November 21st No time for walking this morning I had to finish off yesterday’s photo work on the PC and then update and post the Blog. All we did was go down and see how Donald was. It appears that he is a little under the weather, maybe a battery problem.
Huan had no plans for an afternoon walk, I did. She didn’t fail with her plans, I did with mine!
We had to go out after dinner, just a little shopping to tide us over. We forgot that we had not taken many photos today; all we took tonight was the lady in the pet shop feeding a chick. She said it was milk, although it was brown in colour making me think it was tea. Of all the photos I took, the only in focus one doesn’t show the liquid. Look carefully and you can see the queue of chicks in the background all waiting their turn.
November 22nd Our first job of the morning was to sort Donald out and in this we failed. The repair shop was very busy, even Ben Ben was busy supervising the boss!
Instead we had to go for a little walk and would you believe a car decal was the first photo-op? 骑着我, 心爱的小摩托, 它永远不会堵车, Qízhe wǒ, xīn'ài de xiǎo mótuō, tā yǒngyuǎn bù huì dǔchē - Ride me, lovely little motorcycle, it will never get stuck in traffic. Very true!
Keeping Huan in the town and away from overly sunny areas, (she had no hat on today), we saw that the snowbirds are definitely back, in force!
Now here’s someone who isn’t as finicky as me. If I were to do a similar thing with a ‘Ninebot’ moped there would be nine wee monsters and not just seven as you see here.
On our way home Huan forgot to take a video of my and a little bird seeing who could win the kowtowing contest. She did get a photo though.
After lunch it was back to sorting Donald out. Here is the mechanic with his very able helper, moi! Well, it is an easy job and one I could do, but batteries are difficult to buy off the shelf where we live. Besides, the shop is right next door if we have any problems in the future.
And there you have it, (as someone says but don’t ask me who), Donald is all OK again and it only cost me ¥550.00. My wallet however soon parted ways with another ¥1,300.00; the Minister of Transport decided that our eight year old sunscreen tinting needed replacing. That will not be done today so photos will come in time.
November 23rd Having partially emptied my wallet yesterday I planned this morning’s walk so that we would have to pass by my bank. It makes a change; we usually have to do that kind of admin for the Minister of Finance. Unfortunately there was a dearth of subject matter today so we only got three photographs. The first has lovely colours from the sun but it was so small I was finding it extremely difficult to focus on.
Snowbirds are back in what seem to be larger numbers than before. Some apartment complexes have their water features back on. To be fair though, this one is usually on all year round.
Our last photo was taken just because we didn’t have enough for the day. Here’s some more Pikachu along with some strange looking little chicks.
That was the sum total of photos for today. We did go out after lunch but only to the repair shop in our building where we said goodbye to Donald for a day or so. He is having new sunglasses fitted. Huan didn’t want another walk and I was the duty cook so back home we went. Today’s menu was as chosen by Huan last week, shepherd’s pie again but with minced beef this time. I didn’t bother taking any photos because it wouldn’t have looked much different to last week’s.
November 24th A modicum of success was achieved today, we had a nice long walk and managed some half decent photos, probably for the first time this week. I was up bright and early so once HM was ready we set off on the Atuo Ling walk, finding these two birds almost immediately. It was unusual to see the two different colourings. This is cropped quite heavily.
As you know, when we are out it is the Minister of Ag and Fish who usually spots the wildlife. Today I beat her to it, twice! She did find the third one though. Unfortunately, even by hanging over the crash barrier, I couldn’t get a bigger shot.
Do you know what this plant is? I’m sure you do, it’s what we call the Christmas flower. We have seen them on the road to Shuimanxiang before but never here. It appears that someone has been busy tidying up the verges and planting new stuff.
This used to be a building; it is now a sweet potato field. I could never have told you that, I had no idea; Huan is the source of that snippet of information.
She is also the source of these geese photographs. I had lost her; she does that sometimes, just goes off on a tangent. Because I am usually in the front I never know.
I will take the credit for these little ducklings, cute aren’t they?
The scenery on this walk, as always, was beautiful.
This little shoot had us curious. After getting home and Googling the image we are still none the wiser. It could be from the ginger family or from the clotus family.
Soon
we were approaching our turn round point where the plan was to cross the stream
and go back to town on the main
At the crossing place we came upon two snowbirds sat on a rock. They were resting before turning back until Huan explained that there was another way. They decided that they would follow us, cue me worrying that I might have forgotten the way! I hadn’t of course.
Before too long we were across the valley and on the path on the other side. You can see from the photos why I declined to wear a hat today, plenty of trees and shade around.
When we reached the main road, pictured here, we parted ways. They said that they lived very near the beginning of the hill and were going to carry on up now to the rest stop. I did wonder if they know how far, and how steep it is. We should have taken a group selfie, we forgot.
On our way down we didn’t see much of anything except a few more poinsettias so this was my next snap. Huan couldn’t see anything of interest or even nice looking here until we got home and uploaded the photos. She then decided it was beautiful.
Finally, crossing the last bridge on the way home, Huan found an egret and insisted I do the usual and try to get a photo from too far away. We then saw that there were in fact two so we managed to squeeze them both in.
Our walk ended up being twelve kilometres so after lunch we both needed some sleep. We think we earned it. After dinner I dragged Huan out again, I needed to buy the sweet corn for the salad tomorrow. If we had gone tomorrow morning Baijiahui would be heaving, today it was quieter. Success was not forthcoming however, the canned sweet corn was still not back in stock and the frozen stuff hasn’t been seen for ages. We could have bought corn on the cob, cooked it and then scraped the kernels off. Instead, we thought we would try once using a can of creamed sweet corn. If it fails we will know better next time.
November 25th We woke up to an “English” day today, grey overcast skies, the feeling of imminent rain showers, sometimes the feel of what felt like very fine drizzle on our bodies. We had to go out though; we needed Xinjiang bread for today’s salad. Our first photo was a little friend whose home we can’t pass without him running out to say hello. Funnily enough, his Mum lives next door and although a few years ago she would greet us, now she only barks when she sees, sometimes even before she sees us.
From dogs to cats, would you believe another car decal is next, from the rear left hand skirt of some very ordinary cheap car.
And on to our reason for coming out, look nice don’t they?
We did have some birds next; the usual black ones and a usual white one. However, all were far too small to share with you. I think Huan was just pleased we got them. Instead I give you Nobita Nobi who we found reclining on the back of a motorbike from Sanya. Who is he? Well we had no idea until we asked the man locking the bike and he gave us the Chinese name 大雄, and said it was from a cartoon. Using that information and Google image search we found out that ‘Noby’ is a lead character from the Japanese anime series Doraemon. If you want, you can find more here - https://doraemon.fandom.com/wiki/Nobita_Nobi
Wouldn’t you know it, walking back to Xiaodao, (Little Island), SWMBO managed to find a lizard. What it was doing out on a cloudy and overcast day is anyone’s guess. Personally I think it was his turn to be the lizard on duty for the crazy woman to spot today!
On the island, the future coffee and tea place is slowly taking shape. We’re not so keen on it, it seems to be taking up a lot of the available natural space. Maybe we should reserve our opinions until it is completed. There are many signs around the small construction area, here are two of them, remember to leave your bad brothers at home! (PS I have five brothers, none bad.)
I managed to surprise Huan with the last snap of the day, a little birdie! It was a long way off so I thought I would fail, this is cropped to less than 20%. Huan liked it, job done.
November 26th This morning when I woke up I role played the other Donald, the ‘Trump’ version. Well, I may not have but my hair did!
When we were ready I asked Huan if she fancied doing the Feicui walk, the ‘wrong way around’. That is the anticlockwise route which we always find harder than the clockwise one. When we first moved down here the difference was very noticeable, not so much now. She thought it was a good idea, but first we went to check on the real Donald with his new sunglasses. We were not sure if the job was satisfactory or not, so decided to check back later.
On our way to our gate Huan stopped for a chat and I found a whole family.
Passing the river, and another egret that was too small to be photographed, we were soon heading towards the park entrance with its encouragement to stay fit and healthy. Notice how signs here are not defaced as they probably would be in a British city!
Snowbirds were abundant today from the moment we entered the park. As we arrived at the first ‘square’ we found them doing their northern fitness regimes, dama dancing, jianzi (kicking the shuttlecock) and whipping (without the top).
Unusually, for this walk, and also so close to all the people, Huan spotted a very small lizard. It was small enough that people wanted to know what I was leaning over the bushes to take a photograph of. Maybe they saw it before it streaked off when I pointed at it.
After that it was onwards and upwards trying to make sure there weren’t too many people in our scenic shots. We did well enough I think.
Having used much less effort than we thought we would have we were soon at the bridge which we would then cross and go back down the other side. You can tell a) that snowbirds have returned in force and b) that it’s Sunday and hence not a school day.
Just a few metres further on a beautiful scene that I always like.
Over the bridge another common sight, someone who
can afford an Audi SUV and bring it to
With Huan and three northern ladies in my ear telling me that I was standing in a very slippery place it was all I could do to try and snap this wee beastie. I should have got nearer.
Two photos going back down the hill, empty of people almost. I did have to aim the camera higher in the second one!
Almost home and a moody view from the second bridge. That’s what the weather had been like most of the way round, very pleasant for walking though. We still managed to get ourselves all hot and bothered; sweaty clothes straight into the washing machine when we got home.
After our nap we had a call from the repair shop so we went downstairs and had a look. They had brought Donald back home but he still didn’t look too good to me. However, they assured us that after a couple of days, during which we mustn’t open the windows, everything would look perfect. They also assured Huan that she would have a year’s warranty! Maybe we’ll take a couple more photos after the two days are over.
November 27th Shopping day today, not so enjoyable, we may have to change the time and try and get there while everyone else is on siesta time. There were too many people and too many queues. Organisational skills are something Baijiahui seems to lack; they always decide to restack the shelves on a Monday morning, the busiest time for snowbird shopping. Traffic jams can be found in every aisle! When we got downstairs to the cash desks there were only two cashiers working and the self service checkouts. What are they for? I’m sure I read somewhere that they were supposed to save money on staff and streamline the process for shoppers. We end up with no advantages for the shoppers and two security assistants spending their time helping the people who are not so sure, which seems to be nearly all of them.
After lunch Huan had a plan to make some flat bread as well as cook dinner so I thought I would go out for a stroll. As soon as Huan suggested a nap my idea went straight out of the window. We did get out for a walk after dinner though, here’s the proof, (not very clear).
On Xiaodao Huan managed the last one of the week. How does she do it?
Our walk was in the town only; it was a bit too chilly by the riverside with only shorts on. In the town centre, passing the frog restaurant, we noticed a sign that we, or at least I, hadn’t noticed before. The question is which one of us is which? I should be the frog but then again I am also a Pisces. The fish does look more like a woman though.
Before we went out Huan had pointed out a car from our balcony so an ulterior motive was to check on other cars to show her. This is all academic of course; we will definitely not be buying another car anytime soon. I did find this one and suggested it to her. It was flatly refused because it doesn’t have a steering wheel, it has handlebars.
We had to cross the river in front of the Fodelai hotel to get home and on the way there all I could hear was a cacophony of noise. There were singers, musicians and dancers all over the place. In each individual spot you would hear only what was happening there. Approaching from the other side of the river your ears are assailed from all sides. This was just one group.
Below this group, at river level, there was another group, of dancers. Above them and a few yards further up the road was another group with a portable karaoke machine. These were the three we saw, there were others we only heard.
So another week comes to an end, Donald seems to be OK now. SWMBO is in the best of health, as am I. My only worry is that I am still without a visa. Will I get the call before next week’s missive, I do hope so. Wish me luck won’t you.
