skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Saw these in lots of places in New Taipei, though not in this great a concentration. They have pink ones also, as will be seen in tomorrow's post.
When I think of flowers I can't help but remember a friend in Beaumont by the name of Javid Jalali, an Iranian. It was during our senior year at BCP when this fellow decided to exercise his sense of humor by showing up at the door of his prom date with a bouquet of flowers. The comic element in this saga was that they were dried and wilted! Ha ha. Said it was not received well, and from that moment nothing went as planned...
But nice fresh flowers for a girl are one of the best things you can do, and I've relied on that ol' standby for 31 years and have never regretted it.
I'll be posting the flower pics all in a stream of posts together - about a dozen - then will explore some of the other elements of this magnificent garden. In many cases the flowers appear to have been planted in places where they can be enjoyed against a contrasting background, great for photography. The end result is what I consider one of the better flower series in this blog so far.
As an overview, this is a panorama taken from within the garden, next to the walled-in stream that makes up its western border. I'm not a superfan of postcard-ish pictures, but could not help but snap pic after pic of the unique flowers and scenic elements which were built into the property. What you'll see in this series was captured on two separate hikes to the location...
Not many people know this, but there is Taipei and a separate municipality called New Taipei City to its east. My sister-in-law's family owns an apartment in New Taipei right next to the Ming Chi University of Technology. This is a great location while in the Taipei area due to its proximity to good public transportation and some neat things to see nearby. For example, it is a very short distance to a large Temple for pictures, and from there a steep hike up a hill where Taipei stands visible in the distance (on a relatively smog-free day). Pictures of what can be seen on that hike have been posted from a previous trip.
Something that has recently been developed adjacent to this path is a beautifully manicured garden area that we hadn't seen before. When this view opened up to us no more than a hundred feet from the main path we were amazed. Naturally the Bigger Cahoona and I sprung into action, capturing the layout of this garden through the surrounding trees. Later research revealed that the exact location is 25.044600 N, 121.423189E.
So I close the series with this, one of the more clever displays of statuary that I've seen. This was a rare and awesome day to take pictures at the Taipei Zoo; the temperature remained perfect despite the time of year, the clouds stayed overhead which kept the light even, and the gentle breeze from a leftover front kept the bugs away. I am thankful for the experience.
Next stop - the environs around my sister-in-law's house in Taipei, where we stayed while in that city.
Don't know what this is but was attracted to the shiny knobs on what I guess is the fruit. Focused and photographed well so here it is...
Since he was so sedentary I stood in place for a bit capturing his mood and expressions. Was able to get these four as keepers, each of which could generate its own set of questions as to what's going on in the mind of this distant cousin of ours...
Equally as interesting is watching the wizened adults doing their thing at play and at times of rest. Seems this guy is on a favorite perch just watching the world go by. Lots of questions here, too. Is he actually thinking and analyzing what he sees? (probably) Is he content just sitting there? (looks like it) Does he realize that the swarm of people passing by every day are very similar to him? (maybe) What does he think about all the colors, clothes and jewelry on those people? (likely provides interest) Does he recognize visitors who come by regularly? (possibly) The questions can go on and on...
_______________
As interesting as these guys are, and as calm and peaceful as they may seem in these moments, they are vicious creatures that will rip your face off, as one literally did here in the Houston area a few years ago to a lady that supposedly was its friend. Rare is the wild animal that can be tamed to the point of domestication once it becomes an adult.
When our daughter Allison was in Girl Scouts we had a friend-of-a-friend that owned a couple of capuchins. They were a necessary part of her livelihood, as she was a clown and had trained them as part of her act doing birthday parties and the like. We had an opportunity to go to her house to interact with these monkeys, which she housed in converted bedrooms so they'd have plenty of room to do their monkey things, and I was excited at the prospect. But at the end of the day we just could not do it. Though they were relatively small they are still wild creatures and all it takes is just once and your daughter could lose her eyes or worse. So that one didn't make its way into the memory bank, saving deposits for more practical and safe adventures.
Very interesting to watch one of these youngsters when they're off on their own at play. What captures their interest? How long is the attention span? Do the parents seem alarmed when they're dangling upside down ten feet above the ground? Are they having fun? What is going on behind those eyes? I'd love to bring a chair one day, park myself in a good spot, and just watch (and take pictures of course) for several hours instead of just in passing...
