July 1st OK darling, we can go and visit the peacocks today. Yes we have to
go on the bus. And would you believe it, I actually enjoyed it. I took a couple
of photos on the way but saved the entrance to the apartment complex to be the
‘first of the week’. The stone actually says 孔雀城, (Kǒngquè chéng) which translates as
Their sleeping enclosure was open, and right in front of the gate I spotted a little lane behind the apartment buildings. Is this where they go out to play and then come back at night?
Not only was our timing better today but the peafowl also appear to have been breeding. There were a lot more than the last time we had visited.
Huan had an ulterior motive today; she wanted us to feed the birds. The week before last I had bought some terrible (supposed) cakes to go with my afternoon coffee. They tasted awful and the texture was that of cardboard. I went along with Huan’s wishes against my better judgement!
Pigeons were aplenty too. You may wonder what they are all doing in the second photo. If you look closely you will see that they are turning left between the two trees in the top left corner of the photo. One of the maintenance ladies was in there with a big bag of corn.
Huan also had me feeding the swans. Strangely, the geese, who are out of shot here, did not want to partake of the wonderful cake at all!
The compound is quite nice, a place we wouldn’t mind living in. Mind you, I think I might try and withhold my maintenance fees if the pool wasn’t full and operational all year round!
As we left the birds seemed to be following us but the security guard said they liked to go out to play and they always came home. It would appear that they fancy the plants underneath their namesake stone as a delicacy!
We had a lovely time there and of course made a video to show you even more. You can see that by clicking here - https://youtu.be/iCyxRibJcI0
Being a little short of kilometres and long on time we had a little walk around being careful not to wander too far.
Huan’s day was made when she found what looked like a pregnant lizard.
I found another old mutt, my twin brother I suppose. However, rather than show you yet another retriever style doggie, I thought you might like to see this. Even with a huge amount of cropping it still looks good, definitely worth a click to view full screen!
Across the river for a quick look we spotted this long straight road. Does it go back home to Wuzhishan? We don’t think it does, even after checking the map at home. We will try it one day but not before we have seen the doctor in August.
Looking back towards home the weather was beginning to look ominous. As it happened, it rained while we were on the bus and again after we got home. We, and the camera, were fine.
Almost home and it was my turn again, this time I found a little juvenile. The photo has been rotated; he was going up the wall to escape from us.
Another week has begun, another day has finished. Oh how happy I am, “And they're coming to take me away, ha-ha, They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-ha, To the funny farm, Where life is beautiful all the time, And I'll be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats, And they're coming to take me away, ha-ha” Don’t worry, it’s just my musical memory, it pops up now and then!
July 2nd some local exploring was on the cards for today, well re-exploring really. I wanted to see if we could get over the hill behind Shangri-La, or perhaps even get in through the back gate. Our first find was a bird in a tree.
Things weren’t looking too good as we set off up the hill.
And then they took a turn for the
worse. The road disappeared completely which meant definitely no back gate
access. Added to that the paths we used before were completely overgrown so we
couldn’t use them either.
Down another path but not with easy access to the hill we found a new building. 花果山采摘园, Huā guǒ shān cǎizhāi yuán - Flower & Fruit Mountain Picking Garden. Maybe in the future we will try that way but it looked like it was closed today anyway.
We slummed it on the way back
downhill and went through the ‘council estate’. Having said that, jokingly I
hasten to add, it looks a darn site better than many council estates I know in
the
Huan even found a lizard while we were in there.
Next door was the ‘posh estate’; even they don’t look after the pool as they should.
I found a ‘poser’ bird in their public square.
This is one where I often mimic the loudspeaker by calling out “Dòufu nǎo”. What is it? Courtesy of Google AI - In English, doufunao (豆腐脑) is commonly known as tofu pudding or tofu brains. It refers to a soft, delicate type of tofu, sometimes described as being like a very soft custard or even brain-like in texture. It is often served in both sweet and savoury variations, depending on the region. Huan’s a fan, I’m not.
We walked across the road, through our (mostly) empty villa area and across the river to make up some distance and expend some time. More birds appeared. When Huan saw the third photo on the PC she didn’t half give it some aggro! Eating our friends indeed!
All that was left to make Huan’s day was for her to find another lizard, or two or even three!
With enough time and distance under our belts we headed home for some dumplings and another of those well earned naps. I had great difficulty opening my eyes when it was coffee time!
It was my turn in the kitchen again; I had bought some very cheap sausages so that we could finish off our terrible hot dog rolls. For a change I bunged the sausages into a pan of boiling water and then put the sliced onion in there too. It worked, I can recommend it.
July 3rd Huan suggested the countryside, being very brave (and tired) I declined and suggested a market and river walk. Luckily she agreed. On the way we passed a couple of friends who over the years have changed their tune. They always refused to come out and say hello, sometimes growled at me as well. All that has changed now and they even get jealous of each other.
Looking for squirrels and/or birds all we found was a very lively butterfly.
Seeing this on a car I thought it referred to our little island of
We saw some more of yesterday’s posing birds, no need for them today I suppose. Let’s instead go to another couple of canine companions. These two have always been friends. First I am saying hello to Douding and then saying hello to Douhua. During the second hello Douding started a little howl so I joined in, almost teaching them what to do!
Next we have a gosling. What is he/she thinking while looking at that piece of cabbage?
We must show you some of our local scenery again, we never tire of it.
We have never found a squirrel on this road before but Huan found one today. They are not easy to photograph, they move so fast. They do sometimes stop to nibble on fruit though and we were lucky enough today that this one did that and did not see me peering though the branches.
Despite me not agreeing to the countryside walk Huan was happy enough. In her role as the Minister of Finance she wanted to check the bank and see if our tenant in Ledong had transferred the rent money to her account. He had. Interestingly this is all done by phone here.
Love is like a butterfly, so soft and gentle as a sigh. Extra points for recognising the song and the TV series. My love made me take a photo of this one; I wish I could have got lower. It’s not obvious from the photo but it was having a sip of water at the time.
Over Pooh Sticks bridge we went but without playing today.
Trying not to disobey the doctor too much we crossed via the dam to shorten the distance home. Our side does not have the same art as the other side. Instead it has山顶见, Shāndǐng jiàn – See you at the top, or see you at the summit. Do you think they could be referring to those stairs you can see on both sides? At least they came at the end of our walk.
Today I was back in the kitchen again, yes Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for me this week. Noodles were on the menu for today, with hot-pot lamb strips, long onion, carrot, celery and garlic. I forgot the ginger! This one is Huan’s; I had broken one of my eggs while shelling it so mine wasn’t so photogenic. When we visit hot-pot restaurants we often have some kind of nut or seed paste, usually sesame I think. I decided to try some peanut butter in my bowl and it worked very well. Even Huan put a touch in hers.
July 4th Inclement weather inhibited the indigenous inhabitants ability to be itinerant! In other words we stayed in all day because of the weather but did manage a trip out after dinner to buy the lovely belly pork for this weekend’s salad. We also popped into Baijiahui to by some toasting bread so that I can use an old tin of beans for our lunch tomorrow. Huan was trying her hardest to get a photo somewhere; she managed here when I was recovering the pork after buying the bread. Why are my side profile photos always so flattering?
July 5th “On market day, market day, Folks are out to work and play, On market day, market day, Hooray for market day. Early in the morning, the farmers come to town, With foods they've grown to sell by the box and by the pound, They tend their stalls, make them nice for those who wait in line, And families soon gather round to see what they can find!” If you want to read or sing the rest you will have to Google Raffi. It’s very heart-warming seeing him playing to a theatre full of children, the innocence and the joy. Why are those lyrics here? Because it is our market day of course, Saturday, and all the farmers have come to town. First though, a bird.
And then the busy market with all those farmers and people gathered around.
Here are two little boys wanting to pet the birdies!
The Minister of Procurement was busy with her camera today. This stall is selling some kind of Li mountain alcohol medicine, presumably not for drinking by the looks of the second chap.
Saturday is not normally a day for lizards but Huan found two today.
On our way home we bumped into our little gentleman again. He greeted us with a loud hello, followed by a salute and then a high five. The first picture is over lightened so that you can see his proud father sitting in the three wheeler behind.
And then finally, it was my turn!
And that was our market day, very enjoyable as always. At home of course, after lunch, naps were needed. If any other old fogeys are reading this please tell us if this is normal.
July 6th Huan fancied a trip to the mansions on the hill today, near enough to fall within doctor’s orders so I didn’t argue. We set off first along the irrigation canal, it was a hot day.
Creatures were abundant, especially butterflies. Somehow I got a very strange angle on this one. The millipede was easier, he wasn’t moving quite as fast as the flier.
Huan insisted that this odd creature was also featured!
And then I found another two butterflies, one easy and one very difficult.
Onwards we went, enjoying the thrill of the crowds, as always.
Some art appeared on the roadside, just for you.
Soon, behind the mansions, we crossed the irrigation canal.
With the rain yesterday afternoon and evening, the going was tough at times.
Heading towards the cow compound I gave them a ‘moo’, they all came to the gate to see me. They probably thought I was going to let them out! Huan took far too many photos, I was a little worried that she would actually get of the cows licking me. Luckily I avoided that fate, the lick and the photo. Finally I had to say good bye to them all.
To avoid the worst of the sun we headed back through our local village, and passed by one of my favourite little caves. This has been here for at least the ten years that we have. I never get too close just in case some kind of Hissing Sid has made it his home. There is a strange blue creature in there today, it only appeared in this one shot and we didn’t notice it until we uploaded the photos at home.
Finally, a nice view downriver and over the mountains for you. End of Sunday!
July 7th It seems like only yesterday that I was talking about rainy days and Mondays, has it really been a week. Whatever, Monday came around again and so as not to be left out the rain decided to do the same. Luckily it was a shopping day. I couldn’t find everything on the list but I did find all that was needed for today, or acceptable substitutes anyway.
Today, after our now very routine nap, it was my turn in the kitchen again. Some of you with elephantine memories may well remember that I have cooked this before. Dill was still unavailable so I used the leaves off the top of celery instead. Chicken tenders seem to be an American thing so chicken breast would have to do us. I don’t believe in garlic salt but I do believe in garlic so substitution was easy! The main reason for cooking this was that we still had some whipping cream in the fridge that needed to be used. We both enjoyed it, very muchly, but there are no photos except for the recipe.
Dinner finished and we had to go out again. Tomorrow’s recipe calls for bean sprouts which we have, they can’t really be kept for very long. What was missing was shrimps and extra firm tofu, Baijiahui only had frozen shrimps and was out of the tofu today. Off to the market we went.
With the shopping all done we headed back home, on the way I stopped to talk to a couple of budgies. While doing so an old friend decided to pop out and say hello. In the first photo he is looking at Huan, the second photo is his true love!
Back home it was time for me to update the Blog while Huan got busy in the kitchen. First she cleaned up my shrimps for me, for tomorrow. Secondly she got into devil mode and cooked a pile of dumplings with which to tempt me! Whenever I use spring onions and I don’t need the green parts Huan uses them to make dumplings, sometimes with egg, sometimes with minced meat. Today’s will be the latter, I will no doubt sneak too many!
With that, and a great big burp of appreciation, I will say tatty bye for now, see you next time.
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