Bermuda...for a little longer

Two weeks ago today I landed in/on one of the most densely populated countries (technically a British Overseas Territory) in the world (it's true, look it up!), one of the more expensive places to live in the world (top 5 per capita GDP, a place with no running streams or fresh water other than what falls out of the sky or hidden in deep aquifers, 4 kinds of mosquitos, 10 kinds of cockroaches - sounds like bliss right? Well, if that's the worst that can be said about Bermuda, bring it on!

Friends have asked why Bermuda? (other than the selling points already mentioned above!) The more typical answers could all be said - beautiful pink sand beaches, snorkeling, sub tropical island, (equals no freezing cold winters, though it cools off to about 60 in December and January) take a look at the following photos and tell me why not??

Horseshoe Bay

Horseshoe Bay

A Seattle/Northwest Summer

I spent my summer in Seattle taking advantage of many things Northwest that I have missed over the last eleven years since moving to the East Coast – Puget Sound waters, berries and more berries, followed by by plums and pears and apples, hikes in the woods, beautiful West Seattle gardens and flowers, spending time with my family, adventures with my parents, cooking for my parents (sometimes cooking and adventures were the same thing!) a week spent house and animal sitting at my sister’s and helping 10 pups enter the world three hours after they left on a week long get away! (but that deserves it's own post!)

I've never been so grateful to be near the water and almost daily would find myself down at the water's edge in West Seattle, usually at Lowman Beach or at Lincoln Park. I hope you enjoy these Seattle/Northwest photos.

Lowman Beach

View from Lowman Beach

View from Lowman Beach

View from Lowman Beach

Birch Bay or somewhere close by. All the little dots in the water are herons. I had never seen so many in one spot.

Barclay Lake

Coast to Coast during Covid

Almost twelve years ago Andrea and her dad and I set out from Seattle, headed for Durham NC in a 24 foot truck Budget rental truck as we began our journey and move to the East Coast. Full blog post here. Readers of this blog will know that much has happened in the time since...many miles travelled.

And so now I return back to Seattle - by myself - again driving a Budget truck (thankfully a little smaller) and not towing a car this time. Grateful to have my friend Mark along to help with the driving as well as providing some much welcomed navigational and emotional support. A smaller truck meant we could actually exceed the speed limit if we wished and due to a tight turn around time for Mark at the end, we managed to do the drive in four and a half days instead of six. 

Not as much stuff as first trip...or as many plants.

We stayed at four Hilton properties and it was interesting to see what Covid restrictions (or lack of) were in place as we moved across the country from state to state with stops in Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota and Montana. Full hotel reviews as usual can be found here - though you'll have to scroll back through the list. Like anyone who was taking this new reality somewhat seriously we had plenty of hand sanitizer, masks and whatever else we needed to navigate through new terrain. And as you can imagine as we moved away from the coast, fewer masks were seen - at some petrol/gas stations we were the only one's wearing masks. At a stop in South Dakota close to Sturgis where the large motorcycle rally would be held in a few weeks, I overheard an unmasked local dismissing covid but also not wanting all the strangers to bring it in when they attended the rally. There's a conundrum! 

Anyway, we made it safely to my parents in Seattle where we were welcomed warmly. Mark was a good companion and driver. We encountered kindness from strangers at different points and the truck got us across the miles in  good shape. And I was grateful to again be able to see miles and miles of landscape and big sky roll by which was good for my soul. As I discovered twelve years ago, if you have never driven across the country from one coast to the other, it is a gratifying thing to know that you can do it. 

First road trip photo as we crossed our first state line...

Temporary pull off due to a massive storm, hail and tornado watch

Waiting for the storm to pass

Harvest!

I'm finally updating the blog, writing from the US after returning a week ago. I posted some harvest photos on facebook but didn't have time to do a full blog post so for those not on fb...enjoy a few photos.

I am struck by how quickly something can end. This rice growing journey that I carried around as a dream for so many years ended almost as quickly as the lush verdant green rice turned a golden hue as soon as water was cut off to the fields. There were moments when I wondered if I would actually get to plow and work the fields as I waited in the beginning and there were moments especially during the actual harvest when I looked out at the fields that still needed to be harvested and wondered if it would ever be over. And then all of a sudden it was. 

I began harvesting the fields of Aunty Yui's cousin P' Doc on November 13, about a week after the water which had been flowing  consistently through the paddy fields up until that point was turned off. I was surprised that harvest began that quickly. The soil/mud in the fields was actually still quite soft and still had not dried up a week later. I spent most of my harvesting days working with P' Doc's team of six hired hands though spent a morning with Aunty Yui's team also. She was unsure if she would have enough help so I showed up and she had ten people working for her and that day P' Doc only had three so I felt a little bad for committing to the larger team. But you aren't reading this to hear about my rice harvesting conflicted emotions! 

Like every other stage in the rice growing season, harvest is back breaking work. Working hopefully with long sleeves and gloves and a sickle/scythe you grab the rice stems and cut keeping the blade down to avoid any accidental injuries. Cutting techniques change depending on if the rice is still standing upright or has been blown over by the wind/rain. 

The cut rice is laid gently down in rows to dry for three days (and it is amazing how quickly is dries turning literally to straw) before being gathered up and tied into bundles which are then carried to the threshing floor. 

It took seven days before the last rice stalks were cut and several more days until it was all gathered in under the safety of a roof in case of late season rain. From that point on the threshing can happen but isn't as urgent as when the rice is laying out unprotected in the elements. 

Threshing happens in a variety of ways - Mechanical rice threshing machines do exist are are starting to become more common, most people still thresh by hand - beating the rice with sticks, others try out other 'new' ways - laying the rice down on the road and repeatedly driving a car/truck over it - all these methods shake the rice grains from the stalk. 

P'Doc

What's the rice been up to?

It's been a month since arriving back in Maehongson. I posted a few photos of the rice on fb but for those not on fb, here's an update.

Since it was transplanted the third week in July, 'my' rice has been growing nicely, fed with a continuous running water supply as well as some fertilizer that was applied once.  'My' rice is Jasmine (Mali) rice which is harvested at 120 days. (There are two other kinds of rice being grown here - type 21 and Gor Khor - both of which are harvested at 90 days, do not grow as tall and are harder grains than Jasmine - so I am told!)

At twelve weeks from being transplanted the rice was shoulder high with no visible grains yet - but so beautiful. Many of you know I have never been here in Thailand at this time of year so to witness the beautiful shades of green was really special.

Two weeks later the rice grains are fully sprouted.

The rice is young and green (and I am not.)

This past weekend (15 weeks since being transplanted) the rice is now as tall as me if not higher but the rice grains are still soft and almost liquid like inside the husk.

But has disaster struck??! There has been some heavy wind and rain which looks like it caused significant damage but I am told that since the rice grains are already sprouted, it is not as bad as it looks and the rice will continue to develop even when blown over like this. It just makes harvesting it a little more challenging.

Harvest in 'my' fields should begin the third week in November but here's a sneak peak as some of the 90 day variety has already begun to be harvested. The weekend before last I had some good friends from Bangkok visit with their kids so we all got a little taste of what's to come. (These are the fields in Naplajat village. You can see the rice is not nearly as tall at the Jasmine rice.)

Duncan