The Great Owl of Tecolote Canyon

During the San Diego Bird Festival, I had an experience that changed my life (is that cheesy enough?). I went to the Bird Festival to attend a workshop where one could learn how to bird by ear (that is to recognize bird songs). I learned a lot, like the Eurasian Collared Dove song. It is a cooing that has a quarter note-half note- quarter note kind of a beat.That was interesting, but we had heard of a Great Horned Owl mother in a nest that resides in Tecolote Canyon when we took the bus to go to the canyon to practice birding by ear. My mom and I really wanted to see the owl. So after about an hour of birding by ear, we slipped off into the night (just kidding, it was day first of all, and also, we got permission to join another group going to see the owl).

In a small grove of trees there she was sitting in her slightly disheveled nest alone, in solitude. It was Feb 26th and the owlets were probably not born yet. She was beautiful with ear tufts that you expect in a typical owl. Her eyes were judgemental as she stared into my soul.

Ever since then, my mom and I have been coming to visit the owl almost every week. The last two weeks we managed to see the owlets and man were they huge. Then again, what would you expect from a Great Horned Owl, tiny little buggers? No. They were about just as judgemental as their mothers.

March 5th

These are some of the pictures of the owl I took. They were way better than the pictures of a certain person who accompanied me whose name I shall not mention (cough cough my cough mom cough).


This was my first picture of the owl. Her owlets were just born.

March 19th

This was my second picture of the owl. Her owlets have slightly grown. However, the lighting was not the best.









The owlet is the small lump on the mother's right.

March 19th

March 26th

This was my most recent picture of the owl family. This one was my best. The owlets were more active and so was the owl. The owlets are the clearly defined gray blobs in front of dear mommy (owl mommy; my mom would probably not want wild owlets right in front of her) sometimes moving their heads.



I don't know "owl" long (for how long. Ha ha ha) it will take for the owlets to fledge but I will observe and find out. Stay tuned for more owl post! Thank you and good night! ( It might probably be day when you read this but who cares!)

Singapore - A prep for International Travel

Prologue:

I wrote this journal in December 2014 but had misplaced it.  Now that I found it, I am so glad I can share my Singapore trip as it was really one of my favorites. Singapore is amazing because it has a place called Little India that is almost exactly like India. There are also MRTs which are like subways that provide good transport like London Underground and Paris metros. That is why I call this as a prep for International travel. It provides good experience for many different situations.

MRT Station in Singapore

Forgive me as I my writing style for this blog will be like the one when I was younger.

Day 1 (Dec 2014):

Cone Dosa in Komalas

Hi! I am SK. Right now I'm in Tom Bradley Airport. Man! The place has really improved. It actually looks like an airport. I am going to board really soon. I'm first going to Singapore and then I'm going to India.

Day 2:
After the plane ride, I'm in Singapore. The weather is HOT. We are staying in Goodwood park hotel in Scotts Road. The nearest MRT (which is like a metro) is Orchard Road. During the plane ride I had a nausea. At the hotel, breakfast of bread with butter and marmalade really helped me. We took a muffin to go. Then on an MRT we went to Boon Lay Station and took a bus to Jurong Bird Park. What a let down! The birds were all caged, the aviary wasn't that great and the weather was too hot. We just walked and took a tram around. Then by MRT we came to Komala Vilas. The food was so good! I can't say how good! I loved it! It stopped my tummy ache I had from my nausea. Then we went by MRT to the hotel to rest.
For dinner we went again to a different Komala Vilas. I had a cone dosa that was two times the size of my head. Soon by MRT and bus we went to Singapore Mystica Night Safari. We went on a tram and saw lions, tapirs, hyenas etc. The tapirs were literally screeching! (That is a job for raptors). When the tram ride was over I got a fruit punch slushie and we watched a fire dance. It was pretty good, but they were basically doing Bollywood dance with fire. We went back to the hotel and slept.

Mystica - Night Safari

Day 3:

Tangs - where my mom worked once

We got up and had breakfast in Scotts Plaza. Then on a MRT we went to City Hall and walked to the Merlion (a statue). There we saw the Singapore Flyer, a ferris wheel! At the Merlion I got a grape slushie and my mom got an orange one. Then we went to Komala Vilas and met my dad's cousin. After that we went to Mustafas where I got a dress exactly like the stewardesses and a matching fan! Then we went to Orchard and went to CK Tangs (Tang plaza, where my mom worked many years ago) and Wisma where I bought an icecream. Then we took an MRT back to Changi airport.

At the Changi Airport T3, there is a slide. I bought a coupon to go on it. We thought when we saw steps they would go all the way up, but when I went down the slide I realized that the slide went 2 floors down and the stairs went 1 floor up! My mom got so worried, she almost started to cry. She was ready to jump into the slide. Then she went all the way to the bottom most floor and came up and asked how to get back up, and she was told that the kids had to ride the elevator back. Mom freaked out! I didn't know that. But mom got my attention and then we both went back up. Worst slide ever!

Then we ate at Kaveri and went to the gate to leave for Chennai to go see my grams and my uncle!

Epilogue:
Singapore is a clean, beautiful place that doesn't have much traffic and a great place for families to hang out. I really wanted to share the experience with you. My favorite places in Singapore that I recommend are Komala Vilas and riding the MRT.

This Inca can write now - Peru

Day 1: In Lima

Plane ride was horrible! Plus I had "hunger issues" to deal with. I landed in Lima. Oh ground, sweet ground! I went with my friend A and her family. We took a van and came to our hotel. It was a suite! Now, it was time for lunch. We went to a vegetarian place. Boy, I had the best potato soup ever! It sat very well. When we arrived at our hotel room, we got ready for a tour of Lima. We saw many gardens, wooden balconies and a cathedral. In the courtyard there was a variety of cute pigeons.

Pigeons outside colonial Church in Lima

I saw an injured one! In the cathedral, we saw burial sites with real bones. It wasn't scary at all! Then we went to a chocolate museum. IT WAS AMAZING! We had different types of chocolate and we drank cacao tea. Then we returned to the hotel. I ate a delicious potato cream soup, and it was time for bed.

Day 2: Cusco

This morning, we came to Cusco. The flight was not bad at all. We came in time for a festival called Corpus Christi. There was a marching band where people were wearing the music notes for the person behind. We arrived at the Hotel Costa Del Sol. We had coca leaf tea to help with the high altitude of Cusco.

Dances in Cusco

I bought a cute little doll and held a lamb for a little while. We walked to the main square where there were dances and had lunch at Greens. I ate a rice and vegetable dish. Then we walked to the Historical Museum where we saw Inca and Pre-Inca artifacts and paintings of death and torture! The salida (exit) was my favorite part. After dinner, I went to bed.

Day 3: Cusco city tour

This morning I had pancakes for breakfast. Then I had a chess match with my dad at a chess table. We then took a long walk to Pachacuti Inca's monument. We climbed up the spiral tower and saw the view of Cusco below!

Inca Pachacuti tower

After that I went to a chocolate shop ate chocolate and tried cacao tea.Then we had lunch at a fancy restaurant where I ate average rice. All this while, loud music and processions were going on. A tour began afterwards. Our guide took us to a boring but beautiful church. The paintings were beautiful. When an earthquake struck in 1650 the paintings were destroyed and the Incas repainted them adding Llamas and other things. We visited catacombs. There were no bones. There was an altar of "bad smells" because the Spanish had blocked the Inca drainage system. Then we visited an Inca site in an army area. The stones were so intact! Another Inca site called Qorikancha had niches probably for altars and a sacrificial table. The stones were angled to withstand earthquakes. Right outside, dancing was going on.

Qorikancha

Finally we got into the van to go to...Sacsaywaman, another Inca site. We saw terraced buildings and walked up to a viewpoint. Then we visited Qenko, a shaman site. The cave was dark and there was an abyss. Next we visited Tambomachay. There were waterfalls that could be used for ceremonies, drinking and irrigation. Finally we drove back. Cusco at night is beautiful from far away! It is dotted with lights! For dinner I had a vegetable wrap that wasn't a wrap and it should have had hummus which it didn't. I walked back and got ready to sleep.

Sacsaywaman - Zigzag like lightning

Day 4: Full day tour of Sacred Valley

We started a full day tour of Sacred Valley. First we went to Pisac, a terraced Inca site. Each terrace was at a different temperature.

Pisac

Come see

PISAC

Now Spanish- Free and non GMO! 

Ollyantaytambo - store houses

Pisac was Spanish free and so was not destroyed. Then we left for Sacred Valley. The Urubamba river was sacred because it followed the Milky Way. Then we took a long drive (my friend S threw up twice) to an Inca site called Ollyantaytambo. It had stairs. We saw storehouses and a stone face that wasn't carved. Every June 21st the sun rose there and June 21st was Intiraymi. The site was unfinished. The stones still had knobs for lifting and fitting. 

Stones with knobs in Ollyantaytambo

We drove to a restaurant called Tunupa. There I ate quinoa salad and baked potatoes. I also had a large coffee cake that was extremely good. In the restaurant we also saw vicunas and walked down to the Urubamba river. My friend threw a stick into it. Then we went to Chinchero. It is an Andean village known for  weaving. There we saw a demonstration of how the yarn was cleaned, colored and spun using natural materials. I also tried muna tea for the first time, which is kind of like mint tea. Then I bought a nice scarf for myself and another for my dad. Then we left to the hotel and to bed.

Chinchero - weaving with natural materials

Day 5: Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

The day started off very early and we were driven to Ollyantaytambo train station. There we bought some gatorade for the Short Inca trail to Machu Picchu hike. We met Sonia, our guide who brought packed lunches for us to eat half way through. We took the train on a scenic route and saw many mountains and glaciers. We also went along the Urubamba river. There was an informal stop at 104 km where all the short inca trail hikers got off. The loud noise of the train made me jump, scream and scared. The trail started with a suspension bridge. We started ascending the mountain and stopped at an Inca site. The trail is mostly original Inca trail but some parts are paved because of land slide. We progressed to a mountain that was steep and had no shade. 

Inca Trail

Oh Inti! Please forgive us. What have we done wrong!

There were two rest huts along the way that saved everyone's hikery little life. I reminded everyone of Coldstone creamery that caused a short two second craving. Then we came to a nice shady grove that beheld a great waterfall of such purity. 

We walked some more on the trail and at last we came to ... not Machu Picchu... but Winay Wayna which was a terraced Inca site used for religious purposes. Guess what we had to do for almost the entire hike so far, climb stairs... lots and lots of stairs. We climbed about 300 more steep ones at Winay Wayna. 

Winay Wayna - 300 steps

Right after that we arrived at a checkpoint where we ate our lunch. We had bread with cheese, peach juice, hard candy, and green beans and pineapple salad. After lunch it was almost 2 when we started hiking again. We hiked into a tropical cloud forest on Machu Picchu mountain. This place was nice and cool and was very easy to walk through. We then arrived at "Gringo Killer" which is, guess what, difficult steep stairs. We had to use our hands and hiking poles to scramble up. We had a great view around us and had hiked up 3 Andes mountains. Did I forget to mention they were Andes mountains? Now we were at the final stretch to the Sun Gate "Inti Punku" where we would see Machu Picchu site for the first time.  From Machu Picchu site the Sun Gate would look like pieces of legos. To arrive at Sun Gate we had to climb a huge flight of you know what (Stairs). As I arrived into the Sun Gate we were cheered by the other tourists. Only for the kids, except my mom because she was thought to have brought the kids along while it was the kids who brought her here! The first sight of Machu Picchu was incredible and was worth the Short Inca trail hike! 

First sight of Machu Picchu from Inti Punku

From there we walked another 40 minutes to reach the bus station to take the bus to Aguas Calients where our hotel for the night was. I slept well. On the contrary my mom did not as she heard a monstrosity of a train come by at night.

Day 6: Machu Picchu Tour

After breakfast we arrived at Machu Picchu. We took a tour. We saw the Inti watana which was used for a ceremony to tie the sun to the stone. We also went to the mirrors where you see the sun. At lunch time I ate rice and curry. We came back into the site and chilled. I lied down on my mom and rested ("lap of luxury"). Then we came back to Aguas Calientes and ate ice cream. Then we got onto the train.

Inti Watana

On the train, there was a fashion show. The man wore bland clothes. The woman wore a scarf that would turn into a shawl and could be a sleeveless dress and so on. Then we arrived back at Cusco and slept.

Day 7: Cusco to Puno

In the morning we took a long bus ride from Cusco to Puno. We saw a colonial church and a Viracocha temple ruin. Then we reached Puno, had an average risotto for dinner and slept.

Day 8: Titicaca

We went for a tour of Lake Titicaca. We saw floating island that the Uros people made themselves. Everything was made from the Totora reed. Every month the island's surface has to be renewed. The islands had to be anchored or else they would float away into Bolivia.

Floating Islands of Titicaca

After that we went to Taquile island and I met a boy named Moses. We became good friends. At Taquile we ate quinoa soup and potatoes.The potatoes were buried in a stone oven. To dig them up an offering of coca leaves had to be made. Taquile was unique because the men were the ones who knitted here. We then returned to Puno, had dinner in Loving Hut and then slept.

Potatoes cooked in stone ovens

Day 9: Sillustani

After breakfast we got ready to go to Sillustani. There were funeral towers that were Inca and Pre-Inca. One of them was struck down by lightning. Certain sacred animals were carved on the towers. We went back to the hotel and chilled. 

Burial towers of Sillustani

I went to the edge of Lake Titicaca. It was beautiful. We ate dinner at Loving hut and returned to our hotel to sleep.

Standing on the edge of Titicaca

Day 10: Lima

We left to Juliaca airport to take our flight to Lima. When we came to Lima we checked into our hotel and took it easy. For dinner we ate some good Indian food at Mantra that tasted Indo-Chinese. We walked back to our hotel and slept. 

Day 11: Back home

We left to the airport to catch our flight back to LA. I am so tired. Now if you will excuse me the journal is getting tired, so it's time to close this page.

Top 5 things:

1. Hike to Machu Picchu
2. Soup I had for lunch on the first day in Lima (Papa Amarilla)
3. Machu Picchu - the Inca site, the lap of luxury and Inti Watana
4. Vistadome train ride back and the fashion show
5. Muruku that V had got for our hike & potatoes at hotels

Top curious/ unique things

1. Floating islands
2. Dances
3. (Locals) eating guinea pigs

"The Barn Owl" - A poem inspired by Tennyson's "The Eagle"

 

She controls the moon in her domain

Above the trees in tough terrains

Golden in the black night, she gains.

A single feather, from her, flies

She glares with her dark eyes

But in the sunlight, she hides.

The birds of San Elijo Lagoon on camera

San Elijo Lagoon is a beautiful wetland that always has at least a few species of shorebirds and ducks for bird watchers to see. On this small trail we went on, we mostly saw ducks and grebes, but we got the occasional Phoebe, Egret and raptor. 

I am also learning photography at my school from my teacher, and about how different lines can create different feelings. Example, horizontal lines can give a calm feeling, vertical lines can create a feeling of strength, oblique lines give a feeling of change, and organic lines(natural curves) give a feeling of a natural movement.

The two rules of photography I learned, are the Rule of Thirds and the Rule of Odds. The Rule of Thirds is about positioning the parts of the picture. Science explains that the eye looks at the middle of the picture last. So, if the main part of the picture is not in the middle, it has a stronger effect on the viewer. Imagine putting a tic-tac-toe grid on top of a picture. If the main focus of the picture is on one of the lines or intersections of the grid, or in a space that is not the middle then it has a stronger appeal for the person viewing. If the main focus of the photograph is in the middle rectangle, then it cannot be in the middle of the middle rectangle; it can be in the corner.

The Rule of Odds is about quantity of main focuses in the photo. Science also explains that it is more appealing to the eye to have an odd number of subjects than even number. In our pictures it is better to have an odd number especially groups of three. I tried to follow that rule as much as I can. With moving subjects and so many of them, it was hard. Also, there are only a few opportunities for good shots, and some of them only have even numbers. Take the mallard duck. The pairs are monogamous; they mate for life. It is hard to separate a pair in any picture.

Let's take a look at some pictures.It was quite a cloudy day, keep that in mind!

At the start of the trail, I took a picture to show where we are

This is a wonderful view of Pintails in flight. None of them are in the middle of the picture. I tried for three but got four

Pintails in flight

A pair of Mallards, but luckily a pintail came in. The pintail is the one with the long tail. None are in the middle and I followed the Rule of Odds.

Mallard pair + Pintail

A beautiful Green Wing Teal, not perfectly in the middle.

One, Eared Grebe, kept on diving, was hard to catch. 6 ducks in the background so I accidentally followed the Rule of Odds

Eared Grebe

One Black Phoebe, really puffy (in my opinion). Purposely off-centered.

Another nice view of the lagoon

An off-centered Great Egret!

'nother puffy Phoebe, this time Say's

Took it for the contrast; green and brown

All good things come to an end.

I think these are bones of a dead bird.

On flowers as a subject for photography

If i were a skilled photographer I would take pictures of flowers, for they are beautiful and diverse. Flowers vary in color and it's great to have pictures of something so colorful.

Flowers are a great example of how there is so much geometry in nature. Having pictures of them can show the concept. I personally love spending time in nature, observing, so seeing all the types of shapes and kinds of flowers give me something to hold in my memory, and if these flowers are from a different part of the world, I can take pictures of them and keep them with me.

Flowers come in so many varieties, so I can never exhaust my pictures, especially if I can take them in many different angles. Seeing the diverse beauty of flowers is great, but seeing it without having to stay in one place, without picking them is even better. That is the beauty of taking pictures.

Flowers can fit in with almost any feeling, so if I take a picture I can hang it almost anywhere in my house. These are some of the reasons why if I was a skilled photographer I would take pictures of flowers.