Archive for the ‘weather’ Category
love thursday: chased by a cloud part II
Remember when I posted a photo of a heart-shaped cloud that snuck into a photo of a cactus I was taking? If not, you can find it here.
This morning as I was working on yet another last minute translation project (seems to be the only kind this particular organization gives me), I looked outside of my balcony door and saw this:
Can you see a heart?
P tells me I’m crazy, but I see one in there.
To the left of that was this:
Now there you see a heart, right?
To the right was this: 
Which I maintain is an angel or fairy with big strong wings, but
feel free to tell me what you see.
And while you’re at it, for fun, what do you see here?
(besides the ugly roof and satellite dish)
I have some ideas but I want to hear you you think first–
and no, my thoughts don’t involve hearts.
And yes, I did finish the translation, thankyouverymuch.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
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[tags] love thursday, hearts, clouds, heart clouds[/tags]
Fighting Forest Fires in Calabria with Canadair
It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s a ship…
It’s all three! In one photo!
Trust me, they’re all there if you look closely enough.
The plane in question is one that drops water on raging forest fires — a “Canadair.”
Here are some closer looks at the plane, albeit out of focus. I haven’t had much practice photographing low-flying planes, obviously. But the sky? Ah! Did someone say endless blue?
Aren’t propellers just precious?The day after these photos, this was the scene on the railing of my balcony:
We were blessed with the wet stuff only for about 7 minutes, though, so the planes were out again the next day–they’re a pretty regular feature around here this time of year unfortunately.
As terrible as it is that we have to deal with the fires, I do rather enjoy following the planes as they make their circuitous routes from the sea and back, over and over again. There’s something rather soothing in the rumble, perhaps my knowing they’re doing their best to keep us all safe.
Sights like this also help ease my mind and soul:
i wandered lonely as a cloud
When my mom visited a few years ago, she called me out on the balcony to ask about the group of black and white birds that begin circling, screeching, and swooping around 7:30 p.m. every evening without fail.
I still don’t know what kind of birds they are (neither does P despite knowing about a lot of wildlife), but every time I hear their cries start up I think of my mom and many warm memories of when we bummed around southern Italy with nary a word of Italian between us. We’ve always been close, but during that trip I learned that nothing can bring two people closer than trying to decipher Italian road signs and strange hours of business.
The other night I glanced outside when the screeching reached its highest levels, and I found an amazing sky through my balcony doors.
At first glance, I thought this looked like a bird with wings above its head, flying to the right; then it seemed like it was flying to the left. Now I think it looks like two birds joined in the middle. What do you think?
The sky’s gorgeous coloring only lasted a few minutes, but luckily I snapped a few more photos.
In the last photo, you can see one of the birds quite clearly, but in the middle two, they appear only as grey streaks–they move that quickly. It’s really quite a spectacle, and I’m lucky that I get to see it every evening.
Just goes to show you that sometimes in order to catch a great moment all you need to do is stop, listen, and look up.
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[tags]clouds[/tags]
seashells *and* ponies!
Good news and bad news.
Bad news first, OK?
I won’t be around for a few days because of various work commitments, so you probably won’t hear from me again until Friday or so (most likely no What’s Cooking Wednesday, sniff sniff).
Just didn’t want anyone to worry about me or my Internet connection, so there you have it.
Now the good news:
As I type this, the cuffs of my capri-length jeans are still damp from the waters of the Ionian Sea (although I have changed out of them) and bits of sand are sprinkled throughout my house.
Let’s start in the early morning.
This morning I was walking Luna when I stopped to take this photo of a pretty tree in the piazza:
Check out the (untouched) color of the sky. I just knew it would be a good day.
Also, you can’t see them very well, but there are some fallen petals on the sidewalk; obviously I got there before the rubbish collector did, otherwise they’d have been swept up.
While I was snapping, P’s sister-in-law came over to me. We chatted for a few minutes–P is currently painting her house–and when I mentioned I had to go down to the Marina (part of the village on the coast, 5 km away), she offered me a ride as she was headed there.
This was an hour before I was planning to leave on the bus, so I took Luna home and packed up everything I’d need for my errands, which included the bank (ATM), bakery, grocery store, market, and beach if there was time (not an errand, but a thought).
But soon the whole plan changed.
As I was finishing up at the ATM machine, I got a call from one of my employers telling me that I could go pick up my paycheck (my first from them–only two months late!) at a bank in another town. So I hurried up with my errands in the Marina and caught the bus to the other town.
When I arrived at the bank, I couldn’t believe it–only five people in line! Oh. Just one teller.
And there’s the rub.
So I waited an hour and a half for a transaction that took literally two minutes. By then, I had missed the next bus back to my village, although I was blessed with the amusing sight of a woman being refused entry into the bank.
[For those who don’t know, in order to enter a bank here, you have to press a button for a little Star Trek-like glass pod to open. You step in and the Controller of the Pod (we’ll call this person “COP”) says yea or nay via a button that opens the other side of the pod leading into the bank.]
This poor woman, probably in her 30s, long black hair pulled back in a pony, stepped in and out of the pod at least five times with no luck. I think she finally went and put her purse in her car because she eventually convinced the COP (with no havoc ensuing, thank goodness).
Anyway, by the time I finally got another bus to the Marina (I’d then need a separate bus, passing through the Marina an hour later, to get up to my village), it was noon and I was starving. So I did what any self-respecting non-Italian would do at mezzogiorno–I got a panino and a peach iced tea and headed for the beach.
Of course at that hour, the seaside was all mine as all the real Italians were home for lunch most likely featuring pasta and not simply prosciutto and provola like I was about to have.
But before I got to the sand and surf, I was greeted by ponies (and a horse and a donkey)!
Circus is in town, you see. Not as funny (and useful!) as these ponies, but that first one really has something to brag about if you ask me.
Soon I got comfy with my lunch.
As this was yet another unplanned beach excursion, I didn’t have any of the usual supplies. I had to make do with a scarf, which I always have in my bag, and rolled up capri pants. In the past couple months, I’ve come to realize that I actually don’t dislike going to the beach as I always thought I had–what I hate is the preparation, the making sure I have absolutely everything I might need.
A trip to the sea is quite enjoyable, I’ve found, when you simply show up.
When my belly was full, I walked along the beach snapping some more photos.
Did I mention that our water is clean, clean, clean?
And then it was time to go.
But not before I grabbed some free souvenirs so that I can always remember those gorgeous few hours.
Ah, and then it got even better!
When I arrived home, a copy of Eat, Pray, Love was waiting for me–my prize for winning Shelley’s (At Home in Rome) La Mia Italia post contest with Conquering Evil (One Plastic Red Horn at a Time)!
Hope everyone’s week is as lovely as my Monday has been!
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[tags]sea, ionian sea, calabria, badolato, ponies, horses, donkeys, circus, seashells, shells, beach, sand, southern italy, italy[/tags]
taking the party to the beach
Don’t forget that all this week is The Ultimate Blog Party!
Check out 5 minutes for mom to learn more about
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The weather is absolutely gorgeous today, so I took my first trip to the beach in a long while. I’m not one to spend hours under the sun in the summer, but on days like this, there’s no better place in the world.
Of course, I ran into P’s parents on the way and they kept trying to convince me to get in the car so they could take me home (probably feeding me something first). Mamma asked me where I had been, why I had gone down to the Marina (the part of the village on the sea), so I told her the truth.
Nowhere and to do nothing.
The health care clinic? Nope.
The market? Neanche.
They just don’t get the crazy Americana who wanted to wander around the Marina with my camera for an hour or so.
But I know *you* do.
Shall we?
Turned out it was just Giuseppe and me.
I didn’t know him before today, but he told me that he usually
walks the beach with P’s Zio Antonio.Welcome to life in a small town folks.
Some fishing nets secured on the rocks.
And a final shot of Giuseppe as I made my way back to dry land.
When I got back home, I felt refreshed, energized, and so very alive, and as I write this a few hours later, my face is still warm with Calabrian sun.
I may have to make this a regular thing.
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[tags]calabria, beaches, sea, ionian sea, badolato, badolato marina, boats, trees, fishing nets[/tags]
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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