Reunion Dinner
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Posted:Feb 6, 2011 11:47 pm
Last Updated:Jul 23, 2012 8:55 am 2383 Views
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The reunion dinner is of the utmost importance during the Chinese New Year. Millions of Chinese all over the world travel up to thousands of miles by car, train, sea and air to attend this dinner at home on New Year’s Eve when the whole family sit down to feast and to renew family ties.
For our and us, the New Year passed too soon and they are leaving home once more. We watch until their car turns the corner.
thoughts
leave me lonely again -
longing
Lee
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3
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Foto Friday - Macro
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Posted:Feb 3, 2011 9:30 pm
Last Updated:Feb 6, 2011 9:01 pm 2828 Views
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Clockwise from top-left is
1. The red Canna flower found in my garden. I also like the pink and the yellow Canna.
2. The Jacaranda flower that blocked my path one morning at the Lake Garden. The blooming Jacaranda tree looks fantastic when the blue flowers cover the whole tree with nary a leaf in sight.
3. The African Tulip with orange-red bell shaped blossoms at the Lake Garden. This tree can grow very tall and is a sight to behold when in bloom.
4. Bauhinia kockiana clusters of yellow-orange-red inflorescences in my garden. The flowers bloom all year round and is a favourite garden plant here.
Lee
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Bird Stories
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Posted:Jan 27, 2011 7:23 pm
Last Updated:Jan 20, 2013 5:51 am 2658 Views
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Woodpecker by TanEric Canadian ducks by vaughaag
Today I saw the woodpecker again. I recognized it by the red plumage on the head and the yellow wings. It peered at me quizzically from the branch of the Rain Tree above with dark eyebrows raised as if saying, “Oh, it is you again.” I had last seen it pecking away at one of the Royal Palms in the thicket nearby from which it flew. It tried to look nonchalant but I knew that it was nervous. I also knew that it had deliberately revealed itself to me to distract me from the thicket of Royal Palms where its nest was.
I am sorry Mrs. Woodpecker but I was wise to your trick but do not worry, your secret is safe with me. I will not tell a soul about your nest. What am I doing here so often? Oh, this pathway is part of my morning walk in the Lake Garden.
This encounter reminds me of the pair of Canadian ducks in a park at Coquitlam, Vancouver, Canada. Back in early 1990, I had promised them that I would return to see them someday but twenty one years have already passed by. I intend to fulfil my promise but I worry whether they will still be able to recognize me. I have put on a few pounds, my hair has turned grey and the more and deeper wrinkles on my face have given me that craggy look. You know, like Charles Bronson.
However, I am sure I will recognize them. Back then, there were just the two of them in the lake at the park but if I were to return now, I expect to hear the soft flapping of little wings as the young ones follow them around like in a flotilla. I really look forward to seeing them again.
A promise is a promise and it has to be kept so I must return to the park at Coquitlam and, I must also ask you to promise not to tell anybody about the woodpecker’s nest located in the thicket of Royal Palms right in front of the nursery and beside the lotus pond at the Taiping Lake Garden.
Lee
Note:
1. The above episode happened some time ago. Mrs. Woodpecker and her have since left the nest for places unknown.
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Foto Friday - Wheels ( Car Thief )
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Posted:Jan 13, 2011 8:11 am
Last Updated:Jan 15, 2011 2:03 pm 2755 Views
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On Saturday, the 7th of March 2009, my , Siu Wei, and I went for a hike along the Hilltop Walk situated at the top of Telok Blangah Hill in Singapore. As we passed a car park, we heard a strange tapping sound and, on investigation, we found out that the sound was due to a white-headed woodpecker trying to break into a car!
I could not understand why it would want to steal a set of wheels when it could simply fly to its destination. I mean what if it got stopped by the police? In Singapore, driving without a licence is a serious offence.
Lee
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Do you know the name of this flower?
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Posted:Jan 11, 2011 1:10 am
Last Updated:Jan 22, 2011 5:35 pm 3791 Views
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Just like there is the Christmas tree, there is also a tree to celebrate the Chinese New Year – the plum tree. This is because the Chinese New Year actually celebrates the advent of spring. The plum tree cannot be found in hot and humid Malaysia so we have to do the next best thing; we create one. Every year we would strip a small tree of all its leaves and then decorate it with plastic pink and white plum blossoms.
As the Chinese New year is just around the corner, I was chopping down a branchy "catapult" tree at the edge of a forest the other day when I spotted this flower.
I had not noticed it at first because it resembles the purple flower of the "catapult" tree, although slightly bigger, until I saw the two green hairy elongated globes behind it. This is the first time that I have come across this flower and I was intrigued. Upon further examination, I found a darkened and split mature globule with tiny seeds further down the branch and realized that the hairy globules are actually the fruits. I have now planted the seeds and hopefully, they will germinate. Now, maybe someone can tell me its name.
Lee
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a tear falls
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Posted:Dec 19, 2010 9:20 pm
Last Updated:Jan 6, 2011 7:10 pm 2547 Views
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Photo from Photobucket
a tear falls
frozen in midair
by your coldness
Lee
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5
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Photo Friday - My Favourite Holiday Photos
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Posted:Dec 17, 2010 12:00 am
Last Updated:Dec 19, 2010 5:01 am 2467 Views
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We visited Beijing (formerly known as Peking) in China in April 2006. It was spring and the beautiful blossoms of the plum, peach and magnolia were in full bloom. The first places that we visited were the Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. They were large and it took us a few hours to cover these two places. Next we took a rickshaw ride through Beijing’s Hutong which is a neighbourhood of narrow streets surrounding the Forbidden City. The Hutong gave us a glimpse of how ordinary people live. That night, and for a few nights more, we feasted on Peking Duck. To me, Beijing’s Peking Duck is the best that I have ever tasted!
And then, it was to the Great Wall! We went to the Badaling Section of The Wall which is said to be the easiest to climb. While up The Wall and looking down at the barren rolling hills below on the outside, I suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. I felt as if I was back among my comrades defending The Wall against the Mongolian hordes and I joyfully shouted out to them, “I have returned!” (in Chinese, of course). My wife and were startled but not surprised; they know that I can be strange at times. However, the other sightseers seem to keep their distance after that.
Lee
p.s. And I don’t believe in reincarnation.
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To Ben and Sandy - My Photo Friday (Favourite Holiday Photos)
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Posted:Dec 9, 2010 9:04 am
Last Updated:Dec 14, 2010 8:53 pm 2500 Views
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The photos are of the “Kecak and Fire Dance” that we watched at a place called Uluwatu in Bali in November 2008. It was performed in the evening at an open-air theatre above a sheer cliff high above and overlooking the Indian Ocean and close to the famed Uluwatu Temple.
Accompanied by a choir of chanting and singing men dressed in sarongs, the dance around a fire tells the story of how Rama defeated the evil Rhawana to rescue his love, Sita. It was an enchanting evening as night quickly fell and the moon and the stars came out to watch the dance too!
This holiday is my favourite because it was the very first time that my family (the and us) went on an overseas trip together.
Lee
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huddled in the cold
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Posted:Dec 6, 2010 5:15 am
Last Updated:Jan 27, 2011 7:18 pm 2393 Views
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Photo by kellied263
huddled in the cold
beyond the glare of neon lights
a forlorn Christmas
Lee
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A stroll hand in hand
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Posted:Nov 5, 2010 10:30 pm
Last Updated:Nov 20, 2010 8:07 am 2510 Views
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Kyoto, Nov 2009. Pic by Lee Swee Wei.
a stroll hand in hand
in cold desolate autumn
your soulmate and you
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