What a Big Cock!

This cock stands about meter tall. He flaps his wings and his voice is very loud, showing off power and feathers. at the foothill of the megalith site in Cianjur, he is the master of the (domesticated) animals even this dog won't mess with the cock. what kind of cock is it? i asked the owner. "Ayam kampung," he replied. 

Lovely Mammals

Puppy Love!

Oom Edo's puppy, Nabire

Oh Deer!

Menjangan Island is all about curiosity. Last February, friends and I failed to reached the island and it was about time that finally buddies and I made it to its walls (spending only like 5 minutes on the dry land!)

Despite the name (menjangan is deer), I only saw one female. but it's OK. wondered how they arrived there. DM Wayan said, menjangans come to and fro mainland Bali and to the solitary island for they are avid swimmer. they cross the 1 km strait to find food and mates. how cool is that!

(left: Bali Island, right: Menjangan Island; courtesy of Ricka Ristianti)

The island itself looks like a solid gigantic coral and the vegetation thrives on that solid, white rock. cool!

(think i see the ladder up to the temple; courtsey of Ricka Ristianti)

(that wondrous rocky edge of the island; courtesy of Triadi Sena)

For the Loving Memory of Molly

walk the partner

Let's Hippo Everyone

that guy was talking about seeing the unseen. But it wasn't about "Can you see the wind... its presence is revealed by the leaves on a tree" kind of vision. (anyway i can't put away the 'vision' of him wearing bell bottom pants!) the fact that everybody was excited about his talk, however, was enough to make me grounded. I respect him.

During his talking, i thought of the little girl i met near hippo pool the day before. I was expecting the hippo would emerge, take some breath, and make some noise or drag the branch down to the pool. one minute. the hippo din move. two minutes. he--or was it she?--only opened his jaw a bit. so i tried a different angle.

a voice came behind my left shoulder. "Have you seen it?"



my head lowered. it was a Fendi-veiled little girl. "Oh you fashionable kid!" i said in my head.

"Ah yes but he doesn't want to show up apparently," i said. "Or perhaps he's shy."

She nodded and continued her talking and all i did was examining her Fendi monogram veil. Where did she get it? and i got to know that her parents were just 10 steps away and keeping an eye on us--or me particularly. I got uncomfortable being 'inspected'


this chillun (her manner reminds me of Harper Lee's li'l heroine) kept talking. "He opened his long mouth! I saw it!" she was so convincing.

i asked, how long? just to see how well she was at her basic biology--if there is any at her school

"thirty meters! it's big. i saw it!"

my jaw dropped and my eyes heavenward, seeing the big, long, oversized, smelly snout...

While staring at the snout (I mean sky), i couldn't keep track of her fantasy. She talked and talked and suddenly when I was about to give a nod, she turned her back and joined her family eating Popmie.

I decided to encircle the cage. it was like 30 x 30 m wide, surrounded by smelly green water. all i was thinking was, this cage only fits his mouth!

(Ragunan Zoo has about four Nile hippos and two pygmy hippos. All came from the continent of Africa.)

Bay Dolphin

I was thrilled when reading the itinerary. We must do dolphin watching, i said to Cika and Anast and those people agreed. So we rose very early, despite the fact we barely arrived like 5 hours before.

Soon as the catamaran hit the calm water, i took the role as captain. or watchman? because i frequently sought direction in the boatman's face. if he raised his chin and turning left, it means south. like that.

Twenty minutes later, we spotted a school of dolphin. exciting! very cool. I leapt from the seat. So did the other boats. They leapt to the school's direction. Can you imagine? Scary no?

We four people asked the boatman to slow down the catamaran and go to calm water. Miraculously, the dolphins reappeared. This time to everyone's satisfaction. It leaped like twice and swam with fin above the water surface.

Very kewl! I guessed they've got used to people and boats that they chose to play around and "greet" them.

Monkey Love

Rama decided to stop at Monkey Forest Sanctuary, the prime gate of Ubud. I was not excited at first, thinking about the beasts. But the thought of Jane Goodall crossed my mind and some posing at the entrance gave me a jolt.

So i went inside (did i hear the young ladies say, "official bananas, Sir?"). I am all eyes, i thought.

the small forest itself is thick and dense and humid that the decision to wear my cotton cardigan was a mistake.

Rama and Fajar were enjoying themselves with the cams but somehow i was not that into taking pics. so i chose the clear open of the site on the upper hill which is usually used for ngaben or the Hindu cremation. there were scattered palm leaves roofs and bamboos. I then saw two girls, they apparently were taking notes. i approached one of them.

Riris was observing a colony of monkeys. In the heat of the day, she was wearing long sleeves, trousers, shoes and fishing hat. Later I knew the reason.

"They show a behavior found none in other monkey colonies," she answered my question, detailing on a particular behavior.

Ah, really? I thought chimps do it. (yeah, that David Graybeard who gave his hand to meet Goodall's)

"perhaps. this is for my final papers. i am helping a Japanese professor.

wow, that's cool! what monkeys are they, anyway?

"Macaca."

and the species?

Riris then pronounced a word i couldn't remember. But i remembered M. sylvana from the World Book days.

in the mid of this, suddenly i felt something landed on my head!

MONKEY!!!

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

the nasty beast sat comfortably on my head and reached his hairy hands to my neck... i managed not to freak out.

Riris laughed, so did Fajar. Hey you guys help me!

"Just walk fast, and he'll jump on the ground!" said Riris. it just din help! i now felt that the claws were sinking into my neck. ouch!

then i approached the nearby gardu. miraculously, it jumped down gently...phew!

everybody laughed. You double my mysey, guys....

while brushing my head with hands to remove any "monkey residue", i din know what Fajar did but suddenly a monkey jumped into his butts, grasping his jeans pockets. Fajar was on panic. Go monkey, go, get him! Hahahaha

"I've been here a week," said Riris. "Been bitten once."

oh that's why you're wearing all cover ups.

i din have thought to continue the conversation since all i saw was monkeys chasing around.

when i went across the bridge and saw the holy spring, i heard them approaching the banyan trees. noisy were they! perhaps they must take night sleep earlier. so i guess i will have no more encounters, i thought. so i asked the guys to get out of here soon.

and surprisingly, there were some monkeys watching the visitors in hope of some banana rewards.

Fajar was in the mood of being comical. he was mimicking them only to be playing tug-o-war with one of them later--apparently senior member of the clan. it was trying to grab his camera bag. hahahaha

uhm, by the way i am still curious about them. I think now i need Rama's help here.




(photos by Rama n Fajar)

Beachy Mimicry

it was no secret that sand on Kuta Beach was regularly maintained to outsmart abrasion. so i didnt expect to see any sign of living and moving marine creatures. all left are dead barnacles and broken reef. so, when Fajar and I walked along the beach in the third morning, we were stunt to see this mimicry and it was alive! whoaaaaaa

this small crab looked extremely interesting. it is almost transparent and i din have any idea how it mimicked the surrounding sand. okay, i'd seen one on the beach of Pulau semak Daun.
Fajar tried his macro at best and here's the lovely and sharp result.

Perfect illusion: a thumb sized crab. For him, it's the way of survival.

"Nice try" mimicry: a dog of sand color relaxing :)

Puppies' Day Out

cute as they may seem

sibling rivalry

ear catching

turn the other cheek

The masters

These siblings have the biggest hearts in this world. i thanked them for warming my heart in the morning.

that Friday morning, when I strolled around Kuta beach, i met them and they let this stranger of mine play with their big hearted dogs. cute and playful.

As I lay me Down

Cat Siesta

Mother of two

Shy Kong

Come out and play!
(Gorilla at Schmutzer Center, Ragunan Zoo, Jakarta)

Cinta & Rangga (My Furry friends)

You know it's hard to photograph animals, especially dogs. when they see the infrared light or the movement of the diaphragm, they will turn away, agitated. You need much patience--or bribe in form of dog food--for candid shots.

i don't know whose dogs they are, but they often pay me a visit, for a pat in the head or some snacks.

I tried to snap them candidly. one particular shot above produced resemblance to AADC. I din notice that until Becki said, Sem, this is AADC!

these furry friends have no official names. call them whatever you please, and they will rise their flag tails. so from now on i pronounce them Rangga and Cinta (the terrier at right).

one thing that disturb me is that Cinta often mounts on Rangga. the problem is that they're both males! oh my! is that because they can't find any females around? the abominable scene often doesn't last long as Rangga is twice taller than the terrier. weird eh?

by the way, don't get me wrong. AADC was my favorite movie back in my ABG (adolesence) days. so this serves as a tribute :)

Sem

St. Basil & Unstrung Violin

mixed media on canvas, 2001

On one sunny morning
these beautiful things a happening
the air is frangrant and lemony
the dew is still on the roses
dripping a sweet smell of tea
and a faint tune comes out of the bluebells

Sasha is hanging her laundry
under the fences, next to daisies
she is spotting the little cat is a sniffing
the unstrung pink violin
lies awaiting for her to strike it singing

On one sunny morning
these beautiful things a happening

Tupai: Friends in Need

Tree shrews (tupai) are cute petit rodentlike mammals. They are tree dwellers (arboreal) and always curious. These tupai (Tupaia javanica) are common to Java and Bali and adapts well with urban or suburban areas.


I've heard lots of stories of tupai and human relationships. One that is impressive is Mami's. In Pontianak, she was visited by neglected baby tupai. Mami took care of it well and it gave her best companion. I always laugh everytime she retells the story of the mischievous tupai.

So I was excited to enconter with these naughty duo. they peeked and peeked while maintaining a good runaway distance. half minute later when they observed that i brought no food, they disappeared into thick foliage as if to say, "you've got food, you've got our company" :)

Sem

Oh Deer!

Deer me, it's a cute mammal with delicate look and bouncy personality [my word for active]. This dog-sized deer inhabits Ragunan Zoo, Jakarta. He licks his snout, probably an act of grooming. It reminds me of a picture in World Book Encyclopedia about minerals: a cow licks a salt brick in a farm. I guess animals need to spice up their meals, too.

Sem