A Country Ride
Well today I decided to take a ride on the scooter and get some fresh air.
The weather here has cooled off considerably and it is time for the farmers to harvest their rice crops.
From my window and I have noticed some farmers out early in the morning...till dark.
Growing up on a farm I know that when it time to "make hay"...you "make hay"!!
So I thought I would take a ride down this road that I watch every day and see what was over the horizon.
Here are some random pictures I took while I was out and about.
Everybody was checking out the new technology at work.
The window of my apartment is in the background...right above the last guy on the rights head...Top floor.
If you had a big enough plot of land and could afford it, you could hire a small combine to harvest your rice.
This is the only one I've seen so far.
Otherwise you did it the old fashion way.
I think he prefers the old fashion way anyway.
I think it just looks better!
It seems as though the best place to dry the rice is anyplace you can find a slab of concrete.
There's a man harvesting....something?
All kinds of transportation is being used to haul goods.
MOTORS
Here is something from Mad Max.
Pedals
This woman must be 70 years old. I'm not sure what she's hauling. Maybe just scraps for her fish farm?
Feet
Boat
Scarecrow road worker. Now that's cheap labor!
It seem you can just block off any section of the road and use it for drying your rice.
Here's something I recognised right away...Soy beans...Lots of bean fields in Indiana.
At the end of the road I found a little town that was mostly just a quarry town.
Lots of dump trucks and dust. This is a shot of what used to be a mountain. I have seen this many times here in China. As you can see they are just gnawing away at it....Soon it will be completely gone.
I haven't seen any tractors for plowing so far...
Hand irrigation.
Hard working farmer.
The rice must be constantly turned to dry it properly.
Fish Farm
This old fellow was feeding the scrap plants to the fish on his fish farm.
I've seen lots of these little ponds in the country...Most of them are full of carp.
In America we usually don't eat carp...Here every kind of fish is eaten.
I've gotten away from eating fish here in China. The water pollution in most places is really bad and I know the fish have got to be just as polluted.
He's pretending to watch the fisherman...he's really watching the foreigner watching the fisherman.
Anywhere you found concrete you could find rice drying.
Chinese crop circles?
I'm not sure what causes this but I've seen quite a few places where the rice is laying on its side...In Indiana it could be caused by deer bedding down for the evening. I haven't seen any wild deer around here.
Back in Town
Well since the weather is cooling off I thought I would head into town and try to find a pair of gloves and a warm hat for those trips into town on the scooter.
I just happened to catch the cook who uses the "Giant Wok"!
Today he is cooking pork...Or should I say a whole pig or two.
If it wasn't for the big pigs feet there at the bottom I wouldn't know what this stuff was.
Reminds me of the movie"Fried Green Tomatoes".....Think about it?
That's one BIG wok!!
Jim
