Hi, Micheal!

A beautiful spider has taken up residence on our deck.

I usually don't refer to spiders as "beautiful." I like reptiles (quite a lot, actually); amphibians are pretty cool; I tolerate class Insecta. To tell you the truth, members of class Arachnid kinda freak me out.

I don't mind little spiders, and I don't mind Daddy Longlegs (Pholcus phalangioides, or the cellar spider), but a spider the size of Daddy Longlegs with a large, juicy body and thick, strong legs to rival Cindy Crawford's? Yikes.

Yet the natural world is neutral. Existing in the natural world means existing with sunshine and storms, rainbows and rot, songbirds and spiders.

To that end, I haven't evicted Micheal. Oh, yeah--although I avoid anthropomorphizing animals, my mother suggested that I name the beautiful spider Micheal. So, she's called Micheal. And she's moved from her small web to a larger web, nearly two feet across, with the symmetry of a modernist sculpture.

I think that Michael is either an oak leaf spider (Aculepeira ceropegia) or a European garden spider (Araneus diadematus), both of which are orb weavers. Leg tip to leg tip, she's about 1.5 to 1.75 inches.

I like paying attention to the little dramas of the natural world. It puts my own mental storyline (i.e. what I tell myself about my personal experience) into perspective. It reminds me that my perception of my world is only my perception, and that everyone/ everything from the Dalai Lama to Michael has their own story.

Michael's story continues after the jump!

Autumn in Upstate New York

It's autumn in upstate New York!

I took a walk in Danby State Forest this past weekend. Thatcher's Pinnacles, with its wonderful view of inlet valley, has always been one of my favorite places here.

The autumn colors were at peak. This hickory looked like it was dressing up as the sun for Halloween.

The weather is getting colder, and the summer vegetables have long since withered and gone brown. We pulled the carrots out last weekend, and yesterday I cleaned up the remains of the snap peas, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

Time to pick apples, make applesauce and hard apple cider (and apple jack!)... dinners of acorn squash and wild rice... drinking cinnamon tea and enjoying the feeling of being tucked into a heavy wool sweater... what an awesome harvest season!

Little Garter Snake

I ran into this little garter snake while I was out walking on the Black Diamond Trail last weekend. Literally--I wasn't quite paying attention to my surroundings, and I nearly stepped on her!

I couldn't believe how aggressive she was. I bent over to look at her, and she struck my finger! I was plenty startled and yelped loudly enough to make a lazy deer look up from his munching. Fortunately, she just banged her snout against my hand and didn't actually bite. She lunged again as I was trying to take a second picture.

The photos were taken with my unremarkable cell phone camera (yeah, I know... cell phone in the woods). I really should start carrying my camera with me everywhere, like I used to... or... not: better to pay attention to brave little garter snakes than nearly to step on them.

September "To Do" List

• SAVE!!! - Done
• Determine tentative itinerary - Done
• Determine tentative budget - Done

Days until departure:  151
Months until departure:  5

Hasta Pronto

This post was originally written for http://perugse.blogspot.com/, when I was a member of a Rotarian Group Study Exchange in Pery.  I added this post to One Great Dewdrop on December 26, 2012.

It's 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 30. Our group spent four days in Chimbote, taking the night bus to Lima at 11:30 p.m. yesterday and arriving here in Lima at 6:00 a.m. We are passing the hours at an apartment of a Rotarian family who splits their time between Chimbote and Lima. ¡Muchíssimas gracias por la caldorosa bienvenida!

Our time in Chimbote was full of interesting and fun activities: a church built into a hillside (and our walk down the hillside!), an amazing visit to a high school, and a warm welcome from our last Rotary Club visit (R.C. Buenos Aires with Interact and Roteract, two Rotary youth groups). I don't think any of us had much internet access during our stay in Chimbote, but I hope we'll be able to post more details and stories in the coming weeks.

About thirty seconds ago, I said "hasta pronto" to Gabriella, who is now on her way to the airport to catch a flight to Cusco with her sisters. Today our group will go our separate ways: Maria and I are spending one night in Lima before she goes to Cusco and I head south to Páracas, while Nancy and Molly are catching a red-eye flight back to the U.S.

It's a strange day. We have spent a lot of time together, to the point that I can sense when someone in the group is missing, and I automatically start looking for them. We have learned so much about Peru and Rotary International here, but speaking for myself, the more I've learned here, the more I've realized how little I understand. There are good parts and bad parts and parts that aren't good or bad, but one thing that has been consistently amazing is the reception from our host Rotarians. I know I speak for the entire group when I say that we will ALL miss our Peruvian Rotarian family very, very much.

So, on our last day together, I raise an imaginary pisco sour for brindis to my Nancy, Molly, Maria, Gabriella, and the entire cast of characters in the U.S. and Peru who made this adventure possible. May there be many more pisco sours in our future. :)

So, How's the Corn?

This post was originally written for http://perugse.blogspot.com/, when I was a member of a Rotarian Group Study Exchange in Pery.  I added this post to One Great Dewdrop on December 26, 2012.

Dear Mom:

I'm not surviving on corn. I promise. Really, you don't have to worry.

Ok, fine. You want to know what I'm eating. Here we go...

Beverages/ Bebidas

Inca Kola. Looks like yellow highlighter fluid, tastes like bubblegum. Everywhere.

Hot fish juice with lemon and herbs. Seems to be everywhere on the coast.
Yes, you read that right. Cheers!

Sweets/ Dulces
Shredded coconut fried in coconut oil and sprinkled with sugar. Outside Piura.

Lùcuma ice cream. Everywhere.

Grains/ Grano

Cancha. Dry roasted corn. See Maria's post. But I promise I'm not just eating corn and sweets, really! Found everywhere in every restaurant.

Corn, lima beans, peas, onions, and farmers' cheese salad. Huaraz.

Potatoes. Everywhere, especially Huaraz.

Kiwicha, a grain related to quinoa that looks like millet. Huaraz.

Rice and beans. Actually, I've only eaten this once so far.

Seafood/ Pescado y Mariscos

Andean trout, stuffed with cheese and served with potatoes. Huaraz.

Cebiche/ ceviche. Raw fish "cooked" by marination in lime juice. Found everywhere on the coast.

Various seafood... mariscos. This is battered and fried squid, octopus, and other seafoods. Found on the coast.

More seafood. Clams with red onions in their shells. Coast (Piura).

Octopus with olive sauce. Coast (Piura).

Tropical Fruits/ Frutas

I'm blanking on the name of this. It's good, whatever it is.

Mango ciruelo. A cross between a mango and an apple. Piura.

Coconut! Piura.

Again, I'm blanking on the name of this fruit. This was from Huaraz.

There are a lot of other amazing foods that I'm leaving out: ajì de gallina, papas a la huacaìna, chaufa de mariscos, and about 1,000 tropical fruits. But I'm not surviving on corn, I'm not starving, you don't need to mail me a care package. I promise.

Love

Nicole