long tailed, black footed

long tailed, black footed

frugivore climbs the canopy 

of her shoulder

A friend of Robin's stops by Pondok Frog with his adorable pet, which he bought at the exotic animal market in Denpesar. It looks like some kind of civet, but no one knows what it is for sure. The mysterious creature with dark eyes, small ears, black paws and bushy tail is an instant hit with all the girls. It sits in Katy's lap while she feeds it a banana, curls up in Deja's arms with its long tail hanging straight down, and climbs on Roe's shoulders as if she is just another palm tree.

Diabutsu has eyes

Diabutsu has eyes

in the back of his heart where

memories fly away

At Kamakura we stop to read the sign at the entrance to the grounds of Kōtoku-in: "Stranger, whoesoever thou art and whatsoever be thy creed, when thou enterest this sanctuary remember thou treadest upon ground hallowed by the worship of ages. This is the Temple of Buddha and the gate of the eternal, and should therefore be entered with reverence."

         We join a crowd of Japanese walking along the flagstone promenade leading to Diabutsu Amida Nyorai, a National Treasure and one of the most famous icons of Japan. As we approach, the giant bronze Buddha grows larger and larger, dwarfing the people standing around the granite pedestal. The Buddha sits in serene meditation, eyes closed, undisturbed by all the comings and goings.

          Goto-sensei poses for a photograph next to the base, which she says was destroyed by the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923. Although Hiroko was only a toddler at the time, she vividly remembers her family fleeing to a nearby hill where they watched for three days as fire destroyed all of Tokyo, though it spared their home. The base of the Kamakura Diabutsu was later repaired, though only four of the original 32 bronze lotuses remain.

          When I walk around the statue, I notice a faint gleam around the ears, the remains of gilding. Goto-sensei says the bronze statue, built around 1252, was originally protected from the elements by a hall. But the last of several halls was destroyed by a tsunami in 1498 and since then the Buddha has sat in the open air. 

          On the far side I am surprised to see a pair of windows on the back of the Buddha. The bronze panels of the statue open like shutters, revealing grilled squares with no glass panes. Goto-sensei says you can go up inside the statue and look out, but she is not interested in an ascent inside a hollow metal shell with years of graffiti on the walls. Above our heads, rolls of grey and white altocumulus clouds stretch away into the unbounded firmament.

Sabina has no mother

Sabina has no mother, 

two sisters, father very poor --

still she keeps smiling

I received this email from my friend Pam Whitworth, Director of Shanti Children's Foundation, regarding a young girl who needs a sponsorship as a boarding student in Kathmandu, Nepal. We have been sponsoring a student through this nonprofit foundation for 12 years and find it very rewarding. I hope that someone who reads this will also feel moved to help Sabina.

Dear Friends,

This little girl is Sabina Gubaju. She is approximately 7-8 years old. (many families, being illiterate, do not keep track of the age of their children). Sabina’s original home is Sindhupalchowk, which is one of the least developed districts in Nepal (and where there is quite a lot of trafficking of girls and women). Her parents migrated to Kathmandu many years ago to try to get work. They have had a hard time. Sabina's mother died about a year and a half ago. Sabina’s father is a manual day-laborer (they are very poor) and this is only when he can get the work. This is the lowest menial work and pays next to nothing. 

          Sabina has two sisters. Without the mother, the father cannot look after the girls on his own since he does not have enough income to manage. When he works, he is also away from home, leaving the girls alone and this is a very unsafe situation. Sabina's two sisters have now been sponsored (one by us and one by another organzation). We still need help for Sabina.

          Sabina is very much in need of our support.  She needs education to raise above the extreme poverty her family has experienced. This is the only way she might have a chance to have a future other than hard labor at a young age or an early marriage and a life of hardship. 

          With sponsorship she would get an education, which is something her father cannot afford for her. In addition, she would board in the hostel where she would be safe, fed and have a stable existence and new possibilities.

          Let's help this young girl have a better life. She needs only $800 total for her annual school fees, room and board, books and uniform, bedding, etc. This can be paid $400 twice a year. Another option is to co-sponsor with another person. That would be a commitment of only $400 annually (each, for two people ). Let me know if you have any questions and/or you think you can perhaps sponsor this little girl. I am crossing my fingers. She is very much in need and it would be wonderful to get her into a more stable situation as quickly as possible.

          Thank you, each and every one of you, for your very kind consideration! You have been a good friend to Shanti Children's Foundation and that means the world to us.

Pam Whitworth

Director

Shanti Children's Foundation

2331 Broadway, #2B

Boulder, CO 80304

www.shantichildrensfoundation.org

grey ice on the pond

grey ice on the pond

still firm enough for two dogs

to take a shortcut

Light rain all day, dissolving the remnants of snow, softening the ice on the ponds. Coming home, I'm surprised to see two black and white farm dogs out for a jaunt across Osage Pond, taking a shortcut from the barn to the road. 
          Reminds me of the time in my youth when I walked all the way across Lake Harriet, a lake in the middle of Minneapolis, Minnesota. We lived right by the lake and I'd walked or biked around it many times, swam and even ice skated along the edge. I'd seen ice boats and ice fishermen out on the frozen lake and one day I decided to see what it was like out there. Of course, it was foolish to venture that far out all alone.
          In the middle of the lake, the wind had swept the snow off the ice, which gleamed like obsidian. When I got to the other side, my face was so windburned that I decided to walk the long way around to get back home. 
          Later that day my father remarked that the lake must be melting because you could see open water out in the middle. I started to say, no, that's just bare ice, but I didn't dare let him know how I knew. That's one of the few times I've ever done anything really risky, and it gave me just a tiny glimpse of what it feels like to be a daredevil.

heart of melted ice

heart of melted ice,

deer hoof heart, grass through snow heart,

snirt heart of sand on snow

On Valentine's Day, ice and snow melting, four hearts created by Mother Nature's hand. 

down on hands and knees

down on hands and knees 

packing snow onto the form

of a valentine

When I come out of the student center dining hall after lunch, it's still snowing lightly. On the slope east of the building a young man is busily scraping up snow and packing it into what looks like the beginning of a snowman. I walk over for a better look. Clearly, it's not the base of a snowman. It's a snow sculpture, a kind of Modigliani marble bas relief of a supine woman, just her head and torso, no arms or legs. The sculptor looks up with a grin when I approach.
          "I've never seen a horizontal snow-woman before," I say.
          "Yeah, I just thought of it," he replies, hands busily packing snow onto the narrow hips.
          We shake hands as I introduce myself and he tells me his name his Ray.
          "I'm from Florida," he says. "I love snow!"
          "I'm from the Midwest and I love snow too. Are you an art major?"
          "I haven't declared a major yet, but I love putting weird things together. You know, like human hair and Legos."
          "I like to put together weird things, too," I reply, thinking about this photograph of a young man in a pinstrip parka with a red plaid hood, a tweed bucket hat, striped mittens, green plaid scarf, lace-up boots and a white dhoti, down on his knees patting snow onto the form of a woman as cold as alabaster.
          The next day is Valentine's Day and the snow is melting. On my way to the dining hall I look for the snow sculpture, wondering whether it survived. From a distance I see what looks like a white moat and something blue inside. What on earth? When I get close enough to see the finished sculpture I start laughing. The artist has dyed the snow woman blue with red lips and a red heart. She now has legs, though no feet and still no arms. Around her head is a crown made of sticks and on either side of her figure there's a message spelled out in sticks: FOR YOU and I LOVE YOU.

snow on red umbrella

snow on red umbrella,

striding up the street, bare legs

above high-heel boots

What women will do for fashion -- a red umbrella to grab attention and protect her hair, but bare legs and high-heel boots in the snow.