rice terraces in Yunnan Province

photo via here 

photo via here

photo via here

We have been studying our bike route through the Yunnan Province and are making a point to go through a few villages in Yuanyuang where we can experience these beautiful rice terraces.

Tea plantation mountain

On wednesday night Kelly, a Chinese friend of ours, came over to teach us how to cook the Chinese way.   Here is a picture of the finished product.  She knew what vegetable went with what to make the best tasted, spicy peppers with potatoes, eggs with mushrooms, the black things with mushrooms...and lots of salt !  It was a delicious dinner.   We are going to give it a try on our own this weekend.

 

Kelly didn't know how to say these in English.  They aren't mushrooms or from the sea but, they are good for your kidneys.

All the vegetables she cut into long thin strips to let in more flavor.

Little shop on the top of the mountain.  

saving money

We really like this mountain, can you tell?  July 1st, we will be heading out on our bikes and have been slowly putting money aside for the trip.  Now that the weather is nice, each weekend we will explore a new area of Wuxi that doesn't cost anything.  Next weekend, to the tea plantation with our bike bags packed!

hankerin'

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It's really been hard to hold back the urge to buy plants this time of the year.  Really hard.  In China, most people live in apartments and have very little garden space of their own so, instead of growing flowers, they grow vegetables. I love walking to school in the morning and looking at what's in season.    This time of the year, it's kale, bok choy, and white clover.         

Happy St. Patricks Day

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progress

Mark rushed around in the rain yesterday making sure this puppy had what it needed to get better.  We found out he has distemper, which can be fatal if left untreated.  He has started his round of vaccinations.  This morning we turned him over to the vet who will make sure he goes to a good home.

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This temple stands at the top of Hui Shan and is run by a small family.  They sell water , chips, and packaged chicken feet.  You can look down from the temple on one side and see Wuxi and on the other, Tai Lake.  

Exercising in China

In China people have a variety of exercises including, tree slapping, line dancing, clapping, ball balancing etc.  When we reached the top of the mountain, we found this lady hanging from the tree, doing her morning exercises.  The man had just biked up to the top of the mountain and was taking a breather.

More spring blooming wild flowers we saw on our hike up Hui Shan Mountain on tuesday.

On Mark's lunch break he stumbled upon this little dog, who was so hungry he tried to eat Mark's finger.  With no owner in sight, Mark scooped him up and brought him home. We always thought if we ever came across an animal in need, we would try to help it.  We gave him a bath to wash away the fishy smell and fed him.  He soaked up the heat from our heat lamp and went to sleep.  Next step is to get him patched up and find an owner who will take care of him.

Dragon Fruit

 Dragon fruit tastes like a kiwi but not as tart and isn't  it  beautiful!  Because the flowers bloom at night, they are pollinated by bats and moths. It grows like a vine and blooms a few times a year. I would love to see the actual plant.

first blooms of spring

When you look around Wuxi at the plants, they are all perfectly trimmed, aligned in rows. You see all the common plants, pittosporum, loropetalum, camelia, etc.  What you don't see are wildflowers, unless you visit the nearby mountain.  When Mark and I first arrived in Wuxi, a teacher Dave, took us to the mountain where tons of coreopsis were in bloom.  I had forgotten the feeling of being surrounded by nature until yesterday when we walked up to the top of the mountain passing peoples vegetable gardens and tiny wildflowers (with honey bees!).

Fresh air

The past few weekends have been so cold and rainy, we haven't been motivated to get out and do much.  This weekend the sun peeped out of the clouds (sort of) so, we headed off to a nearby mountain for a short hike.  It's amazing what a bit of nature can do for you!
About halfway up the mountain, we noticed these prayer flags and wondered if they were commemorating the monks who had died not long ago in Sichuan.