My week in Shanghai's summer.

Well, it was 8 full days really, but "a week" reads better as a heading, don't you think?

My husband was going to Shanghai on business, and I had decided to stay at home...because the summers there are reportedly very very hot, and very very humid.
To add a little spice to that, it is also the typhoon season.

But at the last minute I decided that I couldn't not go, so to China I went. And of course experienced, in 8 short days, the heat, the humidity AND a typhoon! Excitement plus!

One hot day (yes, I am repeating myself, re weather, I know) we walked through an older part of the city, and found a Taoist temple.

It was a touch of peace and serenity in the hot city.

Here are a few photos.

The main entrance to the temple complex.

In the first courtyard were people buying and burning sticks of incense.

Within the temple grounds are many smaller temples, each with a statue of Buddha.  

One of the 4 different temples arranged around this central square.

...and another.

People use the temples for quiet reflection, and/or prayer.

Photographs were not allowed inside the temples, so I cannot show you any of the Buddha statues. But they were magnificent, and some were huge.

One of the monks, a female, was watering the plants outside one of the temples.

On one side of the complex was a quiet garden with a pond, full of carp, of many colours.
The trees and shrubs in this garden also added to a feeling of relaxation.

People are sitting on the bridge, watching the carp.

It is a little difficult to appreciate the variety of colours from this photograph, but they ranged from pale white to black!

Children could buy fish food for a few yuan, and feed the fish.

The fish are obviously used to being fed.

Despite the heat of the day,  inside the grounds felt cooler...maybe the restful ambiance fooled our heat-sensitive receptors!

Whatever the explanation, the visit to the Taoist temple was a very relaxing experience.

Some interesting visitors to the farm.

Visitors to the farm? Yes, we get a few, but the ones I shall mention here are animals. (Yes, if you press the point, I know that humans are animals too, but when I say animal visitors I am sure you know what I mean)
So, yes, over the last few weeks we have had some interesting animal callers.

The Long-necked Tortoise.

We had a few days of constant rain, and lo and behold, just outside the house, a long-necked tortoise appeared.

Its shell was covered with mud and plant growth.

This shell needs a thorough clean!

...with neck extended.

When it had its neck fully extended it was about 100 cm from top to tail.....a long, long-necked tortoise.

But when it became aware of some pesky potential predator, (me, with camera) it adopted its self-protective pose, and pulled its neck into its shell....all the while giving me a Bronwyn Bishop "death stare"

...and curled into its shell. Note its staring eyes, checking me out.

I couldn't imagine where it had come from until I looked at the garden behind it.

There, amid the maiden-hair fern, was a hole about the size of my visitor.

How long it had been curled up there I have no idea.

That's the hole where the tortoise had been living....under the maiden-hair fern.

It wandered off when I wasn't watching it (it is not something you want to watch 24/7) and I have no idea where it went.  But I am glad that I saw it when it came out into the open.

The Echidna.

I have seen a few echidnas around the farm, and was lucky, one afternoon, to have my camera with me, when this fellow sauntered across our road.
It was a little fazed by my presence, and tried to hide its head once it reached the grass on the opposite verge. But then it decided that such a temporary measure was not perfect, and scurried off, on its little stumpy legs, deeper into the bush.

,

Yes, a good time to cross the road. No cars coming.

Burrowing into the nearby vegetation...to escape me.

Centipedes.

These appear quite frequently.

No,  no-one has been accidentally nipped by one. 

They really are quite lovely to see with their segmented body, and lots of legs! (one pair per segment)

This bloke was afraid of me, and tried to make itself appear insignificant!
As long as they stay OUTSIDE where they belong, I am happy to admire them.

Looks very healthy....lovely shiny exoskeleton.

Birds.

Yes, the Robins arrive every Winter. Apparently this area is the northern most boundary for their winter range. I don't spot them often over winter, but I love seeing them.

This is the female. The male's red breast is of a much brighter colour.

What an inquisitive look!

Kangaroos.

Just one of the many kangaroos which come across to the house at dusk and dawn. This one looks very young.

These are always with us.

At dawn and at dusk they come out of the nearby scrub, and into the vineyard. 

They eat rose buds, when they are in bloom, and new vine shoots when they are growing.

They graze on the grass over the winter months.

Quite often one of the females will have a joey in her pouch.

So that is a small taste of some of the wildlife visitors we see here at the farm. Enjoy!

Now it is WINTER here.

The last Blog showed the colours of Autumn in "our neck of the woods."

All of that glorious Autumn colour has gone, and the starkness of Winter is here.

And this season has its own beauty.

We have many nights of below zero degrees. The following mornings are magic.
Heavy frosts coat the ground, and any low-growing shrubs, with sparkling white.

The frost remains where the sun has not yet reached.

And you can also see frost remnants along the edges of our road.

Low clouds fill our small valley. They often hang around until mid-morning.

Visibility is low on misty mornings. The place seems magical.

The skies can be clear and blue....stunning

....or grey and threatening...but still magnificent.

The deciduous  trees are bare...having lost their Autumn leaves. Their starkness is beautiful to see, against the backdrop of the sky.

But now, half way through winter some of them are already forming buds, ready to put on their Spring greenery at the first hint of warmer temperatures.

Here is one of our Magnolia trees....the buds are forming now, and, as a bonus, the bird's nest is visible, sitting in a fork of some branches.

And a few birds visit the farm over winter. These add colour and interest.

Here is an adult Crimson Rosella, with the lighter coloured juvenile. (Platycerus elegans)

And a group (or is it a "flock"?) of Crimson Rosellas in a tree near the house.

This is a little difficult to see, but it is a Scarlet Robin.(Petroica multicolor)

I love the robins. They only come to this area in the winter months. Apparently this region is the northern most extent of their winter migration.
 Neighbours in the area all keep a look-out for the robins. And we tell one another when and where we have sighted them.   Much excitement over a very small, but beautiful, bird.

And some flowers are frost-tolerant, and grow through Winter, adding splashes of colour.

I shall finish this Blog with the following photos of the few flowers growing here over winter.
Enjoy our winter photo gallery.

Calendulas (G.Calendula) are so hardy, and so bright.

The purple of the Iris is eye-catching in the brownness of the rest of the garden.

Not much luck with our bulbs this year but the Jonquils put on a show for us.

A small growth of Pansies (Viola genus)

The violets have a deep purple colour. (Also Viola genus)

Autumn on the Granite Belt.

Back to "home" for this blog.....but I do have more of Shanghai to write about. 

Future blogs!

One of the joys I have experienced living here is that there are 4 distinct seasons.

Living in Brisbane you don't really see this.

Certainly in Brisbane  it gets "cool" in winter, but not really cold. Autumn colours don't really exist.

But here on the Granite Belt you know which season you are in.

And I love it.

Last year one of my Blogs focused on the colours of Spring.

This one will be on the colours of Autumn.
And what to show you first? Our vineyard, or the neighbour's fence line?

I'll show you both.

When we look out at the vineyard during Autumn, all the vines have lost their Spring and Summer green colour, and turned red or yellow.

And the neighbour's fence line of deciduous trees gives a lot of pleasure to passing traffic. Isn't it beautiful?

These trees are a colourful sight along Sundown Road.

And now some photos of particular plants, in their Autumn "plumage"

Pistacia chinensis   Chinese Pistachio

This Japanese Maple is just starting to change colour.

A close-up of the Japanese Maple leaves, beginning to turn.

Japanese maple.....Acer palmatum.
These leaves are well on the way to their final deep red colour.
Same tree, but  different rates of colour change.

Another Japanese Maple.  All leaves have changed colour. Isn't it a picture?

Fraxinus genus.   The Claret Ash.

The 2nd photo also shows the ground beneath the tree appearing slightly purple because of all the dropped leaves. It looked beautiful, with the purplish hue under the tree.
Then, of course, some days later,  the Westerly winds blew the ground cover away.

An Ornamental grapevine.....Vitis genus.

These are seen in a lot of local homes. Their leaves turn a deep red in Autumn.

And too, the sunsets at this time of the year are magnificent.

Here are a couple of photos.

And so I leave you with some ideas about out Granite Belt in Autumn.

Enjoy.

The streets of "old" Shanghai.

There are many new, wide, anonymous streets in Shanghai, especially in the "upgraded" section,  but I love the lus (pronounced as "loos") or old streets in the former French Concession.

People use them for anything and everything.
You can understand why.
Their homes are usually very small, and often shared with many other people, so the streets serve as an outdoor area.

Sales are conducted on the streets.

China-ware is often seen, ready for sale.

Belts, underwear, T-shirts etc etc all displayed along the footpath of this street.


Washing is dried, and aired, on the streets.
As soon as a sunny day is observed, the doonas, and washing, appears to dry, or to air. And no-one interferes with anyone else's property as far as I could tell, even though the clothes and bedding were strung out on lines along public streets or lanes.

Doonas being aired, on lines strung up between power poles.

It seems as if nothing is stolen.

Bedding out to air, and undies out to dry.

Repairs are carried out on the streets. 

This is a bicycle repair corner. Also note that washing is in the background. It's a fine day!

Although the gentleman in the foreground is blocking much of the activity (my fault, as the photographer) the man in the background, in the dark blue shirt, is repairing shoes.

Food is made and sold and consumed on the streets.

On my last day in Shanghai, on my last trip (March 2012), our family went to a favourite outdoor eating place. These are some photos of us setting up the table and small chairs (they're all small in China), and enjoying our chosen dishes, washed down with the easy-to drink light Chinese beer.

The food is freshly cooked, and so delicious. An experience not to be missed.

Hair is cut on the streets.

People beg on the streets...although I did not see many beggars.

Wedding photos are taken on the streets.

The following three photos were all taken within 300 metres, on the one street.
It was a sunny day, so there were wedding photos galore!
The couples would have been married in a typical Chinese manner weeks, or even months, before.
But then they choose to have photos taken in western wedding gear. (It is a huge industry in the cities....shops where you go and choose your outfit for the "photo day")

I snapped this poor girl in the middle of a facial contortion!

And of course, social gatherings occur on the streets.

Again, after days of cold, when the sun comes out, so do the people.
These ladies had brought their own chairs, to sit in the sun outside a shop. Lots of conversations were underway.

And Mah Jong is played a lot.
In the streets, usually.
These two games were almost adjacent.
And as well as the players, there are always many observers.

Here in Australia, with our large houses, and shops, activities become private and personal. I think that we have a colourless life in these aspects, compared with many other countries, where the streets and squares are places of social interaction.

I love wandering the streets of the "old" Shanghai.