Misty Morning

Even though it's winter and there is still ice in the stream, we have been having a bout of really warm weather.

Norlo Park in Guilford Township, PA

Tabaski

I heard a story on NPR today about the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha or Festival of Sacrifice. It commemorates the story of Abraham who was commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac to show his faith. At the last minute an angel appears to stop Abraham just as he is about to plunge the knife and commend him for his faith. Instead a ram appears.

In the NPR story the Kabul, Afghanistan bureau chief, Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson,
was at the cattle market to buy a calf for her staff. She was discussing how the high price of cattle caused by the war and recent drought has reduced the number of buyers. Most of the cattle sellers will lose their investment on their animals imported from Pakistan.

In West Africa the festival is called Tabaski. It was always a big deal when we lived in Burkina Faso and Senegal. Even the Christians got involved, because in Africa one person's holiday is a good reason to celebrate. I especially remember how an entire family would get new clothes to go to prayers. In many families the mother would be several pagnes (1 meter of cloth) of the same material, so all the children would be dressed the same.

This picture comes from the livestock market in Thies, Senegal. Most of these animals were imported from Mali. Often they would cost as much as a month's salary! Many people joined savings clubs, a lot like the Christmas savings clubs that banks used to offer.

Tabaski is celebrated with the same festive spirit as Christmas. And mouton stuffed with couscous can't be beat.

Newest Spy Book

I just finished The Spies of Warsaw. I read it in pretty much one sitting during a flight with multiple stops. In many ways it's like most of Furst's. The hero is struggling against vast odds in the buld-up to World War II. Colonel Mercier is the military attache in the French embassy in Warsaw. He dabbles with espionage on the side. And he has a sad past, being a widower. In his Warsaw job he controls some spies and does some espionage himself.

What interested me the most about the book is how, through the encouragement of a mentor in the the French intelligence service, he finds a way into the the German military high command. This involved dangerous trips to areas under Germna control and eventually even Berlin. Yet because the information he brings back isn't what the French army leaders want to hear, they find a way to disregard it. They are too committed to the Maginot Line. Is it true then, that often people do control their own destinies and fail by refusing to see the truth?

At least Mercier gets a promotion and finds a new wife. We learn at the end that the couple flees France for England when the Germans invade. Mercier works with DeGaulle to eventually liberate France.

Hiking on a Friday Afternoon

One of the nice things about our new home is that the Michaux Forest is just across the street. This afternoon I went up Ridge Road with Beans, the dog, and hiked a mile along the Appalachian trail. We stopped at the powerline. I definitely plan to go back again.



Here is a map showing where we went:


View Larger Map

Enter the Haggis slide show

I didn't realize that Flickr slide shows could be embedded on another site. I have been using third party options that worked some times and not others. I just figured out how to use the native Flickr slide show.

Here are slides from a concert of Enter the Haggis performing at the Celtic Fling in Manheim, PA last summer. I think I got a few good shots. We were lucky that the thunderstorms held off for the show.

Turkey Vulture

Here is another bird picture from the Waynesboro Watershed. It was swooping around the regeneration harvest, probably scavenging. This was the best picture I got. The bird had disappeared into the surrounding trees before I could get a better one.

Enjoying the view

As we move into our new home I want to publish pictures of what we find in the country. Three of our cats (Tigger, Frankie, and Elmo) are enjoying the view from the sun porch. We haven't arranged a safe area for them to go out in yet, so they have to make do with the screened window. Which is better? With flash or without?