and slightly scary ride. At least the driver kindly drops me off around midnight at the nice Marina Cottages in Ampana.
May 1st. I am up at 7am. Breakfast is brilliant. I want to gorge, but I have to get to the harbor to make sure I catch the morning ferry. I buy a ticket for the 9am ferry and another for the Togian Islands National Park. The islands are home to the newly discovered endemic Togian boobook.
Online the boat reportedly takes 90 minutes. This one takes 3 1/2 hours. Still the gulf of Tomini is calm and beautiful. There are a few tourists (and a lot of locals) on the boats. All the tourists are heading for diving resorts. No one, but me, is looking for birds. I stay on one of the main island Palu Batu Dako at Wakai Cottages. Another beach front bungalow.
The view from Wakai Cottages
I eat a fish lunch in a small warung (local restaurant) in Wakai and then rest up during the heat of the day.
I take an Ojek to Tanempo (4km inland) and at the end of the sealed road. The rider shows me a trailhead. Lacking a detailed location for the owl, I check it out. Unfortunately the trail goes up to a nearby waterfall. I meet a bunch of friendly locals, who take selfies with me. I'm soaked with sweet, so it's a little weird. After that the trail gets quite technical and I decide to turn around-this isn't a good owling site. I follow the main road inland, which is now just a gravel track. It follows a valley through coconut groves, fruit trees and patches of second growth forest. There are a lot of small farms along the way. Everyone waves and says "hello". After a couple of kilometers the trail climbs through some degraded forest. I am hoping to find some good forest before it gets dark. Foolishly in my haste I forgot to bring water. It's hot and there is no shade. I feel light headed, but press on, eager to get to good forest. Eventually I come to a huge concrete bridge that's painted black and pink. The government must have plans to open up the track into a full road. The track then winds through more second growth and cow pastures.
Cow pastures on the hike inland from Tanempo
Finally after 5-6 kilometers I reach some big trees, and the track climbs into the mountains. After a couple more kilometers I reach the summit. The sun is setting and the views of the green island spreading out to the blue waters are beautiful.
View from the summit
The track just beyond the summit
I descend for a ways, then tired and dehydrated I stop at a small clearing and rest. The sky turns from light blue, to orange and finally black.
I start taping for the Togian boobook. No response. Wearily I hike back towards the summit, taping every few hundred meters. Just below the summit I hear a rustling. I turn my headtorch, and a few faces away a big babirusa lifts it's head and sniffs at me. This is a tall, slender wild pig, with four tusks, two grow in a big arc over its snout and back to it's forehead. It has hairless gray skin, like an elephant. I freeze, waiting to see what it does. A moment later it takes off and runs into some bushes, then snorts loudly at me. I hustle down the trail eager to give it space.
At the next clearing I get a distant response from the boobook, a series of frog-like barking croaks. I hike back up the trail to get a little closer. The bird is calling high in a big tree, so it's pointless walking through the thick undergrowth to get closer. I have to get it to fly in near me. Eventually a second bird commences calling. It's also high in a really dense tree. Eventually both fall silent. I wait. And wait. Eventually I try spotlighting the big trees-which is fairly pointless. All I see are leaves. I wait some more, but hear nothing. Reluctantly I move on down the trail. I am surprised to see flashlights ahead. I meet a couple of friendly guys with a bucket of freshwater shrimp and a small eel.
As I make my way back towards town I hear 16 Togian boobooks. Several are fairly near. I use playback to try and lure them from the canopy of tall trees. A owl-sized bat near a calling owl briefly causes some excitement, then disappointment. I spend hours staring at big trees, stark against the moon. I am really tired and dehydrated, so most of the time I do this laying on my back.
I reach Tanempo after midnight. A tiny store is open and I buy a couple of soft drinks and demolish them lustily. Even in the village I hear boobooks. I traipse through rice paddys to the forest edge. I tape, but each time the owls fall quiet.
I walk about half way to Wakai, when a motorbike passes. I wave it down. It takes ages for the rider to turn around. He kindly agrees to take me to my cottage. Even from the back of the bike I smell liquor. We weave slowly, drunkenly down the country road and back to town.
May 2nd. I wake around first light. It takes a moment before the disappointment of last night hits me. I eat breakfast at the cottages. My hostess tells me they were worried about me last night. I do my best to explain. He husband, Harun, kindly lets me use his mobile to call Nurlin, (a capable bird guide I am meeting in Palu, email@example.com ). Nurlin has seen the boobook and has some helpful suggestions, chiefly to get under the canopy, rather than to tape from more open areas. And to limit playback. My plan is to repeat last night's long hike, but to set of earlier and to get much further along the trail-as it was only the last stretch of the trail that passed through reasonably good forest, where I could get under the canopy. And this time I would bring something to fucking drink!
I eat a good lunch and then prep my gear. I hear distant thunder and worry a bit about rain ruining the owling. I pack my gear into a Ziploc bag just in case. Harun's wife kindly sends me off with a big piece of cake.
I catch an ojek to the end of the sealed road at Tanempo and buy some drinks, then head up the track. Ominous slate-colored clouds build over the mountains. It thunders. A farmer stops me, points at the sky and cautions me. Later, another stops me and I explain about the boobook. I play him a recording. "Ah tokeiah", clearly an onomatopoeia. It's a sweaty climb over the mountain. Just after the summit, the sun starts to set. I eat the cake, and am thankful for the sustenance. I hustle faster down the trail, wanting to get deeper into this new territory before night falls. After a few kilometers the trail levels out and the forest opens into farmland. It's been raining lightly for a while now. I see a guy by his farm and ask with gestures if I can shelter on his back porch. He understands, smiles and nods. I climb up and he disappears. Soon he returns with three young guys. I explain about the tokeiah, and play the recording for them. We introduce ourselves. The guys stand around and smoke.
Eventually the rain eases, and I set out, up the dark trail and start taping. I arrive at a patch of nice secondary forest when it starts to rain again. A steady rain. Too much for owling. It's noisy on the leaves. I retreat to the farm and hop on the porch. I move a bit of wood out my way revealing a shiny fat scorpion. I put the wood gently back, and leave well alone. Soon the rain starts to pound on the roof. Run off from the roof soaks the porch. I decide to ask if I can shelter inside the house. I jump down and run through the downpour, up a ladder and knock loudly. No response. I bang louder and again no response. Perhaps he can't hear me, the rain is really pounding on the metal roof. I carefully unlatch the door and step into the dry, smokey space. "Hello". No response. I quietly walk through the house-it's very sparse. No furniture. A chainsaw is in a bedroom. I close the door and lay down on the warm rough planks. A cow is tied up, under the house. It moves around, gently rocking the whole house. An hour passes and the rain eases. I get up to leave. A large huntsman spider bears witness to my trespass. I slip out, carefully latching the door with a piece of wire, just as I had found it.
I hike for a kilometer in the drizzle, before it starts to rain in earnest. Frustrated I turn around, again, and return to the farm. Half way back to the farm I notice a bright star. I stop, and realize the sky is clearing. I return towards the mountain again. At a good patch of forest I play a tape and get a very distant response. A few minutes later something flies by, I spotlight it and can see it's an owl. A small brown owl with a brown back and whitish belly. It disappears and does not call. I am not really sure what I have seen. I go back to taping. I hear a soft quiet growl above me. I spotlight the place, a Togian boobook is looking at me. A small earless owl, with yellow eyes, a weak pale supercilium, the upper-parts are brown with lighter markings on the head and white spots on the scapulars, a brown mottled chest, a whitish belly with some indistinct brown markings and rather weak looking unfeathered pale legs. Oh brilliant! I enjoy long looks at this rarely seen owl. All I have to do now is cross the mountain. Its a longish (10km) walk back to Tanempo on a wet trail. Hundreds of frogs sing from the big puddles on the trail. I hear a couple more distant boobooks, but don't stop and tape them. About halfway back, a big amber moon emerges from behind the palms. Thousands of stars shine. Fireflies glow from the tallest trees. Trail-side cows, move slowly out of my way, their hollow wooded bells ringing softly. I reach Tanempo at 9:30pm and hail the first motorcycle. I should probably be more discerning. Tonight's rider also smells of liquor. Still its a great slow motion drunken ride back to the cottages. At my door a wire-haired dog that I had befriended waits for me. Despite the hike, I am wired and it takes ages until I'm calm enough to sleep.
May 3rd. Despite my best efforts I can't sleep past 5:30am. It's already bright out. People, dogs and roosters are all making a commotion. I pack and clean she cowshite of my pants. (Last night I must have walked through every cowshite on the trail). Showered and fed I say goodbye and thanks to my host and walk down to the docks.
I catch the 9am fast-boat-which turns out to be genuinely fast. A few times it stops in the channel. A mechanic works on it briefly and then we resumes our journey.
Back in Ampana, the docks are noisy and full of hustle. I discover the van to Palu leaves at 5pm. That's six and a half hours. I walk around in the hot sun and end up at an airless warung where I eat an early lunch. I decide to catch an ojek to the Marina Cottages (where I had stayed three nights ago). I now have WiFi and a beach view. I while away the afternoon checking in with Tui and Nurlin on WhatsApp and watching a big storm come in and pound the place for about an hour.
Torrential downpour at Marina Cottages
I catch another ojek back to the harbor and meet my van. Luckily the guy who sits next to me speaks great English. He's married to a Finn and we talk a lot about Western culture, values and marriage. We stop at a roadside fish place. I pick a fish out of a bucket of ice, and its grilled up and served on rice. Delicious.
The journey to Palu takes almost 12 hours. It's tedious and uncomfortable trying to sleep. The van lacks wipers, and during periods of heavy rain we have to drive slowly.
May 4th. Nurlin had arranged to meet me at 3am at a beach-side hotel in Palu. I ended up being a couple hours late. I find him and his driver asleep in an old white Mazda van outside the hotel. One of the first things I learn is that Alfonds' brother, Victor had just died.
We drive out of Palu as day breaks and through rice paddys and small villages. Then we climb through the forest to a higher valley also filled with paddys. We stop at a small village and eat breakfast. Then we press on and drive higher into the forested mountains of Lore Lindu National Park. Nurlin and I talk owls. Because I have seen all the species of owls in Sulawesi, my goal is to look for "white spotted boobook". This is a newly discovered bird. It has alternatively been reported as a young cinnabar boobook, a race of cinnabar boobook or a new, and not yet scientifically described species. Nurlin explains it occurs alongside cinnabar boobook at Lore Lindu, which, if he's correct, effectively rules out that its a race of that bird. He also explains that he does not have a recording of this bird's call and that it is unknown to him. This means we are going to have to track one down during the day. That won't be easy. The park is a massive forest. Furthermore Nurlin reports the birds are not using the same roosting site repeatedly. Still he is optimistic we can track one down. Before we get to the park headquarters we stop at a couple of sites where Nurlin has seen white spotted boobook before. We hike around, off trail, scanning tangles. We don't find any owls, but I do get stung by a bush. Nurlin tells me the pain will go away in three days. (He's right of course. Mostly it didn't hurt, but for the next three days when ever I touched the many parts of my body that had been stung I would feel sharp pain).
Eventually we break for lunch, and drive down the far side of the park, and stop at a small warung in the second village. We eat fried tempe, rice and hot sambal (Sunda style). It's brilliant. We drive a little further to a new guesthouse (Homestay Nasional) and take a break for a couple of hours. Nurlin's niece, Yana joins us. She's a collage student studying to be an English teacher. She's here to learn the ropes of the bird tour business. (Yana's not a birder, but is unfailingly positive. Over the next three days she enthuses every time we see an owl. She hikes miles off trail without falling in a pair of white gym shoes). At 3pm we drive back into the mountains in the van. We stop and pick up Lito, a former hunter who works with Nurlin as a bird guide. Lito is a powerfully built guy who wears a big smile.
Back in the park we try more off trail bushwacking in search of roosting boobooks but find none. Eventually it gets too dark to search the forest and we hike back to the road. Nurlin takes me to a site for Cinnabar boobook. (I had seen this bird at Gunung Ambang, but wanted to see it here. It had been explained to me that the "white-spotted boobook" maybe just the local race of Cinnabar boobook). Nurlin thought different-that they are separate species. So I wanted to see both. In no time we had a response. By moving away from the bird, and taping I was able to catch it in flight as it moved towards me. Eventually I got good views of a perched bird. To me this bird looked and sounded like the birds at Gunung Ambang. (Rob Hutchinson, an experienced bird guide later shared a photo of a Cinnabar boobook taken here. The photo shows a bird, clearly similar to the birds in Gunung Ambang, but with white spotting on the otherwise cinnamon belly feathers).
We return Lito to his home, and try for Speckled boobook in his back yard. No owls, just a gang of noisy piglets. We had planned to visit a couple of other lowland sites for other owls (that I had earlier seen with Alfonds), but it starts to rain heavily. We return to the homestay and eat yellowfin tuna for dinner. It's still pouring when we finish dinner, so we decide to call it a night.
May 5th. I get up at 3:15am. We eat an early breakfast at the homestay and drive back up to Lore Lindu, picking up Lito along the way. Our plan is to look for owls along the Anaso Track. This is an old track from a 1970s Japanese logging operation that climbs the mountains. It's a legendary birding trail giving unique access to higher elevation forest. Lower on the trail we tape for Minahassa masked owl. (I am still hoping for a view of a perched bird). We try a series of spots along the first mile of the trail. A big bat flies in at one of them, giving us a moment of excitement. But no owls. Dawn breaks. A distant Cinnabar boobook calls.
We change tactics. We search for a roosting white-spotted boobook. We hike for several kilometers up to Anaso Track. Regularly we venture off the track, and off trail for long detours through promising looking forest.
Thick forest near the Anaso track
Lito and Yana on the Anaso track
Despite a lot of effort-six hours of hiking, we find no boobooks. We do see a pair of large Sulawesi bear-cuscus, a rare arboreal mammal. As the weather warms, Lito cuts a vine, and crafts a head-band out of it. He looks like the spitting image of Sylvester Stallone in Rambo. Well, except for the smile. Hungry and tired we return to the homestay for lunch. I try and sleep after lunch, but it's hot and I have had too much coffee.
At 3:30pm we set off to some nearby paddys in search of Eastern grass-owl. This is a bird I saw in 2002 in Mindanao, when I flushed one from a swampy grassland. I am eager to see it again, and hopefully get a better view. Until a couple of years ago this was considered a rare bird in Sulawesi. Now they are regularly seen hunting near Lore Lindu. We park and start to walk along a farm track that runs through extensive paddys.
The grass owl site
We find a hunting spotted harrier and black-winged kite. At the end of the track we get talking to a guy. He asks for a photo with me. Much to my amusement he goes back into his home, and emerges minutes later in a police uniform, complete with an assault rifle. We take some pictures. He explains he assigned to Poso. This town was the site of a lot of killings between Christian and Muslim people a few years ago. Understandably he didn't like his job. On weekends he returns to the family farm to get away from it. I wish him well and we resume searching for grass-owls. We end up back at the van scanning the horizon for owls. Lito yells out. A grass-owl is quartering the paddys. It looks like a barn owl, but with very long legs and a darker mantel. It's a gorgeous bird. I appreciate getting to watch an owl in the day time and not harassing it with a spotlight or playback. I watch the owl for several minutes before it plunges into some tall grasses and disappears.
We drive back though the paddys and see a second bird. This one passes much closer by, and in the late afternoon sun looks glorious-big and buffy.
On the way back to the homestay we stop at a cacao plantation. It's dark as we walk behind the farm house and start to tape. We eventually get a manic response from a pair of speckled boobooks. They fly into a small tree, and we get brilliant views of these fantastic owls. I am struck by how heavy the bill looks for a relatively small owl.
Next we visit another farm and tape out a very obliging Sulawesi scops owl. We also try for Minahassa masked-owl at several sites, but fail to get any response.
After a delicious diner at the homestay we walk through the village to some nearby fields and tape for Sulawesi masked-owl but fail to see one.
May 6th. I wake at 4:30am, and after breakfast we drive back towards the mountains of Lore Lindu.
View from the van at dawn, driving to Lore Lindu
Along the way we stop and tape for masked-owls (both species) but find none. We do hear a distant speckled booboook. This is the last day of owling on the trip. My goal is to find a roosting "white-spotted boobook." I am not optimistic after spending many hours over the last couple of days walking off trail hoping to flush a boobook from a low roost. We hike up a side creek, next to a very primitive bamboo and tarp shelter. There is no farm, so I assume it belongs to someone harvesting from the forest. I'm walking behind Lito, when he flushes a small brown owl from low in a thicket. I catch sight of it as it flies swiftly and disappears into a patch of dense trees. I stand watch from a small ridge, while Nurlin and Lito make several passes of the area, but we never relocate it.
Nurlin takes off to check another area, while Lito and I continue to expand our search. It's more of the same. Very steep hills, spiny rattan vines. The bush that stings. Fallen logs to clamber. Eventually we hear Nurlin. I ask Lito to translate, but he shrugs, indicating whatever Nurlin's saying is no big deal. After a while we slowly make our way back to the van to regroup. Nurlin excitedly tells me that he flushed a pair of roosting boobooks. He could not confirm what species because he didn't want to risk flushing them again. We returned to the area, scrambling up a steep slope. Nurlin shows me the spot where he flushed the owls out of a sapling. Twenty yards up the hill, something flushes over me and lands up slope. I get my bins on it. It's a "white spotted boobook". The owl looks bigger than I had expected-but this could be due to seeing it in the dim understory. The background color is a uniform cinnamon, with no barring seen. The head is uniform, except for pale eye-brows, which are not white, but a very light cinnamon color. The bill is pale and horn colored and does not appear small. The breast has prominent white spots. On the belly the spots are larger and more profuse. I can't see the mantle, but briefly see the scapulars and wing coverts-some of these had white spotting, but my view of the side was too brief to be certain exactly which feathers are spotted. The tail was obscured by the tips of the primaries, whose tips appeared uniform cinnamon. The feet were pale yellowish and unfeathered. I crept quite close to the owl, and was even able to take some crap pictures on my phone.
The "white spotted boobook" is somewhere in this frame
Terrible iPhone picture of "white-spotted boobook"
Wow! I feel elated. Even if this is not a new species of Sulawesi owl, its still brilliant to have seen something that's not pictured in my book. Plus it had started to feel like an impossible quest to find an owl sleeping in the vast forest.
I happily say goodbye and thank you to Lito. He waves goodbye and hops on his motorcycle. We return to Palu, which is hot and busy. Nurlin kindly invites me to his home for lunch. I meet his charming son, Wallace Jr. We eat a good lunch and I get to browse through Nurlin's library of bird books. He has WiFi, so I make a WhatsApp call to Tui. Later Nurlin runs me to the fancy Mercur hotel. We plan to reunite after a couple of hours and check out a Sulawesi masked-owl that lives in the next town.
Nurlin picks me up at at 5pm. Wallace Jr is with him, and another guide, Allin, who works with Nurlin. We drive up to Dongalla (a port town) about an hour away arriving at dusk. We meet another local guide, Kasman (Nurlin works very hard to develop a team of bird guides). Kasman found the owls nesting in a tower at the harbor.
Dongalla harbor
We wait around, and once it's fairly dark, we see a big owl fly into the tower. A few minutes later a second owl perches on an abandoned building. We are able to spotlight it and get great views of this really large and beautiful owl, with it's big beak, powerful legs and exceptionally long neck. We get to watch it fly around several times. I am really struck by the huge wings of this bird.
We loaf around the docks for a while and enjoy the sound of the water and boats. It's a beautiful place to linger. Eventually we grow hungry and drive to a local warung for dinner. I get dropped off at the fancy hotel. I should sleep because tomorrow will be a long day, but it's hard for me to settle after such a good day.
May 7th. After a great breakfast at the Mercur, Nurlin picked me up and ran me to Palu airport. I said goodbye and thanks. I flew home (thanks to the international date line), via Jakarta, Taipei and Seattle.
Many thanks to everyone who helped me with including Ross, Shaun, David, Rob and Nick (and his excellent website http://burung-nusantara.org/birding-indonesia/ ) . And thank you to the guides who all did an excellent job of finding owls: Nurlin, Lito, Alfonds, Mensur, Wesley and Adun.


text:
The Art Affair 2012
December News from Jen Ramming, Co-Founder and Director
Invest in a Child. Strengthen our Community.
Dear Friends, Please consider an end of year gift to OpenDoors of Asheville. With your help we support local children at risk, many of whom are born into multi-generational poverty. Poverty is not their doing, but it IS their undoing. Please help us BREAK THE CYCLE. […]
Most of the children OpenDoors has the honor to work with, are preschool or elementary school aged. Jasmine, however, came into the program as an 11th grader at Asheville High School. Though her grades were solid, her conduct led her to the brink of losing it all. Believing in her potential, OpenDoors got involved and […]
As with most of life's best relationships – the one between 5th grader Davon and his OpenDoors mentors Katherine Brooks and Peggy Weil, began organically. No 'formal' match up or introduction, just a great kid two women got to know through school activities and their own children. Katherine says Davon has been a welcome member […]
This is how we "Du" it!
Our first annual Dig the Du event on Sunday, October 9th was a tremendous success.
October News from Jen Ramming, Co-founder and Director
Open Doors School of Thought
There was a fight at Asheville High; it wasn't the first and it won't be the last, but what impressed me about this event was that OpenDoors volunteers heard about it even before my son who was on campus did, and we were able to contact one of the kid's parents immediately and circle that child in crisis with our intentional community. This was possible because of students looking out for other students and having the ability and courage to contact responsible adults in their lives whom they know they can trust. […]
The love for and belief in J'Von by his mentors, served as some of the earliest seeds for what has blossomed into OpenDoors of Asheville. Before his learning differences were diagnosed, J'Von struggled in traditional school. He couldn't keep up with his studies, so he went for the laughs instead – becoming the class clown […]
Dig the Du Race Results
DTD Age Group – http://www.leetiming.com/DTD2011_AG.HTM
DTD Teams – http://www.leetiming.com/DTD2011_RELAY.HTM
DTD All Overall – http://www.leetiming.com/DTD2011_OA.HTM
Our Contributing Artists – Meet Randy Shull
By sharing his time, talent and random great ideas, Artist Randy Shull helped get OpenDoors off the ground in 2009. One of our earliest contributing artists, it was Randy's vote of confidence that nudged our first Benefit Art Auction into becoming reality. A master in painting, architecture, landscaping and furniture design, Randy's creations are part […]
"A Garden Tour" benefiting OpenDoors of Asheville
Join us on Sunday, June 12th from 3 pm til 6 pm.
Click here for directions via Google Maps.
It's Official!
Exciting news!!! OpenDoors of Asheville has officially received our 501(c)3 IRS tax exempt non-profit status! Special thanks to Board Chair Kendra Sherrod, Stephen Trust, and Brian Morrison at McGuire, Wood and Bissette for all their efforts to accomplish this!
New Article in Verve Magazine
OpenDoors is getting some great press lately! Click here to read this wonderful article in Verve Magazine! http://www.vervemag.com/april-2011/2011/3/29/family-ties.html
OpenDoors Auction a Smashing Success
Over 250 people filled the Haywood Park Ballroom for OpenDoors 2nd Annual Benefit Art Auction on February 12th. The lively crowd fell silent when OpenDoors student Antonio stood at the podium and described his goals–to play basketball and to attend a private school–and his desire to be a good example to his brothers and sister […]
Jim Ostlund
"Lost" Dimensions: n/a Media: sepia wash Fair Market Value: $1800 Min. Online Bid: $900 Absentee Bidding
Richard Oversmith
Dimensions: n/a Media: n/a Fair Market Value: $1800 Min. Online Bid: $900 Absentee Bidding
Anonymous Donor
Dimensions: n/a Media: Fair Market Value: $250 Min. Online Bid: $125 Absentee Bidding
Laleah Adams
"Tall House" Dimensions: n/a Media: n/a Fair Market Value: $225 Min. Online Bid: $120 Absentee Bidding
Mike Smith
"The Green Barn" Dimensions: 26 3/8″ x 30 1/8″ Media: Photograph (matted) Fair Market Value: $3500 Min. Online Bid: $1250 Absentee Bidding
4 Nights at Villa Cortes in Nosara, Costa Rica
Casa Grande at Villa Cortes in Nosara, Costa Rica 4 nights Fair Market Value: $1200 Min. Online Bid: $600 Absentee Bidding This private secluded property is perched above the Pacific Ocean on the Northwest Coast of the Guanacaste region in Costa Rica. The name Cortes comes from the native Cortes tree which is prevalent throughout […]
Taiyo LaPaix
"La Limette" Dimensions: 19″ x 15″ (framed) Media: colored-pencil-on-photocopy-of-pencil-on-paper, 2005 Fair Market Value: $400 Min. Online Bid: $200 Absentee Bidding

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Laurel: Little form to go on in Oliver's Twist
Two-time winner Peace Town and recent maiden winner In the Juice are the two most intriguing entrants in a group of largely untested Maryland-bred 2-year-olds trying turf for the first time in the $50,000 Oliver's Twist at Laurel Park.
Among the nine runners, only Mr. Keeper, who is cross-entered in Saturday's Go for the Green at Delaware Park, and Count on Lou, a distant seventh in his turf debut, have raced on grass.
Peace Town, the track's 9-5 morning-line favorite, who has handled a fast track and mud in his two starts, will run only if the race gets moved to the main track, according to trainer Mike Trombetta.
"We worked him on the turf and we were not blown away by it," Trombetta said. "We are not sure whether he was just green or didn't like it."
In the Juice has an above average Tomlinson grass rating of 295 and is a half-brother to Apple Special, who won his turf debut sprinting last season and went on to win the Maryland Juvenile Championship.
The highest Tomlinson rating for grass belongs to Pilanesberg, but his trainer, James Ryerson, is 0 for his last 16 with 2-year-olds making their turf debut.


text:
Quantification of Piperazine in Chicken Muscle by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry
- 161 Downloads
- Citations
An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI/MS/MS) method was developed for the detection of piperazine in chicken muscle. Following extraction and purification, the chicken muscle extract was injected into the UPLC system and analyzed. Piperazine detection was performed on a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer with the ESI interface operating in positive mode. The most sensitive mass transition from the precursor ion to the product ion was 87.1 → 44.1 for piperazine. The coefficient (R 2) of piperazine was 0.9995 in the range of 1–200 μg/kg. The recovery and relative standard deviation (RSD) ranged from 102.93 to 111.46% and from 4.57 to 5.28% at 50.0, 100.0 and 200.0 μg/kg adding levels, respectively. Limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) were 0.4 and 1.0 μg/kg, respectively. This method was fully validated based on its specificity, sensitivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, matrix effect, and stability results. Compared to other researches, this new method not only omitted the derivative process, which simplify the pre-processing, but also proved a better sensitivity based on its low LOD and LOQ values.
KeywordsPiperazine UPLC-ESI/MS/MS Chicken muscle
This work was Supported by the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-42-G23), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31302009), the National Science and Technology Pillar Program during the Twelfth Five-year Plan Period of China (2014BAD13B02), the Priority Academic Program Development (PAPD) of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, and the New Century Talent Project of Yangzhou University.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Conflict of Interest
Kaizhou Xie declares that he has no conflict of interest. Ya'nan Liu declares that he has no conflict of interest. Lirui Sun declares that he has no conflict of interest. Maoda Pang declares that he has no conflict of interest. Xing Xie declares that he has no conflict of interest. Qiang Gao declares that he has no conflict of interest. Bo Wang declares that he has no conflict of interest. Yangyang Zhang declares that he has no conflict of interest. Ran Wang declares that he has no conflict of interest. Genxi Zhang declares that he has no conflict of interest. Guojun Dai declares that he has no conflict of interest. Jinyu Wang declares that he has no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Informed Consent
Not applicable.
- Bond GR (1960) Determination of piperazine as piperazine diacetate. Anal Chem 32:1332–1334CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Becker M, Zittlau E, Petz M (2004) Residue analysis of 15 penicillins and cephalosporins in bovine muscle, kidney and milk by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Anal Chim Acta 520:19–32CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Bonfiglio R, King RC, Olah TV, Merkle K (1999) The effects of sample preparation methods on the variability of the electrospray ionization response for model drug compound. Rapid Commun Mass Sp 13:1175–1185CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Commission Decision (2002) Commission decision of 2002/657/EC implementing council directive 96/23/EC concerning the performance of analytical methods and the interpretation of results (2002/657/EC). Official Journal of European Communities L221:8–36Google Scholar
- Dessouky YM, Ismaiel SA (1974) Colorimetric determination of piperazine in pharmaceutical formulations. Analyst 99:482–486CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Lacorte S, Fernandez-Alba A (2006) Time of flight mass spectrometry applied to the liquid chromatographic analysis of pesticides in water and food. Mass Spec Rev 25:866–880CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Lin H, Tian Y, Zhang Z, Wu L, Chen Y (2010) Quantification of piperazine phosphate in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry employing precolumn derivatization with dansyl chloride. Anal Chim Acta 664:40–48CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Matuszewski BK, Constanzer ML, Chavez-Eng CM (2003) Strategies for the assessment of matrix effect in quantitative bioanalytical methods based on HPLC-MS/MS. Anal Chem 75:3019–3030CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Mc Clintic C, Remick DM, Peterson JA, Risley DS (2003) Novel method for the determination of piperazine in pharmaceutical drug substances using hydrophilic interaction chromatography and evaporative light scattering detection. J Liq Chromatogr R T 26:3093–3104CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Muralikrishna U, Babu KS, Krishnamurthy M (1990) A simple spectrophotometric determination of some chlorobenzoquinones with morpholine, thiomorpholine and piperazine. Talanta 37:353–355CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Navaneeswari R, Reddy PR (2012) Analytical method for piperazine in an active pharmaceutical ingredient using chemical derivatization and HPLC-UV. J Chem Pharml Res 4:2854–2859Google Scholar
- Park JA, Zhang D, Kim DS, Kim SK, Cho SH, Jeong D (2015) Development of a high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection method for quantification of piperazine in animal products by using precolumn derivatization. Food Chem 196:1331–1337CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Skarping G, Bellander T, Mathiasson L (1986) Determination of piperazine in working atmosphere and in human urine using derivatization and capillary gas chromatography with nitrogen- and mass-selective detection. J Chromatogr B 370:245–258CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Senthilraja M (2006) Colorimetric method for the determination of piperazine in pharmaceutical formulations. Indian J Pharm Sci 68:843CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- The Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (2015) Maximum residue limits (MRLs) list of agricultural chemicals in foodsGoogle Scholar
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration (2001) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Center for Veterinary Medicine, Bioanalytical Method Validation, Guidance for Industry, p 1–22Google Scholar
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2014) CFR–Code of Federal regulations title 21 part 556 tolerances for residues of new animal drugs in foodGoogle Scholar


text:
- Narrated by: Kim de Blecourt
- Series: Leningrad Diptych, Book 1
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Release date: 06-07-11
- Language: English
- Publisher: Brilliance Audio
- Whispersync for Voice-ready
Regular price: $24.49
Buy Now with 1 Credit
Buy Now for $24.49
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Add to Library for $0.00
Publisher's Summary
Deathless, however, is no dry, historical tome: it lights up like fire as the young Marya Morevna transforms from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei's beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing. Along the way, there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests, secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. All told, Deathless is a collision of magical history and actual history, of revolution and mythology, of love and death, which will bring Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation.
Customer ReviewsMost Helpful
By Robert on 12-29-13
My Favorite Fantasy Book of the Year
I've mentioned in these reviews that I think that a narrator, especially one who is also an actor, can make a good book seem better; a bad narrator can sometimes tarnish the appeal of a book that is well-written. But, when a great performer reads an incredibly well-written book, the synergy can bring the result to a whole new dimension of achievement. I think that it is this latter case that best describes Deathless.
Firstly, my Audible version of the book thankfully avoids the very annoying repetitions of "he said," "she said…" within the narrative. Instead, the characters are acted out by the brilliant Kim de Blecourt. She has a voice for each character, sometimes subtle in nature but always unmistakably characteristic and consistent from the beginning to the end of the story. Performing a story rather than just reading it is a difficult task to pull off well as I can only surmise given how often I have listened to poorly narrated let alone unadroitly performed novels on Audible. And perhaps because of Ms. de Blecourt, I loved every one of the characters in this story: the heroine, the hero and even the villains who I came to never think of as true villains (see the blurring of dichotomies below.) The crones, elves and goblins, et al were beautifully drawn and all easily visualized from the words of the author and voice of the narrator. The sweetness and compassion that comes through in the voice of the narrator seem totally in keeping with the themes, tone and thrust of the story.
Anna Akhmatova is the translator of Deathless. I have read criticisms elsewhere of translators who were unable to accurately carry across in translation either the meaning or beauty of the original language. I'm thinking of Solaris in its translation from Polish to English. While I cannot speak to the accuracy or translational skill of Ms. Akhmatova, what came across for me was prose of extraordinary beauty. And, given what at first blush can only be described as a book fraught with rather terrible themes, the projection of any kind of beauty in the midst of all that darkness and terror is only the first of its many dichotomies. And it is just these dichotomies that I found to be one of the most interesting aspects of the book.
There are themes of extreme opposites that are clouded dichotomies within the story. For example, there is a war between two brothers, two realms, life and death but even between these, the author blurs the line. The only difference between fact and fiction is only that which the reader allows oneself to suspend disbelief [sic] in. This is a story about power: power taken and power freely given. Incidentally, the theme of dominance and submission is explored throughout the book and might be a bit too extreme for some readers. Yet here too, the subject of sadomasochism is handled by the author with such grace, finesse and aplomb, that this reader found nothing repugnant or distasteful; another blurring of what might be considered by some to be clearly right or wrong.
Valente's lyricism combines eastern European folklore with early to middle 20th century Soviet history. The story itself speaks of that interesting amalgam of facts and fairytales. That particular time and place served not only as a poignant backdrop but was, I believe, a metaphor for enriching a much deeper story often as cold, bleak and bitter as its exterior. While listening to the book, I often had visions of an elder, Russian grandmother with a twinkle in her eye reading tales to her grandchildren at night next to a crackling fire. Though be warned, Deathless is not a book for the very young… maybe not even for the sorta' young. It does contain some rather mature content.
As in any good fairytale, there are lessons that are taught even if not always learned by the characters. I found that most of the lessons were not taught by the protagonists but usually by the lesser characters in the story: the spirits, demons and other magical creatures portrayed in supporting roles. Here too the dichotomies come full circle with the tutors coming to learn as much as they taught which often turned out to be the opposite of what they originally taught/thought to be true. Bad often morphed into good and good into bad; the dominant became the submissive and submissive dominant; young became old became young again.
And speaking of love, what is also amazing and just occurred to me, having written about all the dichotomies within the pages, one missing dichotomy is that of love and hate, or even love and fear if that's your preference. One of my favorite reviewers, who is also Russian, says in her review, "For me, this was, above anything, the story of war and loss." I can see how one might get that from Deathless. While there was war, suffering and sadness for sure, I only took away its theme of love and the beauty of its prose from between the covers. I saw suffering but found no hate! Amazing. We could blame the Bolsheviks early and Nazis later in the story for so much suffering but those were among the facts and more tangential to everything else going on in the story. My focus must have been more within the fantasy where there were few if any real villains, no bad guys (or gals.) Sure, there was the wife, if you can call her that, who ate their husbands but it sounded like they deserved it. She was great fun and one of my favorite characters.
Whatever your focus, this is a driveway book: one that you arrive home to while listening and find yourself unable to get out of the car; you sit and continue listening because you cannot stand to interrupt the story. I read the book in two days and it is one I probably would not have chosen to read or listened to in the first place. While I am a sucker for a good love story, it has to be a really good one (e.g. Romeo and Juliet.) This book was more than good; it was great.
Having just been written within the last couple of years, we can probably not call Deathless a classic. For this reader, however, it is only a matter of time.
35 of 37 people found this review helpful
By David on 08-30-13
Stalinist house-elves and Deathless Tsars
In Deathless, Catherynne Valente ambitiously takes on the Russian tale of Koschei the Deathless, turning the traditional tale of the wicked bride-stealing Tsar of Life into a modern fable featuring one such bride, Marya Morevna, who learns to match Koschei in deviousness.
"The rapt pupil will be forgiven for assuming the Tsar of Death to be wicked and the Tsar of Life to be virtuous. Let the truth be told: There is no virtue anywhere. Life is sly and unscrupulous, a blackguard, wolfish, severe. In service to itself, it will commit any offense. So, too, is Death possessed of infinite strategies and a gaunt nature- but also mercy, also grace and tenderness. In his own country, Death can be kind."
One thing that strikes me about almost every work of Russian fiction (or fiction set in Russia, as Valente is not herself Russian, but her mastery of detail might convince you otherwise): Russia just has not ever been a very nice place. It has beauty and magic and heroism, but the people are hard survivors of centuries of lethal winters and murderous invaders and cruel rulers. Softness and comfort, are rare, precious things. Deathless is a story with all of the above, but Marya Morevna's little bits of kindness and comfort are, as you might expect, hard-won and easily lost.
This book also blends traditional Russian folk tale and all the creatures that go with it (yes, Baba Yaga, of course, and also firebirds and house-elves and russalkas and Father Winter) with modern history, or 20th century history in this case. Marya Morevna begins the story as a fifteen-year-old girl who proudly wears the red scarf of Lenin's Young Pioneers, a shy girl who reads too much Pushkin and can also see birds turn into men. Each of her sisters is courted and taken away by a suitor who, unbeknownst to anyone but Marya, is a bird.
The blending of mythology with Soviet history is not a contradiction; much of the book proceeds in understandable but not always linear and never very rational fashion. Magic and fairy tale logic will not bend for prosaic reality, not even in the USSR. But that doesn't mean magic and fairy tales are unaffected by the USSR. Marya's next encounter with it is the discovery of the Domovoi, or house-elves, living in the house her family now has to share with eleven other families. Since all the families moved in, so did their Domovoi, and the little creatures have formed a Committee and become loyal members of the Party. As they tell Marya, they can cause much more mischief by writing letters than by breaking crockery.
I think the Stalinist house-elves were my favorite part of the book.
Eventually, Koschei the Deathless comes for Marya, marries her, and as she's being swept off her feet, she gets some hard lessons from Koschei's sister, Baba Yaga. Like most fairy tale wives who marry evil immortal sorcerers, Marya's story isn't supposed to have a happy ending. But Marya decides she's not going to be just another Yelena warehoused and entombed.
"Husbands lie, Masha. I should know; I've eaten my share. That's lesson one. Lesson number two: among the topics about which a husband is most likely to lie are money, drink, black eyes, political affiliation, and women who squatted on his lap before and after your sweet self."
Catherynne Valente is always working with fairy tales, one way or the other, and you might think of her as the modern era's Brothers Grimm, retelling much older stories beautifully and imaginatively but without flensing off the horror and the grime. Valente plays all the traditional chords, like skillful use of the Rule of Three exactly when appropriate. Her gift is also with words: her books are endless collections of quotable quotes, profound paragraphs, elegant sentences crafted just so. You wish every fantasy author could fill her prose with such pretty words that regardless of the story, you always know someone will say something on the next page that you want to cut out and remember.
And yet... not quite 5 stars. Sigh. Why not? Because as much as I love and admire Catherynne Valente's writing, she's like an undisciplined genius, going off wherever the story takes her, filling it with whatever words and images strike her fancy. There is a plot of sorts to this book, but it's the plot of a fairy tale, and so it meanders, it breaks logic, it ends vaguely. Maybe it's churlish of me to want a novelistic structure in a modern fairy tale, but sometimes reading Valente is like stuffing yourself with fudge. The box is there, full of the stuff, and you can't stop helping yourself, but you know you're really eating too much and this is too much rich gooey sweetness for one sitting. I've had this reaction to most of her adult books; oddly enough, it's her MG Fairyland books, where perhaps her perfect command of heart and soul and sentences and imperfect command of narrative are ideally suited, that have me rapturously in love with her writing. I really wanted Deathless to be an adult Girl Who...Fairyland book, and it.... wasn't... quite. But I can easily see this being a 5-star book for less curmudgeonly, nitpicky, and critical readers than myself, and it did nothing to diminish my appreciation for Catherynne Valente as a writer.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful


text:
Pet Sitter in Colorado Springs
If you find yourself feeling guilty about leaving your dog all day while you work long hours, or going on vacation and do not want to board your dog, I can help! My passion for pets is obvious to anyone who has ever been in contact with me. Since I was a teenager, I found myself house sitting for parents friends and taking care of their animals while they were away and making extra cash. I am absolutely obsessed with dogs of all sizes and personalities and thrilled to play with, care for and love your pup! Not only will you find your pet happy, loved and walked when you get home, but I am also skilled at training dogs if you need help on that side. I am also available for kitty cat care, plant watering and general house up-keep if needed. I am extremely trustworthy, reliable and have reference to prove this at request. If you are in need, I would love to meet you and your pet and we can negotiate a price!!
Pet Sitter Details
|Email Address
|Phone Number
|Upgrade your account to call
|Years of Experience
|Provider Type
|Hourly Rate
Notes made here will only be seen by you. If you want to message the owner of this listing
More in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Find Pet Sitting Near Colorado Springs
Featured Pet Care Providers near Colorado Springs, CO


text:
Last night, my dad and I went to a Christmas concert by a local ensemble, Noel! that consisted of two violins, a viola, four harps, a percussionist, a cello, a flute, and a reader who read poetry. It was just a lovely program. Some of the music was just unearthly in its beauty, and the reading was so well done!
It is pretty rare to hear poetry well read. I think even poets don't necessarily read their own poetry well; a skill for writing is not always a skill for performance. Some of the poems I really liked included Thomas Hardy's "The Oxen," Rudyard Kipling's "Eddi's Service," and "Candlelit Heart," by Mary E. Linton.


text:
Everybody Reads Welcomes Sherman Alexie to Multnomah County Library March 12, 2013.
Everybody Reads is more than an author speech at the Schnitzer (March 12, 2013 in Portland). It is a chance to bring all of Multnomah County together around a single author or book. It is an opportunity to spark a community conversation around, for example, what it means to be of mixed racial origins. School children, seniors, adults, families can all engage in discussion about the writing, the author, and the social implications of the text.
This year's Everybody Reads events, hosted by Multnomah County Library with a generous FY2013 grant from the Cultural Trust, will focus on two books by Northwest author Sherman Alexie. This 11th annual community reading project features two works by Alexie: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, for young adults, and Ten Little Indians, a collection of short stories, for adults.
The semi-autobiographical young adult novel follows teen protagonist Junior, a cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Junior leaves his school to attend a neighboring all-white high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. In addition to the direct grant from the Trust, Sherman Alexie's March 2013 visit is made possible by two Cultural Trust grantees, Literary Arts, who sponsors the author's trip to Portland, and OPB, which will welcome Alexie and Everybody Reads on Think Out Loud.
Sherman Alexie was born on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He currently lives in Seattle and is the author of six novels, many short stories and poems, and the first-ever all-Indian movie, Smoke Signals. He has won numerous awards, including an NEA fellowship, a PEN/Hemingway Award, and an American Book Award. Magazines ranging from The New Yorker to People have hailed him as a top 20 writer for the 21st Century, and "Best in Pages." His books use humor and poignancy to explore the themes of growing up and living as an American Indian in current times.


text:
A three-year-old Minnesota boy looks set to be taken off life-support and have his organs donated after he was allegedly severely beaten by his mother's boyfriend for peeing on him while she was at work.
Jonathan Loun, 31, who lives with Dante's mom Jessica Carr was watching Dante and his seven-year-old brother.
The population density was 26.6 people per square mile (10.3/km²).
There were 358 housing units at an average density of 5.9/sq mi (2.3/km²).
Many men like sex with hot prostitutes in Sandstone and search for it every week or even every day.
It is called prostitution, when you have to pay sex workers from the street or other women, maybe from college, who need money or just want to finance their life by selling sexual service for money.
Maybe some of them also are secret hooker, who work at their private appartment and do it for pocket money? Another mostly legal part of "prostitution" in Sandstone is to hire an escort lady from an agency.
You only buy a sexy madam for society, not for sex. But for a small extra money many of them offer high class sex in Sandstone.
Our Saint Louis County singles are in the 218 area code, and might live in these or other zip codes: 55808, 55807, 55815, 55810, 55802, 55816, 55806, or 55805 personals.
So the best way is, just to use the internet and contact free prostitutes living near Sandstone, who don't want to get paid for sex. Maybe they are married, but desperate housewifes, young singles or just want to have fun.
Even in Sandstone are real people, who really love to have sex or do otherthings like travel with other unknown people like you!
The event welcomes in the winter with ice climbing, winter camping and snow shoeing.
In the spring local paddlers host the Kettle River Paddle Festival kettleriverpaddlefest.com, an event for canoeists and kayakers.


text:
Stone Island 2018 Fall/Winter Ice Jacket Video
March 4, 2018
Italian sportswear stalwart Stone Island has launched a video highlighting one in all its more technically superior pieces for Fall/Winter 2013: the Ice Stone Island T-Shirts Jacket. Using thermo-sensitive supplies inside the coat, the Ice Jacket adjustments its coloration relying on temperature or atmospheric change in a given surroundings. A polyurethane film is utilized over the jacket's polyester mesh base, which has been infused with a myriad of small pigmented molecules and changes colour as a chemical response. It doesn't matter what shade the jacket turns though, it additionally ensures warmth by means of a specialised polyester fiber quilting within the lining. Benefit from the video above, and head over to Stone Island's website for additional data.


text:
My husband was recently interviewing candidates for a job with his company. Amongst the shining examples, this shone the brightest by far.
I just saw that add on craigslist and wanna know how to apply. I know i am good for this job.. I got a clean record with no priors. was locked up at 13 for 3 years but thats off my record. Bullshit i didnt evend do I got my GED last summer so i am good with that. i am not lokin for much dough either cuz my baby momma is workin now to. I really only lokin to make 7-10 an hours. I dont have a resumee but we can do a Phone interview if yous like.
Deli Present work their 8.50 an hour
Carpet cleaners 11.00 an hour
Motiviation (cleaned equipement) 14.80 an hour (fired due to illness)
Subway 7.50 an hour
McDonalds 7.50 an hour a yung pup makin a buck
Long Way to Go Troutfishing
1 day ago


text:
Nancy J. Beck, 81, died January 29, 2018. Born in Apollo, PA, she was preceded in death by her husband, Jim and daughter, Suzanne Beck Hausch.
She is survived by daughters Candy Beck (Klint Keele) and Wendy (Lincoln) Hackim; grandchildren Greg Hausch, Jennifer Hausch, Kaitlyn Beck, Lincoln Hackim and Payton Hackim, sister Judy (Kennerdell) Bealko (Dan) and many nieces and nephews.
Nancy was employed by Kroger's as a bakery-deli manager for many years. Her dedication and hard work took her career to Fleming Foods as a sales specialist, where she retired. She enjoyed spending time with her family attending dance recitals, gymnastic meets, basketball and baseball games. It gave her great pleasure to travel and enjoy life's pleasures with her dear friends, Emily, Norma, Shirley and Alice. Nancy volunteered at the Stow Public Library as well as Woodland and Riverview Elementary Schools in Stow.
Service will be conducted Thursday 1 PM at Redmon Funeral Home, where friends may call from 11 AM until service time. Interment Stow Cemetery. Should friends desire, memorials may be made to the Brimfield Elementary Book Room, 4170 State Route 43, Kent 44240.
We encourage you to use our beautifully designed interactive online tributes to pay your respects. Leave a condolence, share a memory, post a photo, light a candle and more!
Our Remembrance Suite has everything you need to memorialize your loved one. We offer a vast selection of Remembrance Products, as well as unique ways to honor your loved one.
We believe that you and your loved ones should be able to make the arrangements you need, regardless of the time of day.


text:
A few weeks before the end of school, Cam was nominated for an art project for the City of St. Helens (funded and supported by St. Helens and an Art Grant of some kind). He was one of 24 kids chosen to complete a 12" tile. He stayed after school a couple days one week to work on his tile.
This morning we got up early (for a Saturday) to go down to Columbia View Park in St. Helens for the installation of the finished tiles. It was a hodge podge of kids and parents, all of whom pitched in to help install the tiles on a retaining wall. Nana (Mark's Mom) and Grandma (my Mom) were both there in support. Cam has definitely left his mark on the city of St. Helens. We're very proud of you!
Cam's tile.
A reporter was present so this should be in the local paper this week. I took over 30 pictures of the event and most of them turned out well so choosing what to use for the scrapbook will be hard LOL


text:
When first taking the plunge, it's all about me, me, me. And that's okay. It should be. I am trying to get my life back, and I'm focused on what I need to do to make that happen. Once I get to feeling better about me, it moves on to my becoming more aware and accepting of my higher power, my Powers That Be, my brother. Getting and being open to help during those times when I think I just can't do it any longer. From there, it's about getting out of myself.
Currently, I'm working on me AND getting in touch with the PTB. I'm keeping faith that they are guiding me and helping me through my good and bad hours. It's truly a trust issue, knowing I cannot do this on my own and accept, willingly, the intervention. Being grateful daily for their involvement and their love, and trusting them with my life.
I read Sober Grace's post about humility, and it struck a cord and got me thinking. To me, being humble is doing what I know is right and not expecting rewards or recognition for my act. So, next up for me will include becoming a part of the 'world', however small that world may be. Getting involved in the human race, helping where help is needed. This will be my "getting out of myself" portion of the program 🙂 Now, I am not making this my life's ambition – I don't want to become the next Mother Teresa or anything – but being more aware of what is happening around me and seeing where I can make a difference. Even on a small scale.
It's a brand new world out there for me. Today I'm up for the challenge, because all I can do is focus on today – the now. And right now, it's all good.


text: Farmers sent abroad for study Monday, March 17, 2014 | 16:37:12 (VOVworld) - Ho Chi Minh City's Farmers Association will offer farmers study tours and training courses abroad under a five-year project. Farmers sent abroad for study (Photo: Internet) In the project's first phase, 30 outstanding farmers will be sent to South Korea this June to gain experience in agricultural production and new rural construction. The city also plans to send up to 125 farmers and managers to Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, and China in the next 4 years to broaden their knowledge and experience in management and technology. Farmers and managers will get a chance to study effective agriculture models and take part in trade promotion activities. Nguyen Van Phung is the Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City's Farmers' Association: "Farmers are expected to apply new experiences and knowledge in production at home after their study, contributing to the success of the city's new rural development movement. This model will help local farmers integrate with their peers around the world." With a total investment of nearly 240,000 USD, the project aims to develop high quality human resources for the agriculture sector, contributing to the city's sustainable agricultural development. Tag vov vovworld Farmers abroad study Related News Party Poliburo's resolution on agriculture, farmers and the countryside reviewed Essays on "agriculture-farmers-rural areas" win awards Feedback Submit Others Vietjet Air to buy 100 Boeing, 50 Airbus aircraft Friendship exchange marks Vietnam-Belgium diplomatic ties ASEAN-India trade likely to reach 100 billion USD by 2020 France, Russia to jointly deliver humanitarian aid to Syria


text:
Today we wrote our New Year's Resolutions. The children had to create promises that they would keep in 2016. It could be something we wanted to get better at or something we've never done before. We had a fantastic discussion with lots of ideas from the children. The class then drew a picture of their resolution on their own calendar for 2016.
Great work guys!


text:
I always wanted a dog, just didn't know which breed would complement my own temperament. With findthebest, consumers are given data-driven comparisons and I can decide if Atticus is a Schnauzer or more of an Airedale.
Churchill taught me that history is doomed to repeat itself if we don't make a conscious effort to see what went wrong and try to change it. Remappingdebate asks the why and why not of today's issues. One compelling interview discusses the fate of history majors and history teachers today.
Most times I write my blog posts on my tablet and use Google Keep to organize thoughts and copy/paste them into WordPress. On my desktop I use Microsoft's OneNote and on my Android phone I use notepad to do the same. Try Evernote to capture anything and everything across all platforms. Also use this product to draw with your stylus pen, categorize your recipes and turn content into flashcards for test prep.
Collaborative workspaces are sprouting up everywhere from Bloomington, Indiana to the Santa Monica pier. Check out this list of inspirational collaborative workspaces around the world. Three Drunk Monkeys is at the top of my list, perhaps because of their name. Looking for an inside view to your next dream job's office? Visit office snapshots for a tour of some of the coolest offices, especially Abercrombie & Fitch.
EdSurge has a comprehensive list of EdTech products broken down to subject matter, standards, audience, platform and characteristics. My one stop shop for everything new in online assessments, games, videos, and Common Core tools.
Looking for a good time in NYC that involves art, culture and fun? The Museum of Modern Art partnered with Foursquare for a new, exciting scavenger hunt app. Let MOMA take you around the city to find the most famous and not so famous architectural finds.


text:
Contact: email@example.com
Rag Doily knitted Rug
Rag doily knitted rug
Does knitting to a gauge of 1 stitch to 1 inch appeal to you? Traditionally, rag knitting recycled old sheets and garments into new items. You could do this or buy cheap textiles to cut up into strips. This site gives instructions on making your rag-yarn and this wonderful pattern to knit with your biggest needles!
Download the free pattern - Rag doily rug pattern.
Subscribe in a reader or sign up for updates by email


text:
They have names like Tammy and Dawn and Kathy and Vicky. All have something in common -- they have suffered from domestic violence.
Their names were on T-shirts strung along a clothesline at candlelight vigil marking Domestic Violence Awareness Month at the Lehigh County Courthouse. The colorful garments each had the name of a woman or child who has experienced domestic violence. White shirts had a special significance, representing those who have died as a result of domestic violence.


text:
Persecution is not something that we Americans, especially here in the Midwest area, are used to dealing with. We are the Bible belt here, who would ever be against us? Defined; to Persecute is to have ill will or hostility towards another because of their religious or political beliefs or race. To pursue, torment, pester or harass. Now doesn't that sound pleasant? In other countries persecution takes on a whole other form. Where people are stoned, shot, beaten, abused, ridiculed publicly, rejected and even stripped of their family name and rights. The form of persecution that we are experiencing in our situation is an aggressive verbal attack on our faith. This does not hurt us physically but it has taken a toll emotionally. To hear someone say horrible things about your faith is a pain that is only known on the inside. It creates doubt, which is a flesh eating disease of the spiritual nature. A seed of doubt can grow faith chocking ivy in only a matter of minutes. Ideas like "Am I a bad Christian?" "Am I interpreting the Bible wrong?" "Maybe I am just making this up and this isn't really how I am supposed to respond to this" AND on AND on. This seed of doubt is so dangerous and that is what persecution can bring, and I believe that is a great purpose for Satan to use persecution for. To make you cave, to create doubt, doubt in your faith and doubt in yourself. Most dangerous of all, doubt in God. What does the Bible say to help us understand more the topic of persecution?
The book of James says:
James 2:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Jesus Says:
John 15
The Hatred of the World18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,[c] but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.'
26 "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
So, what does this tell us? PROCEED! Go forward. Take up your sword and shield and follow hard after Him! Through these experiences I have never felt so strongly that the world was against us. That I am not of this world. That I had to put on my armour, take up my sword, and seek and follow my Lord. The Lord God over all. Who was persecuted, threatened, spit upon, cursed at, beaten, nailed to a cross and killed by his persecutors. With me, standing in the crowd, shouting crucify him. He was persecuted for me, died for my sin. And now, the world who hated him will hate me. For when I stand for my faith, the world has a mirror that shows them their sin and that causes hate.
So my sweet friends, are you being challenged in your faith? Maybe not actively persecuted, but challenged? If you are not being challenged are you playing it too safe? Are you not going out of your comfort zone to proclaim the name of Christ and challenge yourself and those around you to do the same? I encourage you this week to stand strongly and firmly up for your God. To follow hard after Him and seek his will for you. No matter what road that may take you down, follow Him because he will lead you to paradise!
Much Love,


text:
On departure, changed my flight times so couldn't make my connection and had to spend the night in Mexico City, missed my transportation the night before so then had to pay extra for new transportation. On the return, also changed the flight times, not once but twice.
Sent me an email confirmation saying my connection was now leaving at 6:30 but issued me a boarding pass showing 5:30.
When I asked about it, was assured the email is correct and the flight leaves at 6:30. I get to Mexico City only to be told that the flight left at 5:30 and they have put me on a flight at 7:30.
This person wrote the review because of poor customer service at Aeromexico Airlines. Reviewer claimed that he or she wants Aeromexico Airlines to read this review and look into the issue (if any).
The most disappointing in user's experience was customer service. The author asks this business to immediately contact him/ her to briefly discuss his/ her negative experience with the company.
We collected other reviews about products and/or services offered by Aeromexico Airlines and aeromexico airlines flight for you to read. This information may help you with your purchase decision.