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Nov. 16 | The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen

Only two weeks remain of my journey with The Snow Leopard and I have, at this point, just made the connection that the GS (naturalist and conservationist George Schaller) that the author is traveling with through the Himalaya in 1973 is also the current vice president of Panthera.org, a wild cat conservation organization founded in 2006 and devoted exclusively to the conservation of the world's 37 species of wild cats and their ecosystems. I'd crossed paths and connected with Panthera online much earlier on in my writing project far before beginning The Snow Leopard. In retrospect, this should be none too surprising a synchronicity. However, it's fun the way, after much work, connections suddenly come together, seemingly like magic, in life and in novel-writing.

The last hope of seeing the snow leopard; thanksgiving for oranges and everything

Snow leopard taste: potatoes
At home: cranberries, oranges, Clementine, pomegranate, sweet potato; dried cherries and cedar Badger Mountain Organic Cabernet Sauvignon; Bragg's, kale, braising mix
Snow leopard sight: a leopard scrape right in my boot print

Tibet Wild: A Naturalist's Journey on the Roof of the World.
At home: bright orange juice - carrot, orange, sweet potato; red winter pansies; bright purple ruffled leaves like a vegetable dress
Snow leopard sound: the echo of my step; happy song
At home: the running dishwasher, the running dryer
Snow leopard smell: camp fire
At home: roasting potatoes; pumpkin pancakes
Snow leopard touch: windlessness; stepping on frozen earth
At home: wind and rain
Snow leopard quote: "Maybe it's better if there are some things we don't see."
Snow leopard word of the day: onanism - "Oh, there's a penis-lick!" "A beauty!"
Snow leopard notable: The biology of bharal that equips them for head-on collisions:
"Why nature should devote so many centuries...to the natural selection of these creatures that favor head-on collisions over brains is a good questions, although speaking for myself in these searching days, less brains and a good head-on collision might be just the answer."
At home: 
While leopards have the widest range of any big cat, they have vanished from almost 40% of their historic range in Africa and from over 50% of their historic range in Asia. — Panthera.org
Snow leopard extra: "the penalty of error makes me mindful"
At home:
The five freedoms of animal welfare:
Freedom to express normal behavior.
Freedom from pain, injury and disease.
Freedom from hunger and thirst.
Freedom from fear and distress.
Freedom from discomfort. — Farm Animal Welfare Council, origins: Brambell Report, December 1965
Snow leopard gratitude: watching blue sheep
At home: being able to volunteer; feeling connected

 Panthera progress: two weeks til full draft

What is this? Blogging The Snow Leopard project.

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