Clouded leopard, “the most ancient cat alive today,” as shown on “The Story of Cats — From Asia to Africa.”
Viewable on PBS.org. Unbelievably beautiful and highly skilled cats in Thailand. A wonderful documentary on all breeds of cats, including snow leopards and the biggest of all cats, the Siberian Tiger, which can weigh up to 800-900 pounds.
Your guess is as good as mine; this was on the outskirts of Colusa, a wierded-up VW bus.
I’m in Ashland this morning. After I left Colusa yesterday, I drove north about 3 hours, and went to Stewart Mineral Springs, just northwest of the town of Weed, and lucked into getting the last opening of the day. You soak in the heavily mineralized water, then get in fabulous large wood-fired sauna, then in the cold creek. Mineralized, flushed of toxins, rejuvenated, I wanted a beer, walked into the one bar in Weed, Papa’s Bar (Well, YES!) and voilá, Joe Cocker on the juke box (with good sound system), doing You Can Leave Your Hat On. One good song after another, a lot of Stones. My kinda bar. In giving me change, the bartender included a Native American $1 coin AND stood it on edge on the bar.
Then for dinner to Asian-American Bar-B-Q, recommended by worker at Stewarts Mineral Springs. Bingo! The chef, born in Chicago, grew up in Thailand, barbecuing over wood coals, I got try-tip and rice ($12), with coconut juice, it was perfect, smoky, juicy, homemade hot sauce (no mass-produced Sriracha), sat at table out on road watching one 18-wheeler after another go by. America!
Tammy Wynette, Stand By Your Man, came on the radio as I headed out for dinner; what a beautiful voice:
And then there’s Lyle Lovett doing it:
Drove to Ashland, out to dead end road east of town and slept in the back of truck (my 13-year-old Tacoma 4×4, stick shift, 4 cylinder, 130K mileage, my baby…).
Up this morning, latte and cinnamon roll at Pony Espresso Coffee House in the rather precious town of Ashland. Going to have lunch with bodybuilding legend Bill Pearl and his wife, Judy, then head for Umpqua Hot Springs, then Lew and Krystal’s on outer edge of total eclipse zone.
A lotta adventures in just 30 hours away from home!
“An heirloom tomato…is an open-pollinated (non-hybrid) heirloom cultivar of tomato. Heirloom tomatoes have become increasingly popular and more readily available in recent years. They are grown for historical interest, access to wider varieties, and by people who wish to save seeds from year to year, as well as for their taste, which is widely perceived to be better than modern tomatoes. They do however have a shorter shelf life and less disease resistance than most commercial tomatoes…
“…Only two things that money can’t buy
That’s true love & homegrown tomatoes…”
-Guy Clark
Note, the knife shown is my favorite vegetable chopper. It holds an edge forever, and is cheap (under $10!). Made in Thailand and reviewed here on CoolTools.
Here are more photos (from Architectural Review) of the sculptural bamboo building on an island in the Gulf of Thailand (which was on my blog 3 weeks ago): https://www.arplus.com/9994/ecological-activity-and-education-center-koh-kood-thailand-by-24h-architecture/