With all the angst and intensity in the news these days, I decided to post a photo of somewhere beautiful. This image makes me feel calmer every time I look at it.
This is Milford Sound in the UNESCO-listed Fjordland National Park on the South Island, New Zealand. Uwe and I visited New Zealand for six weeks in February/March. Check out the sailboat: it gives some perspective on how massive the fjord walls are!
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
I present to you installment #7 from my blog thread describing what to call groups of animals … See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page. (I’m especially proud of No. 5 on this week’s list!)
Their knot knotted in the mud.
He heard the murmuration’s murmurs.
Unblinking, the stare stared back.
The dole didn’t look doleful.
The earth’s earth was in the earth. ***
Stuffy noses don’t suit a sute.
Stare, Raptor rescue center, AustraliaDole, Wong Tai Sin Medicine Temple, New Territories, China
Answers:
Knot of toads [1]
Murmuration of starlings
Stare of owls [2]
Dole of turtles [3]
Earth of foxes; place the vixen (female fox) searches out to raise her kits; ground she finds the earth in. ***3 uses of the word! [4]
Sute of bloodhounds
Knot member, back trails Cranberry Lake, Adirondacks USA
I’m beyond dismayed – I am furious. The Trump administration is gutting environmental protections. Take action. Speak up! Write letters, make phone calls, donate to organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund and Greenpeace. Volunteer.
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
Today’s moment of serenity depicts a Maori fishing basket. This is just one installation of public art on the waterfront at Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand.
And this is only one example of the vibrant presence of Maori culture. All signs are in both Maori and English. Maori were the original settlers of the country, and are rightfully prominent in the history, language, and arts in New Zealand. More images to follow!
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
Yet another addition to my blog thread describing what to call groups of animals! … See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page.
A rookery will hardly rook you.
The cast cast out sand.
The quivering quiver swayed and waited….
Culture doesn’t care about culture.
This lounge member lunged!
The swarm swarmed my sandwich and I couldn’t eat it.
Answers:
Quiver, Snake Farm (Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute), Bangkok Thailand
Rookery of gooney birds [1]
Cast of crabs
Quiver of cobras
Culture of bacteria
Lounge of lizards [2]
Swarm of flies [3]
Lounge member, Khao Lak National Park, ThailandCast, Khao Lak, Thailand
I’m beyond dismayed – I am furious. The Trump administration is gutting environmental protections. Take action. Speak up! Volunteer. Write letters, make phone calls, donate to organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund and Greenpeace.
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
I have no idea who crocheted these dolphin vests (or why!) but boy did they make me smile. My last visit to Hong Kong was in winter of 2019, just ahead of the COVID lock down. I returned to Hong Kong with Uwe in March of this year. Somehow we’d missed this part of Kowloon, logically called Dolphin Sunset….
The views are stunning and the whimsical clothes add a certain sweetness to an overwhelmingly urban landscape.
check out the reflection on my headnothing quite like a tailor-made shirt
The location is Dolphin Sunset at Harbor City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
Another installment from my blog thread describing what to call groups of animals … See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page.
The generation generated alarm in the audience.
I was not bowled over by the barrel barreling towards us….
A big congregation congregated on the beach.
The turn turned again towards the sun.
The horde should have hoarded their food.
The fleet fleet ran off.
Answers:
Generation, Snake Farm (Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute), Bangkok Thailand
Generation of vipers [1]
Barrel of monkeys
Congregation of plovers
Turn of turtles [2]
Horde of hamsters
Fleet of mud hens
Barrel, southern ThailandTurn, Wong Tai Sin Medicine Temple, New Territories, China
I’m beyond dismayed – I am furious. The Trump administration is gutting environmental protections. Take action. Speak up! Write letters, make phone calls, donate to organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund and Greenpeace. Volunteer.
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
Uwe and I spent 6 weeks exploring New Zealand. The two islands are so far away and take so long to reach that we wanted to see as much as possible. The landscape is spectacular, from fjords to mountain ranges to rolling hills and wide-open plains. Plenty of room for people and hobbits, if you’re a Lord of the Rings fan. (Full disclosure: I sure am!) We did lots of short hikes and knew we’d see some great nature.
What I’d forgotten is that the population of sheep in New Zealand far outstrips that of humans. Look who what we saw on a hike in Takapūneke Reserve near Akaroa on the south island.
According to a Radio New Zealand article from 3 May 2024,
“Sheep numbers continue to fall due to land conversion to forestry. New StatsNZ figures show the national flock dropped by 3 percent in the year to June 2023 to 24.4 million sheep. The decline in sheep numbers followed a two percent drop the year before. With a population of about 5.3 million people – it now meant there was just 4.6 sheep per person.” [1] The title of the article was this: New Zealand’s iconic sheep-to-person ratio keeps falling.
“And just what do you humans think you’re doing in our park?”
Just 4.6 sheep per person. I don’t know if this is a good stat or something to worry about – but I remember well that on that hike when we came around a hillside on a steep path, we scared the s**t out of a ewe. She backed up in panic and took off crashing through the brush!
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
Earlier I posted about the oversized Maori fishing basket on the waterfront in Whangarei, New Zealand.
Today’s fishing basket image is from the Auckland Art Gallery.
This piece is by artist Chris Charteris and titled Te Ma (Fish Trap). Here is the explanation provided by the museum and artist:
I’m the daughter of a fisherman. My sisters and I accompanied him on many, many fishing trips. We rowed the row boat for him, floated on our own inflatable raft, and got to fish with the crap fishing rod he always brought along just in case. Sometimes we caught fish, too!
In any case, I’m drawn to images of fishing and fishing techniques, and Maori art has created some of the most beautiful images in the world. These posts are for our dad, Bobbo Campbell.
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
…Here’s the next installment from my blog thread describing what to call groups of animals! … See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page.
Grain needs a grist!
The sound of the sounder almost gave her a heart attack.
The flock flocked on his poor kids.
Wow, the muster mustered such gaudy colors.
When my bike ran over the bike, I knew I was in big trouble.
The drove drove towards us in the dirt road.
Muster member
Answers:
Grist of bees [1]
Sounder of wild boar
Flock of lice
Muster of peacocks
Bike of hornets [2]
Drove of horses
Drove, Northern ThailandGrist, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand
NOTES: [1] Status: Endangered “….[P]ollinators are under threat around the world…about 40 percent of invertebrate pollinator species (such as bees and butterflies) are facing extinction.” This could have major implications for world food supply, because “about 75 percent of the world’s food crops … depend at least partly on pollination.” NPR Report 35 UK bees species are under threat of extinction, and all species face serious threats. UK Bees [2] European hornets are a protected species in Germany. European_hornet
I’m beyond dismayed – I am furious. The Trump administration is gutting environmental protections. Take action. Speak up! Write letters, make phone calls, donate to organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund and Greenpeace.
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. My recent awards are Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
Eva Herlitz was born on July 28, 1952 in Solingen, Germany. She was a teacher and interior decorator, and a visionary. Eva Herlitz and her husband Klaus created the wonderful United Buddy Bears. The couple invited artists from every country in the world to decorate oversized bear statues. The Buddy Bears are placed in circles side by side, in exhibits that tour around the globe and are always free to the public. Donations are raised for UNICEF and other charities for children. According to the Buddy Bears website: “Since 20th June 2001, when the Buddy Bears appeared in Berlin’s streets and squares for the first time, Buddy Bear activities and help for children in need have formed an inseparable unit.” In Eva Herlitz’s honor here I give you the post I wrote after The Buddy Bears came to downtown Stuttgart. – Jadi
Many people feel Berlin is now the cultural heart of Europe. Creative impulses come from Germany’s capital and spread from there. One of the quirkiest is the Buddy Bears.
Circle of United Buddy Bears, Stuttgart
The Buddy Bears creators were inspired by the cow parades in New York and Zurich. Eva and Klaus Herlitz of Berlin wanted to initiate a similar street art project. The bear is the icon of Berlin, and thus in 2001, the Herlitzes created the first bear with a sculptor named Roman Strobl.
New Zealand
Their projected expanded, and in 2002 it went international. They had a bear created for every country the UN acknowledges, designed by artists native to each country. The bears have their arms raised as if they’re holding hands. (This can also be described as the laughing Buddha pose.) Each bear is painted with images of the culture, history, landscape, economy, art and music of its country.
The first display took place in a circle around Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. The circle symbolizes the Art of Tolerance. One and a half million people saw the exhibit, and since then, they’ve toured 5 continents and stood in an alphabetical circle in the centers of host cities.
Uzbekistan and UruguayPanama
I saw the Buddy Bears in 2008 when they came to the Schlossplatz in downtown Stuttgart. They send a message about peace, understanding, love and tolerance among the world’s nations, cultures and religions.
When new bears are commissioned, the older ones are auctioned off. All monies go to UNICEF and other childrens’ charities. As of September 2018, 2,300,000 Euros have been raised for charities such as Eva Herlitz’s Buddy Bear Help!
Over 240 artists have been involved in the project, and more than 30 million visitors have seen the United Buddy Bears. A smaller circle of United Buddy Bears-The Minis (1 meter high) also tours.
South and North Korea, side by side
Brazil and Bulgaria
The United Buddy Bears exhibitions are always opened by national and foreign dignitaries. After he saw the bears in Berlin, actor Jackie Chan made sure they came to Hong Kong. When UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Sir Peter Ustinov saw them, he insisted that Iraq be represented.
There is one very special grey and white polar bear. He has the image of Albert Einstein and the following quote: ‘Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding’.
Kirgyzstan, Columbia, Congo and Congo-Brazzaville
It’s fascinating to consider that United Buddy Bears change their order as they travel. The circle is always organized in the language of the host country. Buddy Bears may suddenly hold hands with distant or hostile neighbors…
In memory of Eva Herlitz, 28 July 1952 – 26 February 2021
Selected Bibliography:
Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — Die Kunst der Toleranz. Bostelmann & Siebenhaar Publishers, 2003. ISBN 3-936962-00-6.
Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — World Tour. NeptunArt Publisher, 2006. ISBN 3-85820-189-8.
Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — The Art of Tolerance. 384 pages, English/German, December 2009, ISBN 978-3-00-029417-4.
Yet another addition to my blog thread describing what to call groups of animals! … See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page.
Today’s fishing basket image is from the Auckland Art Gallery.
