DALE SIEVERT

Hi!
​My name is BAMBI!

I just wanted to thank  you Dale, for making this really neat bed for me.  I know you probably spent jillions of dollars to make it just perfect. Sorry I had to leave so soon but Mom called me and I had to go.  I told her all about it!  She was just happy to know I was safe.  I'm telling all my friends so maybe you will have another visitor soon.  

Remember there are a lot of rocks and stuff you can trip on here, so
​BE CAREFUL!
​Love Bambi 

_____________________________________

This is a scenario that many people encounter in their gardens each spring. The reality of a fawn nestled amongst flowers and shrubs is a common and fascinating occurrence in nature.

While "Bambi" in this story is quite the articulate visitor, the real reasons for a fawn's solitary stay are just as compelling.

A mother deer, or doe, will intentionally leave her fawn in a location she deems safe, such as a garden, while she forages for food. This seemingly risky strategy is actually a clever survival tactic. Fawns are born with a dappled coat that provides excellent camouflage, blending them in with the surrounding vegetation. They also have very little scent, making it difficult for predators to detect them.

By staying away, the mother avoids leading predators to her vulnerable offspring with her own stronger scent. She is usually not far off and will return periodically to nurse her young. The fawn's instinct is to lie very still, even when approached, which can sometimes be misinterpreted as a sign of injury or abandonment. However, in most cases, the fawn is healthy and simply waiting for its mother's return.

It is crucial for anyone who discovers a fawn to remember the advice "Bambi" gives: "BE CAREFUL!" and, most importantly, to observe from a distance. Interfering with a healthy fawn by getting too close, touching it, or attempting to "rescue" it can do more harm than good. It can cause the fawn significant stress and may even deter the mother from returning.

If a fawn is in immediate danger, such as being on a busy road, or appears visibly injured, the best course of action is to contact a local wildlife rehabilitation center or the state's wildlife agency for guidance.

So, while Dale's "really neat bed" may not have cost jillions, his quiet stewardship of the garden provided a perfect, temporary sanctuary for a young deer—a true act of kindness to his wild neighbors.

This charming story serves as a wonderful reminder of the surprising and delightful moments that nature can bring to our own backyards.

DALE SIEVERT

Tour Dale Sievert's Garden

The Japanese Garden

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

A Japanese garden was Dale Sievert's initial inspiration, and the one that he's built for himself is a marvel. In the shade of a striking katsura tree and surrounding maples and lindens, Dale created a Japanese garden with classic elements, including a raked gravel garden, an azumaya (viewing house), a stream with an arched bridge, small ponds fed with bamboo waterspouts and a lower reflecting pool.

Staircase Up the Slope

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

A gently inclined stone staircase with a rustic wooden railing climbs past terraced pocket gardens—a bog; a stumpery; and perennial beds of ferns, horsetail, and meadow rue.

Winding Paths to Follow

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

​Dale collected more than 11,000 fieldstones to line his garden paths— including thousands from his gracious neighbor’s hedgerows. Some came covered in moss, and others he covered himself, attaching moss temporarily with silicone caulk until the rooting attachments, or rhizoids, clung on their own.

The Built-In Garden Shed

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

In the bank of a hill, Dale built a garden shed you could easily mistake for a hobbit house. He lined a cobblestone path with dozens of moss-filled bowls and concrete troughs. Up the slope, two containers perch on natural pedestals—rather than discard stumps when he takes down trees, Dale embraces them as part of the landscape.

Water Features

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

​Mosses don’t grow in standing water or soggy soil, but they do thrive in humid microclimates—whether created by the mist of a water feature like these cascading falls or just in the damp cracks between pavers. When it rains, mosses function like sponges, taking in and holding water with their specially adapted leaves that weave together into hydro-wicking colonies. In fact, Dale likes to show off a "magic trick" for visitors, spritzing dormant moss with water, and drawing cheers as it turns lush green in seconds.

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

This small pond, fed by a bamboo spout, is in the Japanese garden. The textural, shade-loving plants here include Japanese forest grass, hostas, golden Japanese spikenard and conifers.

Moss, Moss (and Stumps) Everywhere

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

Using found materials, Dale built two benches from large stones and wood slabs, then encouraged moss to grow on them for a fairy-tale, lost-in-time look.

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

Here, a hanging bark planter provides an eye-level view of mosses. When visiting a moss garden or natural moss habitat, Dale advises to take it slow. “As I often watch many on the path, few hardly give mosses a glance,” he says. “If they could, the mosses would cry, their dazzling show falling on blind eyes."

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

Dale has also succeeded in cultivating moss on boulders and concrete forms like this sphere. One of the remarkable things about Dale's garden is how it brings about a feeling of calm and stillness. One intimate space or sculpture leads to another, and you start to notice how each moss is different; some form small puffy cushions while others create velvet green carpets.

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

Dale has even fashioned a table from a lingering, twisty tree trunk. It's the perfect surface for more small containers and pretty stones. "Many people come through my garden and see a mass of plants," he says, "but I have lots of different species of mosses.”​

Moss in Miniature—and Growing Your Own

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

A moss bowl (or tiny pot, below) is a great way to test your hand at growing moss because the scale is modest, and you can easily move the container to seek more or less light. (Here's a full how-to guide.) Start small, be patient and match the growing conditions where the moss was gathered. Most mosses prefer some shade and moist, well-draining soil. If collecting moss, for best results, gather locally and always request permission from property owners. Conservatively collect small, 4- to 6-inch patches so the original patch will regenerate easily. If possible, leave a half inch of soil under the moss for successful transplanting.

PHOTO - BOB STEFKO

Other tips? Get inspired by reading Gathering Moss. Acclaimed nature writer Robin Wall Kimmerer weaves history, culture and science into a fascinating snapshot of these unique plants. Then pick up The Magical World of Moss Gardening, Annie Martin’s popular primer on growing the stuff. You can also draw visual inspiration at public gardens, like Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, Illinois, or the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, Wisconsin.

​ This story was adapted from Garden to the Max, a new book by Midwest Living contributing editor Teresa Woodard that features tours of 20 incredible private gardens. Check it out, along with other staff picks for garden gear and reading.

Dale Sievert (AKA) Gulliver

Cameroon    Part 2    November-December 2024

   In November and December of 2025 three of us toured Cameroon, a country in central Africa just north of the Equator.  On January 6th I published the first part of this Gulliver's Travels episode, so check it out for more information.  We visited several Indigenous tribes, and to me the most interesting was the Pygmy tribe, also known as the Ba'Aka.  They are about a foot shorter than Caucasians, and at times members of the taller Bantu tribe associate with them.  The Pygmies are a forest dwelling people, so they took us on several excursions into the forest to show us some basic aspects of their life.

Between tour stops we encountered a funeral.  After the burial, at least 300 people sang and danced to celebrate the life of the deceased.   

The Nynong River is one of the largest in Cameroon.  We took a leisurely trip on its placid waters in a hand-carved craft called a pirogue.

The Pygmies were showing us how they build their huts made of sticks and palm leaves.  First they clear a flat area in the forest with machetes.

This video shows the construction of the hut.

Here the tribe is celebrating the completion of the hut.

The branch of this tree holds a lot of water and can be used for hydration, obviating carrying containers of water.

​The Pygmies are animists, believing there are many "gods" or spirits associated with parts of nature.  A special one is the Spirit of the Forest, which appears about twice a year.  Here the tribe is making a costume out of palm leaves for the spirit to wear.

The Pygmies catch fish by damming a stream in two spots, then bail out the water between the dams to expose the fish.

Such effort is arduous, especially in the tropical heat and humidity.

After dark the Spirit of the Forest appears to the tribe wearing its costume.

EPILOGUE  
​
​Pictures are good for showing how cultures differ, but videos really drive home the enormous differences between them.   Americans, generally, have little clue how well off they are.  Especially to me, an economist, I find it so ludicrous how so many think they either live in poverty...or at least are not "doing well." After spending time in Cameroon I find it extremely difficult to find such people, with the obvious exception of those "living" on the street.  

​Cameroon  Part 1  November-December 2024

Dale Sievert / AKA Gulliver

  Cameroon is in "deepest, darkest Africa," just above the equator on the Atlantic coast.  It is three times the size of Wisconsin with six times the population.  As it was once a colony of France, French is spoken by 56 percent of the population, along with 68 other languages.  

   Paul Biya is the president, but he has been that since 1982 and refuses to leave, so he is actually a dictator.  Corruption is a serious matter, and I noticed that at the many police checkpoints our tour group of three encountered, perhaps 30 of them.  At eleven of them, our driver had to pay off the police.  I never did that in Wisconsin.

   My primary reason for visiting Cameroon was to visit two reserves where lowland gorillas and chimpanzees live.  Very unfortunately, both were closed to us because of either breakouts that occured or of many newborn animals that the managers did not want to be affected by tourists.  I also wanted to visit three different kingdoms of indigenous people, plus the Ba'Aka, the ethnic group also known as Pygmies.  All were highly interesting.
​
   The weather near the Atlantic was sultry, but inland it was very pleasant.   A big plus of the trip was that I saw tons of young people, something I could not have said if I visited Florida or Arizona.  Thus, I did not "catch" old age, always a fear of mine.  I also fear dying of boredom, and I certainly avoided that in Cameroon.

What I called "walking stores" are ubiquitous in Cameroon.

Fruit sellers are the most common.

I love free markets, and here it is seen in action with lots of competitive sellers.

This person has a really heavy load to bear.

I couldn't figure out what these five guys were staring at.

Get the pot ready!

I really liked the "head advertisement" of the shoe salesmen.

Ekom Falls, 262 feet high

Fisherman in his pirogue

Watch your step or you'll have ants in your pants.

Palace of the king of the Bamileke

The palace of the sultan of the Bamoun people

In a village of the Bororo people

The chief's palace in Batoffam

Making adobe-type building blocks

A heavy load of plantains, a relative of bananas

Nests of swifts under a bridge

A placid river

A waterfall that empties directly into the Atlantic Ocean

A new planting of cassava or manioc trees, the source of tapioca, obtained by grinding the roots into a mash

This woman had a long walk to haul her plantains

In a small remote fishing village, this woman was digging out the meat of shellfish.

Driving cattle to the slaughterhouse

Hand-made pirogues are very commonly used by many on the rivers of Cameroon.

Two-man teams haul sand by diving to the river bottom with 5-gallon buckets.

With a taller Bantu tribe man and two Pygmies

A typical Pygmy family hut

Pygmies make these drums and adjust them with pegs to alter the pitch

The Pygmies "fish" by building two dams, then empty the water between them to expose the fish.

This is the "Spirit of the Forest," a man in a costume made of palm leaves.

Epilogue

   Cameroon is perhaps the poorest country I ever visited, especially the area of the Pygmy tribe where I spent two days.  As I've done before when visiting poor areas, I try to determine how happy the people are.  Of course, there is no way to actually measure that, so I use "proxy variables" that might mirror happiness: how often people smile, laugh, enjoy daily activities, etc. 

The living standards of Americans, that is, the level of goods and services available to us, on average, is vastly higher than that of the Cameroon people.  If people anywhere buy "stuff" to somehow better their lives, and to make them happier, then one could logically expect Americans to smile more, laugh more, and enjoy life more than those in Cameroon...or more than Americans did when we were kids.  A LOT more, as we have a LOT more stuff. 

But, I did NOT see a vast difference in how the Pygmy people acted compared with Americans.  So, being an economist, I can't help thinking that all this enormous advance in living standards since the Industrial Revolution of the 1700s hasn't really done us much good, that is, made us much happier...or at least vastly less than one would expect.  It's like some car buff that replaces his engine with a much more powerful one to go much faster...but only allows him to go from 120 to 125 MPH.  
   

Dale Sievert AKA Gulliver

Gulliver's  Travels
Spain  and  Gibraltar  - October  2024

My cousin and I visited some phenomenal places in Iberia, including Barcelona and Granada in Spain and the British territory of Gibraltar.  The residents of the province of Catalonia, including Barcelona, speak Catalan, similar to Spanish but quite distinct.  Granada, home of the famous fort and palace of the Alhambra, was one of the last enclaves of the Moors, a mix of African Berbers, Arabs, and Spanish who established an Islamic state from 711-1492 A.D.  

The stadium and Calatrava spire for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona

National Museum of the Art of Catalonia

The unfinished La Sagrada Familia Basilica, designed by Antoni Guadi, constructed from 1882 to the present

La Sagrada Familia

La Sagrada Familia

Interior of La Sagrada Familia

Ceiling of La Sagrada Familia

Park Guell, designed by Gaudi and built in 1914

In Park Guell

In Park Guell

In Park Guell

In Park Guell

Casa Mila, or "La Pedrera," by Gaudi, 1906-1912

Roof supports in the attic of Casa Mila

Roof of Casa Mila

Casa Vicens, the first major work of Gaudi, 1883-1885

Casa Batlio, on the right, a Gaudi design begun in 1904

Casa Batlio roof, with decorated ventpipes

A town on Costa Brava on the Mediterranean Sea near Barcelona

On famous La Rambla street in Barcelona

Rock of Gibraltar, east side

Rock of Gibraltar, looking east

Rock of Gibraltar, looking west to the highest point at 1398 feet

A cave inside the Rock of Gibraltar

The Alhambra, a Moorish palace and fort in Granada, Spain

The Alhambra

The Alhambra

The Alhambra

The Alhambra

Epilogue

   The Alhambra and the Rock of Gibraltar are two more "must-see" places I had to visit to avoid regrets on my deathbed that I've checked off.  Both intrigued me since being a kid eons ago, so I'm glad they are under my belt.
   
​Next up, my trip to Cameroon in central west Africa in late November and December.

Gulliver's Travels

DALE SIEVERT - GULLIVER

https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/eab332a9-f0b8-423c-8126-8b600fd029b2/audio

​

Dale Sievert AKA Gulliver

Gulliver's Travels
​Utah and Colorado--April 2024

   Bob Kattner and I went to Missouri to view the solar eclipse in April.  However, it took us over 4000 miles to do the trip, and it took us eight days.  That is because we detoured to my favorite state, Utah, then turned east to see a few places in Colorado.  In Utah we visited Arches National Park and nearby Canyonlands National Park.  In Colorado we visited Mesa Verde National Park, then detoured up through Telluride, then down the "Million Dollar Highway" from Silverton to Durango.  Lots and lots of magnificent scenes were enjoyed by us.
​

In Dead Horse Point State Park overlooking Canyonlands National Park

Landscape Arch, 306 feet wide, in Arches National Park National Park

Los dos hombres guapos enhancing the view of Double Arch in Arches National Park

Double Arch in Arches National Park

The Windows Section in Arches National Park

Delicate Arch, 75 feet high, in Arches National Park

Park Avenue in Arches National Park

In Canyonlands National Park

The Manti La Sal Mountains appear in the distance between two "fins" in Arches National Park

Also in Canyonlands National Park

Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park, which overlooks the Colorado River

Newspaper Rock, a huge area of Indian petroglyphs

Jug Arch, along the Colorado River near Canyonlands National Park

Fisher Towers, near the Colorado River and Arches National Park

Corona Arch, along the Colorado River close to Canyonlands National Park

Bowtie Arch, very close to Corona Arch

Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park has about 150 rooms and was abandoned in the 1300s.

Along the highway between Silverton and Durango, Colorado during a snowfall

Epilogue

   I find it impossible to get jaded in Utah.  I have been there 15 times, nine times to Arches National Park, starting in 1969.  One morning at sunrise Bob and I were in tears and found it difficult to speak, as the deep red rocks in the first light created an overwhelming scene.  It exemplified my favorite quote: "Life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but by the places and moments that take our breath away."  We found such a place.

Next up: Spain

Gulliver's Travels
​Bolivia - March 2024
​

Bolivia  March 2024

   I was last in Bolivia in 1977, so I decided to finally see three things I missed back then: Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world, Potosi, the largest silver mine in the world, and Sucre, one of the prettiest cities in South America.  

   Bolivia, with 424,000 square miles, is about six times larger than Wisconsin.  It has 12.2 million inhabitants, a bit more than double that of Wisconsin's.  It is landlocked, along with its neighbor Paraguay.  The Andes Mountains dominate the landscape, so one sees a lot of beauty when traveling there. 
​
   I flew into the capital city of La Paz, at an altitude of 11,900.  It is situated in a huge bowl, which makes for a beautiful setting.  I remember it was quite grungy-looking in 1977, but I was impressed by its beauty today.  
​

Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world, at 4086 square miles, which is at an altitude of 12,018 feet

There is often a couple of inches of water on the salt during the rainy season.

Sculptures are constructed from blocks of salt.

Eventually, I suppose the rain will dissolve the salt.

A nice spot for sunset

Fumaroles in Valle de Rocas at 16,000 feet altitude

A bit hard to breathe due to sulfur fumes

Cool rocks in the Siloli Desert

The Andes Mountains extend the entire length of South America.

Another scene in the Siloli Desert

Flamingos live around Chiquana Salt Lake.

It's tough for plants to survive at 14,000 feet, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Landscapes can be beautiful even without vegetation.

This is one of the coolest plants I ever saw. Its name is Yareta, or the scientific name of Azorella compacta.

The city of Potosi is the highest city in the world at 13,420 feet.

Potosi mountain holds the largest silver mine in the world, which produced 60% of the world's silver production in the 1500s when it was the base for Spain's fortunes.

Each miner owns a tiny portion of the mine today, but it is grueling work with picks, shovels, and wheelbarrows. The only light is that which is on his headlamp.

Courtyard in Sucre, a city of 360,000 at 9154 feet high

Church in Sucre

Hiking down a 3000-foot drop with "a friend"

A few years ago a mining operations uncovered dinosaur tracks all over this cliff face. They are difficult to see but are shown in more detail in my next picture.

From a long, long, long time ago

Indigenous women in Bolivia often wear the neatest hats.

People watching is fun in Bolivia.

A scene not likely to be found in Manitowoc

​Epilogue

   Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid supposedly didn't do so well in Bolivia in the 1800s.  I did a lot better in March 2024, primarily because I left my guns in Waukesha.

   Bolivia frightens a lot of people, who then go to Europe or Florida or Arizona, instead.  The Bolivians are about as nice and friendly as most other places I visited, so expand your horizons and go see some truly fascinating places.  If you are still frightened, take a guided tour.  You won't be disappointed.
​
   Next up is Utah and Colorado, which Bob Kattner and I visited before heading to Missouri to see the solar eclipse.

Gulliver's Travels - Botswana February 2024

 Botswana is another of those places in the world I've been itching to visit for the last 20 years or so.  In February I scratched that pesky itch for two weeks, and it felt good.

  
   Botswana is often called the most successful economy in Africa, generally avoiding the too-common grinding poverty of the continent.  Its 2.63 million inhabitants (half of Wisconsin's) are thinly spread over 581,730 square miles (about nine times the size of Wisconsin).
   The main reason for my visit was to see the famous Okavango Delta.  It is formed by the Okavango River flowing from its source in Angola a thousand miles away to empty into the Kalahari Desert, where it disappears into 5800 square miles of sand.  That makes for an oasis in the wet season, home to about 200,000 large animals, including 18,000 elephants.  It is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, along with Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Nile River, Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti, the Sahara, and the Red Sea Reef.  I've seen all of these but the reef of the Red Sea, though I saw the sea itself.  
   After visiting the delta, I went to Victoria Falls, just across the borders of Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Too bad the list did not have eight places. 

​

An elephant herd in the Okavango Delta taken from a helicopter

Traveling the numerous waterways in the delta is done with makoros, small canoe-like vessels...easily capsized by hippos if they so desire.

Taking the "youngin" for a walk

Elephants are quite the social animals.

Water lightens the load an elephant carries.

I did NOT jump in for a swim with the hippos.

Nor did I wander over to say "Hello" to the group

On a long walk through a grass meadow with a huge termite mound in the background

A friendly boy riding his burro (or whatever they are called in Botswana)

A female lion 30 feet away

Two adult females with their young after having "breakfast" on some poor impala

What a ride the young baboon had!

No, I did not yell out to them, "Hey, you big baboons," as they are very aggressive.

This group of impalas was wary of a suspected leopard in the bushes.

Impala

These two young rhinos were practicing fighting to sharpen their skills.

I was going to get a really close photo, but I wisely decided to use my telephoto lens, instead.

What we call ZEE-bras are called ZEB-bras in Africa.

A lonesome giraffe made for a nice photo.

Nope, I did not pet the croc.

Nor this cape buffalo, as it is the meanest animal in Africa.

Wildebeests, a favorite snack for crocs when they cross rivers

Some type of fowl testing its fate in lion and leopard country

Victoria Falls, 354 feet high and 1.1 miles long, is the largest sheet of waterfalls in the world, and marks the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.

One gets wet walking along the path opposite the falls.

But so many rainbows are seen, so nobody cares.

EPILOGUE

One by one, I am checking off my "must-see" places in the world.  I am wondering, when few...or none...are left, how will I feel?  Perhaps it will be like the old Peggy Lee song that I loved, "Is That All There Is?"  In the song, she said, "If that's all there is, then let's keep dancing."  I like that, as I often go dancing, to Madison and Louisiana for Cajun and Zydeco music and more recently to swing music gigs.  My mother danced until she was 90, square dancing and ballroom dancing.  So, maybe it's genetic...and I'll keep dancing for another eight years.  But before that, I'll just keep traveling, my next trip being to Spain and Algeria in October.
   Next up in Gulliver's Travels is my March 2024 trip I took to Bolivia.

Southern India -- January-February 2024

     ​For decades I had been wanting to travel to southern India to see some of the massive number of Hindu temples that have such intricate carvings and designs.  My friend, Karen, from Madison and I spent three weeks earlier this year to see some of the best ones.  She attended school there for several years as a youth, so we spent some time visiting her old haunts that added interest to the trip.

   I had been to India on three previous trips, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the overall conditions to be significantly better than earlier.  Economic development is clearly evident in many places.  However, there are now 1.4 billion people in India...and I felt as though I saw about one percent of them (that is,14 million people)

 Though India is generally brutally hot and humid much of the year, we experienced that only for a few days.  And we had little rain, so overall we had good weather.
​

Catholic Basilica of Santa Cruz, built in Gothic style in 1902 in Kochi in Kerala State.

Mother and baby

Costumed figures in a traditional arts show at the Kerala Kathahaki Centre

Rice terraces and Hindu temple in Coondoor

India must have even more monkeys than people.

Sri Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysore, showing a gopara, a main gate to many Hindu temples that are painted gold

Hindu sites can have some frightening figures.

Another gopara in the same temple

Maharaija Palace, built from 1897 to 1912, once the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore

On the grounds of the Maharaija Palace

The interior of the Maharaija Palace

Chennakesava Temple, built in 1258 A.D.

Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Devasthanan Temple in Puducherry, dedicated to the god Ganesh

At Meenakshi Temple in Pondicherry with fellow travelers Kate and Nina, who often made sure I didn't have any "older fella" issues

Sri Aurobindo Ashram, a meditation center begun in the 1920s

A Catholic church amongst a tea plantation

We stayed in this private house in the so-called Backwaters of Kerala.

Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace in Bangladore, built from 1778 to 1789

Cows are sacred in Hindu India, so they are frequently found on city streets.

Three-wheel vehicles, commonly called "tuk tuks," are ubiquitous in India, providing interesting rides for a dollar or two for rides of from ten to 20 minutes.

Statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Bangladore

Outside the town of Shravanbela Gola is a hill with 212 steps leading to a Jain religious site, a religion whose followers do not believe in any gods.

This 42-feet high granite monolith is dedicated to the Jain figure Bahubali and was carved in 1432 A.D.

Sri Chennakesava Temple in Belur, built in 1117 by King Vishnuvardhawa

Intricate carvings in soapstone, a soft rock that hardens when exposed to air

Depicting the union of a man and an animal-like creature

Holesaleswara Temple, built from 930 to 1120 A.D. in Belur

The temple carvings depict intricate stories.

Krishna's Butterball, a 20-feet high, 250-ton granite rock in the city of Mahablipuram in Tami Nadu State

Karen and I with some locals at the Government Palace in Bangladore

Now I know where to go if I have problems going.

EPILOGUE
​
India is a place to go to be fascinated.  The temples of the Hindus (comprising about 80 percent of the population) are unbelievably intricate, complex, and beautiful.  The saris and other garments of the women as well as the shirts of men dazzle the eyes.  The foods are the exact opposite of the menu of McDonald's (though I find virtually nothing of either to satisfy my palate, so I tend to lose weight at both).  I could go on and on.

   But the sheer number of people there gives me pause.  India has 1,450 million people, or 1.45 billion, vs. 334 million for the US.  That means India has about 18 percent of the world's roughly eight billion people.  That is hard to fathom, so consider this: if you were to travel to the sun, 93 million miles away and the world's eight billion people were floating single file in space along the way, you would encounter 86 humans every mile of your journey, of which 16 would be Indians.
​
    I do not worry much about climate change because I believe that one or more of the thousands of firms and individuals seeking to solve this basically technical problem will succeed before the earth and its inhabitants are destroyed.  One caveat: we might prevent that success by imposing confiscatory taxes on the inventors high enough that they throw in the towel in their efforts.  However, the current expansion of the world's population from 2.25 billion (in 1942 when I appeared) to eight billion today is a far greater challenge, not only for humans, but especially for countless species of plants and animals who have gone extinct or might in the near future.  Seeing tons of Indians but no tigers certainly brought this into focus for me.

___________________________________________________________________________

I almost forgot to tell you
this thief stole my bag of cookies right out of my hand...and refused to give it back!