Forevermore The Raven

Ravens Immortalized! Part 1

2011-12-29T21:26:00.000-08:00

Thursday December 29 2011

This is The Raven's favorite documentary ever!

Watch Ravens on PBS. See more from Nature.

page on PBS:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/ravens/video-full-episode/5577/

Happy Stormy (and Raven) Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

Monday October 31 2011

Happy Halloween from The Raven and Stormy!

5 Days With Jose and 5000 miles!

2011-10-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday October 2 2011

The Raven has been soooooooo busy, not least of which has been the last 5 days! The Raven rode and finished his first 5-day endurance ride, and he did it on his favorite horse, Jose!

Day 3 The Raven hit 5000 career endurance miles (likely the only Raven do ever do so). Finishing Day 5 was a thrill.

The Raven Loves Jose!

sharing an apple with Jose at a vet check

resting at a vet check while Jose eats

saddled up, ready for more miles!

Cheap Thrills

2011-07-24T17:20:00.001-07:00

June 25-26 2011

The Raven and Jose rode 100 miles together over 2 days at the Cheap Thrills No Frills ride - making over 1000 miles of endurance together!

Completion awards for the Cheap Thrills ride was a pair of really cool sunglasses. The Raven Looooooooves his sunglasses.

Stormy wishes he had a pair.

Gospel at Spoleto!

2011-07-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

June 5-13 2011

The Raven is back to work on the Gospel at Colonus - in Charleston, South Carolina at the Spoleto Festival!

He looks good on stage in the blue bubble lights.

Supervising from the sound board.

The Raven and his best pal Katina, getting ready to go to the opening night party.

A day at the beach on Sullivan's island!

The Atlantic is pretty warm this time of the year.

Poe's Tavern - who woulda thunk it!

Now for some Home Team BBQ. Ravens love BBQ.

Ravens love special drinks, too.

Polyneices is an evil man, but Kevin, who plays Polyneices is not!

Simeon and Katina love hanging out with The Raven.

Jesse shares his beer with the Raven.

Nicole loves the Raven!

Owyhee Fandango

2011-06-29T15:07:00.001-07:00

May 27-29 2011

The Raven got to ride all 3 days of the Owyhee Fandango! Day 1 was 50 miles on Finneas. Day 2 and 3 were 50 and 60 miles on Jose!

Coming to the finish on Day 2.

The Raven is ready to hit the trail on Day 3.

The Raven loves watching Ravens cavort in the sky!

Riding along the Snake River canyon.

The Raven finished 160 miles over the weekend!

Eagle Spring Fling

2011-06-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

May 7 2011

The Raven returned to the foothills of Eagle to ride Jose in the Eagle Spring Fling endurance ride. He had a great time riding Jose again. The ride was easier this year - not so many hills - but of course the Raven lets Jose do all the work.

They are the best of buddies.

Death Valley National Park

2011-03-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

March 13 2011

Ravens abound in Death Valley National Park - if you know where to find them.

The Raven hiked through the stunning Golden Canyon. (In winter, when it was not yet brutally hot.)

The Raven found his own Raven feather!

Montana in mid-Winter

2011-02-13T08:15:00.000-08:00

February 13 2011

February, the dead of winter, is of course the best time for a Raven to visit Montana. He ranch-sat for some friends.

Here he meets his new horse friends.

Ravens don't get cold so they like to play in the snow. There was plenty here.

Venice (California, That Is)

2011-01-20T07:57:00.000-08:00

January 20 2011

The Raven's been on the road.

He came to rest in Venice a couple of days. Crazy place. Kooks, stoners, skateboarders, performance artists, surfers, tourists, the possessed, the dispossessed, muscle builders, kush doctors (are they really doctors?), movie makers, dolphins, the beach, sunshine.

The Raven fit right in.

Garden of the Gods

2010-12-21T12:33:00.000-08:00

December 4 2010

The Raven zipped down to Colorado, and revisited Garden of the Gods.

Bath Time

2010-12-21T12:24:00.000-08:00

December 15 2010

It's high time The Raven had a bath!

Ahhhhh....

sinking...

look at the dirty water!

rinse cycle

dry cycle!

Arizona Snowbird

2010-12-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

December 19 2010

Ravens can be snowbirds too. The Raven flew south for the winter.

Marble Canyon and the Vermillion Cliffs of northern Arizona were goregous.

The Raven saw his first condors! Good thing they aren't attack birds.

Gospel at Colonus in Edinburgh!

2010-09-06T07:22:00.000-07:00

Friday August 20 2010

And now The Raven is at the Edinburgh International Festival to help mix sound for The Gospel at Colonus! We are one of the headline acts in this famous music and art festival.

Company manger Katina and husband Simian are big pals of The Raven.

The Raven's hotel

across from the Edinburgh Playhouse.

Too bad we don't have time to tour around on a double decker bus!

Rehearsal in the theatre.

The castle is very cool!

The show is a hit!

The Raven attends the reception on Opening Night, for casts and crews of the 4 of the headline shows in the Festival.

Gospel at Colonus in St Paul!

2010-08-15T16:58:00.001-07:00

August 5 2010

The Raven is in St Paul Minnesota this week to help run sound for The Gospel at Colonus!

(See his June 2008 archives for our last show in Athens!)

It's such a fantastic show, featuring the Blind Boys of Alabama (5 time Grammy winners), the Original Soul Stirrers, and the Steele Family. Plus some excellent actors and a knock-you-out choir.

We had a week run there.

Here's the Raven checking out the stage - the wall is a rebuild of the original Roman theatre we performed in in Athens.

The Raven untangling the sound gear.

The Raven checking out the evil eye protector we hung on the sound board.

I'm sure glad The Raven understands this fancy digital soundboard, because I sure don't!

An empty stage awaits the performers.

Time for a beer after a day and night of rehearsal.

The hungry Raven looking at the bar's menu.

Checking out the cathedral that was built starting in 1903.

Back to rehearsals.

The Raven was probably a performer in a former Raven life.

Opening night crowd!

And next is the Edinburgh International Festival! We head over the pond next week!

Tevis and The Raven: Two for Two!!

2010-08-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

July 24 2010

The Raven completed Tevis for the second time in a row!!! It was Forever Dawn's second Tevis finish, and Nick's 4th or so.

Now - The Raven is five AERC endurance miles AHEAD OF ME!

That is UNHEARD OF for a Raven!!!

Tevis: Here Comes The Raven!

2010-08-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

July 23 2010

Back for his second Tevis ride, after successfully completing it and winning a silver Tevis buckle last year!

The Raven catches a ride to Tevis with Bruce and Nance and M and Steph.

At Robie park, relaxing with cups of wine!

The Raven likes red wine too.

The Raven loves tent camping.

The Raven looooooooooves his morning Starbucks. (and afternoon Starbucks.)

The Raven loves to shop too. He got a cool vest to help keep him warm in the canyons this year.

The Raven loves Laurel Burch's art... but he already has both the blue horsie bag and the brown horsie bag.

The Raven making sure Susan Favro types out her receipts correctly.

The Raven has chosen to ride Tevis with Nick and Forever Dawn! Here they are weighing in during the vet-in.

Nick and Don are excited to have The Raven along this Tevis! They both completed a couple of years ago.

The vetting in area.

The Raven gets to know Don.

Oooh! The Raven meets a Marmot who does lots of endurance riding too!

Catching Up

2010-07-08T07:27:00.001-07:00

May 29 2010

Since The Raven is 150 miles behind his owner, he decided to try to catch up. Today, on Day 3 of the Owyhee Fandango, he rode with Kara and her horse Jack. They rode 60 miles, and here The Raven and Kara trot out Jack for his final vet inspection,

and await the vet's final word.

Jack completed! The Raven completed 60 more miles! Now he's only 90 miles behind his owner!

Now, he might ride the 100-mile Tevis with Kara and Jack... which means if he finishes, he'd be 10 miles AHEAD of his owner...

an UNHEARD OF accomplishment for a Raven...

Up top is The Raven with his special 4000-mile award from the Owyhee Ride.

A Raven in Grand Teton National Park

2010-06-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

June 9 2010

One of The Raven's most favorite places ever: Grand Teton National Park.

4 Grand for The Raven!

2010-06-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

Friday May 28 2010

Today The Raven hit 4000 endurance miles! 4000 miles in the saddle (bags) on endurance horses over trails in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho.

Pretty sure he's the only Raven doing endurance, and he's certainly the only one with 4000 miles!

Today, Jose took him another 50 miles, at the Owyhee Fandango, to reach his goal.

Here's to another 4000!

A Raven in the Alabama Hills

2010-06-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

Thursday April 15 2010

The Raven returned to the scene of his highest accomplishment: Mt Whitney. He climbed it in October of 1999. First Raven to ever do so, I bet. He even signed the guest register on top - go ahead, look through the archives and you'll see The Raven.

This time he didn't climb anything but some boulders in the Alabama Hills below Mt Whitney, admiring it from afar.

After all, once a Raven's been on top of Mt Whitney, he doesn't need to go again!

Calling All Ravens

2010-04-14T08:32:00.001-07:00

Tuesday April 13 2010

This is a new adventure. The Raven is in Los Angeles. He's on his way to a casting call for a commercial!

He's actually a friend of the Casting Director (a fellow endurance rider), so he's helping her with the casting decisions. He watched the performances on the screen

and he discussed things with his friend.

Here are two of the actors and the Raven in front of the camera!

It was exhausting work. Afterwards, the Raven had a Starbucks.

Tough Suckers!

2010-04-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday April 3 2010

The Raven is back in the saddle. He finished another 50 mile endurance ride in Owyhee! The Tough Sucker. It was cold, the wind was strong; but the trails were great, and the Raven's horse, Jose, was awesome as usual.

Jose and the Raven pose in front of an active Raven nest. The adult Ravens both flew over us to check us out.

At the finish.

The Raven and Jose are buddies. Thanks, Jose!

Snow Raven

2010-02-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

February 23 2010

The Raven LOVES the snow in Owyhee!

Here he's making Raven Snow Angels.

And here he is taking a winter ride on his wet horse Stormy.

Winter Ride

2010-01-25T12:14:00.000-08:00

Tuesday January 25 2010

The Raven's been awful busy all winter, but today he got out for a ride! He went out on Jose, with Carol and Suz, and admired the gorgeous winter day and the snow on the Owyhee mountains.

A Raven in Disguise

2009-11-27T19:51:00.001-08:00

October 31 2009

Can anybody tell what the Raven dressed up as for Halloween?

Give up? A Cardinal!

(Although, a bird biologist friend said he could have also passed for a Western Tanager.)

He was the Best Dressed Raven in the Owyhee desert!

A Raven Climbing in Sisters, Oregon

2009-11-27T19:38:00.000-08:00

August 15 2009

The Raven climbed a little mountain outside of Sisters, Oregon. It wasn't as high as North Sister and South Sister... it was just a little sister.

A little snow at the trailhead.

A little rest break on the way up.

The views are fabulous up here.

A pine tree with a view.

The creek was busy.

The waterfalls looked fun.

Time for a treat after the hard hike!

Hard to decide what to get!

Susie shared a sample.

Raven Rides Tevis!

2009-08-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday August 2 2009

Another first - first Raven to ride Tevis, first Raven to finish Tevis!!! That's the 100 Miles One Day Tevis Cup from near Truckee, California, to Auburn, California.

These are the Sierra Nevada mountains we'd be crossing.\

The official Tevis trail!

Nance and her horses Quinn and Jasbo. We'd be riding the gray Quinn. Quinn and Nance completed Tevis in 2007.

Ride day: on the trail!

The Raven rests and eats with Quinn at the vet check at Foresthill at 68 miles. Only 32 more to go!

We all finished - we got our silver Tevis buckles!

Our pony is sleepy : )

Try getting the buckle away from the Raven...

The (Shopaholic) Raven

2009-07-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday July 25 2009

The Raven is a bit of a shopaholic, which all started when he bought his clone off ebay:
Raven Clone

He had some fun shopping from the endurance vendors, Running Bear,

and Healthy As A Horse

at the Montana Fort Howes ride. He had Teddy of Running Bear, and Susan of Healthy As A Horse keep bringing him things to try out.

The Raven REALLY loved the silk Running Horses scarf by Laurel Burch.

He wouldn't let me see the bill of everything he bought.

A Raven in Washington

2009-07-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 13 2009

The Raven was in Seattle for niece Amanda's graduation from college. (The Raven is getting old!)

The Raven is pretty proud of Amanda

Time for a few touristy things. Like hanging out on the Sound.

And going to Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Of course, "Stay on the trail" does not apply to Ravens here, either.

A Raven in Yellowstone National Park

2009-07-05T11:03:00.001-07:00

Thursday June 4 2009

En route to a gig in Montana, the Raven made a quick tour through Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park.

So little time, so many places to go! Which way do we drive?

OBVIOUSLY, we head for Dunraven Pass!

We camped at Mammoth Hot Springs and got up early on the trails there before all the tourists (which of course did not include us.)

"Stay on the trails" obviously does not apply to The Raven.

It's good to see there are Ravens in Yellowstone!

What better place to conclude the Yellowstone quick tour but at the Raven Grill in Gardiner, MT.

The Raven in L.A.

2009-07-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 8 2009

The Raven had a gig in L.A., but there was plenty of time to relax with friends too.

A condo on the beach is the way to go.

You know you have good friends when they supply the RAVENSWOOD wine!

Which the Raven obviously loves!

Cruisin the boulevards in search of...

In N' Out burger! Even Ravens love In N' Out burgers!

The Raven in Cordoba

2009-05-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 1 2009

The Raven's been working hard on Al Andalus - the 8-day horse endurance ride across Spain - so the Descanso en Cordoba - rest day in Cordoba - after 6 days was very welcome!

The Romans built "Corduba" in 169 BC because of its strategic importance on the Gaudalquivir River. It became a main shipping port for transporting local olive oil and wine back to Rome. We walked across the old Roman bridge into the old city, surrounded by some of the old fortress walls that are still standing.

We visited the Alcazar (castle, rebuilt in 1327 AD) and gardens with Spanish friends Fernando, David and Alberto. There were some cool ancient mosaics on the walls of the museum.

We had a traditional Spanish lunch of tapas (salmorejo - yum!) in a bar afterwards, before spending more hours of the day wandering this neat old city.

The Raven in Barcelona

2009-05-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

Friday March 20 2009

The Raven likes Spain... and Barcelona is a favorite city to visit.

The Mercat de la Boqueria on La Rambla is a place to get fresh fruit drinks - refreshing on a warm day.

There's the waterfront
which is a good place to people watch.

And of course, being a Starbucks connoisseur, having visited many around the world, this little cafe tucked away on a sidestreet was a great place to sample Spanish Starbucks and to take a rest after a long day of rambling.

Raven Walks in Catalonia

2009-03-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

Wednesday March 18 2009

The Raven is back at El Moli in Catalonia, Spain - a mill built in the 13th century. The house above was built in the 16th century. It's been converted to a house/office, and though the mill stopped operating in the 1980's, it's now a museum, and runs for show on Sundays.

It's part of the Ruta del Moulins - the Route of Mills that runs along this creek, a string of old mills from the 11th - 16th centuries that have been restored, or that are crumbling beneath vines.

This mill was the Raven's favorite - it had ancient farm equipment and, more importantly, ducks in the pond! The Raven made their acquaintance as they came up to check him out.

Here's an old mill disintegrating into the forest.

Here's an old millstone.

Spain - and most of Europe - has these awesome trails, called the GR Footpaths, or (in Spain) the Gran Recorrido, that lead you through woods, villages and farmland,, past old castles and mills and old stone walls and farms and churches.

They are clearly marked by red and white stripes along the way, either on tree trunks or walls or rocks or on the ground. If you see an X, you are going the wrong way.

You can walk (if you don't want to fly) from the middle of Norway to the middle of Italy, tip of Greece to the bottom of Spain, Ireland, Great Britain, top of Finland to tip of Turkey, Portugal to Estonia or Poland.

The Raven and I took hiked a couple of miles up the GR2 footpath.

We could have gone on and on... all the way to Norway. Maybe one day...

A Raven in the UAE

2009-03-12T13:59:00.001-07:00

February 2009

It was time for the Raven to visit the UAE.

In the Frankfurt airport, waiting for the Etihad Airlines flight to Abu Dhabi.

In the Mafraq Hotel in Abu Dhabi. A bit overpriced, but they did have lovely Bedouin furniture.

On to Dubai, where the Raven was the guest of Shaikha Madiya. He stayed at the guesthouse at her stables in the desert.

This is the horse path to her barn.

The Raven got to ride in the UAE!

He waited on the saddle while the boys fetched the horses.

He met Laila, his ride for the day.

Off we went into the great desert.

It was a lovely ride!

A Raven and his Horse

2008-11-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

Friday Novermber 28 2008

The Raven loooooooooooves his horse Stormy.

Stormy loves his Raven.

Sometimes they go off for rides. Stormy thinks he feels light as a feather.

A Raven in Colorado

2008-11-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

August 1 2008

What's the first thing the Raven sees when we pull into the family's driveway in Colorado Springs? A bear!

It's beautiful in the foothills below the Rocky Mountains.

Lots of wild birds around - the Raven checks out the bird feeder.

And the baby pool! The nieces didn't mind sharing with him.

The Bird takes on the nephews at pool.

The raven tries on a Wizard Hat.

One of the Raven's favorite places is Garden of the Gods.
The endangered peregrine falcon nests on this rock cliff in the spring.

You can see Pikes Peak from Garden of the Gods.

Garden of the Gods was privately owned, and was donated by the owner to the city of Colorado Springs on the condition it would always be available as a park to the public.

It's a great place to climb. (or fly if you're a Raven).

As we all know, the Raven is a Starbucks drinker, so we went to visit nephew Matt, who works at a Starbucks.

The Raven had a breve.

And, what the heck, he was on vacation, so he had another.

Then, we went to the Cheyenne Mountain zoo!
The Raven got to feed the giraffes!

The zebras are cool.

Funky monkeys!

Cool boa.

The gorillas were very entertaining, although the Raven was kind of sad they had to live in cages.

But - best of all - was a RAVEN!! This Raven gets to travel around to schools and meet school children when she isn't hanging out at the zoo.

We both love the Raven

A Raven in Silver City

2008-07-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Monday July 21 2008

Connie's friend John from Seattle came to visit us here in Owyhee County. We all drove up to the old historic ghost mining town of Silver City to look around.

It's at 6171 feet in the Owyhee Mountains.

Many of the old buildings have been bought and are being restored (and are required to be restored to look like they did in the 1800's).

We almost sat on this private house's porch, it looked so inviting. Notice the Raven on John's shoulder (John was thrilled to meet the Raven).

There are a number of the big buildings that have been restored, lots of mine shafts and very old cars that the Raven tried to drive.

One of the favorite stops was the restored Idaho Hotel and Bar , which, lucky for us, was open, and we got ice cold beers from the brass bar, and where the Raven played a song on the old piano.

Ridin' With an Aussie

2008-07-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

July 19 2008

Back home in Idaho, back in the saddle in Oregon!

The Raven went to the Bandit Springs endurance ride in Oregon, just in case I could find a horse to ride. I didn't, but, a special circumstance came up. Melissa, whom I'd met last year in Australia, was at Bandit Springs to ride 100 miles. Melissa had not met the Raven in Australia, because by that time, the Raven had disappeared in Brisbane, : (

However, Melissa (and about half of Australian endurance riders) had heard of the Raven and his exploits, and so here at Bandit Springs, Melissa was thrilled to meet Raven II. She offered to take the Raven on the endurance ride with her!

Whoa! The Raven riding endurance with someone other than me!? It made me kind of nervous, but the Raven was all for it, especially with a visiting Australian, so, at the second vet check, I tied the Raven bag onto Melissa's saddle and stuffed the Raven in the bag ... and off they went!

The Raven had fun riding on the big paint.

Melissa was very protective, always worried the Raven might fall out of his Raven bag on the trail, so she kept reaching back to check on him. At one point Melissa reached back and didn't feel the Raven, and she started to panic, until she found he'd just slipped down in the bag. So, just to make sure he wouldn't fall out, she stuffed him way down in the bag, and cinched that bag tightly. (So I wouldn't have to go searching on foot in the dark for the Raven!)

Throughout the day, on into the night they rode. I waited anxiously for them at the finish line, which they crossed about 11 PM.

They had so much fun together, maybe this could become a habit - the Raven racking up more endurance miles with special Aussies - a cultural endurance exchange!

Pink Flamingo

2008-07-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

July 26 2008

The Raven went to the Pink Flamingo Endurance Ride.

He got to ride Rushcreek Mac on the 25 mile ride.

Mac got all decorated in pink ribbons - it was a fund-raising ride for breast cancer.

The pink flamingos on Mac's butt were the Raven's idea.

The Raven hopped in his Raven bag, and off we went on the ride.

Mac takes a rest and eating break at the vet check.

Normally, it's just the horse that gets a final vet check. This time the Raven got a vet check at the end of the ride, and both Mac and the Raven passed!

Athens After the Gospel

2008-07-02T01:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday June 24 2008

The Raven has a new best friend Katina, the company manager from the Gospel at Colonus. After our show finished, we stayed with her at the beach outside of Athens.

Katina took the Raven swimming in the Aegean Sea.

The water was warm and refreshing.

A treat at Starbucks was the perfect cap to the swim.

Katina let the Raven try her brew.

He liked it so much they shared it.

We wandered around an old part of the Plaka area underneath the Acropolis.

The Raven picked a nice outdoor place to have dinner.

The Raven is hungry!

The Raven is ready to dive into his plate of Greek veggies!

Raven and the Gospel

2008-06-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 21 2008

This is it, the night of the Gospel at Colonus show.

The Raven is pretty excited about it.

The seats are filling up.

Time to get to work. The Raven was too busy to take pix during the show, and even though it was the Raven's first time to see the Gospel show, it was the Best Ever show, and it won't be his last.

Countdown to Gospel

2008-06-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

Thursday-Friday June 19-20 2008

Ron the sound designer for Gospel at Colonus loves the Raven (as does everybody).

Nice big cactus outside the theatre.

The Raven tests the wireless microphones on stage.

There's lots of cables to plug in.

It's punishingly, staggeringly hot in the theatre during the day, but the work must go on.

The Raven has his official Herodus Atticus theatre pass.

We have our only dress rehearsal and tech run-through on stage at night - we rehearse until 3:30 AM. Tomorrow night, 9 PM, is show time!

Gospel Techie

2008-06-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

Wednesday June 18 2008

The Raven is busy, getting the lay of the stage in the Herodus Atticus Theatre and helping set up the sound gear for the show.

The ancient urn up stage right is a particularly interesting perch.

This is the Bird's Eye View (no pun intended) of where the sound mixer (me) sits and from where the Raven will watch and supervise the sound mixing.

The Raven helps Andreas set microphone levels.

The lighting on the natural stone arches of the theatre is pretty stunning.
(Well, the whole thing - just being here to do the show - is pretty stunning).

The Raven joins the cast on stage for rehearsals.

And oh lordy, can these people sing! Twenty-plus members of Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir , the Soul Stirrers of Chicago, some of the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Steele family from Minneapolis, and a number of other solo singers... it's going to be one helluva show!

And So It Begins...

2008-06-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

Tuesday June 17 2008

We have all arrived... we gather for our first tech meeting and try to figure out schedules for the theatre and rehearsal hall beginning tomorrow.

The Raven is present at the production meeting.

We go out for a nice dinner, on a very mild, pleasant evening in Athens; two musicians - on guitar and banjo - play quiet perfect Mediterranean music in the background; the Greek salad and fried feta is to die for.

We get nice night views of the Acropolis on the walk back to our hotel.

The Raven in Athens

2008-06-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Monday June 16 2008

The Raven has come to Athens for the Gospel at Colonus! We're putting on one show (only one!!) in the Herodus Atticus Theatre, built 161 AD, beneath the Acropolis. Fitting or what - this play is a black gospel version of Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus, that premiered 2408 years ago in the Theatre of Dionysos 2408 - the ruins of which are 100 yards away. Sophocles was in the chorus.

We are a day early; the rest of the tech crew doesn't arrive till tomorrow. So, we have time for a cappuchino in Athens - something we won't have time for in the busy next few days! The long hours begin tomorrow. Show is Saturday night.

Sweden to Denmark to...

2008-06-22T04:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 14 2008

A busy travelling Raven ...

from a weekend at a Swedish endurance ride, to Copenhagen...

(he liked the Bird statue)

...and onward toward Athens and The Gospel at Colonus!

Back in Europe

2008-06-11T06:22:00.001-07:00

June 8 2008

The Raven is on the road again, back in Europe.

Right now he's staying with his old friends in Holland, the Lamsmas, where he helped with the Dutch Endurance Championships, helped celebrate Eric's birthday, and enjoyed walks along a canal by the house.

This trip is a mixed bag of work: covering more endurance rides, maybe squeezing in a fun ride or two, and, assisting me with sound engineering for the Gospel at Colonus play/musical we are putting on for one night, underneath the Acropolis in Athens. It's the story of Oedipus - a classical Greek tragedy - as told in a black church - and under the Acropolis! - how wild is that!

The Raven has never seen the show, and he's never been to Greece, so he can't wait.

But that's in two weekends. Meanwhile, the Raven is off to Sweden tomorrow to cover an endurance ride - Sweden! Another new country for him, and hopefully one where he can ride a horse!

Owyhee Fandango

2008-06-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

May 31 2008

The Raven got to ride 2 of the 3 days of the Owyhee Fandango endurance ride - both days on his pal Raffiq.

Add another 100 miles to the Raven's 3000+ mile endurance career!

On the last day he won a raffle drawing for a fleece pad. It's supposed to go underneath a saddle on a horse, but it is SO soft and fuzzy, that the Raven is keeping it for himself!

Catalonia Tourists

2008-04-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 9 2008

Kiwis Paul and Madonna have a place in a village outside of Vic (an hour from Barcelona) in Catalonia - a 1590 mill (that still runs on Sundays for show). The Raven and I caught a train from Madrid to Barcelona with them.

The mill is on a Route, the "Ruta dels molins," and the "Ruta del romanic," a maintained walk along a creek where many old mills and churches and ruins from the 16th and earlier centuries lie. These also connect with well-marked GR 2 trails that connect with other trails all across Europe, for bikers and hikers... and of course people use some of them for riding also.

The Raven and I stayed with Paul and Madonna and caught up on our sleep and our work. We took some walks along these trails when we needed a break from our work.

Paco was here this week to do some work also; and then Saturday, we became tourists.

The Raven came along, and Paco was happy to show him the sights of Catalonia. Paco and the Raven are good buds.

Our first stop, Girona, is an old Roman town with much of the old part of the town still well-preserved and functional. We wandered along the winding cobblestone streets, (the Raven did have to help navigate with the map a few times), along and around the fortress walls, and a Gothic cathedral with the real old bells that knock feathers off when they ring, and Arab Baths, and the Rambla - the main walking street of shops. The Raven was fascinated with some of the cobblestone streets, especially one where he could sit in the center of a star. There were a curious number of shops with designer handbags and purses for sale. You could also buy an authentic coat of armor, if you so desired to look like or fight with a sword and shield and lance like a Roman; and, to weaken your enemy's knees, there were an abundance of chocolate shops! We couldn't resist going in one and came out with bags of chocolate, filled with liqueur, nuts, and coffee beans - enough to knock Paco and the Raven out in the car for a while. I rationed out the chocolate coffee beans and kept a buzz till Monday.

From there we drove to Besalu, an even smaller and more charming medieval town with an old stone bridge over a river providing a picturesque - and, in the old days, protected - entrance to the fortified village. We wandered the streets, and the Raven visited with various Birds of Art in some of the shops - including two of his fans who would like to be birds like the Raven . We had lunch outdoors in the mild sunny weather, overlooking the river and old town.

Nice place for a spring visit. I wonder how many of the Raven's ancestors sat on this bridge the last thousand years?

A Raven in Madrid

2008-04-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

Monday April 14 2008

The day after Al-Andalus, Steph and the Raven and I caught a train to Madrid. Steph was flying out early the next morning to Malaysia, and the Raven and I would meet Paul and Madonna the next day, and catch the train with them to Barcelona, and onto their place outside of Vic.

The Raven and I had time to tour around Madrid, the capital of Spain, a bit. We saw the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), which was the principal royal residence from 1734 to 1931. We found a music store and picked up several of Jose Soto's music CDs to take home with us. The Raven enjoyed listening to an accordion player, and gave him some money, because I used to play the accordion when I was little. We strolled along the Gran Via - Madrid's main street, the Raven frolicked in tulips, and we stopped for a Starbucks. Of which there were many. There may be more Starbucks in Madrid than in Seattle. Europeans are not as obsessed with coffee as we are - or at least not in the same way. The to-go cup of coffee is a permanent attachment to the hands of most Americans. Here the Europeans take time to sit and enjoy the coffee and the company. Their version of to-go coffee is drinking it standing at a counter.

We actually got lost several times in Madrid (which is not so bad), and the wandering around was really an excuse for wandering around looking for our hotel. The streets are at angles, many of the tall, old buildings look alike, there are lots of little plazas everywhere, and the buildings are tall enough that you can't use anything tall for a landmark. Finally we figured out that when we saw a big poster of George Clooney staring out of a poster on a certain wall, that was our plaza and our hotel was across from it.

Our hotel was a cozy little affair... and in fact I had to get us a double room because my suitcase and the Raven and I would not all fit in the single room!

Al-Andalus Day 8: The Finish - La Beata

2008-04-16T05:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday April 5 2008

What a great adventure! Following 40 horses and riders, give or take on a given day, around Andalucia, Spain on an 8-day endurance ride! The Raven hopes to return next year and ride in it.

The last day was a fun one... here the Raven is looking after Steph's saddle.

There was a great party in the hotel afterwards - tapas and more tapas for snacks, beer, wine, and champagne for drinks.

Everybody wanted to hang with the Raven (gotta watch that Paul and Madonna ).

The party went on into the wee hours of the morning in the flamenco disco, where Jose Soto sang a few songs with the band - fabulous!

The Raven had a wonderful time... and now it's time to sleep for a week or two!

Al-Andalus Day 6: In Concert - to Antequera

2008-04-16T05:15:00.001-07:00

Thursday April 3 2008

After another day of photographing riders and horses on the Al-Andalus trail, there was a big fancy dinner party for everybody in the evening.

The Raven dressed up and attended, posing for pictures and joining everybody for dinner.

A divine duck was served... yes, the Raven eats ducks if they are put in front of him.

He tried to eat Steph's dessert, but she was unwilling to share.

Al-Andalus Day 3: Montenmedio

2008-04-16T03:12:00.000-07:00

Monday March 31 2008

The Raven's been working hard taking photos (and frolicking in yellow fields of Andalucian flowers) during Al-Andalus and he's not getting enough sleep. He had a little too much wine after today's 60-km ride to Montenmedio, and passed out in the sun while taking photos of the horses vetting in.

Al-Andalus Raven Fans

2008-04-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday March 30 2008

The Raven has fans all over the world - among others Paco from Spain, and new fan, flamenco singer Jose Soto from Spain. Paul and Madonna are also big fans after having met and hosted the Raven in New Zealand last year.

You have to keep an eye on Paul and Madonna, however; they are always trying to grab the Raven and run off with him.

But they really do love the Raven (as does everybody). The Raven makes everybody laugh!

Al-Andalus Day 1: El Rocío

2008-04-16T02:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 29 2008

Today's 60-km ride finished in El Rocío, one of the Raven's favorite places so far.

There were horses everywhere in the sand streets beneath the old church - endurance horses, carriage horses, riding horses, riding ponies, even wild horses roaming the edge of the wetlands lake by the town.

A Raven at Tierras Al-Andalus

2008-04-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 29 2008

The 8-day ride across Andalucia, Spain, begins today!

On the way to the start of the ride, the Raven greets his friend Paco again - they met last year at a ride in New Zealand, and meets his new friend and fan Jose Manuel Soto. Jose is a famous flamenco singer and television star from Andalucia, and the creator of this ride. That's Jose on the left, Paco on the right. The Raven is famous himself, of course, so he's happy to make Jose's acquaintance and is looking forward to hearing him sing.

It's a beautiful setting for a horse ride across Spain, and the Raven is ready to report... and party with the Andalusians, and riders from around the world.

Spain-Bound

2008-04-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday March 27 2008

The Raven is quite excited - he has come to Spain, to help photograph and write about the III Raid Kaliber Tierras de Al-Andalus - an 8-day endurance ride across Andalucia, Spain.

We arrived in Madrid (via Amsterdam, via Minneapolis, via Boise), grabbed a taxi to the train station, and then hopped on a train to Seville, which is close to where the ride will begin in Dos Hermanas on Saturday. The next day we took a taxi to Dos Hermanas, and the Raven had time for a quick stroll through a little park and a rest in an olive tree.

The Raven's Spanish friend Paco is looking forward to seeing him - the Raven brings him good luck. Paco will be riding his stallion Ibor in the ride.

The Raven visited Spain last year - and got to ride in Catalonia, but it is his first visit to Andalucia - he's looking forward to it!

Raven Clone

2008-03-01T17:51:00.000-08:00

Saturday March 1 2008

It was pretty darn traumatic when Raven I disappeared in Melbourne in April 2007.
(See Nevermore
http://forevermoretheraven.blogspot.com/2007/04/nevermore.html
and Raven Postscript
http://forevermoretheraven.blogspot.com/2007/05/raven-postscript.html).

Perhaps it was not traumatic for the Raven - he's probably somewhere he's meant to be right now. But meanwhile, a Raven II was found just in time to continue the horse travel adventures, and now Raven II wants to make sure that if he disappears somewhere, another Raven will carry on.

He found this Raven clone on ebay. He put in a bid and won, and got the package in the mail.

He opened it up to find... Raven III! They are hanging out together, scheming on how to stockpile more Raven clones, just in case.

Back 'Home' to Oreana

2008-02-26T17:41:00.000-08:00

Tuesday February 26 2008

The Raven was sad to leave Jose and Rhett in Arizona, but they are getting well and are getting good care, and he's got more horses to take care of in Oreana.

Diego was happiest to see the return of the Raven and gave him one big love bite on the beak. Diego introduced the Raven to Kazam, their first time to meet.

While Diego dozed, the Raven hopped on his back for a quick ride.

Although the Raven is home wherever he is, he's glad to be back in lovely Oreana.

Eastern Mojave Scenic Ride

2008-02-18T20:56:00.000-08:00

Monday February 18 2008

The Raven went to the 3-day Eastern Mojave Scenic Ride. He was quite excited. We left Scottsdale in the rain (more rain!), and arrived at ridecamp near Baker, CA, in the Mojave National Preserve, 6 hours later.

It's 1.6 million acres of desert, mountain ranges, cinder cones and dry river beds.

The horse we were supposed to ride couldn't come at the last minute, but another friend Ann offered us her extra horse Razzy.

We rode Day 1, 50 miles, on Razzy, through magnificent Joshua tree forests, (those things HURT!), cactus gardens (where the Raven and I were glad we were not bucked off), historic tin cans and the rusted frame of an ancient Chevy, and past old gold and silver mines.

We finished our ride (that made 1000 miles for Razzy!), and the Raven gave Razzy a thank-you carrot.

Since the Raven hadn't done an endurance ride since September, he got a little sore and needed a few pick-me-ups afterwards.

The Raven was thrilled to meet some of his Aussie fans - Skip (the 'Roo) and Cackles (the Kookaburra) , and 5 Aussie endurance riders, , Becca, Jay, Jane, Lela, and Kim. The Raven hopes to see these gals again at the Quilty - Australia's famous 100-mile endurance ride - in Queensland, Australia, in September!

Ravenous

2008-02-07T20:14:00.000-08:00

Tuesday February 5 2008

The Raven II's been taking his Horse Care Job very seriously here in Arizona. He checks on Jose and Rhett to make sure they are getting better.

He gives lots of get well kisses (Jose loves them).

When he's not nursing horses, he's enjoying the nature around the desert. Just like the other birds around here - hawks and flickers and phainopeplas and owls - he can sit on top of the cactus without getting hurt.

He likes the barrel cactus

and the saguaro

and the cholla

and the baby cactus

and the agave.

He found a bird nest, wondering if he might fit inside.

He likes Sebby the dog

and the garden sculpture.

He's gearing up for the 3-day Eastern Mojave Scenic ride February 16-18, although he hasn't ridden in a long time and will probably be sore (but he'll still be happy). He's looking forward to meeting some visiting Aussies there, including Jay Randle, one of his biggest fans!

Good Bird Day

2007-12-31T17:57:00.000-08:00

January 1 2008

Without trying today, I saw: a bald eagle, 2 red-tailed hawks, several kestrels, ravens, and magpies. The bald eagle was impressive (and not so common around here; we mostly have golden eagles), and the flashy, iridescent, long-tailed magpies are entertaining to watch - sometimes they like to play around and on the horses.

But of course it's the Raven that I'm obsessed with. Who wouldn't be, with all the history and mystery and myths of Ravens down through the ages and different cultures:

In Norse mythology, Odin, the father of the Gods, had two Raven informers, Hugin and Munin.

In Celtic mythology, Branwen, Goddess of love and beauty can take the form of a white crow.

In several Pacific Northwest Indian cultures, the Raven is revered as the creator of humans, or the one who found the first humans in a giant clam shell and let them out; the stealer of light (he stole the sun from a greedy man, and put the sun, moon, and stars in the sky for humans); a perpetual trickster, and a storyteller.

In Arabic, the Crow is "Algorab." My friend Maryanne in Egypt lives right by the partially buried ruins of an ancient sun temple, Abu Ghorab. It is rumored to be one of six sun temples, only 2 of which have been discovered so far. Abu Ghorab means "Father of Crows." In Egypt, crows are a nuisance to the farmers. Farmers try to scare them away or shoot them, so the clever crows hang out during the day at the trash dump and other places away from humans, and in the evening they fly one by one to hide behind the sun temple. There they wait until the call to evening prayer, when they fly into the orchards at the edge of the desert to roost, because they know people are at their prayers. : )

In several cultures, the Raven and crow were originally white.

In Australian Aboriginal legends, the crow turned black after he wrestled with a hawk (they fought because the crow would not share his meal, as they had agreed to do) and rolled in the black ashes of a campfire, which never washed off.

In ancient Greece, the White Raven was a sacred bird and messenger of Apollo, the God of light, sun, music, poetry, and fine arts. (In some myths, it was a crow.) But, due to some mischief the Raven got into, as Ravens are wont to do, (depending on the tale, either narking on Apollo's wife, or mistress, or it didn't fetch water quickly enough for Apollo), Apollo flew into a rage, as Greek Gods are wont to do, and turned his white Raven to black.

And I came across this nugget from this spring: a clutch of white Ravens were abandoned by their parents and rescued in a churchyard in England:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=461265&in_page_id=1770 .

Any Ravens I see here at home in the canyon, I think one of them must be Hoss, one of the baby ravens the neighbors Linda and Mike and Carol raised last year. Especially when even I can get fairly close to him without him being very concerned. Maybe he's a distant descendant of one of the Ravens in myth and legend, comfortable being around people and Gods.

Then there's always the Raven II, popping up at random places.

A Raven Christmas

2007-12-25T20:34:00.000-08:00

Tuesday December 25 2008

After a whirlwind summer of international travel, The Raven was happy to spend Christmas at 'home' in Seattle with me and the family...

and a pony friend.

Idaho - Owyhee Canyonlands Ride

2007-09-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

September 25 2007

The Raven is glad to be back 'home' in Idaho - and back in the saddle!

Our friend Connie and her dog Zico came to visit, and Connie did her 1st ever 50-mile endurance rides on Jose.

Of course, the Raven is an old endurance pro, he's almost up to 3000 AERC miles.

The Raven rode Rhett, one of his favorite endurance horses ever.

The vet checks are a fun place to hang out and rest and eat with the horses and riders.

The Raven in Rome

2007-09-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

September 19 2007

On our way back to the states, we spent a day in Rome.

The Raven enjoyed the Coliseum, and Palatine Hill

and other ruins around the city

and the modern Rome
.

The Raven visited the Vatican and was hoping to get a ride in the Popemobile, but the Pope was not in town.

The Raven had a good time hanging out at the Spanish Steps, built in the early 1700's.

Welcome To Oslo!

2007-08-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

Tuesday August 14 2007

What's the first thing you do when you arrive in Norway? Go sailing of course!

Kjersti (my hiking partner in Nepal in 1991) and her husband Per Christian picked me up at the train station, we went straight to the marina where their 35' sailboat, Mar ("Sea" in Portuguese – they spent 2 years in Brazil), was moored. Kjersti made us dinner on the boat, then we unhitched the ropes (that is not nautical terms), motored out of the marina into the bay, raised the sails, and, the Raven II and I were sailing on Oslo Fjorden!

The Raven is a good nautical navigator and enjoyed steering the boat.

We would LOVE to come back one summer and sail the west coast of Norway, like Kjersti and Per Christian have done, twice. There's something about sailing that is addicting... perhaps a bit like endurance riding, I think.

One evening we hiked up a nearby local hill with Hans Jacob and Eli. Hans carried up a watermelon and we sat up top overlooking Oslo and the Oslofjord under gray cloudy skies and a brisk (autumn already?!) wind.

We all had cool watermelon and a toast...

or two.

We visited the the ski jump Holmenkollen - opened in 1892, and site of the 1952 Winter Olympics ski jumping -

which disappeared in the rain clouds.

The Raven made friends with the moose in the ski jump museum.

The Raven in Amsterdam

2007-08-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday August 1 2007

The Raven wanted to go to Amsterdam...

so we hopped on the train to Amsterdam.

The Raven enjoyed the lovely city with its trademark canals.

The Raven wanted to visit a Coffeeshop, and chose the Siberie Coffeeshop

I had a couple of cappuchinos while the Raven did his thing

Afterwards, the Raven got the munchies so we had a big lunch.

The Raven then tried on some clogs

We did some window shopping, where the Raven found a friend

Raven II Rides Belgium!

2007-07-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 22 2007

Friendly people, beautiful countryside, thick green wet forests, old well-preserved houses and castles, perfect lighting, not least the mild weather... Belgium has grown on the Raven quickly.

We're staying with Leonard and Carole, who live in a little village, Gesves (say “zhev”) 70 km from Brussels, putting them in the southern region of Belgium, the Wallonian French-speaking part. Leo's lovely old house probably originally dates back to the 1800's – he's lived in it for 10 years. There's a few old stables and several paddocks rich with grass for his 4 horses. Many of the village dwellers rebuild the houses from the 1700's and 1800's in the old stone style. Many were big old farmhouses, half of which the family lived in and half which was the stables for the animals. Belgium has more castles per square mile than any country, and I saw a number of them driving to Leo's house from Brussels (“Oh, there's another castle”). Most people keep up their old places in meticulous condition, taking much pride in landscaping them. Brilliant, bright-colored flowers inhabit many brick and stone windowsills everywhere.

It's lovely and cool at night, and not-hot during the day, although if you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change: sun, clouds, rain, rain and sun, wind, storm, not a breeze. It usually starts off perfectly clear every morning and starts clouding up by noon, and by evening, you can hedge your bets that it's raining somewhere in Belgium. And always, at about 8 PM for about an hour, brilliant golden evening light filters through either haze or clouds or moist air, accenting church steeples and castles, highlighting the folds of hills and the leaves on trees. Even if you're not a photographer, it makes you stare with your mouth open in amazement.

The wet forest is much like the Pacific Northwest: wet, green, thick, ferns, moss, mud, slugs.

The Raven rode in the home forest a couple of times, and once over the groomed track and trails through the forest just outside Brussels.

One day, riding along the old racecourse near Brussels, there, right in front of us on the grass... a hawk feather! (From a Common Buzzard, central Europe's most common bird of prey; it looks similar to our American Red-tailed hawks or Swainson's hawks.) The feather was a gift from the hawk to the Raven.

The Raven rode Carol's young horse Bicai, Leo's 6-year-old qualified horse Dario, and, the star of Leo's stable, 18-year-old Orfeo: a horse that's been to 2 European Championships and 4 World Championships.

The Raven in Brussels

2007-07-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

Monday July 16 2007

On to Brussels, Belgium!

Belgium, a country the size of Maryland with 10.5 million people, is a country rich in history and culture, art and architecture from Romanesque, Gothic, and Baroque periods. There are more castles per square mile in Belgium than anywhere else in the world.

And then there's the world famous cuisine, and the beer and chocolates and desserts!

There's hundreds of Belgian beers – Belgium lays claim to having the most varied and numerous collection of beers in the world. Beer-brewing in Belgium originated in the monasteries in the Middle Ages, a fine occupation for monks, eh?

Three leading chocolate makers are headquartered in Belgium: Neuhaus (founded in Brussels in 1857!), Godiva (founded 1926 in Brussels) and Leonidas (founded by a Greek living in US in early 1900's, but he subsequently moved to Belgium).

The Raven got a ride into Brussels and took a walking tour around the city.

Besides the sweets in Brussels, The Raven most enjoyed one of the parks where he made the acquaintance of a raven.

The main centerpiece of Brussels is the Grand Place , with its Baroque and Gothic guildhouses (house guilds of bakers, carpenters, archers, boatsmen, haberdashers), most built in early 1700's. The Town Hall (Hotel de Ville) dates from the 1200's. The Grand Place as been the commercial hub of the city since it was built as a market in the 1200's. You can gorge here at the cafes, chocolate stores, and souvenir stores. You can visit any number of museums, theatres, luxury and designer stores, historical monuments, art galleries, markets, cathedrals (the St Gudule and St Michael’s Cathedral dates from the 1400's) here. You cannot, however, visit a Starbucks!

Which is why The Raven and I partook of our friend's expresso machine and had some serious Belgian coffee at home.

Roses on the Mediterranean

2007-07-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

Monday July 9 2007

We're in the very northeast corner of Spain, on the Bahia de Roses (Bay of Roses) on the Mediterranean. It's a nice touristy little sea-side resort town, not too obnoxious.

It's a fun place to walk in the evening, past many beach clothing stores, restaurants, and gelato places (it's best to sample a few), and the boardwalk along the beach . The sunsets are quite spectacular – as most Mediterranean sunsets are – the rain clouds and sun clashing on the horizon and painting the near hills and the far mountains different colors, with, of course, a rainbow for dessert. The restaurants are crowded, and many people are out strolling, late into the night. This strolling about, sitting in restaurants late into the evening is a fine European pastime.

We're staying here while we visit a horseman at El Bagual Farm.

Raven II Rides Spain!

2007-07-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

July 2 2007

We're visiting Bernat and Neus Cassals' farm Vilaformiu (old Catalonian language, meaning “beautiful house”), perched on side of foothills of the Pyrenees mountains, the “pre-Pyrenees” foothills, in Catalonia, the very northeast corner of Spain

The grooms working for Bernat saddled up the chestnut gelding Amazhig for us, the Raven hopped into his bag on the saddle, and off we went for a ride in the pre-Pyrenees mountains of Spain!

We started up the 'logging roads,' part of them connecting with a hiker trail that runs about 100 miles, and will take you through the Pyrenees into France.

Our horses had a good climb up, some of it steep, some of it on trails through the green rich forest, and when we got back onto a dirt road, we started trotting, switching-backing up and up, and the last few stretches we picked up a canter. My horse loped smoothly along, both of us squinting from the rocks flying up from the feet of Bernat's mount as they pelted us in the face. Up to the top we cantered, the top o' the world, where we had 3 directions of the compass spread out far below us – it was hazy/smoggy, but bello – beautiful!

The Raven enjoyed the view, and we saw a couple of vultures hanging high in the wind updrafts.

Raven II Rides France!

2007-06-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

Tuesday June 26 2007

The Raven woke up - in France!

Caroline brought us coffee (merci!!) and breakfast out on the divine patio overlooking La Masselle, home of Stephane and Caroline, and we surveyed the farm of horses, stone houses and barns, and remains of old stone walls, us.

After breakfast Stephane Chazel took us on a horse ride - in France!

The Raven perched himself in his Raven bag on the gray gelding Jasmin, a 10-year-old Anglo Arabian who's finished his last 3 160-km rides.

Our 2 ½ hour ride took us up into the green, rocky hills, past vineyards, olive tree orchards, fields of green grass (“Grass is good this year”), old old farmhouses, and the ruins of a castle on a little hill. We looked at a few of Stephane's turned-out-growing-up horses, yearling to 4-year-olds, turned out with a 26-year-old retired babysitter endurance gelding. We had a little canter up a field, and Jasmin had this very controlled, huge rocking chair canter stride. Wow, I bet he's fun in an endurance ride!

Although the Raven and I could have gone on forever, and it certainly looks like the trails do, we made a loop and rode back onto La Masselle.

The Raven Jet Sets!

2007-06-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

Thursday June 21 2007

Going along with this endurance ride in Assissi, Italy, is a Gala Dinner for Assissi Endurance Lifestyle.

Our driver picked up the four of us – 3 humans and The Raven (stuffed in my bag), and shuttled us to the Misura Endurance Village in the valley just below Assisi Town, where some 1200 fancy dressed people and 1 suave Raven attended the opening Gala Dinner for Assisi Endurance Lifestyle.

The Raven fits right in anywhere - Kingly ceremonies, mucking stables, the world of culture and high society. He has no social airs and doesn't recognize those who do, and he always enjoys himself.

Champagne and special Umbrian hors-d'oeuvre were served while the elegant crowd mingled. Around 10 PM there was a mass migration toward the tables set up surrounding the stage. The night show started off with a fashion show under the lights, with the lit up Baslilca of St Francis on the hill, and higher up the lit up Rocca Maggiore castle, providing the backdrop for the open air countryside setting while waiters served a 3-course dinner to 1200 people.

At 11:30 PM a jazzy band started playing, then at midnight, a fireworks show started - pretty spectacular.

After the final dish was served, the crowd drifted from the tables to the bar area where fresh fruits, coffee, and gelato were served to polish off the evening.

The Raven, having already sat on Royal Gold Carpet in Malaysia, had his spin on the Fashion Runway – after the models and TV cameras of course, so he wouldn't distract from the models in the show.

Buon Giorno!

2007-06-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday June 19 2007

Buon giorno! Hello, good day! Really can't complain when a handsome Italian man in a suit and tie is holding a sign, “M,” at the Rome airport and picking me and the Raven up in a Mercedes SUV!

Andrico drove us the two hours from Rome to Assissi, up and into the old town built on a hill, racing through and around the narrow streets in our Mercedes, dodging tourists, up and up, and Andrico dropped us off at the hotel, where we waited on a medieval staircase for the hotel owner to return from lunch.

The Raven wandered around this lovely old medieval city of stone houses, full of “hill-town charm,” peppered with ancient churches. It has the well-preserved and still-standing remains of eight fortified entrance portals – which you drive through to enter the town - and town walls.

The origin of the name Assisi is unknown, though legend has it that the queen of Troy's brother, Asio built it. It dates back to pre-Roman times, first inhabited by the Umbri (6th century BC), then by the Romans. The Christian faith was brought to Assisi in the 3rd century AD.

Assisi is best known as the birthplace of St Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order. He followed his calling in life, much to his father's chagrin, begging for the poor, asking God for enlightenment, nursing lepers, restoring ruined churches, embracing poverty, preaching, (though he chose never to be an ordained priest), and eventually founding the Franciscan Order. Two years after his death in 1226 AD, he was pronounced a saint by the Pope, and the building of the Basilica of St Francis began. I think we can assume Francis was not only a saint but a horse (or at least donkey) lover, because legend has it that on his deathbed, his donkey wept as he thanked it for carrying him and helping him throughout his life.

The Raven admired the statue of St Francis on his horse.

After the fall of the Roman empire, Assisi was besieged and razed several times throughout history. The Rocca Maggiore Fortress, sitting on the top of the hill guarding the town, was built for defending the city around 1174 AD, but the citizens of Assisi did the same thing to the fortress – besieged it and razed it - due to its symbolism of despotic power. In 1367 rebuilding of the fortress began, and it was enhanced throughout the centuries, and it still stands over the city, with its walls and towers extending into the distance.

We stopped at a corner restaurant and sat outside at a table and had, after a panini sandwich, ice cream, which was festively decorated with caramel-dripped cookies and a colorful foil sparkler. Bellisimo!

Three Little Ravens

2007-06-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

Tuesday June 12 2007

Last year in the spring, 3 little Ravens
fell out of their nest along Pickett Creek. Neighbor Linda (now next door to Carol, who's next door to us) found them after a windstorm blew them out of their nest. They were sitting on the ground on the bridge over the creek on her new property. The parents were still trying to feed them, but the little ravens were sweltering in the heat, dehydrated, and in very bad shape. Linda called up Carol next door, who drove over in her black pickup; they bundled up the little ravens, and drove a few miles downstream to Linda's (now old) house. The parent ravens were frantic, watching Carol's truck drive away with their babies, but, without human intervention, it was quite clear the little ravens would have died very soon.

Linda and Carol used eyedroppers to get water down them, and Linda kept them at her house. Carol drove home, and later in the day got back in her pickup to drive into town, and the parent ravens followed her truck all the way down the creek into Oreana – she said it was quite eerie. “How they could tell my black truck from her blue truck, and know the babies had been in mine, was amazing.” They eventually figured out their babies were at Linda's place.

Linda, and her partner Mike, and Carol all pitched in to feed the baby ravens – at first dog food soaked into a mush, and bird food, which is higher in protein, and eventually just about anything, including chicken, and tuna, “the smellier the better.”

At first Linda kept them inside as they needed to be fed several times a day, and she even took them to an endurance ride or two, because the hungry babies needed to be fed constantly. “They were all mouth,” said Carol, “big pink mouths,” which must be their attractant for the parents to put food right in the target – down their throats. Eventually Linda kept them outside in a big cage, till they were able to hop and flap around. By that stage, they were no longer so tame they'd sit in Linda's hands, but they would land on Linda's and Mike's heads.

Linda has a big menagerie of dogs and goats and horses and mules; the ravens were just another part of the family. Eventually, one of the ravens disappeared, and they never saw it again. Later in the summer, Mike and Linda found one drowned in a water trough, a very sad event.

That left Hoss. Hoss the Raven kept hanging around, getting fed, growing up with the farm animals. One day he was gone, and later that day another neighbor further down the creek toward Oreana called, “Linda, I have your Raven!” She said he looked disoriented and was hungry, so she fed him dog food. When Linda showed up with her bowl of treats, she said Hoss was so happy to see her, he followed Linda right to her truck and flew back home with her. He was still so starved when they got home, Linda kept feeding him... and feeding him. “He just kept eating, so I just kept feeding him. I mean, what the heck.” The next day, Hoss was gone, seemingly for good.

That might have been the end of the Picket Creek Raven stories, but months later, Hoss returned. Of course, all Ravens look pretty much alike to human eyes, but this had to be Hoss, because he'd hang out at Linda's place on the fence, or on the goats' backs , like he always did. He wouldn't allow himself to be touched anymore, but he'd hang out much closer than any other raven might have, and he was unbothered by human presence. And, he seemed to have brought a girlfriend with him.

Carol says he's still hanging out in this valley – often it's the two of them. Hoss or both of them will stop by her place early in the mornings and croak and caw a while. She'll also often see a Raven or two when she's out riding, and he'll often come quite close. She's sure it's Hoss, coming to check on her.

The first time I took a horse out riding when I got back here this visit, I saw a raven alight on a hillside. It really looked like he was doing nothing but watching me, so I yelled, “Hi Hoss!” at him. Another time Carol and I were riding, and we saw a raven circling high above. I yelled, “Hi Hoss!” again, and the raven flew down to have a look at us. It might not have been Hoss, because sometimes Ravens can be quite curious, but chances are, it was him, because there aren't that many ravens that hang around this drainage. Once a day or so, I see 2 ravens hanging out in one particular dead tree by our creek. I go out there to right under the tree with my camera, saying, “Hi Hoss!” The two look at me, and go about their raven business, cawing and hollering, preening, ducking from little birds or kestrels that are quite perturbed they are hanging out in the wrong spot.

We humans think we are so smart, that we have everything figured out. We forget that we take and take and take from the planet, things that will never be replaced, and things that just won't continue to sustain us with our steadily growing population – do the simple math. Carol and I have always thought that as soon as we humans destroy ourselves and the planet, the Ravens will inherit the earth. They are the clever ones. They've been out there since the creation of the earth (they are mentioned in the Bible several times; it was Ravens that fed Elijah in the wilderness), and they'll be around long after we've taken everything till there's nothing left for us, and they'll still be having a great time. I can only think that we Pickett Creek humans all have good Raven karma, through Linda's and Carol's good raven deeds, (and through my obsession with Ravens), so who knows, maybe we'll get to come back as Ravens one day...

P.S. The great photos are all from Linda and Mike and/or Carol!

The Raven Returns! (Sort Of)

2007-06-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

June 9 2007

Wait – what's this!? Return of The Raven in Oreana ??

Well, it's not the exact same Raven (I can tell), but it's another Raven... The Raven Two perhaps?

As to the original Raven, I can't count the condolences I received after the crushing disappearance of it in Brisbane (humorous, and serious, condolences, I think), and then there was the help I was offered by numerous people in searching for the lost Raven and/or finding a replacement Raven, (including one endurance rider who stopped at the place I originally bought the first Raven from 8 or 9 years ago, enlisted the help of the manager there, and left his credit card in case that guy found one for me later), and an Australian offer to try to sew me another one.

I recently wrote the company Folkmanis who used to make the Raven puppet, and told them of the Raven's adventures and misadventures. I knew they hadn't made this Raven for 8 or 9 years, but besides sharing a story with them I figured they'd enjoy, I also asked on the off chance there might still be a spare Raven puppet hanging out in the attic or something. The kind marketing director there suggested I keep an eye on ebay – which I'd done from time to time – and since I hadn't checked in a while, I looked again – and there, right then, was another Raven! I was all over that bidding. Meanwhile, another gal from Folkmanis – named Raven, of course – offered to send me HER Raven that she'd had sitting on her desk for many years.

Well, the replacement Raven off ebay arrived this week, and it took no time in getting back into the groove of things. He met the horses – Jose sniffed him on the hay pile, then grabbed him in his mouth, scared himself, backed up with it still in his mouth, kept scaring himself backwards, and finally let the Raven go and wheeled away. The Raven then helped Steph garden , joined us for dinner, and is now hanging out in the suitcase getting packed to leave for Europe next week, for the next three months. THIS TIME, a closer eye will be kept on the Raven II (or Raven Due for Italy, or Raven Deux for France) - it will have a Lost and Found Reward tag attached, in case something bizarre happens again. Maybe I should just wear it on a chain around my neck. Sure, it would be a big Bohemian necklace, but it wouldn't disappear so easily again.

And no, it is not the Exact Same Raven, but I think it will be a decent replacement. Surely I don't need to start over the Raven's endurance miles, do I? It might even be joined by other Ravens at some point... maybe the Kiwi or Kookaburra that jumped in my bag from New Zealand and Australia... that remains to be seen. Raven Fans, stay tuned! Non-Raven fans, well, just get used to it – he's back!

Raven Postscript

2007-05-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

Tuesday May 1 2007

From the Raven's owner:

OK people, the Raven was just a piece of black cloth sewn together to look like a silly black bird, with a crooked beak to boot, but really, I’m still gutted. I still can’t believe I lost the Raven. And I just don’t understand what happened.

I realized I’d lost it within 5 minutes at the most, and I retraced my steps - over and over and over. It was either in the hostel or on the street within 1 block that I lost it. I don’t know if it fell out of my little bag, or someone nicked it - it just disappeared. It doesn’t really make sense, because why would anyone in the hostel take it (backpackers are usually good about returning things), and why would anyone on the street snatch it, or even pick it up if it fell out of my bag (well, on second thought, it was so cute and happy, who wouldn’t). As soon as I realized it was gone, I had immediately run back along the street looking for it, then thought maybe I hadn’t had it with me after all; I ran to my room and in a panic threw everything out of my suitcase, looking for a black Raven, but as everything flew in the air out of my bag - no Raven.

I scoured the hostel over and over; I walked the street up and down the block till it got dark, and after dark. I probably looked like a hooker (though I was underdressed for that), or like one of the homeless hanging around there (overdressed for that) since I was looking in garbage cans. I walked in every café and asked; I looked under tables, in trees (in case someone with a sense of humor stuck it up there), in corners, everywhere. I walked down the street an extra block, in case a fast traveling bus ran over it and carried it a ways. I even asked a cop walking about, and he looked at me funny, a strange American traveling with a dead stuffed raven. No, no, I said, it’s a stuffed animal bird, a puppet. He looked at me just as strange and said No, haven’t seen it. There was a little police beat station there; I stopped in there twice that night, and once the next morning, and by now I think they were about to get the handcuffs out.

And you know how when you can’t find something and you keep looking, and then the 7th time you go through the same bag you swear you’ve thoroughly gone through 6 times and suddenly there it is - I kept going back to my room and going through my things again and again, hoping the Raven would be there.

Nothing. I was just stunned. Just couldn’t believe it. Still can’t.

I’d been texting Trevor, and he sent a 1 minute of silence tribute (i.e. blank text) for the Raven.

I’ve had that Raven since about 1999 (OK, whoever still has a teddy bear from their youth, fess up), and it had done over 2700 endurance miles with me, it had been to many National Parks, and it climbed peaks, including Mt Whitney (it signed the log book!) , and it was the first thing I saw when I woke up in the hospital after a bad accident, smiling at me with its crooked jaws like everything was going to be alright eventually. But really, it was just a piece of black cloth, right?

I’ve had loads of condolences J, offers to help me find a new Raven (one friend immediately looked on eBay and found a different little raven), a call from D’Arcy the Raven’s biggest fan to 1.6 million people in Brisbane to help find the Raven, and Floyd not only offered to look in Lee Vining where I got the original Raven, but he stopped by there, enlisted the employee’s help in the search, and left his credit card there in case the guy found one. It’s actually not made anymore and hasn’t been for years. I guess I can always travel with the new little Raven I got off eBay (yes, I got it immediately, it’s waiting for me in the States), and start some new Raven antics, but, it just won’t be the same.

NEVERMORE

2007-04-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

Monday April 23 2007

By the Raven's owner:

The Raven is gone. Jumped out of my shoulder bag in Brisbane. I'd only walked about 5 minutes, so I searched and searched and searched and asked everybody, every store and cafe around (all thought I was a nutter), even a policeman in the area. I am going to spend the night throwing up. maybe the week.

The Raven in Melbourne

2007-04-22T17:38:00.000-07:00

April 22 2007

Chelsea was kind enough to haul us from the Nowhere Creek endurance ride to Melbourne, where we'd catch a flight to Brisbane, to visit Toft Endurance.

The Raven enjoyed touring around Melbourne. He said hi to the carriage horses .

He found this owl and pig (?) he particularly liked and made friends with.

The owl looked very smart and the pig (?) was just plain interesting.

Dingley Maze Paradise

2007-04-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

April 12-16 2007

The Raven and I arrived at beautiful Dingley Maze Paradise on the border of New South Wales and Victoria in southern Australia, home of Meg Wade's Castlebar Endurance. We're here to visit for a week or two and ride some endurance horses belonging to one of the leading endurance riders and breeders in Australia.

The Raven met Meg's pet kangaroo - the first marsupial to make the Raven's acquaintance!

The Raven had his first ride in Australia - several rides in fact. He liked to check the training charts every morning to see which horse he was assigned to ride. His favorite horse? Difficult to choose... but if you pick by names, how can you not like a horse named Demon? Which was his favorite ride? Hard to say… all were enjoyable no matter how long or short they were; all were beautiful rides to our eyes, whether we were up high with views or down low just following a logging road through the forest, the horses were all fun in their own way, and the company was always excellent.

One day we did a good long 2 ½ hour ride for some of the fit working horses. We started up a long uphill climb through the forest, then up on top we wound around the maze of logging roads, trotting, cantering the flats and uphills, walking the downhills. It was mostly eucalyptus forests, with a few areas of pine trees. Nasari was tough, chugging right on up the hills like they were nothing, wanting to get ahead - he just wanted to GO! He has a lovely canter. There was one long uphill stretch, about a mile or so, that we just cantered along up the gradual climb, and while I could hear the other horses huffing and puffing behind me, and dropping further back, Nasari didn’t seem to be breathing at all, and he left them behind with his easy rocking chair canter. I was in dreamland bliss or something on my horse, because apparently a wallaby hopped across the road right in front of us, spooked the other girls’ horses, and I didn’t even see it! I think the Raven did though. I can’t believe I missed it! But no matter because man, what a great ride that was.

What a great ride! It wasn’t too hot, and on the last bit coming home, we got a strong breeze for a while. It felt good and it eventually cleared the air a bit of the persistent smoke always hanging in the air, though the fires are still going pretty well on that one mountain in the not-so-distance.

Then there was the day of the Reserve ride - a group of us just cantering a couple of miles on the side of the road and back, and I had this great little gray gelding Deviate that had this great Go attitude, and he was push-button to ride. Miles of lively cantering past scarey cows and screeching cockatoos (and over cockatoo feathers - somebody had a cockatoo for lunch). Always the cockatoos everywhere - flocks of them!

Wildlife spotted besides the ubiquitous parrots (never get tired of them) were a wedge-tailed eagle, a kookaburra (!! This one was just sitting by the acorn tree inhabited by green and red parrots), a marmot, a black snake, a deer; and the Raven and everybody else saw a wallaby. Oh, and flocks of kangaroos at night time in a pasture of a nearby resort, where they probably throw food out for them.

The Raven loves the colorful parrots that are everywhere, but boy are they LOUD!

To the North Island for Nationals

2007-04-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

April 8 2007

We were headed to the New Zealand Endurance National Championships with David and Sandie and 4 horses. It was quite the epic journey - 24+ hours - to our destination on the North Island, leaving Holly Farm near Christchurch around 9 PM, and just making it to the ferry by 7 AM; landing on the North Island a few hours later, and driving north from Wellington.

We stopped for a rest break - for humans and horses and Raven - in a little park in Paekakariki on the Kapiti Coast. We set up the fences and unloaded the horses for a few hours' rest, and the Raven and I had to go see the beach and touch the Tasman Sea before passing out in the back seat of the truck for a couple of hours.

Our destination was Rangiwahia, a tiny town in the foothills of the Ruahine Range; and while pretty much all the horses and humans were here for serious endurance riding, the Raven was here to make more friends. He met his first pig - and who would not have fallen love with Julia!

The Raven was also happy to see his friends Trevor and Picksy again - they finished 9th in the 100 km race.

2007-03-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

March 31 2007

Trevor dropped off the Raven and me at Holly Farm, home of Sandie and David. We would be visiting Sandie and David and their beautiful Arabian, and Straight Egyptian Arabian, endurance horses, then ride with them to the New Zealand Nationals, on the North Island.

Now, while the Raven loved the horses, he was more fascinated with the baby ducks, and hung out with them and joined them for lunch.

Queenstown

2007-03-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

March 28 2007

The Raven and I had a lot of work to do on the internet, and seeing that Trevor was not hooked up, and there didn't seem to be any internet closer than Invercargill (maybe) or Queenstown, why not go to one of the most beautiful towns in New Zealand, where parts of Lord of the Rings was filmed!

Trevor dropped us off and left us there, and before we got busy working, we did a quick tour.

In the mountains right above Lake Wakatipu, Trevor and Picksy had been in some scenes for Lord of the Rings. It's a stunningly beautiful setting; there's a story told that underneath the lake, there's a sleeping giant, whose breathing causes a rather strange rising and falling of lake level.

The Raven found some duck friends by the lake

and, being a great fan of Lord of the Rings, the Raven posed with Aragorn and Gimli and Legolas. They are also great fans of the Raven's.