Have you ever heard of the Island of Sark? If not, I'm with you, I haven't either. Sark is "Situated in the English Channel. . . the fourth largest of the Channel Islands, and lies 70 miles South of England and 22 miles from the coast of France. It is 3 1/2 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide," The Feudal Isle of Sark: Where Sixteenth Century laws are still Observed, Sibyl Hathaway, National Geographic Magazine, July, 1932, p. 101.
Sark has a colorful history of being governed by the English and French, being abandoned, even being a haven for Scotch pirates. There are no venomous animals and only the owners are allowed to keep a female dog and raise birds. The gardens and wildflowers are reportedly abundant and beautiful.
The island is officially a part of the British Empire even though it is closer to France. The 675 citizens are bilingual, speaking both English and French which are both taught in the schools. There is no income tax but there is a balanced budget. By law, no cars are allowed on the island. There is no town but around the post office are several houses. There is an ancient prison on which its lock has rusted off. "Offenses against the law are virtually unknown in Sark, and the . . . prison with its two cells is seldom used" (photo caption, p. 115). One reason for this is that there is no place to which one can escape. The island is surrounded by tall cliffs. Boats may enter the small harbor only at high tide if the sea is not too rough. Of the male inhabitants, half are fishermen and the other half are farmers.
Mrs. Hathaway and her husband, an American native but now a British citizen, are the benevolent rulers/owners. She reports various surviving superstitions. "All the ancient houses have wide stone ledges projecting from the base of the chimneys just above the roof. These are for the witches to rest on, so that they will not come down the chimneys into the house . . not a single witch has come down the chimneys within living memory!" (p 119).
The author concluded this delightful short article by assuring her readers that she and her husband will maintain the ancient traditions which have made Sark "a little feudal paradise of peace and quiet, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest" (p. 119).
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
An Ancient Asian Religious Procession
We in the United States of America have our patriotic parades, our political and civic walks, and our religious processions. In The Perahera Processions of Ceylon, National Geographic Magazine, July, 1932, G. H. G. Burroughs tells us about a religious procession in Kandy, the capital city of the nation of Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka).
The procession honors a relic, the right eyetooth of Buddha, who died circa 483 B.C. Tradition holds that these ceremonies have been held "annually since the time when Buddha's Tooth was brought to Ceylon, hidden within the coils of the hair of a Kalinga princess, some 800 years after the death of the Hindu sage. . . the sacred festival has changed but little in barbaric splendor through the centuries" (p. 90).
Lasting for ten nights, the public does not participate during the first five nights but for the next five nights, everybody in Kandy takes part.
After the firing of a gun, the Perahera begins with the entry on the road of the Temple Elephant. "His headpiece is covered with gold and jewels, his blanket is embroidered in gold and silver, and even his tusks are encased in golden sheaths" (photo caption, p. 91). The elephant is Ceylon's official symbol.
This procession, which still continues its annual tradition in Sri Lanka in our times, in 1932 consisted of chiefs, drummers, and dancers moving through the main streets of Kandy for twenty-five miles. At the end of the ceremony, the dancers were in complete exhaustion.
The end of the Perahera procession is "the ceremony of the "water-cutting," when temple priests "slash the sacred water taken from the Mahaweli Ganga, one of the country's largest rivers "Attendants scoop up the water in golden pitchers. . . Orderly, patient, and cheerful is this vast multitude, as it beholds the final ritual" (p. 100).
The procession honors a relic, the right eyetooth of Buddha, who died circa 483 B.C. Tradition holds that these ceremonies have been held "annually since the time when Buddha's Tooth was brought to Ceylon, hidden within the coils of the hair of a Kalinga princess, some 800 years after the death of the Hindu sage. . . the sacred festival has changed but little in barbaric splendor through the centuries" (p. 90).
Lasting for ten nights, the public does not participate during the first five nights but for the next five nights, everybody in Kandy takes part.
After the firing of a gun, the Perahera begins with the entry on the road of the Temple Elephant. "His headpiece is covered with gold and jewels, his blanket is embroidered in gold and silver, and even his tusks are encased in golden sheaths" (photo caption, p. 91). The elephant is Ceylon's official symbol.
This procession, which still continues its annual tradition in Sri Lanka in our times, in 1932 consisted of chiefs, drummers, and dancers moving through the main streets of Kandy for twenty-five miles. At the end of the ceremony, the dancers were in complete exhaustion.
The end of the Perahera procession is "the ceremony of the "water-cutting," when temple priests "slash the sacred water taken from the Mahaweli Ganga, one of the country's largest rivers "Attendants scoop up the water in golden pitchers. . . Orderly, patient, and cheerful is this vast multitude, as it beholds the final ritual" (p. 100).
Thursday, May 8, 2014
The Hummers
It's such a treat to see a hummingbird in your yard! Two years ago, I had a visitor in my back yard mimosa tree with its proliferation of fuzzy pink puffs. I was thoroughly entertained and enchanted by my visitor. Last year, I planted more red flowers and bought a red hummingbird feeder, in hopes of attracting more of the little birds. There were none.
Hummingbirds are "the smallest birds in existence . . . found only in the New World," Seeking the Smallest Feathered Creature: Humming Birds Peculiar to the New World, Are Found from Canada and Alaska to the Strait of Magellan. Swifts and Goatsuckers, Their Nearest Relatives, Alexander Wetmore, National Geographic Magazine, July 1932, p. 65. Although they range throughout both North and South America, they are most abundant near the Equator in the Andes mountains. They vary in length from two inches to eight inches.
We see the hummingbirds suspended before flowers with their long beaks into the flowers sucking nectar. The author points out that spiders and other insects are trapped in the nectar and hummingbirds will eat these also.
"In their feeding, hummers, like bees, carry pollen from blossom to blossom" (p. 69).
Related to the hummingbirds are the Swifts, the fastest of all birds, the group "that produces the edible birds' nests prized among the Chinese for making soup" (p. 72). (Trust me, you don't want to know how these birds make their nests!)
Another close relative is the "goatsuckers." All three kinds of birds have characteristically small feet. The goatsuckers are active only at night.
The section of colored bird paintings in this article is quite beautiful. The hummingbirds are brilliantly colored. The swifts are mostly black and the goatsuckers' coloration is shades of brown. "In the United States humming birds are found in greatest variety in the Southwest, only one species, the ruby-throat, ranging east of the Mississippi River" (p. 65). And that is what I shall look for this summer!
Hummingbirds are "the smallest birds in existence . . . found only in the New World," Seeking the Smallest Feathered Creature: Humming Birds Peculiar to the New World, Are Found from Canada and Alaska to the Strait of Magellan. Swifts and Goatsuckers, Their Nearest Relatives, Alexander Wetmore, National Geographic Magazine, July 1932, p. 65. Although they range throughout both North and South America, they are most abundant near the Equator in the Andes mountains. They vary in length from two inches to eight inches.
We see the hummingbirds suspended before flowers with their long beaks into the flowers sucking nectar. The author points out that spiders and other insects are trapped in the nectar and hummingbirds will eat these also.
"In their feeding, hummers, like bees, carry pollen from blossom to blossom" (p. 69).
Related to the hummingbirds are the Swifts, the fastest of all birds, the group "that produces the edible birds' nests prized among the Chinese for making soup" (p. 72). (Trust me, you don't want to know how these birds make their nests!)
Another close relative is the "goatsuckers." All three kinds of birds have characteristically small feet. The goatsuckers are active only at night.
The section of colored bird paintings in this article is quite beautiful. The hummingbirds are brilliantly colored. The swifts are mostly black and the goatsuckers' coloration is shades of brown. "In the United States humming birds are found in greatest variety in the Southwest, only one species, the ruby-throat, ranging east of the Mississippi River" (p. 65). And that is what I shall look for this summer!
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Rocky Mountain High in Colorado, Part Two
Our author, Mr. McFall Kerbey, next ventures into "Rocky Mountain National Park, the 405 square miles of valleys and mountains, glaciers, lakes, and streams that make up one of the most popular federal playgrounds" (p. 32). He particularly enjoyed driving on a road which he judged to be "the most ambitious highway yet constructed in America" as it was on the ridge of a mountain, with spectacular scenery on both sides.
In this article, there is a photo of a scenic overlook, "Cold Shivers Point," with a sheer drop of 800 feet to the canyon floor below - NO guard rails!!
Yet another National Park is in Colorado: Mesa Verde, the abandoned home of cliff-dwelling native Americans.
Denver, the state capitol, is a mile-high city. The cities of Colorado Springs and Manitou own a park called "Garden of the Gods" where grotesque outcroppings of vertical rock formations are featured.
Much of the agricultural land in the green valleys was irrigated. Chief products were flowers and melon garden seeds, fruit from the many orchards, sheep and cattle. "Colorado has one of the largest and best organized fish propagating services among the States. . in 6,000 miles of trout streams and lakes" (photo caption, p. 43).
Pike's Peak, dubbed "America's most familiar mountain" by the author, has an interesting history. In 1806, Captain Zebulon Pike tried to climb it but failed, had to turn back and declared it unscalable. In 1932, as in today, Pike's Peak has many visitors at the top.
FYI: Colorado developed a narrow gauge railway system due to the extreme expense of mountain construction. At some points, cargo had to be transferred to the standard-size railroad cars.
Tourists enjoy Colorado snow in both the summer and winter. "Yes, Colorado's mountains were a barrier once. Now they're a goal" (p. 63).
In this article, there is a photo of a scenic overlook, "Cold Shivers Point," with a sheer drop of 800 feet to the canyon floor below - NO guard rails!!
Yet another National Park is in Colorado: Mesa Verde, the abandoned home of cliff-dwelling native Americans.
Denver, the state capitol, is a mile-high city. The cities of Colorado Springs and Manitou own a park called "Garden of the Gods" where grotesque outcroppings of vertical rock formations are featured.
Much of the agricultural land in the green valleys was irrigated. Chief products were flowers and melon garden seeds, fruit from the many orchards, sheep and cattle. "Colorado has one of the largest and best organized fish propagating services among the States. . in 6,000 miles of trout streams and lakes" (photo caption, p. 43).
Pike's Peak, dubbed "America's most familiar mountain" by the author, has an interesting history. In 1806, Captain Zebulon Pike tried to climb it but failed, had to turn back and declared it unscalable. In 1932, as in today, Pike's Peak has many visitors at the top.
FYI: Colorado developed a narrow gauge railway system due to the extreme expense of mountain construction. At some points, cargo had to be transferred to the standard-size railroad cars.
Tourists enjoy Colorado snow in both the summer and winter. "Yes, Colorado's mountains were a barrier once. Now they're a goal" (p. 63).
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Rocky Mountain High in Colorado, Part One
The first explorers of the American West labeled maps of "Colorado" state area as a desert, beyond which were impenetrable mountains. "So it came about that the early rush of trade and emigration that beat out paths to the West passed Colorado by," Colorado, a Barrier That Became a Goal: Where Water Has Transformed Dry Plains Into Verdant Farms, and Highways Have Opened Up Mineral and Scenic Wealth, McFall Kerbey, National Geographic Magazine, July, 1932, p. 1. The Santa Fe Trail turned to the south. "The covered wagons of emigrants Oregon-bound in the early forties (1840s) and the rush of California forty-niners (1849) passed chiefly to the north" (p. 1).
"But not for long. Gold, always a magnet for men, dragged a horde of fortune-seekers to the edge of the mountains almost overnight in '58 and '59" (p. 1). "Gold has been a fetish in Colorado, as it has in all other parts of the world where it might be had for the digging; but it has played a mighty part in the State's life. . . interest in gold is continually kept alive" (p. 9).
The author ventured deep into a gold mine. "Mining is not the simple procedure of digging a hole and dragging out ore, as many a layman imagines. Big pipes conduct air under light pressure for ventilation, Smaller pipes carry highly compressed air for operating drills . . . others supplying lighting current; still others for telephones" (p. 13).
In addition to plains and mountains, Colorado contains a small desert, ten miles square. "The Great Sand Dunes National Monument is Uncle Sam's newest playground" (photo caption, p. 17).
There are immense challenges in building roads and highways through mountain passes. In Colorado are 48 peaks taller than 14,000 feet with hundreds over 10,000 feet. "Only a few years ago it was taken as a matter of course that all these high passes must be snowed in each winter and closed to traffic for months "but it was found cheaper to never let the snow and ice accumulate" (p. 22).
Following the Gold Rush, six years later, silver was discovered in Colorado. "In 1868, more ounces of silver were produced than gold, and this has been the case in every year since" (p. 22). Most minerals of the world are found and either mined or mineable in Colorado.
Another new (in 1931) federal park is Holy Cross National Monument, featuring a natural 2,000-foot tall cross in the side of a mountain filled with snow.
Other important (rare) metals from Colorado mines include molybdenum and vanadium. Coal mining also surpasses gold mining. Yet to be extracted in 1932 was oil from shale. At that time there were oil wells. One gold mine of that era was so inaccessible that the ore was transported by pack mule trains from Liberty Bell Mine near Telluride.
Towns were created and flourished due to mining, then waned and died after the mine was worked out. Colorado has its ghost towns.
On the eastern Colorado plains are many irrigated farms producing sugar beets which are manufactured into sugar in nearby factories. In 1931, the value of sugar from Colorado was more than ten times the value of gold extracted.
(Long article! Next blog: Part Two of Colorado)
"But not for long. Gold, always a magnet for men, dragged a horde of fortune-seekers to the edge of the mountains almost overnight in '58 and '59" (p. 1). "Gold has been a fetish in Colorado, as it has in all other parts of the world where it might be had for the digging; but it has played a mighty part in the State's life. . . interest in gold is continually kept alive" (p. 9).
The author ventured deep into a gold mine. "Mining is not the simple procedure of digging a hole and dragging out ore, as many a layman imagines. Big pipes conduct air under light pressure for ventilation, Smaller pipes carry highly compressed air for operating drills . . . others supplying lighting current; still others for telephones" (p. 13).
In addition to plains and mountains, Colorado contains a small desert, ten miles square. "The Great Sand Dunes National Monument is Uncle Sam's newest playground" (photo caption, p. 17).
There are immense challenges in building roads and highways through mountain passes. In Colorado are 48 peaks taller than 14,000 feet with hundreds over 10,000 feet. "Only a few years ago it was taken as a matter of course that all these high passes must be snowed in each winter and closed to traffic for months "but it was found cheaper to never let the snow and ice accumulate" (p. 22).
Following the Gold Rush, six years later, silver was discovered in Colorado. "In 1868, more ounces of silver were produced than gold, and this has been the case in every year since" (p. 22). Most minerals of the world are found and either mined or mineable in Colorado.
Another new (in 1931) federal park is Holy Cross National Monument, featuring a natural 2,000-foot tall cross in the side of a mountain filled with snow.
Other important (rare) metals from Colorado mines include molybdenum and vanadium. Coal mining also surpasses gold mining. Yet to be extracted in 1932 was oil from shale. At that time there were oil wells. One gold mine of that era was so inaccessible that the ore was transported by pack mule trains from Liberty Bell Mine near Telluride.
Towns were created and flourished due to mining, then waned and died after the mine was worked out. Colorado has its ghost towns.
On the eastern Colorado plains are many irrigated farms producing sugar beets which are manufactured into sugar in nearby factories. In 1931, the value of sugar from Colorado was more than ten times the value of gold extracted.
(Long article! Next blog: Part Two of Colorado)
Monday, May 5, 2014
The Remote Desert Land
The Soviet Union has been carved up, patched and expanded frequently, even in 2014. Back in 1932, there was a small country, "Khoresm, that almost inaccessible part of the territory extending south from the Aral Sea along the Amu Darya Valley," Surveying through Khoresm: A Journey Into Parts of Asiatic Russia Which Have Been Closed to Western Travelers Since the World War" Lyman D. Wilbur, National Geographic Magazine, June, 1932, p. 753. The author was an American engineer under contract to Russia "to investigate possibilities of reclaiming great tracts of rich, but spasmodically watered, country," (p. 753). This area is now presently Turkmenistan and Uzebekistan, directly north of Iran.
Mr. Wilbur's party of ten included two other Americans and Russians. They brought their own "food and cooking utensils, for it was a poor country we were to travel through and there would be little food for us to buy" (p. 753).
The Amu Darya River and its valley was the wild river the party was sent to evaluate. It typically flooded in the spring, had no dams in 1932, so was mostly useless for agricultural irrigating. A major problem in the country was sand. Some large dunes extended up to the water's edge. Canals were rapidly filled with the blowing sand. One irrigation project had been started but "huge quantities of sand are carried into the canals every year, requiring so much effort on the part of the population to keep them clear that they cannot properly care for their land" (photo caption, p. 761). Nearly all farming methods were extremely primitive. The Soviets planned on remedying this situation.
The engineers started their travel at the southern end of the river. While on the river, the party passed two graveyards and noticed an unusual sight: "Beside many of the graves were poles to which red or white rags were tied. The red flags signified that the occupants met violent death, and the white that they died from natural causes" (p. 765).''
Agricultural products of Khoresm included silk and cotton, although the Soviets were encouraging the farmers to stop producing food and plant more cotton. Manufacturing methods have been changed: "The metal workers are now organized by the Soviet government, and no goods may be sold by an individual artisan. The beautiful, carved brass basins, pitchers, teapots, etc., of former times have disappeared from the markets and in their place are cheaper sheet-copper utensils" (p. 770). There were a half-dozen automobiles in the entire country. Camels were the chief beasts of burden.
Again, as we have seen in many under-developed countries, in the rural areas the group faced dangerous bandits and were accompanied along various points by police. "Before the present regime the natives reaped rich rewards by making raids into Persia and bringing back slaves to sell in Khiva and New Urgench" (p. 772).
The engineers finally reached the Aral Sea, boarded a boat headed for the northern end so as to take an express train. Then, "only memories would remain of Khoresm and its battle with the river" (p. 780).
Mr. Wilbur's party of ten included two other Americans and Russians. They brought their own "food and cooking utensils, for it was a poor country we were to travel through and there would be little food for us to buy" (p. 753).
The Amu Darya River and its valley was the wild river the party was sent to evaluate. It typically flooded in the spring, had no dams in 1932, so was mostly useless for agricultural irrigating. A major problem in the country was sand. Some large dunes extended up to the water's edge. Canals were rapidly filled with the blowing sand. One irrigation project had been started but "huge quantities of sand are carried into the canals every year, requiring so much effort on the part of the population to keep them clear that they cannot properly care for their land" (photo caption, p. 761). Nearly all farming methods were extremely primitive. The Soviets planned on remedying this situation.
The engineers started their travel at the southern end of the river. While on the river, the party passed two graveyards and noticed an unusual sight: "Beside many of the graves were poles to which red or white rags were tied. The red flags signified that the occupants met violent death, and the white that they died from natural causes" (p. 765).''
Agricultural products of Khoresm included silk and cotton, although the Soviets were encouraging the farmers to stop producing food and plant more cotton. Manufacturing methods have been changed: "The metal workers are now organized by the Soviet government, and no goods may be sold by an individual artisan. The beautiful, carved brass basins, pitchers, teapots, etc., of former times have disappeared from the markets and in their place are cheaper sheet-copper utensils" (p. 770). There were a half-dozen automobiles in the entire country. Camels were the chief beasts of burden.
Again, as we have seen in many under-developed countries, in the rural areas the group faced dangerous bandits and were accompanied along various points by police. "Before the present regime the natives reaped rich rewards by making raids into Persia and bringing back slaves to sell in Khiva and New Urgench" (p. 772).
The engineers finally reached the Aral Sea, boarded a boat headed for the northern end so as to take an express train. Then, "only memories would remain of Khoresm and its battle with the river" (p. 780).
Friday, May 2, 2014
A Promise Kept
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The Ruana is a one-piece 'wrap' that the front sections overlap each other. It is made from 100% Peruvian Highland Wool and is very soft and warm.
Back view of ruana, taken at Hilton Head Island, March 30, 2014.
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