kyrgyzstan
The south shore of Issyk-Kul in October 2024: honey bought correctly from a beekeeper's trailer, an old military runway at Tamga with evening gold on the cracks, Gagarin's face in red stone above the valley he rested in. In Engilchek I sat on the ledge of an apartment nobody ever finished, and I rode pillion through the first snow with the sheep flowing around the horse.
10 entries, newest first.
2024
First Snow on the Ridges
· Driving home along the line where autumn hands over: ochre hills below, white crests above, thermos steam in between.
The Turquoise Wreck
· A dead car in a beautiful color on the river gravel, and the archaeology of everyday abandonment.
The Hot Spring
· Steam between grey rocks, water the mountain heats itself, and bathing the old way with the women of the valley.
Pillion, First Snow
· A herder, a white horse, room for one more: riding pillion through the first snow with the sheep flowing ahead.
Firewood Economy
· Two children, one rusty cart, a load of wood through the ruins, and help that was accepted at market rates.
A Ledge in the Skeleton
· Inside the unfinished blocks: concrete cells open to the weather, and a seat on the ledge of an apartment that never was.
The Town From the Ridge
· Above Engilchek with the D5 on the tripod: a tin town built for a mine that closed before it mattered.
Gagarin in the Valley
· The cosmonaut relief at Barskoon: a golden face in red stone among conifers, and why he vacationed near this gorge.
The Runway at Tamga
· An old military strip above the lake: cracked concrete to the horizon, evening gold, and a red Niva using clearance it was denied.
Honey by the Road
· South shore economics: a beekeeper's trailer, jars the color of lamplight, and the correct way to buy honey, slowly.