valerie

@crossingthethreshold Cool! I always imagined Xinjiang and Kashgar would be drier or more desert-y. I mean, the mountains around Kochkor are definitely browner and rockier than in other parts of Kyrgyzstan, but it’s still relatively green around some lakes here (like Song Kol, the second largest lake in Kyrgyzstan; and Kol-Ukok, the lake I showed recently on my blog)

@crossingthethreshold Some of the people who own these yurts bring animals, but I’m not sure if they bring all of their animals, as I imagine this yurt camp gets most of their money from tourists who stay the night. As far as I know, there aren’t any (or there are only very few) full-time nomadic herders in Kyrgyzstan. The typical practice is to take animals to summer pastures (jailoo) or otherwise higher elevations in the summer, and then bring them (closer to) home in winter. Most Kyrgyz people have a house to live in now and only stay in yurts when they are with their animals in the jailoo (particularly when the jailoo is a far drive from their permanent home and makes commuting a waste of time and money)

@Mikehendley what a delightful frog 😊

@Omrrc reminds me of a cat I used to have. He loved his bags 💜

@chadkoh Thank you for sharing. I am deeply saddened by the news

@heyloura This was an interesting read. Looking forward to the next part of your reflection, whenever it comes up. Lots of compassion for your past self, as she was only trying to do what was best, but it’s great that you can look back and accept where she might have erred. Are both of your kids homeschooled now, or only your son?

@bapsi That does look really good 😊