June
5 June
The lychee tree outside our front gate is absolutely laden with
ripening fruit. The clusters of round, pale green lychees are slowly
turning into shades of pink. I love to watch the response of people
passing by, they regularly stop to look at the fruit and take a photo.
One young boy plucks off a lychee but it will probably be a sour treat at this stage. There is a feeling of anticipation by everyone who passes by.
7 June
We’ve had some wonderful rain after an extended dry time and the
waterfall is responsively flowing again. The falls are white with the
falling water and even the second waterfall on the right is flowing
now, it only flows if there’s been enough rainfall.
On the way home I stop to look at a tree covered with frilly pale purple flowers, a Queen's crepe myrtle tree, Lagerstroemia speciosa. I love this tree as it was in bloom when we came here in the summer that I realised that we might move to Mui Wo. In those days, we were unsure if our three month trip would turn into a more permanent move and we were exploring Mui Wo with all the uncertainty and excitement of finding out if this little village would become our next home. One image that stayed with me during our first early exploratory walks was this tree in flower.
Today the petals are speckled with raindrops and everything is drenched. The centers of the soft lilac flowers are bright gold. When the flowers begin to fade, the golden stamens disappear and sag to a mass of pink tendrils. The seed pods are also beautiful. They are carefully sculptured cups in pink and green.
I notice an ingenious Bagworm moth cocoon hanging from a branch. It looks like it’s been crafted from little sticks, a cocooned log cabin.
On another cluster of seed pods lies a little white and green spider who has caught a pale blue insect with iridescent wings and is enjoying her lunch.
Then I see a small dark wasp with pale yellow stripes. This wasp has had enough of the damp weather and taken refuge under a leaf. Even though it’s not raining at the moment, she knows more rain is coming and she’s not moving anytime soon.
All along another branch are a line of brown moths, grasping firmly onto the center branch. And finally, another wasp, beautifully striped in yellow, orange and brown explores the new reddish leaves, shiny and glowing. This one small tree is bustling with life.
9 June
As soon as there’s been a fresh downpour, I head for the contour
path that skirts the side of Sunset Peak. It’s a trail full to bursting of
waterfalls right after the rain.
There are two particular favourites of mine. One overflows the stepping stone path and gushes over my feet. The water is cool and refreshing. The other waterfall I love is further along the path and flows into a small pool which is just perfect for a dip to cool off as it’s typically extremely hot and humid. The sky is full of dark clouds and there’s a break in the rain so there’s a bright blue sky peeping through them.
I stop to enjoy the view and a striking ray of sunshine irradiates the
sea to fresh silver. All the mountain side is glistening wet and green. I can almost see the new growth as the plants respond to such a gorgeous soaking. The air is bright and clear.
There is a Pavetta hongkongensis tree which has jasmine-like flowers on extremely long stems and even longer white stamens. A Paris Peacock butterfly, Papilio paris, is thoroughly enjoying the nectar.
Every waterfall I pass has it’s own personality, each rock, plant, fern
and gully crafts the art of the rushing water. One waterfall has a view of the hilltop overlooking Pui O bay and I can see the curving
coastline.
An extremely furry black and grey Macrobrochis gigas caterpillar
inches across a rock. The common melastoma and rose myrtles are
in bloom. This one is cerise pink and has specks of pollen on its
stamens like golden 100's and 1000's.
11 June
I tasted the first ripe lychee from the tree by the gate. It was delicious! The peel revealed an extremely juicy, white fruit. Divine!
​
13 June
It’s raining galoshes at the moment. There’s a steady roar of the
falling water. My palm tree is dripping and water is streaming down
its trunk. A cyclist passes by, shielded by a light purple umbrella.
16 June
Jemima, Scotty and I are doing the Lucky 8 route today. Our route
takes us over Sunset Peak, around the back of Lantau Peak to Ngong Ping where we’ll restock our water, then over Lantau Peak and back to Mui Wo along the Contour path in a figure of eight. The morning starts cool and overcast.
I notice one of the iridescent beetles of Lantau on the track. Its chocolate brown head and perfect center stripe contrasts beautifully with the teal blue wing cases which are so shiny, I can see the reflection of my phone in them. The local gardens leading up to Ngong Ping are lined with large dramatic pink flowers, some kind of bulb, judging from their sheaf like leaves.
After our water stop, Scotty leaves, heading down to Tai O or Tung
Chung and Jemima and I head towards Lantau Peak. Everything is
vibrant and shimmering and the sun has come out now. We stop at
my favourite waterfall to immerse ourselves in the cool mountain
water. When I return home, I can’t drink enough, I’m so thirsty. I feel a tickle and discover a flamboyantly spiky caterpillar crawling up my back. It's a Limenitis sulpitia caterpillar. I must have picked him up on the path. It’s covered with pinky-red spikes which are full of bristles. A yellow stripe lines its entire bright green body. Extremely large eyes are tipped by two short black antennae. I release him outside carefully, I hope there’s something that he likes to eat nearby.
21 June
There are some days that give more than you expect of wonder.
Today I went for a run up to Tigers Head. This is a favourite run of
mine. Passing through tall, jungly trees and then ascending up the
hills to expansive views to north and south. The sea, islands and
mainland on the one side and the islands and skyscrapers of the
bustling city of Hong Kong Island on the other.
A butterfly catches my eye. It was resting on the rough brown bark of a large tree. With its wings shut, it was the perfect picture of a dried up leaf, but when it opened its wings it was a magnificent midnight blue with sky blue scallops and delicately dotted wings. A Blue Admiral, a joy of the butterfly world.
Hiking up a steep section of the trail, my eye is again caught, not this time by the supreme art of camouflage, but by the joyful rainbow brightness of a little bee enjoying the nectar of a Common
Melastoma flower. I had to look twice, not quite believing my eyes. I never knew about the existence of a rainbow bee.
Each stripe, instead of being the typical yellow, was a different colour. The colours were so vibrant , they appeared luminous. Lime green, turquoise, deep royal purple and ending with bright magenta, the bee was perfectly framed by the heady purple, pinks and buttercup yellow of the flower. His little pollen sacks and body were dusted and packed with pale pollen.
Tigers Head has a very satisfying peak to arrive at. I like to pause for a while and appreciate the view of the steeply descending slopes leading down to Discovery Bay and a shining sea.
23 June
I performed in a percussion band this afternoon on Hong Kong Island. It was fun and exciting and back on the ferry as it nears Mui Wo Wharf, I’m struck by the peaceful scene of blue out of my window.
The dusk is setting in. The sky, mountains, clouds and sea are all
various shades of blue. Light blue, ice blue, midnight blue, navy blue. I always feel a sense of homecoming, rest and tranquility when I return to Mui Wo.
24 June
I was delighted to find a little Changeable lizard in my garden today. It sat on my step and allowed me to get quite close to it, watching me with its large dark eye. It has beautiful markings, pale yellow and brown with striking rays around its eyes like a little dark sun. He soon scuttled into my azalea and into the safety of the garden pots.
29 June
This summer has been one of my happiest. I’ve loved the hot
humidity. I feel part reptilian in how much I’ve enjoyed the heat,
soaking up the sun.
Sitting outside on the ferry, homeward bound, the air is warm and enveloping and the sky is luminous pink flushed with sunset rays. There’s a turquoise fishing boat with its nets out. A fisherman in a smaller boat, smacks the water with an oar, scaring the fish towards the net.
30 June
There is a section on the coastal track that descends towards the
sea. It is always damp and is a favourite haunt of the little red crabs
that scuttle away as I dash past. But today as I rounded a corner, a
snake, who was happily making its way along the path was just as
surprised as I was and threw itself off the track and slithered away
down into the underbrush.
The buffalo were fast asleep, huddled companionably in their muddy hollow.
The golden orb spiders, Nephila pilipes, are getting to their full adult size. These are giants of the spider world. The females grow as big as 20 cm and spin large webs of golden silk which are extremely strong. If you run into one, it can be strong enough to stop you in your tracks and cover your face and body with sticky web. They are not highly venomous to humans and seldom bite, but it is a bit disconcerting to have one hanging from the peak of your hat if you run into their web. The male is tiny in comparison.
One spider with a striking yellow head is framed against the blue of the sky, the tiny male is sitting on the web, a safe distance away from the female.
