Chicken In A Basket?

June 25^th We had to play hide and seek with the rain again today. Our plan had been to make another “No through road” video until we checked the forecasts. Huan’s was rain at ten and mine was rain at eleven. We decided to stick to town and left the house about ten past eight. Would you believe it? Within minutes it was raining, not heavy though so we continued on our way. As we were ‘proceeding along the road to the gate, your honour’ we heard the plaintive clucks of a chicken. It took me a while to locate it.

Our famous sports hotel, which occasionally houses foreign athletes, now has a library. The librarian had asked us before to visit so, having a slack day, we popped in for a chat today.

This library has two things going for it that are not in my favour. First, all the books available are only in Chinese and second, they are mostly ‘self help’ books. In this case self help includes Chinese medicine, how to improve your mind and body, and fitness related stuff. I did find one book that I liked, a touring road atlas of China! We both had to have our photo taken with the librarian who insisted on putting her glasses on for the photographs. PS We got the first photo before she thought about it.

Further down the road, this rather large stone is included for a reason that you will never guess. The last time we walked past it, a mere six days ago, it was ensconced in the middle of a small pond replete with some little fish. As you can plainly see, there is no pond in this picture, someone stole it!

Despite the intermittent rain showers Huan still managed to find lizards. This one gave us a full length profile and then ducked under the bushes. I preferred the ‘under the bushes’ shot.

Briefly we went to the three legged dog corner just to go around the police station and then back up the main road. We were early so our bovine buddies were absent today. However, we did spot some canine companions, only one of whom stopped in one place long enough to pose.

The mountains were busy doing their thing and creating clouds.

Our plan to go around the police station failed, we had to backtrack.

In the market near the sausage shop I found a bird. While Huan was talking to a puppy owner I took quite a few shots but having seen this one on the computer when I got home, I knew which one I had to keep. Just look at the attitude and the face!

Huan found one more lizard before we reached home.

I’m sure all the lizards would have disappeared ten minutes after we reached home. Those small intermittent showers transformed into a mighty downpour. It’s probably just as well that we didn’t stray too far from our humble abode today.

It must be the rain, we both slept for nearly two hours after lunch. Dinner was on me, fried beef with an onion, garlic, mushroom and cream sauce, baked potatoes and leather carrots (they were baked for too long) and some tinned peas. It was not bad at all and Huan wanted me to take a photo of it. I didn’t think it was good enough for that so I just ate it!

June 26^th Rain stopped play, morning and afternoon! I went out on to the bedroom balcony.

You might think that I went out to see the rain. You’d be wrong. I went out to see the gardener; she was being a busy little bee!

I did also try some bird photos using burst mode on the camera. I failed but you can see the mountains producing rain clouds again. Aren’t we the lucky ones?

I did get out after dinner, Huan sent me to the gate to fetch a Taobao delivery. Well, it was for me, another two pairs of shorts, one brown and one dark blue. I have only been ordering a couple at a time just in case they get the sizes wrong and we have to return them. These were fine.

June 27^th Yet another video plan foiled by the weather. Both Huan’s phone and my PC told us that it would rain this morning. We decided that we had to go out for some fresh air and exercise anyway. Huan found an unusual bug. Unfortunately she didn’t tell me so this photo is a heavy crop from the one that she took with her phone. It is Plautia stali, aka an Oriental stink bug.

She also found a mantis but my attempts at recording it came to nothing. Being on the ball, and despite the weather, she also found a lizard.

By now the rain had begun, only a drizzle at this time. However, after this picture was taken we both had to put our umbrellas up.

During one of the gaps in the rain we found a bird.

Gaps in the rain were actually quite rare today but there were enough for a couple more photographs. It’s been a while so here are some decorations on a moped. I wonder how near you would have to get before you could take advantage of the free WiFi?

Our last two photos were taken in the rain and with my phone.

June 28^th “Let’s risk it, for a biscuit.” Those words are right at the beginning of today’s video. Yes, the weather behave itself, at least it did all morning, so we set off to make the video we’d been trying to make all week. It’s here - https://youtu.be/rQp0InoIfu4

Because of the rain we had to take a slightly longer route to the video start making sure we stayed on hard roads. My boots would have coped but Huan’s dancing shoes wouldn’t have. Her trainers are still drying on the balcony. Before long she found a lizard, of course, which I took a photo of vertically as it was on a tree. The computer decided, without asking me, that it should be horizontal, I have to say, it looks better this way.

Because of the change in the route even I had to wear a hat today. There would be quite a few stretches where tree shade would not be available.

Granny’s finger was still very busy, Sometimes she doesn’t appreciate that even with a 14-140 lens I am still not going to be able to magnify tiny birds.

Ducks and geese, on the other hand, are plenty big enough. I failed here though, I should have taken a video, they were all rushing for the gate to be fed. I tried again on the way home but I was too late, by that time they had been fed so completely ignored me. I love the swagger of the two in front and the ‘wait for me’ of the ‘tail end charlie’ coming out of the bushes.

These young ones had no worries.

I like to make panoramas now and then on our walks, they can always be used in the future as Facebook cover photos. This one’s nice as there are not too many wires in the picture.

Shortly afterwards we were on the Maodao road starting this week’s video where last week’s ended. Of course that means nothing if you are not trying to follow our travels on a map.

After our trip through Maosong village we headed back, chatting to cows on the way. By the way, this is definitely a ‘click to enlarge’ photo.

Here’s some scenery for you as we headed towards our water stop.

And here we are at our stop, or here I am along with the young lad. In the first photo he was very wary of me until I started calling for his Mum and told him he could give her the money. In the second photo he is taking the money from me. In the third photo he is, reluctantly, handing over the cash to the real boss!

How about some of those wonderful Hainan bugs again, a lovely butterfly who would not fly to a position where we could see his back but stayed beneath the flower and a cricket who stubbornly remained under a leaf. He did eventually peer over the top but this photo is fine.

The next photo almost caused fisticuffs! By now I was feeling quite tired, it had been a long walk. However, SWMBO was still finding lizards!

And as if that wasn’t enough, the granny finger was at it again pointing out miniscule little birds. Taking them all in the same photo you would have seen nothing so I took quite a few and managed to sort out these two. In the first one I didn’t spot the lower bird until I was busy on the computer. In the second photo the third bird is missing, he could be the top bird in the first.

June 29^th This weekend’s menu was pizza with salad. The pizza was already available, in the freezer, pre-cooked by Her Ladyship. All we needed therefore was the salad ingredients. We had a nice day for our market walk, the weather stayed good too. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the market to justify any photos. I think on our market day walks the camera should stay at home. Once out of the market, unusually, I found a lizard, a sleepy one. Not long after I found another one and then directly across the road from me Huan found another one.

At home I had a good look at my boots. I wasn’t wearing them today but I had been yesterday and I had noticed some pain under my heels. It looks very much as though I will have to buy yet another new pair from Taobao!

New, cheap, boots ordered and that was it, Saturday over!

June 30^th Whatever plans we had for heading out into the wilds were thrown into disarray by seeing my boots yesterday. Instead we stayed for a down the main round and back round the river walk. Let’s start today’s album with the front and rear views of one of nature’s most dangerous and successful predators.

Today was a lovely day for walking and not bad for views either.

Although our route came back by the riverside, we actually had to stick to the road.

We call this lizard walk, today we only saw two, and then not in advantageous positions.

Across the other side of the river I caught Huan trying to snap a little bird with her phone. The operative word here is little. It wasn’t tiny but it was small and far too far away for her phone, almost too far away for the camera too. This is the best I could do, here it is playing with its dinner prior to enjoying a nice protein filled beakful.

She then found a skink hiding in the bushes. If you cover up its body in the photo you might think that you were looking at a snake. Of course if it was one, I would be much further away.

A little further downriver she found another lizard, very dark in colour, except for its head and its feet. Can anybody tell us why?

Love is in the air! Well if it isn’t in the air it is definitely in the trees. In just this one tree there were little bugs going at it all over the place. There even seemed to be a queue further down the tree. Here are two of those shameless couples!

We’ll leave it there for today. There were another couple of lizards but the photo quality was not good enough for you. Back home, despite not leaving town, we found that we had done another ten kilometre walk. You know what that means don’t you? Yep, old people naps!

July 1^st Huan was busy before I even surfaced this morning, she found a balcony bug. I have no idea what all the squiggly things are, Huan had removed it after taking the photo.

On our way to the supermarket we had to stop off for Huan’s three monthly service. Here she is having her blood pressure and blood sugar tested. I didn’t bother.

From the supermarket we went to the indoor market where Huan bought her fish, enough for three days, and I caught someone trying to escape.

After lunch I left Huan to have a nap while I sneaked out, with her permission of course. I’m sure she knows that I sneak a fag in here and there but I felt today I needed one. After all, I only had four last month! Crossing the road I took some photos of the new wedding office. It opened this morning but we were too early then and I am too late now. It looks good now, much better than the one Huan and I got married in up north in Dalian.

Although I was alone I knew I had to ‘imagine’ the granny finger and the ‘look Bob!’ As you can plainly see, my imagination is good. Alternatively it could be the fear of a clip behind the ear on returning home empty handed!

This was my fag break view today; I couldn’t sit down as there were ants everywhere.

I took this next photo because, feeling a bit warm, I was looking for shade. The temperature when I left the house was 32⁰C and just after I took this photo, nearly two hours later it was still 32⁰C. (I even checked the computer when I got home; you’ve guessed it, still 32⁰C. Mind you, I don’t get too frazzled by the hot temperatures although they are the prime reason Huan stays in if I do go out after lunch.

There should have been two photos here, the rocky outcrop in the river and then Huan on the balcony. The outcrop is where I took her photo from. Unfortunately it is just too far from our balcony to get any definition on her face. Maybe if I ever learn how to properly use a camera!

So there we are, another week comes to an end. You’ll be amazed when you get older just how fast time flies. Can it really be seven days since the last post? Yep! Oh how I yearn for those Halcyon Days of my youth! (That was when all the parts were still operational!) And on that note I wish you au revoir, à bientôt! (Ooops, forgot to tell you that Thursday's dinner by Bob, was beef noodle soup, no photos.)