Mumonkan, Koan 6: 'The Buddha Holds Out A Flower'

When Shakyamuni Buddha was at Mount Grdhrakuta, he held out a flower to his listeners. Everyone was silent. Only Mahakashyapa broke into a broad smile. The Buddha said, "I have the True Dharma Eye, the Marvelous Mind of Nirvana, the True Form of the Formless, and the Subtle Dharma Gate, independent of words and transmitted beyond doctrine. This I have entrusted to Mahakashyapa."

I was quite happy that I was able to interpret this koan rather quickly. It's about the transmission of Zen, and how this has to be something through personal experience and not something that is conveyed by teachings. This is what is meant by the words "independent of words and transmitted beyond doctrine". Words cannot convey Zen understanding to another person; they must find it and experience it for themselves. So, in truth, the Buddha didn't entrust anything to Mahakashyapa. Mahakashyapa perceived it on his own. This is how Zen Buddhism is "passed on". (By the way the photo here is a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in Taiwan. It's the largest seated Buddha statue in the world).

While meditating, I had my candle lit as always. Although I had some trouble quieting my mind, I did have an experience of kensho. I've massaged it a little to create my own koan.  See what you think!

Peter was asked if burning a candle while sitting in zazen helps him attain samadhi. He replied: "A candle doesn't burn to reach the end of its wick; it reaches the end of its wick because it burns."

Panama City Beach

Jim and I got back a while ago from visiting my parents in Panama City Beach, where they usually rent a condo for about a month each year. Happy to say that the water and the beaches were absolutely pristine! No tarballs that we could see.  Of course, some of the 'tarballs' that are sometimes shown by the media are really just dead sea slugs. Definitely disgusting but not the fault of BP. Still, the place was a bit deserted as you can see from this picture taken from the balcony of the condo. Beautiful beaches and not a lot of people...a perfect combination. (Click the pic for a bigger view).

We went deep sea fishing but, this time, Poseidon wasn't with me. I caught one fish, a sea bass that wasn't large enough to bother carting off to be cleaned. Actually none of us really did that well. However, I honestly can say that I enjoyed the fishing regardless of the catch (or lack thereof). It's just great being on the water. I think it would be worth it to pay extra and have fewer people on the boat so that things could be even more laid back. So strange, because I never thought I'd have the patience for fishing.

Only bad thing was that, on the flight home, we descended into Chicago rather quickly and I was suddenly struck by a sharp pain behind my brow. It literally felt like capillaries in my forehead were bursting, and it hurt bad enough for  me to lean forward and grunt. Jim was a bit worried, and the flight attendant was virtually useless. Jim asked for an icebag, and that did the trick. Best of all it reassured me I wasn't having anything serious happen. Turned out to be a sinus infection, and I've been on antibiotics to kill it ever since.

Lesson: Don't ever get seriously ill on a plane. When I looked at the flight attendant during the exchange, I could see a thought bubble over her head with the words "Oh God, no! Not on my shift!"

Jersey Shore Night Out

I do NOT watch The Jersey Shore, but we're having a team outing to a new nightclub called Lit. Pauly D from The Jersey Shore will be there (apparently DJing ). Someone on my team superimposed our faces onto the bodies of the human slime that makes up the cast. I have the dubious honor of having my head placed on the body of The Situation. It's a funny picture, and I must admit that I'm looking forward to a night at a posh club with friends.

Mumonkan, Koan 5: Kyogen's 'Man Up In A Tree'

Kyogen Osho said: "It is like a man up in a tree hanging from a branch with his mouth; his hands grasp no bough, his feet rest on no limb. Someone appears under the tree and asks him, 'What is the meaning of Bodhidharma's coming from the West?' If he does not answer, he will lose his life. What would you do in such a situation?"

This was an easy one. I would say nothing, because it's impossible for anything I might say to answer the question. Such a question can only be answered by the person asking it. For example, the answer would be very different for someone who has attained enlightenment versus someone who thinks Zen is bunch of new age mumbo jumbo. Trying to spoon feed meaning to someone is futile; we all have to figure things out for ourselves.

Even more fundamentally, there is no meaning in his coming from the West. The action itself has nothing to do with truth or Zen or anything. Sort of like the old adage of the man who travelled around the world, but when he came home he realized he had not moved an inch. I practice Zen to find truth, not to assign meanings to every random occurrence. That would be like trying to see a beach by handling each individual grain of sand one at a time.

On another note, I'm continuing to work on controlling my breathing and my posture while meditating and it does seem to have a positive impact on my ability to get into samadhi.  It also makes me more aware of my posture in general, which I find has been getting a little lax lately.

The Zen focus on breathing with the tanden (basically your guts) is something echoed from my martial arts training. I try to breath that way when I'm in class or practicing on my own, and I find it helps me not only keep from getting winded but also to catch my breath more quickly after a great deal of exertion. Martial arts and zen really do fit together!

Mumonkan, Koan 4 (update)

I've become satisfied with my answer to this one, so I checked Mumon's notes. His interpretation is akin to my reaction, but he's a bit more specific. He suggests that differentiating between Bodhidharma with a beard and without a beard is already focusing yourself in the wrong direction. Makes sense. Like people who complain about paintings of a black Jesus. Kind of missing the point.

Make that 252 miles

Turned out to be a nice day today...sorta. So I did a 26 mile ride. One of the benefits of this pseudo-Pete Retreat that I'm on is being able to throw away a few hours on a whim!

Temperature was fine when I started, but as the day went on it got unexpectedly hot mid to upper 80s) and then the wind started. I have never EVER E-V-E-R allowed myself to wuss out during a ride and walk my bike up a hill. But, this time, I just couldn't do it! The wind was blowing totally against me and it was a steep hill. Plus I haven't ridden in weeks, so I'm completely out of it. I feel such shame!

Okay, now for the good. It's getting close to being autumn.  The fields were just crammed with wildflowers, many that were grown to be taller than me! Yellow, purple, pale blue, white, plus the sumac was all reddish. Really pretty fantastic to see. Got some pics here (way bigger if you click on them). At one point I was riding along and I actually saw the 'amber waves of grain'. I guess the song meant to reference wheat fields, but the wild grasses I saw definitely would have me looking for 'purple mountain majesties' too if I weren't in Illinois. Best part was, I was practically alone on all these paths because it's Tuesday and everyone else is at work.

'Wildlife' sightings were pretty heavy too! Snakes must have been hatching recently because I spotted 11 or 12 snakes sunning themselves on the path.  That means I must have missed easily twice that number.  They were all a foot long or less, just common little snakes. The first one was just sitting right on the path and I almost ran him over. I stopped to try and scare him off, but he just tried to bite me so I figured he'll live and learn or die and regret. I just started counting them, rather than stopping to look, after number five (how easily jaded I am!).

A hawk was swooping around the marshlands (probably feeding on the smorgasbord of snakes).  I also spotted a big fat ugly toad. Touched his back, and he had the hard 'warts' and everything. If I was in third grade, I would totally have tried to catch him and take him home to my horrified parents as a pet. And then there was a frog than flopped right across the path. One big arc after another, like dark green and yellow ball of liquid metal.

Great ride, but my legs were completely blasted by pedaling against the wind. I took such a cold shower afterwards! Definitely going to be a movie-at-home night tonight! But as you can see from this panorama shot below, being outside in this kind of solitude is definitely worth a few aches and pains.

226 Miles?

That's how many miles we biked this year (to date), and it's not very impressive. Probably about half of where we should be. Of course, the cycling season isn't really over yet.  But the weather this summer just has not been conducive to much outdoor activity. Very disappointing.

I guess I need to get some of the cycling clothes that allow you to get out there in the colder weather too.  Probably the only way I can get the number of miles up this year. Sad.

Back To Mineral Point

So, now that I have my pictures from Mineral Point downloaded off the Droid, I can finally do my blog entries. We went up there to visit our friends Daniel and Alan. Here's me and Jim at the Mineral Point hotel where we stayed (much bigger if you click on it). It's a 4-room B&B and, as you can see, Mineral Point is very Midwestern small town in appearance.  Even so, there's a lot of history as well as artists and small stores. I really got to like the picturesque 'main street' complete with its ice cream shop and breakfast joint (the Red Rooster).

Daniel has been coming up for decades, and so he seemed to know just about everyone we bumped into. This was helpful as we got to go down into some of the artists studios. Seeing these stone-walled, unfinished basements full of paintings, ceramics, wood carvings, or whatever in various stages of completion, along with reference materials and supplies made me really miss my artistic pursuits. The workspaces were just sizzling with creative energy!  One of the ceramics artists showed us how he works the clay for the mugs he is partially known for producing. It was just like Hapkido class, where you stand around and watch someone do something and just learn by seeing. It was great that they took the time to speak with us.  Definitely made the trip interesting.

The town is not a manicured 'small town' the way some of these weekend towns are. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It can be very nice and pleasing to the eye, but I also like the vibe from a town that isn't too self-conscious.  This was especially true as we went hiking around. We'd pass some of the old Cornish limestone buildings which are empty and no one has done much with, and it would be in the middle of a field like the one above. The shot at the left (click for larger view) was typical of the country right around the town. By the way, the rolling hills of southern Wisconsin really is great country.  Could definitely image what it would look like in the fall!

The town has a bike trail running through it that I think either is or is connected to the Military Trail up there that Jim and I had biked a bunch of years ago.  There's also a place where they have an art fair and you can try out different crafts: blacksmithing, ceramics, etc. Definitely sounds like PeteRetreat potential!

Farewell To Summer...

...not that summer was all that wonderful this year! We really didn't get a chance to bike too much because of the scorching heat and then, as soon as the heat abated, there was rain, more rain, and then clouds of mosquitoes. We weren't able to have the windows open nearly as much as we would have liked. Actually had to use the AC a lot....ick!

There was a short period with some nice weather again, and I was sitting outside reading when I saw this huge butterfly over by Jim's zinnias.  Was able to take a bunch of pics, but I think this one is the most impressive. It's a larger picture, so click to see more detail of this amazing little critter.

While we're sure to have some warm weather again before it's all over (and then there is Indian Summer). It's pretty clear to me that fall is here and that summer is over. Oh well, I love fall...and partially because it means fall clothes!

Lazy Blogger

No, I have not given up on the blog. Just been a crazy couple of weeks. Mineral Point, Florida, etc. etc.  However, I have a five day weekend coming up, and I'll be spending most of it just bumming around the house. Will begin blogging again this weekend. Promise!

William Cullen Bryant find

One thing I cannot wait to post about Mineral Point is my 'find' at the used bookstore. One of the shops in the old Cornish foundry is a used book store, which we perused one afternoon. Lots of local interest books, maps, etc. No literature section, though there was a comparatively extensive section on haiku(?).

In the poetry section, I found a hard cover edition of William Cullen Bryant's poetry. 1899 and in very good condition. It contains all his poems, and is filled with illustrations including a frontpiece of the author (complete with protective tissue paper). There are a few signatures up front with dates, which I find rather nice (though I wonder if a serious collector would approve of this).

Anyway, I love his famous poem Thanatopsis and have really enjoyed several others that I read with similar themes. His poetry, to me, is the literary equivalent of the Hudson River School of painters (with whom I believe he associated). There's a sense of celebration of the new country and its potential as well as the untamed wilderness, which I have always found appealing.  So I've been interested in reading more of his work. Plus, as part of the early American period of literature, he fits right into my proposed area of focus should I ever become a serious bibliophiliac. 

I paid $7 for the book. I haven't seen anything online that is an exact duplicate of my purchase, but I did see one that was very close going for $15. So I at least got a good buy, though I won't be featured on Antiques Roadshow any time soon. I have to say I'm a surprised Bryant isn't more well-regarded as a poet. I mean, his work is very 'of the period' with the rhymes and some of his Romanticist phrasing, but he is so utterly American in his subject matter and tone that you'd think he would be a bit more embraced within 'the Canon'. Plus he was a mentor to Walt Whitman, and you can see how he influence the poet behind Leaves of Grass.

Can't wait to read some of the works in here, especially those that were not included in the other Bryant edition I have! One other thing about his poetry that I like (and this probably is a result of Bryant's transcendentalist leanings), is a definite quality of zen philosophy in between the lines. I'm sure he wasn't into Zen, but he obviously had some moments of kensho relating to nature. So his work resonates for me that way, as well.

Droid X

Jim and I definitely geeked out on our phones during our trip to Mineral Point. We used the GPS to navigate, the camera to take all our pics, and the Google Sky Map app to identify the stars in the sky. At night before bed, we downloaded free apps that didn't seem to want too much information.

On our recent bike ride, Jim wanted to take some pictures of the silver maples we pass at one point, as well as the 'cathedral'. The cathedral (not sure if I've mentioned it or not), is a part of the path where the trees interlock above in a consistent way to form a high tunnel that looks like the inside of a cathedral. I think of it as a transcendentalist or pagan cathedral. Anyway, his phone allowed him to act on the impulse. "These phones are so worth it," he said after he put it away. We're quite pleased with how useful they are.

Unfortunately, I have yet to take time to figure out how to download pics to my laptop. None of the cords I put in my desk seem to fit. So my Mineral Point posts will be a bit delayed.

Mineral Point, WI

Thanks to an invitation from our friends Daniel and Alan (and their faithful hound Rosie), we were able to get a guided tour of this off-the-beaten track village and artists' colony for a weekend.  We stayed at a B&B that was a three minute walk from Daniel and Alan's house, and we got to see all the sights.

Mineral Point used to be a mining town, and many of the old Cornish buildings made of limestone that were built during its heyday in the 1800s are still standing. Many even occupied and serve as artist studios, stores, restaurants, hotels, etc.  I'll be creating posts about our doings, including photos over the next couple days.

Chicago Tourist

Yesterday I stayed overnight in Chicago for business, which turned out to be a really pleasant experience in an unexpected way. During the 90's, I lived downtown and vowed I'd never return to the monochrome malls and homogeneous housing of suburbia. Of course, that all went out the window when I met Jim and we bought a house together. And it took quite a while for me to adjust to life in the burbs.

At first, I'd go back to the city as if I were returning home. There was a sense of relief to be back. However, over a couple years, I grew to like my new house and the garden and all that. And then, when I went into the city, I felt like a visitor not someone making a homecoming. My overnight stay last night represented a new feeling. I felt like a tourist, and that's infinitely better than being a visitor because a tourist experiences something as if it's brand new.

I stayed at a hotel on Wacker with a nice view of the river. I was by myself and had dinner at McCormick and Schmick's, where I sat outside to people watch. I was wearing some nice clothes, it was a beautiful evening, and people were still headed from work to home and just filtering into the restaurants. All of the sudden, I realized that I felt the same way I felt visiting London or Athens or New York. I was looking at the buildings and watching the people going by and felt excited to be there experiencing it.

If I'd had some postcards, I would have started writing to friends and family!  Then the waiter might have asked where I was visiting from.  What could I say?  Maybe I'd say New York.  Or I could fake a weird accent and say I was visiting from Lichtenstein or Malta or Singapore and make up some crazy story about why I was there and what my impressions of Chicago were. (These flights of fancy are not at all uncommon for me).

I took a walk after dinner, just enjoying the energy one always finds on the streets in a big city. And that's really when it really struck me that I was a tourist in Chicago now. Even though I knew this city very well, I had been away from it for long enough so that it was like new again. Now I'm thinking that it would be fun to take a vacation to Chicago. Find a nice place to stay, check out museums, do Mag Mile shopping, see some shows, etc.

Very odd to think of Chicago in this manner, but there it is. I'll have to start making some plans for a return visit. And get my story straight when some waiter sees me writing postcards I'll never be loopy enough to mail and asks: "So where are you from?"

Rank Test Snag

Looks like I'll be missing this rank test altogether! Jim and I will be in Mineral Point. Well, I guess my hope that I'd test for the blue stripe and the blue belt at my next rank test will definitely come true now.  I think I'd have to be pretty slow not to learn what I need by the next rank test.

On a positive note, I have controlled my time at work to where I have been going to Hapkido on a regular basis again. And work is not the reason I am missing this rank test.  That's something to be happy about!

Upcoming travels

A couple we know (Daniel and Alan) have invited us up to Mineral Point, Wisconsin where they have a vacation house. The town has a website billing itself as 'reminiscent of a rural English village', and it does looks very picturesque!  We've never been there before, but it sounds like there are a lot of 'our people' there as well as lots of artists and artisans who have shops there. I'd like to spend some time chatting with some of them to see how they got started with an enterprise like that. It seems like a really big undertaking, however I've thought about it as a second career after the house is paid off.  Of course, I'd have to get back in the saddle with drawing or painting or learn to do ceramics (and be good at it!) first.

We're also going down to Panama City Beach to visit my parents for a few days. They rent a condo down there almost every year, so we'll be able to beach and snorkel...and go deep sea fishing! Been a long time since I did that, and Jim has agreed to give it a try. Last time, I caught six or seven fish and was a sweaty, fishy mess when it was over. My mom took a pic but then leaned over the side the boat and promptly dropped the camera into the water. This time I hope we'll have the same luck with the fishing and much better luck with the pics.

4 Weeks Until Rank Test

I've learned the stuff I think I need for the blue stripe, but I also think I've been taught most (if not all) the stuff I need to also test for the blue belt. The Master often lets people test for more than one belt if they are ready, so I'm hoping over the next four weeks - when the next rank test happens - that I can get everything I need under my belt (so to speak!).

Emilie Autumn's Victorian Asylum

In general, I find goth music formulaic and more about fashion that music. However, in my teens, I was hooked on Siouxsie and the Banshees Hyaena. I also loved Everyday is Halloween and Bela Lugosi's Dead, and I also flirted with Depeche Mode, Front 242, and some of the more industrial stuff during college.

One of the pleasures in listening to music is getting these subgenres under your belt, revisiting them from time to time, finding an artist making amazing music, and knowing you're one of the few people in on the secret.  Emilie Autumn is such a discovery.

I discovered Emilie Autumn a couple years ago in this way, and listening to her releases and even hearing some of her interviews has been a constant pleasure. A classically trained violinist, Autumn can play with intensity and great beauty.  She can also shred her instrument like it's an electric guitar with a banshee's soul trapped inside. 

The first album of hers I listened to (Enchant) is not what you would call mainstream, but it cleverly flirts with mainstream sounds. Fact is, Autumn uses traditional melody and pop structures the same way she uses any other influence she pulls from; if it works it comes in, if not she shuns it. The result is a widely varied album including a full range of material from beautiful, aching ballads ('Ever'), experiments grafting classical musical sensibilities to drum machines to create subversive pop ('Juliet'), gothy atmospherics ('Across The Sky'), and jagged odes to self-empowerment ('Chambermaid').

The music is crisply performed and recorded, and her voice can be crystalline in its fragility and purity and then switch to gothic moans and phrasing that suggest a nervous disorder. It's a lot of influences to control, and she pulls it off virtually throughout the entire album.  I enjoyed this one so much, and then I saw she had a new album out Opheliac.  Just the creativity of the title intrigued me immensely. As it turns out, she's working off a motif around an 'Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls' which, as best as I can summarize it, is a theme about the way women's mental states are often disastrously confused by men and women themselves with their repressed desires for self-fulfillment. It's an awesome idea, especially given her interest in literary lyrics and classical arrangements. Plus it certainly opens the door for her outrageous fashion sense, stage shows, and promo photos to come into the mix.

Opheliac (the pic here is the deluxe edition) is nothing like Enchant.  The sound is much more challenging, and the flirtation with pop is pretty much over (and she sounds pissed off about the break-up!). Her singing is really harsh on a lot of the tunes and more theatrical (sometimes self-consciously so, such as 'The Art of Suicide' and 'Thank God I'm Pretty'), but it's an amazing evolution from the prior album. I found myself alternately loving the new direction (the stunning title track, 'Dead Is The New Alive') and other times wishing for more of the old style (she does have some tracks that build off her work on Enchant, such as 'Swallow' and the dizzyingly beautiful 'Shalott'). I actually think the impact of these tracks is heightened by their inclusion with the more brutal sounds of this album. It broadens the emotional range and variety of the album.

Autumn is full of surprises.  She cut a maxi-single with covers of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun'.  I can see why she picked the tunes, but I was much more intrigued by her Laced/Unlaced release. The Laced part (which of course refers to corsets and all they imply, but might also refer to drugs used to keep a 'wayward Victorian girl' more controlled) has her playing classical violin music, as well as classically inspired compositions of her own. The Unlaced material is Autumn playing her violin like she's Paganini on an electric guitar. Have to admit I bought the album more for the Laced material, but I'll definitely be stretching my ears with the Unlaced stuff too!

Anyway, I think she's a massively talented and creative artist.  Her albums each have a very different character, yet the concerns and ideas that interest her are consistently dealt with throughout. Seems like she's based in Chicago, which makes it weird that initially I only saw her albums available as imports!  What a sad comment on the American music business that you have to go to Europe to get homegrown talent! 

My fantasy is she does a Halloween concert in Chicago, and I can go dressed as a Victorian gentleman (Pince-nez, cane, and all!). Here's the link to her website: http://www.emilieautumn.com/

Mumonkan, Koan 4: The Western Barbarian With No Beard

Wakuan said: "Why has the Western Barbarian no beard?"

I was up at 6 AM this morning meditating. Not sure how long it lasted. It could have been an hour, but it seemed more like 30 minutes.  It would be interesting to time how long I stay in samadhi, but I hate to try that as I could see myself trying to 'beat my time' or something equally useless. I'll avoid that.

It is a very cloudy and rainy morning, and I found myself looking out the window to clear my mind. However, I was best able to reach samadhi when I stared straight ahead at what happened to be in my line of sight. It happened to be a corner of my drafting table, and I thought of Bodhidharma staring at a wall for nine(?) years without moving. Seems that this works better than picking something I prefer or want to look at.

In any case, while I had a good zazen session, I'm not sure I made much progress on the koan. The 'barbarian' it references is Bodhidharma, and he always had a beard.  My honest response to the question is "Who cares whether he has a beard or not?" Not sure I'm satisfied with that answer, so maybe I'll meditate over it again before looking at Mumon's notes about this koan.

Empty Nest

Yesterday the baby birds were looking pretty big, and their eyes were open. I thought: "I'll snap a picture of them tomorrow."  Too late! Peeked out the window tonight, and the babies are no longer there.  Sniff sniff!

Man, that was fast!

The Warlords

Like Red Cliff, The Warlords is a martial arts movie in a different sense of the word. While there are a couple scenes with Jet Li dishing out some wushu, the bulk of the action consists of large scale battles, sieges, and raids.

That said, there is definitely a rock hard moral core at the heart of this movie that fits with what I like about more typical martial arts movies: the sense of honor and the importance of male bonding over personal gain. What gives this movie its heart is that the brotherhood created by the characters played by the three male leads spins apart and leads to tragic consequences.

A little background on the Taiping rebellion, even a blurb from Wikipedia or the like, would be a good thing to read as the movie clearly assumes we know a bit about it. By and large though, this information would make the film richer but not knowing it does not impair your ability to follow the story.  The position of each male protagonist is a little vague at the start of the film, but this again is a minor issue.

The battle scenes in this movie are astounding. Some really shocking shots with limbs being severed, etc. It's graphic, but not gratuitous. Despite all the effects and costumes and such, the film never loses its emotional core. I was surprised how much I came to care about the brotherhood of these three men in under two hours.  That said, there were a few scenes that did drag a little, and this would be another slight flaw with the movie.

Of course, the length of the movie brings me to the major problem with the US release. From what I understand, 15 minutes has been cut from this film for the US release. why? Why? WHY??? Reviews on amazon.com suggest the cut footage - as was the case in the US version of Fearless - eliminate scenes that enhance the emotional power of the story. In the case of Fearless, I luckily obtained and watched the full director's cut of the international release so I was able to see the intended version of the movie.  However, no such option is available for us Yankees with The Warlords, and I have no doubt that the film suffers from the missing footage.

I find it increasingly irritating that I have to be careful to purchase or am simply unable to purchase the unedited version of so many films from overseas.  DVDs and blu-rays can store a lot of information on them. There is not reason not to release a movie with the original cut as well as the 'for dopey Americans' cut. Let the viewer decide if it's going to kill them to spend 15 more minutes with the film!

Anyway, while the pacing is a little slow at times and some of the details of the story are sketchy given the lack of historical background and the missing footage (most likely), I enjoyed watching The Warlords, though it is not a movie I would buy for my DVD collection.

The Scars of Battle

Sparring some more in hapkido, and this time I got some going away prizes. I have no idea how I got this cut on my foot. After I was done sparring and had to go sit back down, I felt my foot burning and looked down to see blood.  Once I wiped it away it was pretty clear it wasn't really that bad. One guy says I probably got cut on my opponent's belt.

I also have a bruise the size of a large apple on my shin, a couple thumbprint bruises on my wrists, a bruise the size of a half dollar on my forearm, and another greenish one on the side of my knee.

I'm very proud of myself for being able to spar, as physically attacking someone just isn't my style. I think what I like about it is that it allows me to put together multiple moves (block, punch, kick) together with a live opponent. If I didn't spar, it would be like learning how to read music without ever playing an instrument.

Feed Me!

The chicks are really growing fast...but so is the rosebush and I can no longer see them from my study window.  So I have to wait for the mother to fly away and hunt so I can get in close and snap some pics. Both chicks seem to be doing just fine, but I may have been wrong about their eyes being open.

The mother is always very cautious in approaching the nest; she clearly wants to avoid us seeing her fly into it. So while we're sitting outside, I try not to look at her when she starts hopping towards the nest.

As always, you can click this picture to see it bigger.

And then there were two...

Looks like the babies have their eyes open.  Also they can lift their heads up and open their mouths.  Still very weak.  Sad to report that there are only two babies now!  We just noticed this evening. Not sure what happened to the third.  Maybe it was stillborn?  In any case the mother probably carried it off.  She's been very careful that way; she didn't even leave the egg shells beneath the nest because they'd give away the nest location.  At least the two babies left look healthy.

They've hatched!

We have three new additions to the household! They're not exactly the cutest things in the world, are they? They can't be more than a day or two old! Hard to believe the information I found on the website that says that it only takes a few weeks for these helpless little blobs to be strong enough to jump from this nest to the ground six feet below and walk around on their own.  They're pretty still now but, from what I read, they become active and noisy when their mother comes by. This is going to be such an interesting few weeks!

The 411 on Robin Chicks

Got a pic of the mama bird in the nest!  But where are the chicks? We have a bird house hanging in one of the trees, and some wrens had chicks there. I think the chicks are gone, so why are the robins are taking so long?  Here's what I was able to gather from a search on the web:

• Robin eggs hatch 12-14 days after the last egg is laid. Since we just had a third egg drop, we're looking at about 10-12 days for chicks.
• Chicks jump from the nest about 13 days after they hatch! Wow! So before the end of July, the nest should be empty. This is going to move fast! The mother bird apparently keeps feeding the chicks while they are on the ground.
• Another 10-15 days pass before chicks can fly. That struck me as very odd. Why would they leave the nest before they can fly? Seems like they'd be easy prey.
• Robins can lay more than one clutch of eggs per season, so we may have more babies before the summer is out.

Wish I knew exactly how many days since the first two eggs were laid. I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on things. Though I still avoid peeking out the window too much. One of the sites said a mother bird may abandon a nest if she thinks a predator has found it (and I'm sure seeing my big head sticking out a window from above might not be a welcome sight). She can also abandon a nest if it is moved in some way.  On the other hand, the idea that birds abandon young that are touched by humans is a myth. Apparently birds have a poor sense of smell.

Three eggs now

How can there be a third egg suddenly when there have only been two for so long? How does that happen?

Anyway, I'm hoping I can webcam the hatching and post here.  I would love to go up to the nest and get a pic of the mother bird sitting there, but I just know that's an awful idea. She might get spooked and abandon the nest. The other thing I worry about is what if one of the babies falls out of the nest? There's no way I could let 'nature take its course'. Have to find something I could use to pick up the baby without leaving a human scent on it. Hopefully, it won't come to that!

I also wonder why robin eggs are blue? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to be brown or grey so they blend into the nest more? Blue eggs seem like they'd be easier for predators to spot.

Bliss - Quiet Letters

This is an older CD (came out in 2005), but it is the first time that I have purchased a Bliss CD. I first heard them on the Real Ibiza 3 compilation (Chilling You Softly), and I've thought about purchasing an album ever since.

Their most recent CD (No One Built This Moment) didn't impress me from the clips. I liked the music, but the vocalists were so idiosyncratic that it detracted from the music. Luckily I found Quiet Letters at a good price at the Theosophical Society bookstore (of all places) after hearing some samples. 

This album is fantastic! Very understated, dreamy music, using a wide variety of instruments, yet maintaining a very consistent sound throughout. Another thing I like about it is the diversity of the members of the band. They come from disparate backgrounds: Denmark, Sweden, and Guinea-Bissau. This creates some interesting juxtapositions musically. One song has classical guitar, male vocals in an African language, female vocals in English, and synth touches.

I tend to skip over the first song on the CD but, after that, it's an enthralling sonic experience and I almost always listen to the album to the end once I start. Beautiful!

Samantha James - Subconscious

I've been looking forward to new music from Om label artist Samantha James for a long time, and her new album is great! Her first album (Rise) came out in 2007, and I immediately fell in love with her sound. She's what I call 'deep house', music that has the bounce of house music but employs more musicianship than the usually generic club trax that are typically dubbed as 'house'. It's a genre with lots of artists on my ipod.

This album has the same lush, relaxed feel of her first effort, but there's a slightly more subdued tone to the music. This makes it a little less immediate than the first album, but it quickly grows on you.  I really like how, even though she's working a similar musical style, that nothing on Subconscious sounds like a retread of Rise. It's like getting more of the same, but with a twist that makes it fresh.  James has a lovely voice that fits wonderfully with the warm soundscapes created for her songs. It's the perfect music for driving with the roof and windows open on a sunny day or - on lower volume - to drink wine to while watching the sun set. The whole set is infused with a positive vibe that is really uplifting without being 'too much'.

A lot of great music has come out of the Om label, so I have the site stored online and check it out often to see what's new.  Here's the link: http://www.om-records.com/

Nest Watch Update

Nothing new with the robin and her eggs yet.  I guess I thought all this stuff happened in the spring?  Or maybe that's just the mating.  Oh well, still looking forward to the sound of little birds chirping!