Great Migrations + Gypsy Folk

On Friday I went to Socorro for The Festival of the Cranes at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. New Mexico is located in the central flyway of the Sandhill Cranes migration pattern which runs from the southern tip of South America to the Arctic Circle. Since it has been considerably warmer this fall, there was about a third of the number of cranes in the Bosque as is typical during the festival. The peak will probably occur with the first hard cold snap up north. This month's National Geographic has a neat article on migratory animals. We went to a concert by The Belleville Outfit, who play variations of folk, jazz, blues, and swing. They had everyone on the dance floor by the second song. I first heard them after they performed at a music festival two years ago (more on the festival experience here.)

Seattle/Tacoma

About a month ago I flew to Seattle to visit Hannah, my closest friend from childhood. I had been to the Pacific Northwest before, but never to Washington. In a matter of three days she managed to show me the best of both Tacoma and Seattle. After picking me up at the Sea-Tac airport Hannah couldn't stop talking about how excited she was that I came to visit. We made a stop at the grocery store where we got stuff for dinner: roasted acorn squash with caramelized onions and goat cheese. She and I spent the next day hanging around the University of Puget Sound, where Hannah took me on a thorough tour of campus which included trips to the science, art, and music buildings, as well as sitting at the Diversions Cafe in the student union building sipping peach italian sodas.

On Saturday morning we went for coffee at Satellite Coffee, where Hannah and I both agreed that the coffee was better than the Albuquerque counterpart of the same name. They had some great posters on the walls illustrating the various types of coffee and the company itself. I recognized the brand, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, as coming from Portland. From there we went to Seattle, which is about a 45 minute drive from Tacoma. We began the afternoon at the Pike Place Market, the famous city market down on the water. The original Starbucks is located there, but it really wasn't that interesting, however there was a line of people out the door that extended halfway across the street. We went to the Soundview Cafe for lunch where I had a delicious bowl of vegetable soup, and true to it's name, has a gorgeous view of Puget Sound.

Sunday we went to the Tacoma Art Museum, where I managed to get in for free by posing as a UPS student who forgot her ID, though I'm pretty sure the person at the desk saw right through me and just let it slide. That afternoon we headed to the Point Defiance Park, took our lunch to Owen Beach and drove the 5 mile loop around the park. We made pumpkin soup from scratch for dinner. Thanks to Hannah for being such a great tour guide, hostess, driver, and best friend.

Prophecies of Our Grandparents

One night last week I picked up a book titled The Zunis, Self Portrayals, written by the Zuni people. The book is a collection of oral literature ranging from history, myths, and legends. The following is the first story in the section of "society," which also happens to be the first chapter. 

"Many years ago when our grandparents foresaw what our future would be like, they spoke their profecies among themselves and passed them on to the children before them.

"Cities will progress and then decay to the ways of the lowest beings. Drinkers of dark liquids will come upon the land, speaking nonsense and filth. Then the end shall be nearer.

"Population will increase until the land can hold no more. The tribes of men will mix. The dark liquids they drink will cause the people to fight among themselves. Families will break up: father against children and the children against one another.

"Maybe when the people have outdone themselves, then maybe, the stars will fall upon the land, or drops of hot water will rain upon the earth. Or the land will turn under. Or our father, the sun, will not rise to start the day. Then our possessions will turn into beasts and devour us whole.

"If not, there will be an odor from gases, which will fill the air we breathe, and the end for us shall come.

"But the people themselves will bring upon themselves what they receive. From what has resulted, time alone will tell what the future holds for us."