Windows to Russia

I thought about going to the Big Village, nope; don’t want to…
Thought about how deplorable the U.S. is, nope; just very glad I am not there…
Thought about getting water from the well, yup; water is needed for life…

Then I thought about writing an article, nope; so this is it…

This (above) is what Boza and I are going to do. Too many people around the village and too many people driving around the Big Village. I am going to drink three cups of coffee, eat two thick slices of black bread and Boza and I are going to watch the eagles and the hawks fly, play and hunt…

To fly would be the freedom of your soul into the heavens…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

A sack of lies to mold the minds of the masses and if it is true, then it is a good thing and not a bad thing. So lets hope that they did crack it and lets hope the world reads what they cracked…

* * * * * * * * * *

Russian and Chinese specialists have successfully cracked the encryption of files stolen by US whistleblower Edward Snowden, a report says.

The secret files’ decryption has forced British intelligence agency MI6 and US intelligence services to recall a number of its agents from active operations, said a report by the Sunday Times.

“Agents have had to be moved and that knowledge of how we operate has stopped us getting vital information,” the report to be published on Sunday quoted an unnamed Downing Street source as saying.

“Russians and Chinese have information,” the source added.

Snowden, a former CIA contractor, left the US in 2013 after leaking classified intelligence documents, stored on encrypted files, revealing the extent of the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) spying activities and was granted asylum by Russia in August 2013.

According to the report, British intelligence now believes Russia and China have hacked the files, gaining access to sensitive information within.

A British intelligence source is also quoted in the report as saying that “Snowden has done incalculable damage.”

“In some cases, the agencies have been forced to intervene and lift their agents from operations to prevent them from being identified and killed,” the source added.

He went on to say that Russian and Chinese authorities would be examining the leaked material for “years to come.”

SRK/NN/AS

* * * * * * * * * *

The sky is falling little bird and we must point fingers…

Kyle

This is George the baby bird or probably now an equivalent to a teenage bird. My they grow fast and George was born this spring and was one of the little guys that swarmed our yard for days. George the Bird Brain is what I call him and he follows Boza and I as far as the outskirts of the village. He tries to keep an eye on what Boza and I do and is always there watching us…

I started walking this morning with Boza and found the little guy on a barn, just watching us from afar. As soon as I zoomed on him, I knew it was our little Bird Brain. Boza knows him and George allows Boza to come right up to a fence post he sits on and they seem to understand each other. George is interesting, for he seriously follows us all over the village, but when we leave the last fence posts or building behind, he stays and watches until we are out of sight. Then as we come back, I find him waiting for us…

It kinda makes me sad that we can not just pick him up and put him in my pocket to take him on a walk. He wants to go, that is obvious. Maybe when he gets bigger/older, he will fly with us. Though I do not want anything to happen to him. You can tell he is still a young bird and he is still developing his markings and such…

Just thought that you might want to meet “George the Bird Brain,” he is our “watch bird” as we travel the village roads…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

See; there he is again…

I was by the bell tower taking pictures of the eagles and saw a truck on the main byway, way in the distance. I just snapped a shot of the truck and did not think anymore about it. Then in a few minutes, the same truck appeared on this side of the river. Now that means only one thing; they crossed the river without a bridge and now I have to find that spot. Maybe I can cross there also…

It would cut the trip to the Big Village in half…

Therefore, I took some pictures and bought my black bread and sweet crackers that I love so much. This is a wonderful thing that they do for the small villages and many who do not drive to the village, are able to get all groceries for the week at this truck. The cost is slightly higher and I paid a 100 rubles for two loaves of bread and a kilo of sweet crackers. That is a third higher in cost than what I can get it at the big village, but I want to support the program and keep them coming to the village. We all feel that way and everyone buys at least something. No matter how small…

They have everything from beer, vodka, bread, meats, cookies, candies, chips, kvas and more. I really am not sure if this is private or governmental supported, but I appreciate it, for now I do not have to go to town but once a week to get supplies…

Just a little more in my village life…

Have a nice day…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

I have Boza well trained to attack if anyone bothers my little garden. He got in trouble one time for running through the garden and from then on, he is a ferocious guardian of our food supply. Onions, beets and carrots; Oh My!

We have a bunch of birds who have taken it upon themselves to clean the garden of nasty bugs. I talked about the bird families in the past. They do a great job of earning their keep and Boza keeps them in line doing their work efficiently and productively. I have a tiny ant issue, but we can’t have everything perfect and ants will keep the aphids under control…

Next year I will double the size of the garden and double the products growing. I am experimenting and only planted, three items, though I am thinking about getting some garlic and planting it. The onions are doing so well and I just love fresh garlic. Guess next time I go to town, I will check to see if there is any garlic to still find, to plant. Besides, garlic is great to keep strangers away…

Next year I have in mind carrots, beets, lettuce, onions, garlic and tomatoes…

There are only three of us in the village that weed our gardens, all the other gardens look like weed beds and that is strange to me. But no one shows up to care for them and yet with the rain we have had, all the gardens are plush and overgrown with both veggies and weeds…

I get a two hands clasped and held up as approval gesture. That is the common greeting wave in the village. My buddy from higher up the hill in the village, Vova, was excited that I had put in a garden and was looking at it yesterday…

He gave his approval, but said, “небольшой,” too tiny…

He felt sorry for me and brought me a sack of potatoes, carrots, onions and a small frozen fish to cook a soup with. Therefore it is soup time today…

I have sixteen carrots growing so far and I suspect that my seed was old and weak, but I am happy to get what came up. The beet greens have supplied many salads, with onion greens and they have been a great supplement for my diet. Next year I will blend cow manure into the garden and it will be even better…

Okay, I am finding myself thinking about all the yard work I have to do and Boza is starting to give those sighs of boredom, wanting to walk and get outside to play noises. I am going to walk the dog, cut the grass, finish the mudroom roof and when the avto market comes up the hill, I will buy two loaves of bread. It is so good…

Have a nice day…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

 

Grab a cup of coffee and sit a spell, I am going to start a series of posts called, “The Russia I Live In!”

Got a great shot of a beautiful fat Mallard. He actually seems to be a tame duck gone wild and was kinda holding out his hand for food. I told him, “No bums in this village!” and sent him flying. My buddy in the village has ducks, maybe one got away? I will have to tell him…

Then a couple of days ago, we stumbled upon a hedgehog and he was hightailing it to beat the band. Boza likes hedgehogs and watched him for over an hour. We followed his path through the tall grass, for he was a fat hedgehog, but unlike the duck, he did not want handouts… 🙂

The Antonov an-2 Biplane is an image I have posted before, but I have done some research on this plane. We have basically 20 to 25 different planes of this same type fly overhead everyday. I then after looking around, found out that they are used by the forestry service in Russia and since we live right at the edge of a very huge, I mean huge forestry area. This is how they patrol the woods. Starting about 8 a.m. and ending about 8 p.m. the planes fly constantly overhead. They did this last year, but not as much and this year they are constant. They will wiggle their wings if you wave at them, which shows me that they are watching the ground for evil Russians and maybe a nice American like me… (~Sarc~)

I really think it is a flight path for small engine craft, because nowhere is there any information that the forestry here would have this may planes. And many are new looking (in fact I am positive that we have new ones flying overhead and never come back,) I think that they are still building these planes (close by) and since they are used for cargo and human transportation, it looks like we have a thriving business going on…

Antonov an-2 Biplane History: The Antonov an-2 Russian (Soviet) biplane was introduced in 1947 as a massive slow-flying agricultural and utility single engine biplane aircraft, by 2002 when production of the Antonov an-2 biplane finally ended in excess of 18,000 Antonov an-2 aircraft had been produced. Originally designed for the Soviet Ministry of Forestry, the Antonov an-2 biplane featured a totally enclosed cockpit and all metal construction with the capacity to carry up to 12 passengers and can take off in as little as 170m and land in 215m.

Well that is all for today, I have things to do and ducks and hedgehogs to chase. Boza will help of course…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

I have been struggling with having a camera that is easy to carry. Boza and I walk a lot and when something happens that I want to record, I need a smaller camera. Well today I finally got the old Kodak working pretty good and just in time for a huge storm to come around…

Pretty cool huh?

Then as we were running back to the house I found this. The area is so huge around here that I have seen three lightning storms going on at the same time, with sunlight in between all the storms. It is wild around here at times and this happens at below 20 degrees Celsius. Not some super hot summer storm…

That is why I need a camera on me all the time. Something will happen within a two hour walk guaranteed. I drained the battery three times from full to dead empty and recharged all night long, I just shot 200 images with it on a single charge. Now that will do me just fine for when Boza and I walk around the village area…

Have a nice day…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

The Big Village is the same as a county seat town in America. It houses many governmental buildings and departments for the local government. Most of the time, if you need to get business done, Сараях is the place you have to go and get it done. This village has a two big grocery stores and a dozen small ones. About 9000 people live here and today, I got the pleasure of being held up in traffic twice. Once for the roads being repaved in town and another time to wait to chat with a local police and once he realized who I was, he said, “Get, Go Fishing!” (In English!)

I smiled and waved goodbye, for he has stopped me out at the Fish Village area, when they look for drunk drivers. He knows all my paper work is in good shape and it is a perk living in such a close community, everyone knows each other…

I took a few pictures of some windows and a couple of images of the main street in the Big Village. It was about 8:30 a.m. and with school out, it is much less busy than a month ago. Though as I was leaving today, the town had woke up and was packed. The town is just on a later time frame with school out for the summer…

So that is it today and since I am feeling kinda terrible to say the least, I am going to lay down, before I start working on the roof of the mudroom again. Though the weather is perfect, cool, dry and breezy and I should be feeling great. I will give it an hour or so and then try to get it in gear…

If not, then there is zaftra, it is what all Russians say when they delay something…

Life in Russia is zaftra (завтра,) means tomorrow…

See you zaftra…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

At 4 a.m. I got up and Boza stayed in bed even this morning. It was foggy and dreary down in the valley, but on top the hill where we were, it was sunbeams cutting through the fog and the neighbor Nickali had just walked out of his house to greet the day. Then I hollered “Dobrey Utra” and he smiled like a sun beam and waved as he took a deep breath of air and stretched out the kinks in his body. I went inside and kicked Boza out from under the bed. Then grabbed the camera and we went walking. Before breakfast, coffee and or even waking up the brain…

The image above is what we walked into and the image below is an hour later and I started to take spiderweb images as the sun burned off the fog in the valley…

I tried to get the field of spiderwebs in an image,but all I got were shiny spots in the grass. So I settled on a web shot I did. I like it and enlarge it to see thousands of tiny dew drops…

Now, I fed Boza and he is sleeping again under the bed and I am leaving for town. I have to fill the car with benzine, buy four cases of Boza’s dog food, get some basic groceries, buy another new brush cutting blade (that is three so far,) and last but not least; I am going to buy four sasiskas for me to munch on… (Yummy)

I also am going to look at a bicycle, probably not buy, due to money restraints, but wish is free. Then I am going to look at a small camera to replace the old Kodak we have. Though I would rather get a battery for the camera I have (if able to find) and maybe I need to search for that instead. I like the old Kodak and it takes great pictures…

A bicycle would be great and then I would use it to ride to another village nearby and get groceries there. Save me lots of money and be better for my health. I walk enough, but walking to get groceries may set me over the edge of too much, for I would have to leave Boza home during those walks. Too many village dogs to cause issues and then I still have to walk Boza the same even though I walked kilometers extra. A bike would make it much easier on my old war wounded legs and that is important…

But dreams are dreams and right now I have to get ready to go. I have a priority to get to the fuel station and get the car filled or I will walk plenty after I run out… 🙂

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

This is a huge bird, I hope to get a picture one day of a raven flying with the eagle. It is over twice as big as the ravens are and it is fun to watch as the eagles and ravens fly “loop de loop” sometimes. It is what makes life beautiful…

I take literally a hundred shots at a time and get maybe one decent photo and that is subjective to opinion in most cases. Therefore, it is a good photo to me and thus I post it. When you work as hard as I am to get a decent shot of a particular bird (Golden Eagle or Russian Steppe Eagle,) you take what you can get. This is papa, momma (who is much browner in color and bigger) took a fish back to the nest and I did not see her again. Papa hung around and teased me for awhile, as he always does. Momma Eagle is a down to business and back to feed the kids. Last years brood? The female is gone, but the male has taken residence on the opposite side of the lake. I am sure he is looking for a girlfriend, if you know of any send them this way…

I hope for two more young’ums this year… 🙂

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…