DARGAR GANESH FORT RANTHAMBORE

Dargar Danesh has an open courtyard and several beautiful gates to enter the building.

The most beautiful gate was mobbed by people wanting their picture taken, I gave up and photographed strangers to get a whole picture of it.

Each gate is decorative and beautiful. Where else would you see anything like it?

Ellen took my picture in this gate.

And I took her picture in another gate.

A bit of detail shows what I believe is the Hindu  God Ganesh.

Around each gate are beautiful, carved marble panels.

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Here’s Hugo and Kris. They finally got their chance in front of the “peacock” gate, as we began referring to it. It was a crush of people in front of them; I couldn’t get a frontal picture.

I waited long enough for a close up of the peacock gate.

The courtyard is rented out for weddings and other celebrations. An old ex-royal lives here. These men were carrying food to his apartment on the far side of the courtyard. Not long after, I saw him leave in his Rolls Royce.

But on to the hunt. These are the canters, open seating with roll bars.

The first thing we spotted was a monkey of a different color. It never faced us and I never saw another of that color anywhere.

Here a protective mother.

A newborn has little hair.

The road got a bit rough. If you meet another vehicle, someone has to pull over or back up. It was early morning and we were all bundled up against the cold with blankets provided.

Near a lake, a crocodile slumbered on the opposite bank. And, we did see tiger tracks. They eat about every 3 days.

Tigers favorite food the rangers call tiger orderves.

Peacocks are plentiful in the wild. The peacock is the national bird of India.

I don’t remember bird names in my country very well. I usually have to look them up.

Deer are plentiful. If I remember correctly, both males and females of this breed grow horns.

Beautiful colors.

A wild boar.

Another type of deer roams the park. It is called a blue bull. I was never able to catch a photo of one. And we were unable to see a tiger but we have another hunt to try again tomorrow.

Our palace tomorrow.

MEXICAN TRADITION-DAY OF THE DEAD.

The Day Of The Dead is on its fourth year as a celebration in Murphys. Here is a staged family out for a ride…

I don’t know quite how different it would be in Mexico, but this is America, so of course, the dog rides in the back with the kids.

One of the vacation rentals puts on displays, and this year’s theme was references to Frieda Kahlo. Beautifully done.

Folklorico representing various states in Mexico with traditional dances and  costuming held in Murphys Park.

Kids and adults dress up and paint their faces in sync with the celebration. This group was watching the dancers with rapt attention.

Like a statue, this little girl didn’t move once during the whole set of dancers.

When this fellow came out with two, long blades, I knew we were in for something special.

Flashing blades at considerable speed, over head and under and between his legs made for quite a show. But then, a repeat with a blindfold on had me gasping.

No small feat. And with dire warnings from the MC, “don’t try this at home.”

Folkorico music always very fast and invigorating, the costuming beautiful. Very enjoyable. Jim attended a Day of the Dead in Mexico and said the music was deafening.

A tourist attraction, with staged displays made for a nice outing, but for some people, the celebration is very real, about the death of and remembrance of a loved one.

 

MYSTERY FLOWERS AND A HAPPY HALLOWEEN

It is a lazy, wet Saturday and I didn’t open up my front drapes until about 9:30. There, on my door mat was a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The card said, Too The Best Mom, with a rather unintelligible message. But the address was to a house I haven’t lived in for 18 years. I thought, who calls me Mom but doesn’t know where I live? Hmmm!

And, it is Halloween time and this bouquet is in a beautiful glass pumpkin. But, Halloween is a time for tricks and treats and maybe there is a bit of trickery going on here. I decide to call the company that delivered the flowers. She told me, “Our truck broke down on Pennsylvania Gulch Rd. in the middle of the road. A couple came walking by as the tow truck was hooking onto our truck and the driver, with bouquet in hand, asked the couple if they knew me?  No, they didn’t but they walk by the Hanging Tree Rd. address and they offered to deliver the flowers for him. Hmmm!

I call the folks who live at the Hanging Tree Rd. address and they said no one had delivered flowers to them. Aha! The Plot thickens. The people who claimed they didn’t know me obviously knew where I lived. I’ve called the neighbors and no one will own up to delivering me this beautiful Halloween Pumpkin filled with flowers. I’ll eventually find out who sent them and I’ll enjoy them in the meantime. But, since I love a good mystery, double thanks to whoever you are.

And, since I haven’t blogged in quite some time, I will play catch up.  I had a surprise visit from my friend Maril:

We like the Firewood Restaurant in Murphys. Maril loves their fish tacos.

I’m a button collector, and Maril and I tooled around town and acted like tourists, which I love to do now and then. We came across this button festooned jacket collar, but I have too many clothes. I wouldn’t buy it.  I might try decorating a similar jacket.

Calaveras Community Television has purchased the property under the Paul Moeller Studio. (Paul is our founder and it was so named by the County to honor Paul.)  Pam Quyle and I walked the property and found the boundaries that encompass a gold mine.  We have a heritage tree above it also. Just look at those roots.

It’s kind of fun to have a goldmine on your property. But, this one panned out long ago and has no gold. We’ve arranged to have it “fenced” off with wrought iron stakes, (rebar) every four inches apart so no living creature can ever get caught in it. Yet, it allows water to flow through to the creek below.

And, CCTV will be changing hands with a group, under our name, who will have many hands to do fund-raising and support the studio. The only constant is change.

I saw this kid, zooming through a clothing department and stopped to see what he was wearing?

He calls them “Wheelies”. It reminds me of that movie, Back To The Future, as in what will they think of next? Truth to tell, I love it. innovation, surprises, life is good! Happy Halloween.

 

WEATHER EXTREMES.

We’ve had much rain and the green is refreshing and beautiful to behold. Wildflowers waiting to pop into bloom when I took this picture. They are now everywhere. I’m impaired and hampered but I can’t resist carrying a camera and grabbing beauty when I see it.

The size and perfection of some blooms in my own yard are stellar.

Iris have such variable colors.

It is unusual to have stems three feet long and yard grass as high as my hips.

I can’t remember when I’ve seen a more perfect rose. A prize winner if shown.

All that beauty comes with a price.

Rain and hail sluicing in torrents. Puddles for days.

A fallen giant, unable to hold on in heavily saturated ground.

We can’t control the weather, so there is nothing to do but enjoy the beauty, though with a niggling worry of what is to come. Climate change specialists are telling us we’ll pay for it this summer with brutal heat and little relief. My well is dry. The annoying mucus eating gnats I normally don’t encounter until the 3000 foot elevation are pestering me as I walk. We’ve had 81 degree days then cold 28 degree weather back to back in the same week. But, again, we choose to enjoy what we can when we can.

Bridal wreath spirea.

About two weeks ago, the grass was still low enough to see the chickens. Now they can hide completely in it and seem to love it. Unfortunately, one chicken died two weeks ago and we are down to one brown, Della and one white, Blanche.

And yesterday, a cache of turkey eggs hidden so deeply in the overgrowth, my gardener didn’t see the setting mother until she exploded out of the nest and into his face. Sadly, she didn’t return, but it is nice to know the wildlife will survive and adapt. My gardener took the eggs home to put in his incubator.

I rode by this plant, and now I’m walking the road with Jim each day as I heal, and this plant and others in my yard are done blooming. Not a blossom anywhere. What brings tomorrow?

 

AN INTERESTING MAN FROM TACOMA, WASHINGTON

A friend sent me an email about this guy from Tacoma, Washington. Jim and I had a similar experience at Salt Creek Campground near Joyce, Washington. This is a short and very neat video.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/83zvu1-b8jo?feature=player_detailpage

Here is the picture I took at Salt Creek in September of 2014:

We experienced the same emotions and respect and the whole campground came to attention.

 

TO TOUCH A FALLEN STAR.

 

A friend sent me a gift of stardust for Christmas in a sealed plastic bag.  I sent him a card to thank him and it happened to be one of the cards that was stolen out of my mailbox by kids rifling mail for checks and cash. So, I propped up the card I sent to Guerry and decided to open up the packet and actually touch a fallen star.

I was surprised at the density of the particles. Hard and brittle with a deep smudgy dust surrounding larger particles. My friend Jan came to help me and touched the dust an anointed my forehead.

I poured it into a planetary shaped crystal vessel.

I placed the vessel in one wand of the star above my bar. You can see the smudge on my forehead.

It was quite pretty. The vessel lit up with the Christmas lights and lo a star has risen. When the sun comes through the windows in the winter months, the crystal full of stardust will catch the rays of the sun. It was fun to do and I’m glad I found an appropriate place for it and that I got to touch the star matter instead of keeping it in a dreary plastic bag. It doesn’t take much to entertain some people.