Weekend Wanderings

Yes, I'm still alive... An amazingly busy few weeks since my last post...

I thought I would share some random images from the weekend so far. The first four were taken during my morning constitutional around the perimeter of the CH grounds. Later, we went fitness equipment shopping. Would you believe there are at least three shops in Luxor that deal in exercise equipment. We just bought a treadmill from one of them, and it was delivered by donkey cart! On this run, I got some bright red 3kg hand weights so that I will have no excuse for not doing my exercises in my room! So there are four shots taken during the shopping trip--the pharmacy is across the street from our last fitness shop stop, which consists of an equipment shop AND a gym, and across from the gym is a wall with lots of graffiti. The last three shots were taken this morning at Healey House--two of the Healey House Hoopoes (sound like a sports team!) and one of the supplies needed for a relaxing morning on our roof:

A solitary balloon over the West Bank, striking against the rose-gold of the sunlit mountain

Sunlit bougainvillea

Rich red hibiscus

A CH carpet hung for cleaning

Rooftop relaxation necessities: (clockwise from top) journal and pen, face mist, coffee in my special Sunday cup, fly whisk, iPad, and sunglasses

Sunset Stroll

On December 27 I decided I wanted to get out of the house for a little while and 5 p.m. seemed like a good time. I'm so glad I left when I did, since it meant I was able to capture this sunset moment:

Just after this I noticed a long line of glossy ibises flying north on the other side of the river

and took the time to shoot a video. Unfortunately, I couldn't manage to add the music I wanted to it, so you'll just have to imagine "Evening Raga" by Ali Akbar Kahn playing in the background:

When the flock had passed overhead I descended to the Lower Corniche where I captured these images:

An Egret in the Garden and in the Movies

I finally got a couple of the videos I took of the egret who visited us this week edited. It's wonderful how nonchalant the bird is! I apologize for shaky camera work as my arms had started to tire by this point. Enjoy!

An Egret in the Garden

Just after lunch today, as I was returning to the library from my room, I was privileged to be able to watch an egret in our garden. He stayed for quite some time and I was able to capture some still photos as well as videos. I'm still editing the videos, but here are a couple of of the stills: