My Brother's Dog

I went back to Sarikei old home last month, my brother told me that the dog had gone, nowhere to be found. 
Either he was kidnapped or killed and buried hastily after knocked down by a vehicle. He had been limping since two months ago, probably also knocked down by vehicle too. He was just eight months old.
Condolence, his baby cuteness is remembered.

Reddish Brown Dragonfly

But I am not afraid of hot sunlight!
This dragonfly seems to enjoy resting on a grass under the sun. How long can it stand the heat ?

Golden Dragonfly

Even the dragonfly finds difficulty to rest on the plants under hot sun, how the plants can withstand the heat for the whole day?
This dragonfly finds resting on the wall away from direct sunlight is more comfortable.

Asystasia chelonoides

The plant can be very attractive when dozens of flowers open up at the same time. These small violet flowers would move in the wind, as if trying to greet you!

Red Daisy Flower

I  could not recall when did I spread the seeds in front of the hill pavilion in the farm. But the appearance of the red flower among the tall grass certainly is pleasing. 

Hot Sun and the Myna

The bird has to hide on the other side of the roof in order to avoid hot sun, smart of it ! 
Yesterday, I climbed onto the roof, the roof tiles were so hot that, I have to run and later used a pair of slippers to prevent my skin got burnt! I wonder whether the thick skin of the bird feet can feel it.

Pomelo Tree and the Salt

My Pomelo tree is not sweet at all, slightly bitter, sour but juicy. My auntie says by feeding the tree with salt, the fruits will become sweet. What is the chemistry behind such treatment, I wonder?
Salt is just sodium chloride, I have not heard Pomelo trees growing well at the sea side subject to tide. It only grows well at the hilly land. Are we inducing the plant to change chemical reactions by causing it to suffer, as salt can be harmful to many living cells?

Let's wait for the next batch of Pomelo fruits.

False Shamrock (Oxalis triangularis)

It seems the end of the road for this plant in my garden. Only a small shoot left. Perhaps, when the raining season comes, it will spring out again. Gone are the days of counting the stems and admiring its violet fighter plane leaves.

Rare Bird- Long Tailed Shrike

It is always alone and I can meet this bird only a few times per year in the Friendship Park, alone all the time. Its striking appearance is its long tail, broad head and yellow belly. It rest on the high light post or tree branch.

Drain Water Conditions and People Mentality

The flowing water is clear, and there are hundreds of small fish swimming around. The drain water in front of my house is not polluted, thanks to the residents of the upper stream of drain, for not dumping everything into the drain. This is often related to the wealth and education of the residents. Those residents are all well-to-do tycoons owing half acre land and detached houses. Opposite the road, the houses are single storey terrace, and the drain water is grey. Some residents like to throw the rubbish everywhere.
From the drain water conditions, you can also conclude the general mentality and wealth of the residents.

Water Apple Tree

The water apple tree also blossoms heavily, and my backyard begins to experience snowing again, this is the second time in the last four months. 
In the beginning, it was once a year, then twice a year, now twice within four months. 
Is it climate change or the tree is getting old, behaving weirdly?

Balancing the Nature- Jasmine Flowers

The weather is so hot, the air is warm, dry and smells awful. Most plants also look so dehydrated. 
But luckily the heat induces the jasmine flowers to blossom amazingly. Far away, I can smell its fragrance and admire its flowers, boosting my low spirit. 
Thanks Nature to balance the environment! 

The Blue Sky

This is the sky we are having now, blue, dull blue, grouchy blue. 
No bird likes to fly under this sky, hot sky!

The Fall of Zephyr Plants

A few days ago, the plants are still okay, every one praising and taking photos, for standing TALL with a lot of flowers! 
Today it has become flattened, and hardly any flower? The piercing sun light has damaged its flexibility and the lack of water has weakened the plants. 
Heat is still the chief enemy of most living things on Earth.

Hot Hot June

Why the sun was so hot for the last three days? I could feel the sunlight piercing through my skin. So, I took umbrella for my walking exercise even at 9.00am in the morning.
During June, the Earth northern hemisphere is tilting towards the sun and is it also nearer to the sun due to the elliptical orbit around the sun? Or, sun flares occurred again?

Brown and Black Cricket

It does not have distinct hairy legs. Its body appears softer and rounder. This cricket crawls on my plastic sheet in the farm from nowhere. 
Some people like to eat crickets by frying, would you? This one seem fatty!

Fishtail heliconia (heliconia rostrata)

The problem with these plants is they can grow so tall and thick that you won't know what is hiding inside. It may become a security risk in a Park.

Flowering time of Zephyr Plants

Never mind about the hot sun and the extreme heat these few days, the zephyr flowers bloomed well since a week ago. 
Sometimes, extreme harsh conditions make you perform extraordinarily, just like these plants.

Elephant Apple (Dillenia suffiticosa)

Season of  bright yellow flowers again, plenty of them near my farm. Plenty of unripe fruits too and soon they will be ripe, open up to expose the reddish flesh and seeds.
But I don't see them resemble apples, why this plant is called elephant apple?

Hill Pineapple

This pineapple does not grow on the swamp or wetlands. It can be grown on the dry land and among the oil palm plantation. It costs RM7 at Sarikei. It is generally juicy.

Pavilion in my Forest Farm

Slowly, the forest opens up, consequence of my interference in Nature. Can you see the little pavilion among the greens up the hill? That is where I view the surrounding hills, forest and ponds.

White Wood Fungi

They just grow up naturally. Once the tree falls, they flourish, no need to seed, not need to feed, they feed upon the dead fibres. That is NATURE!!

Liana Vines

Every time I encounter this type of vegetation, I do not feel like to continue! The vines will need a lot of effort to cut and those on the tree tops will fall down only after a few months. 
My farm has so much of this vegetation which has slowed down my clearing!

Pink Trumpet Flowers

The plant stem terminals are full of flower buds and stems, but where are the leaves? This unique plant has many thin stems and knots.

The Aggressive Red Ants

Thousands of red ants march along the tree trunk. At this moment, we have no fear of them, because they are too small.
But if one day, they are mutated and the size become bigger than human, it will be human's calamity. Just that little size, the bite is painful enough for you to frown, what will happen if it is 1000 times bigger, you imagine!

Dark Brown Pied Fantail Bird

I was surprised by its insistence to stay near the rubbish bin at a back lane behind my office, despite seeing me. Most birds would fly away upon seeing humans. 
It just hovers around the rubbish bin. Poor thing, it does look starved. When you are hungry, there is not much pride and fear, only how to fill up the stomach.

The Grasshopper and the Devil Flower

"Are you sure you want to eat this flower? Full of poison, Man!"
How is the insect going to detect the flower is dangerous or poisonous ? 
Perhaps by just looking at the shape, the colour and by smelling, this angel flower cannot be eaten.

White Egrets

Why are they staring at each other ? Cannot be falling love, one is matured and the other is small. 
Like statues, they stood there for more than ten minutes. Not the feeding time, the fish do not come out to the surface, the egrets do not possess the intelligence to assess the situation, so it is blind hunting.

Window to Beautiful Scene in My Farm

Nothing comes free. 
After clearing the trees and bushes a year ago to open up a window of beautiful scene, the area was covered with tall grass and young trees. I managed to clear off the small trees again last month in order to see the green ponds again without much obstruction.
This is the problem of tropical climate, every plant competes to grow faster because of the whole year sunshine! The poor farmer has to do extra works to clear off the unwanted weeds which suck away the nutrients from the main crops.

My Favourite Hibiscus Flower- Smooth Orangey Red

Can you see the differences between these two hibiscus flowers? One of them is my favourite flower, unfortunately, has been extinct from my garden. 
But never mind, I bought two more plants at RM8 each in Sarikei and planted in my farm. Soon, I will have this orangey red flower back.

Lovely White breasted Water-hen

I like this little bird hanging around the drain outside my house every morning. It is so cute and lovely. It feeds on the fish in the drain as well worms/insects on the ground. It lives in the bushes and has been with us for at least fifteen years. Sometimes, the mother water-hen would bring four or five little totally black chicks looking for food.

Python tree trunk

It you do not look carefully, you may think that it is a well fed python, with similar skin pattern! 
Well, fortunately it is not the huge snake which turns round the victim and squeeze it to death before swallowing it.
Python needs food, small goats, piglets, chicken, etc., so if you do not reared such animals, it has no food and not likely to come. But in the forest, you just have to be aware and alert, anything can happen, do not take for granted! A weapon is a must.

Collecting Rubbish in Kuching

Kuching in the past was famous for it cleanliness. Unfortunately following privatisation of collecting rubbish, cleanliness has become history. 
This pile of rubbish is at the back lane of my office and has been there for months. What are the Authorities doing?

Honey Orange

Honey Orange costs RM8 per kilo at Lachau.
The sale-lady exhibited one sample on the stall, cut cross-section, showing orange juicy flesh and appeared delicious. I was certainly attracted. I asked her whether the oranges on the stall were a bit over- ripe with orange skin and appeared hard. She said no problem, in fact would taste better.
I bought two kilograms, there were some quite nice as advertised but there were many too,  dry and juice-less. The flesh of these lousy oranges was white and hardly edible. I have to throw away.
So, don't ever choose over-ripe or hard oranges!

Twinkle twinkle Little Stars

It was about 8.00pm two weeks ago at Sarikei, the night was clear and with good weather. I saw three "stars" hanging in the sky, with different brightnesses. I snapped a few shots out of it. Well, without a stand and long exposure, no expectation of good pictures. The results turned out to be comical, different forms of light being picked up!

Wild Banana Plants

They just grew up between the planted fruit trees and finally bear flowers and fruits.  But the bunches of bananas which I harvested did not turn ripe or became edible. I cut down most of the plants as they block the sunlight away from the fruit trees and occupy space. 
Actually the leaves can be sold for RM10 per kilo for packing char kui tiaw and making bankan, a type of local food.

Sarikei Pineapples

It used to be cheap and plentiful, to buy pineapples from Sarikei, after all it is an Pineapple town.
Sad to say, you won't be able to buy pineapples during the weekdays now, only week ends are available and expensive.

The other day I asked for the price of one medium sized pineapple, the lady seller said RM4, I chose two bigger ones and two medium ones. She charged me RM32, RM8 for each! I was in a hurry to leave Sarikei and did not bother to bargain. Only when I reached Kuching, I realised I was taken a ride. 

Another time I asked another seller where the pineapples actually came from, he told me from Kapong, which is about 150km away. 
So, where are Sarikei's famed pineapples?

Wild Petunia (Ruellia ciliosa) Flower 

It looks lonely, yet determines to show off its beauty by trumpeting. This light violet trumpet flower only appears once a while outside my gate and in few, yet always caught my attention.

Sarikei River Transportation

This river pontoon has existed for more than fifty years. In the past, it was so busy, full of express boats, speedboats and goods vessels. Today, only few old vessels ply around the river, bringing passengers and goods to the remote villages along the huge Rejang River. 
River transportation has been replaced by road transportation since roads connected cities and towns.  
This scene will slowly also fade into memory if the shipping industries cannot think of new ways to provide cheaper, comfortable and safer transportation.

Dark Glassy tiger butterfly (Parantica agleoides agleoides)

It needs four legs to hang onto the dead branch, but how does it know that he dead wood can hold its weight? What will happen if the cantilever support snaps? 
Where are the other two legs?

Creamy Plumeria rubra Flowers

Certainly the Lubok Antu Council has done a lot works to beautify the Batang Ai Park, including this Plumeria Rubra plant. Last time I came, it was not there.

Ash Coloured Fleabane (Vernonia cinerea)

It grew wild in the cleared field in my farm. When it matured after a few months, the bushy head flower buds came out in groups at the branch terminals. Finally, each of these flower buds turns into a white spherical cotton-like flower. 
Don't look down at this plant, it can help to reduce infection of your cuts/wounds in the field. Just get a few leaves, tear and press until the latex comes out.  Place it on your wounds and leave there for a while, you will find some relief. It is a traditional herbal medicine. 

The Neighbour White Dog

Not too happy of me walking by, she has to make such unfriendly gesture. 
But she has to be alert, too many robbers and thieves around, she has to do her duty to earn her food.