Nepal

Pine Mountain News

Hello again from Pine Mountain. July is over already and August is about to start. This year is flying.
Here at the ranch we are enjoying juicy tomatoes, fresh lettuce, beets, and beans from our hydroponic garden. No weeding, fertilizing, or hoeing. Just a few simple water tests to make sure the fish are happy. It is easy to plant and in a few weeks you are harvesting.

Local News

The police found a second pot farm on Tejon Ranch property. The people up there are definitely getting high on more than altitude.


Poem of the Week

an epitaph to preface me.

a sonnet written by emily d stine

I wander myself in a faraway land,

a blank page of manifest prose

the scrawls clauses on my lips black and coarse--

unbound travels spell check my apology.

It is an epitaph to preface me.

My eyes tell the stories my lips can't compose

lexemes hang from my mouth like marigolds

oh but to grow a word than pick it for free

Each letter a bloom exquisitely thought

silent kept and sophisticate until,

paired with a Prince Charming-like gaze, the kind

that recalls fairy tales you forgot

where a happily-ever-after still

exists as a place on a map you can find.


Travel Story of the Week

Nepal. Katmandu - Pakhara

by Oxana Arzamazova



On one of our journeys we stopped in Katmandu.
We stayed in "Dvarike". These are
the old mansions of the Nepalese.
Aristocratically altered into one the best hotels
of the city: the walls and the arches
carved from a tree to the many wooden sculptures
more than two hundred years old.

In the hotel there were only three rooms
similar to ours: the bathroom represents an
amphitheater where you go down on backward steps
and at last get in a bath - big white and clean.
One wall of a bathroom is
glass with a panoramic view on a small court yard.
A room is a combination of Buddhist
symbolics and simply convenient, wide bedroom. Two
ridiculous shaggy dogs,lived at the hotel.
therefore here they do not accept lodgers with cats.


We had supper in a bar of the hotel in the evening.
We departed Pokhara in the morning.
We were on a Jetstream airplane with 50 passengers.
It was not as terrible, as it seemed. In Pokhara we
rented bicycles and rode on the  " lake side" coast
of lake Feva which was a busy tourist spot.



Then we flew into Jomsom, in a Mustang airplane
, an 18-seater. But it was not too  scary. The
plane flies between mountains; both on the right
and on the left are the huge white tops Nilgiri,
Annapurna..



Small streets, the Tibetan type  houses, people in
national clothes, stone roadways, the bright sun
and shiny top of Nilgiri above a valley all so is
well combined  creates a kind cosiness. We spent 3
days on this walking tour from Jomsom downwards to
Pokhara around Annapurna.First we went over a river
valley, we crossed channels on time weathered
planked footways, at the left- White mountain tops,
on the right- Steep foothills.




Sometimes we found small settlements. A strong wind
blows, and though the sun is
warm, because of the wind it is necessary to put on
a jacket.




Continually we met caravans of  mules loaded with bales.
Huge handbells are attached to each  mules neck. Mules
are  very picturesque- Fluffy long ears are decorated by
embroidery.



In Lardjunga we stopped in the new guest house.
They would cook any food, and even though it was late
at night we walked in the village a little. Here in
general there are no shops, or passing caravans.
Products are basically for the trades only. With the
approach of darkness there is nothing to do except to
sleep early. In the morning It is a good time for
walking. The wind has not risen yet, the sun already
heats and there is no rain.



In the evening in the Internet-cafe  we have found
the announcement of flights above the mountains on
hang gliders with motors. They usually fly early in
the morning while there is no smoke or wind. We
reserved a spot for 8 in the morning.



And here we are in the air on the flying device named
Ultra Light.  It is a wing like a hang-glider, behind
is a propeller and little motor. The seat of the
passenger is located next to the pilot, or behind.
On the wing a camera is attached. During  the flight
the pilot sometimes presses a button, and the camera
takes a picture of the most picturesque mountain
landscapes. For flights to greater height we put on
warm overalls with gloves, warm felt slippers and a
helmet. And like a  fat bear, with hardly room
for the pilot, we fasten seat belts. The device takes
off on the landing strip and flies away.It is certainly
scary.



We made a circle above Pokhara  and rose upwards and
beside the mountains. Most were close to us
the mountain Fishtail nearby 7000 meters of height.
It is a Sacred Mountain, ascentions on Fishtail are
forbidden. More to the right we see Annapurna. The
longer we fly, the closer we are to the mountain and
it becomes colder. As much as possible we have risen to
3500 meters, Decreasing, have made a bend above a lake,
And in some minutes we have landed. Flight on this
miracle-device is the strongest impression which remains
from all our stay in Pokhara.


People says, that for five years in the flying club there
was no emergency case. Flights are safe.
Even if the motor will break, the device can fly as much
as necessary on a wing like a normal hang-glider.



Too soon our vacation in Nepal was over and we returned
home.


Pine Mountain Evening

We are gathered in the family room once more and I am
enjoying my coffee of the week from
http://www.coffeefool.com. Tonight I am enjoying
Australian. This American roast coffee has a strong
hearty taste that boomerangs back for an exciting
taste experience. It tastes just right with a plate
of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

Well my coffee and cookies are finished now And it
is time to get some sleep. Good night all see you
next week.

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