For something completely different…

This is a karimba, a type of lamellophone or thumb piano. You hold the instrument in your hands and pluck the metal tines with your thumbs, which creates beautiful bell-like tones.


And here is another type of lamellophone, a kalimba. Both of these are smaller versions of the mbira, an ancient instrument from Africa, mainly from the region around Zimbabwe.

I got the kalimba last fall after hearing mbira and kalimba played in concert (by Kevin Nathaniel, along with Tomas Rodriguez and Hasan Bakr), and the karimba this winter. Playing is mesmerizing, like a meditation. In the future, I plan to post short music clips so you can hear what they sound like. In the meantime, here’s a wonderful piece played on karimba by Teodor Doroba (YouTube).

Paddling around

Canadian goose on an outing around the pond.

Taking a little sip…


Maybe the following applies to geese, too...

A horse may be coaxed to drink, but a pencil must be lead.
~Stan Laurel

A little too big?

Caught this wood duck sitting right in the bird feeder (at the Nature Center), pigging out.



As you can see, he didn’t welcome guests.

The man who can dominate a London dinner-table can dominate the world.
~Oscar Wilde

Great Blue Heron

We watched this heron slowly make its way into the creek at the MK Nature Center.



Once there, it watched for fish or other tasty morsels to come floating by. At times, it would “crouch”, ready to spear something. Then straighten its neck if the “fish” turned out to be just a leaf or twig.



We later saw it out in the middle of the pond, taking a break from fishing.

While researching herons, I also came across the Great Blue Heron Music Festival held every July in Sherman, NY. Musical venues include bluegrass, zydeco, African, Cajun, reggae, Irish, and jam bands.
Sounds fun, although I doubt we’ll get there anytime soon -- NY is a bit of a drive from Idaho :>)

Restless spring

After the rain. When the storm drains are clogged…

But I like the reflections and the restless clouds.

Calm caffeine scene

Window in our favorite coffee shop. The stained glass and framed art make it look rather formal and quiet. But it’s actually funky and often noisy. They usually have music on; either old rock or alternative. And it’s a gathering place in the neighborhood, so lots of conversations going on. In nice weather, people sit out on the deck, and in front by the sidewalk


I believe humans get a lot done, not because we're smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee.
~Flash Rosenberg

Hues of spring

It’s heartening to see signs of spring, especially as cold as it’s been lately.


No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.
~Proverb

Fun with arbors

Someone has a sense of humor….

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As the poet said, "only God can make a tree" - probably because it's so hard to figure out how to get the bark on.
~Woody Allen

Off the wall

On the side of a house in the n’hood. The back yard of that house is filled with all sorts of yard art and thingamajigs. Curious about who lives there. A collector? A creator? Or both?

The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.
~Dorothy Parker

Curiosity is lying in wait for every secret.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

In the heart of a spring snow

Poor blossom – caught in the snowstorm we had today.

Fortunately crocuses are hardy flowers that can handle the moody weather of spring. According to Wikipedia:

“Crocus flowers and leaves are protected from frost by a waxy cuticle; in areas where snow and frost occasionally occur in the early spring it is not uncommon to see early-flowering crocus blooming through a light late snowfall.”


Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.
~ Victor Hugo

Peek a boo

It’s strange how inanimate objects -- such as cars – seem to have faces….

Perhaps its name is Christine??

Pathway

Another touch of winter today.

But we’re on the path toward spring…

Reaching for the sky

Evening on a rainy day.


The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Stormy weather

Taken this morning when I got to work.

!! !! !! !! !! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! !!! ! !!! ! ! ! !!! ! ! ! !! !

Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover.
~ Unknown

Cloudburst

A lot of changes in the weather lately -- all that rumbling between winter and spring. I like how these clouds seem to burst over the rim, as if they just can't contain themselves.


The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.
~Patrick Young

Masquerade

Another neighborhood scene…

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Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
~ Oscar Wilde

Through the looking glass

I see that the theme for the Daily City blogs for the new month is glass. So here’s a “reflection” captured while walking in the n’hood.

More local history...

In keeping with the theme of historic buildings, this is the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. The outer walls of St. John’s are of sandstone from the Tablerock quarry on the eastern edge of Boise.


The cornerstone was laid in 1906 when they began construction; the church was built as a cruciform. The completed cathedral was dedicated in 1921. Below is a drawing of St. John's found online.

Every July, the mass of Saint Ignatius is held during the Basque festival. As part of the ritual, the statue of St. Ignatius is carried down the street in a procession to St. John’s. The mass is performed in Basque and features the Bihozetik Basque choir and the Oinkari Basque Dancers.

A little local history

This building was dedicated in 1883 as “The City Hall” fire station, as Boise City Hall was located on the second floor. Then, in 1889 the building was renamed “Central Fire Station.”



Here’s an old-time photo of the fire station from City of Boise website.


And today, it’s a designated historic building that houses shops and restaurants.

Gone fishin'

Rose, from Canterbury Daily Photo, asked about fishing (in the previous post). So here’s a popular fishing place -- the Boise River, complete with a fisherman hoping for a good mess of trout to have for Sunday dinner.


Where are your favorite "fishing holes"?

Stream of time

It’s been a hectic week at work, so now it’s time to relax by a soothing stream…



Time is but the stream I go fishing in. I drink at it, but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains.
~ Henry David Thoreau

The ultimate car

A sign recalling the early years of Boise. Wonder what it was like to ride around the countryside in one of those?

Beautifully laundered

Not “The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines”, but a long-time old-Boise business.

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Sign seen in a dry cleaner's emporium: Drop your pants here.

In a dry cleaner's window: Anyone leaving their garments here for more than 30 days will be disposed of.

In the afternoon

After a little snow and rain this morning, the sun made its way through the clouds late in the afternoon.

Top of the morning…

Under this rooster is Jim’s Coffee Shop, a bona fide Boise institution. For some colorful info about Jim’s, check out this.

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Over second and third cups flow matters of high finance, high state, common gossip and low comedy. [Coffee] is a social binder, a warmer of tongues, a soberer of minds, a stimulant of wit, a foiler of sleep if you want it so. From roadside mugs to the classic demitasse, it is the perfect democrat.
~Author Unknown

He was my cream, and I was his coffee -
And when you poured us together, it was something.
~Josephine Baker

Exquisite art

Can you guess what this is?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Ice can be exquisite art (if one doesn’t have to walk or drive on it), like the ice on this pool.

A quiet place to reflect…

Most curious...

This was an unusual sight. Especially the computer monitor…

It was there for two days – and now it’s gone, all of it.

[And no, the housing situation is not this extreme in Boise]

What could the story be??

Just browsing

A couple more ducks in the afternoon sun.

Water art

Swimming in painterly ripples.


If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in the water.
- Loren Eisley

Gleam of light

The power of light.

A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Globes

We saw this, last year, outside our favorite coffee shop. And we saw others around the neighborhood, all similar.


Now it's a multicolored world...

The café

On a cloudy day, half past lunch time.

I’ll leave the rest to your imaginings…

Another "path"

Continuing with the CDP theme from yesterday, here is a “path” through the Hyde Park area (of which I’ve written before). It’s a small historic district with shops and restaurants. On the right is Goody’s ice cream parlor.


Across the street is the Hyde Park Bar and Grill, and just beyond that, in the light blue building is the post office/used bookstore.

After a couple of weeks of fog and smog, it was wonderful to see the sun again!

Passage

Taking a cue from the City Daily Photo bloggers theme for February 1st (Paths or Passages), I’ll share one of my favorite literary passages from Evidence of Things Unseen by Marianne Wiggins. An intense powerful novel – and this passage grabs me every time.