Walking, walking

How about a lot of pictures and a few words? Explanation, then pic. Here we go:

A washing station at a "nice" restaurant - a sink, hose, and tap. See the barbed wire barrier? That's typical for nicer homes and businesses to keep thieves away at night. Most will also have a security guard snoozing nearby.

Beautiful chickens met on our walk. This guy was a poser.

To keep myself from redecorating a room last week, I bought new floor tiles to replace the white ones on the countertops. Done - something artsy, something quick. Something inexpensive. (I just watched the before and after of a friend's kitchen. This is faster - and cheaper. Smiles.)

 The neighbor's banana tree is full. Here are a few 10" bananas from that tree - out of hundreds ripening!

 And a team meeting, talking about transition. This happened to a spread in the art journal.

 In the garden, there are 31 limes left, ripening on a little tree.

 On the walk, a 10 meter (30') tree is awash with 5" blossoms. Staggering beauty.

 And the neighbor has this done to his gorgeous 10 meter Norfolk Island pine - hope it comes back!

I quilt during another zoom meeting, working on the border. Too bad I used a dozen threaded needles this morning. Good progress but I have only 3 needles of thread left. When those are used up, I'll put it away until Chelly brings back the thread from the USA in July.

 This Sawyer mosquito repellent is saving my life.

I'm trying something new (of course) - minimal journaling. In 1.2", I record the highlight of my day, things I want to track, and which day of my life I'm on. (Find which day you're on by clicking here.) I'm on #23470. That's a lot of days ... You can track whatever you want - but the habits of life become clear very quickly!

 W and I get to go on a walk in the beautiful hills above Bandung.

There are rest stops along the way. We walk the neighborhood with the dogs, so we're in good shape. Others get 2/3 of the way and stop to wait while we get to the waterfall. Heat exhaustion in the unshaded rice fields can be a thing.

The rice is being harvested, weeded and planted all along the way. We walk on stones (flat or not) so you need strong ankles.

An ingenious device is putting a hollow bamboo stem in the stream, tied to string that criss-crosses the rice paddies. The water jerks on the bamboo, which in turn makes the strings dance above the rice so the birds can't get at it.

The bridges across the streams are interesting. This one is woven bamboo. The dogs run across with us.

 The scenery is spectacular.

 When we're almost at the falls, we have to wind between little tourist restaurants. Most are closed.

 Beautiful though, right?

Here's the support for the handrail of one bridge. Someone has stuck a forked bamboo into the bank opposite the drop-off to keep the long bamboo railing (several long pieces of bamboo tied together) from plopping into the water below.

You learn not to lean on such rails. You use them only for a reference for balance - and test the bamboo you're walking on while you're at it. You don't want to hit the soggy one where you'll plug through, and you don't want to get stuck in a crack. Cocoa (our standard poodle) gets her hind leg stuck a few times before she figures out the bridges.

 No problem.

 The fields are terraced in the valleys and up the hills.

When we come down from the waterfall and have stepped through narrow paths between rice paddies, we're on the final dirt track to the village where we've parked our cars. Parking fee: 25c. We came just in time - when we get down, there are 30-40 motorcycles and police vehicles parked all along the road.

 Oh, so those were young policemen/women hiking without masks? We pull our masks up when they pass but they call a cheerful greeting. We pull the dogs aside whenever someone meets us on the trail.

One of the walkers is afraid of catching Covid-19 from dogs. Sigh. There are so many exaggerated risks and so much fake news out there. I look it up: cats are much more likely to pass the virus around. And we pass a dozen or more cats when we walk around the neighborhood. No one minds the cats.

We are told not to bring the dogs into the hills with us until further notice. That's irritating - and sad. One person's caution controls everyone's permissions. Walking the dogs is one of the big reasons we do these long steep hikes. Our dogs have energy to burn and nowhere to run but in the hills. Oh well, we go along for harmony's sake. Hopefully those fears will be laid to rest as the virus is tracked by science. If it's true, we're appropriately cautious.

The flowers are beautiful along the trail. W and I leave behind the group as they are buying food and relaxing before the last hill. We hike to the waterfall with the dogs and back out about an hour before the others; we wave "see you next week," and march out at a quick pace. I have to teach in the evening.

Here are some leftover water conduits from Dutch occupation. Much of the irrigation and the canals are from colonized Indonesia. The systems were well-built and lasted 60 years and more ... they're still in use.

 The trail suddenly detours around the rock that's still planted across it.

 A typical village.

On the way home, we marvel at the little pickup carrying sacks of rice husks. We watch it lean dangerously through the slow corners. One stiff breeze would topple it.

 We enjoy a chicken schnitzel and then I have a quick nap before the 3-hr evening class starts.

Read more:
*Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance. Psalm 89:15

*I keep my eyes always on the Lord. Psalm 16:8

*No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 9:62

Moravian Prayer: Source of joy, we sing praises and thanksgiving for all your blessings. Help us to be faithful in our service according to your divine command to follow you. Thank you for your love and faithfulness. In your holy name, we pray. Amen, Amen, Amen.