Beauty of Old Vines

(Continue from the previous post.)

This is how it looks after years of growing together. The wrap-around vine cuts into the trunk.

Our human wanted to place either the hiking pole or haversack against the tree for comparison but could not go near it as it is off the path and on a slope.

This is one of the biggest vine covered with moss that is off the path.

PS: Could not blog earlier from house electrical power trips due to lightnings and continuous thunderstorms.

Vine Riot

Walking down the familiar path daily with one fine day when a scene suddenly caught your eye and you wondered how is it that you did not realise its beauty earlier.

A riot of vines in its raw beauty!

A young vine coiling round an older one which will eventually dig and carve into the older one as time goes by.

Walking with Spiny Turtle

Our human could not walk daily (or blog) due to the monsoon season and can only walk on fair mornings.

Two days ago, our human chanced upon this Spiny Turtle on the path.

On closer scrutiny, it was not "Holey Shell". Though it has a small indentation on its shell; it was on a different spot.

With no hikers in sight, our human slowly used the shoes to guide it to the undergrowth beside the path (our human was absolutely thrilled and grinned widely when it climbed up the shoe); and then covered spiny turtle with fallen leaves for camouflage.

Dead Tree Sculpture

It caught our human's eye when the bright early morning sun hit this dead tree beside the path illuminating its sculpture beauty; this particular scene simply had to be captured. Though walked past it countless times over several years, this area was dim under the thick canopy.

There is another nature's sculpture art along the path but Man's trash spoiled the scene.

Ant Tunnel

From far it looked like a broken fallen twig as well as a small snake across the path.

Closer, our human realised it was the ants ground tunnel and proceeded to casually step over it.

Our human thought, did the ants build the tunnel at a wrong place, right across the path and that it could be destroyed soon as not all hikers are mindful or conscientious.

True enough, it only lasted a couple of weeks; the top portion of the whole tunnel was gone.

If only much thought was given how much effort these hardworking and industrious ants put in to build it.

Nature's Beautiful Hanger Hook

Our human has walked this path countless times.

Few days ago walking past some hanging vines beside the path, our human suddenly noticed a cute strange knob (at our human's eye level) growing out from a vine.

Under the thick canopy, photos are difficult to snap using the cellphone; our human tried for two days. Using the flash mode made the picture look flat and decided not to use it.

Our human wanted to hang the haversack at the beautiful Nature's Hanger Hook but decided not to, for fear of destroying it as the bag was heavy.

Though a hiker walked past, he could not figure out what our human was snapping and our human's not telling. He thought it was the view of the trees in the background.

PS: Can you see where the hook is in the second photo? [Pssst, it is right in the middle of the picture.]

Season of Foul Weather

We are now in monsoon season where we experience heavy rainfall and strong winds till early next year.

When it did not rain, during early morning walks on the path, fallen tree trunks, broken branches, twigs and leaves were seen.

Added to this, the start of the walk was cleared for development.

The flimsy tarp that was home for the strays were bulldozed. Some good samaritans have put up another tarp farther in nearer the forest reserve.

The strays still wander to the old place to laze and rest.

I will Survive!

It is heart-warming and encouraging when you see a fallen being picking oneself up again to continue its journey.

Just like this plant broken by some mindless human.

Our human was happy to see several young shoots sprouting showing its tenacity and resilience.

Few weeks went by, it grew taller.

Then one day it all vanished; the growing shoots were all chopped off...definitely by unthinking human.

This is one of the reasons our human prefer to walk alone.

PS: Our human did not blog due to procrastination and it takes so small a reason to procrastinate. Sigh! Could it be being in the golden years?

Strong Winds and Thunderstorms

Weather has gone a little weird. We experienced strong winds and heavy thunderstorms.

Fallen tree trunks, branches and leaves were brought down with many blocking the path. Mindful hikers (usually the elderly) quickly helped clear as best they could.

With the heavy rainfall, many mushrooms sprouted.

Exposed!

In the post 'Forage!', 

https://thechairspeaks.blogspot.com/2025/08/forage.html

the third monkey (in the middle) was smaller and blended in the surroundings extremely well while the other two were bigger.

The other post "Perfect Camouflage!',

https://thechairspeaks.blogspot.com/2025/04/perfect-camouflage.html

says it all.

You really cannot beat Nature's way and it is beautiful!

Morning Dopamine Doses

These are some reasons why our human goes for daily morning walks.

Our human purposedly choose this path downhill using rocks as stepping stones on this streamlet. It helps to maintain balance, strengthen leg muscles and concentration.

Of course, unexpected meetings of animals are added bonuses.

PS: Next week, positions of those camouflaged animals of previous posts will be shown.

Forage!

Our human heard some soft rustling of leaves and immediately stopped walking to look around.

Some 15 feet ahead on the narrow winding path, there were three monkeys foraging for food.

Can you see them? Their fur colour blended in well with the surroundings.

Our human stood still for at least some good 15 minutes to allow them to forage for breakfast.

Then more of their friends came down from the treetops. Soon they all left; probably their friends told them about more food elsewhere.

Surprising Visitor!

Opening the gate to go out one early bright morning, from the corner of the eye our human saw an unfamiliar whitish object on the green patch and immediately turned to look.

Our human softly said good morning greetings to it while the cellphone was slowly taken out to capture the moment.

It was not scared or run away but just sat still and eyed our human.

Our human actually had fun calling it Adolf as it has that 'Hitler hairstyle' and little moustache!

From the looks, it must be a stray.

PS: Our human did not blog the last two weeks due to vertigo. It was debilitating and did not want to aggravate the situation.

Holey Shell

Each time a chance meeting with any wildlife during morning walks, our human feels deeply pleased and privileged.

Lately it was with this lovely spiny turtle.

Not to frighten it, our human slowly and carefully place one foot beside it for comparison before snapping this photo.

And then noticed that there was a hole in its shell.

Can you see it?

Standing still, our human contemplated whether to help it to the vet or not. Bending forward for a closer look, that hole was not that big, approximately about 0.75cm in diameter.

Our human decided to let Nature heal itself as environmental change and journey to the vet may not go well with it...

...and continued the walk after watching that probably male spiny turtle entered the thick undergrowth beside the path.

Let us hope we meet again!

Pet B&B?

Our human's brother had to go overseas for a week and had to have his pet cat looked after.
This sent our human into a panic frenzy of clearing and cleaning the "MeowRoom" which had been turned into a sort of storeroom. It took a few days. Proper food and litter supplies were also purchased.
That timid kitty named Snowie came on a weekend and left on a weekend.
But our human called him "Moe" after one of the three stooges due to that comical look on his face at times.

Soon "Moe" quickly relaxed, played with our human's late kitties' toys (yes, those toys were cleaned and kept as our human simply could not throw them away).

A totally relaxed "Moe".
Almost a week has passed after "Moe" left; our human procrastinated and have not cleaned the "MeowRoom" yet; hopefully in the next few days!

Helping a Friend who had a Problem

As you all know, our human has made a number of friends, bipeds, quadrupeds including tripawds on daily morning walks.

This gentle friendly black male stray dog accompany certain hikers including our human almost daily. 

It was not as active as before and was not seen on some days.

And when it appeared, our human noticed that it moved slower and had something on its rump. On closer inspection, it looked like some skin infection.

A photo was quickly taken and sent to our human late kitties' vet (yes, we still keep in contact through whatsapp) explaining the situation and that we do what we can for that stray. A certain medication was recommended.

It was not easy as our human's jalopy could not possibly survive the 30km to the vet clinic and so had to order the medication from the nearest pet shop.

Other problems was guessing the stray's weight to order the right dosage and how to make it take the medication. While at the shop, our human suddenly had a brainwave and bought several sachets of delicious wet dog food.

Medication was mixed with the wet dog food in a plate and then given.

It did not eat immediately. Our human left and hoped that it would eat when it wanted.

More than a month passed and when our human saw that stray again, its rump was clear. (Those specks at the rump were sand.)

Happy, a thankful message was immediately sent to the vet for the free consultation.

Lately, the stray came and 'nosed' our human to ask for pets which our human gladly gave.

Silent Secret Support

Few mornings ago our human was lucky to meet this beautiful creature during the usual walk and stayed with it.

Our human was happy that no hiker was in sight during that time and waited to see where it wanted to go.

It crossed the path to the opposite side and tried to climb up which is a normal step for humans but a monumental climb for a tortoise.

To help its climb and not to frighten the tortoise from retracting into its shell, our human gently placed two fingers at the bottom of its shell to prevent it from falling down.

Our human stood silently urging and encouraging its efforts; and only left after seeing it moving out of sight into the thick undergrowth.

Sun Worshipper!

Our human heard a slight rustling movement in front and stopped immediately. Looking around, it was not easy to see as the early morning sun shone through the trees creating bright and dim patches on the path with fallen dead leaves of different colours.

Then, directly three feet in front was a small sun puddle with a reasonably-sized skink enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Our human took its picture with the cellphone.

That skink took a while to sunbathe. To get a better picture, our human ever so slowly bend the body left and right. It was difficult as the body was straining to balance and at the same time the leg muscles were starting to numb and cramp up.

The sun puddle moved when the early morining sun moved.

In a flash, that skink disappeared. Relieved our human continued the walk only after massaging the strained muscles.

Actually this photo did not do justice to the skink as the beautiful rainbow colour reflected on its tail was not captured.

Hello, Goodbye, Little Mickey Mouse!

Two weeks ago early one wet morning, our human woke up to the neighbour's cat hovering around the porch.

That cat angrily hissed at our human when it was told nicely to go home. Our human soon found out the reason for that behaviour.

Hidden between the small space of two flower pots was this totally soaked, trembling little injured mouse. Its injuries did not look good and our human decided that it had to stay the night.

It was quickly put inside a plastic container with some melon seeds and walnuts. For water container, a small bottle cap was used. Later it was given broccoli and cabbage.

The next morning, seeing that its injuries were better, our human decided to set it free.

A nearby food court car park was the perfect spot. There was an abandoned vehicle with overgrown plants on the left (which will provide shelter)  and rubbish bins on the right (which will provide food). 'Mickey' will also have friends; a cockerel, mother hen and their brood of little chicks live here too.

Can you see the cockerel in the middle of the picture on the green near the bin?

Though couldn't go for morning walk, our human was happy!

Perfect Camouflage!

Our human noticed some movement in front and stopped walking immediately.

Not knowing what creature it was, our human cautiously scanned the area. It took a few minutes of absolute concentration and finally saw it.

It was just in front and hidden in plain sight!

PS: Our human do not blog during heavy thunderstorms and do not want to take any chances when the house electricity trip several times. As a safety measure, all electrical appliances will be switched off and unplugged.

Meeting Up with Old Friends By Chance

It was a happy and pleasant surprise to meet old friends by chance few days ago.

We met often on our morning walks before the covid pandemic hit us.

They are the off-leash, well-behave, gorgeous 9-year-old brother and sister Huskies, Winter and Aki.

These two are so loved and well taken care of by their owner. Just look at their well-maintained fur.

Here they are heading home after their walk in the forest reserve and each day on a different route.

Female Aki

Male Winter (obvious why he is named so)

Discarded Box

Walking downhill, our human saw a cardboard box discarded a few feet away from the path.

It had numerous punctured holes on all four sides.

The first thought that came to our human's mind was that it probably had a small animal in it.

Our human sent the picture to brother and niece; both love hiking and had walked here before during their vacation.

Brother said it probably had a bird to be set free while niece said it could be a cat.

Let use hope it was a bird and not a cat. It would be disastrous if it was a cat as the den of a large pack of stray dogs is nearby.

Brown Beetle

Few days ago, a hiker pointed at an old tree stump stool.

Our human's eyes followed and quickly snapped its photo with a finger for comparison.

It is the first time our human saw this brown beetle and later google searched the image.

The name that cropped up in bug guide was 'Genus Anomala'.

Scorpion Sighting

Last week on one of the morning walks, our human came across a rather depressing sight, a dead scorpion.

With one of its claws detached, you could not help wondering what could have possibly happened. Was it attacked by a wild animal or human?

It brought back memories of the first encounter a few years back.

Scorpions are sensitive creatures.

Sensing human, it raised its tail and claws in defence. Our human stood absolutely still, took out the cellphone with utter slow movements to snap this picture.

After a short while, that scorpion turned and scurried down the gulley.

Few weeks later, that area was bulldozed and our human did not know whether the scorpion survived or not.

Hanging Out on the Branches

It was raining. Our human could not go for morning walk and kept gazing at the hill.

Something interesting nearby caught our human's eyes and realised that those on the branches were not leaves but birds resting on the branches so exposed to the rain.

Dog Treats for Turtle?

There are times when our human carry vegetables during morning walks for turtles just in case and always a small pouch of dog treats for strays.

Each time our human carried vegetables, the turtles never appeared.

Last week our human happened to meet this dirt-covered hungry turtle devouring what looked like either a dead slug or dead body of a snail and figured that it could possibly eat dog treats too.

A cube of soft dog treat was taken out and carefully placed near its mouth.

Our human was surprised that it ate with such gusto that a few more was given.

Confirmed with the vet that turtles can eat dog treats but not too much.

Our human still carry vegetables but no luck in meeting turtles since.

Oh well, they can eat dog treats then.

Lunar New Year of the Snake

At the start of 2025, our human procrastinated but still go and enjoy daily morning walks...

...and frequently met snakes somehow.

Our human was walking behind two male hikers who were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not see a snake in front of them. One of them accidently stepped on it. On seeing the snake writhing in pain, our human told them that the snake was stepped on. One of them flicked it to the side using his hiking pole. This is a Malayan Banded Coral snake which is slightly poisonous not enough to kill. As you can see, its tail end was possibly broken and will probably live. Our human continued walking and faster trying to keep the distance from those two men.

Feeling some sudden movement in front, our human immediately stopped. This beautiful non-poisonous 8-foot long Keeled Rat snake suddenly darted across in front. It was only a step away. It lives around the area and often cross the path.

This was a few years back when our human saw and wondered why the big tree trunk had an artistic crack. On inspecting nearer, it lifted its head, our human slowly backed off and continued the journey.

These snakes were not the biggest our human had seen.

A few years back, there was a snake lying across the path. Its thickness was bigger than our human's upper arm. Its length could not be estimated as its head and tail end was hidden in the thick undergrowth beside the path. Our human spoke to it softly, waited to allow it to cross first and at the same time trying to see its body breathing movement. There was absolutely no movement.

Thinking it was safe enough, our human stepped over it and said its photo will be taken on the way back. That snake was not seen later and our human promised not to ever do that again. It was a big snake, probably a python.

To those who celebrate the Lunar New Year, Year of the Snake, Happy Chinese New Year!

Crawler

The morning was cool and quiet, too quiet for comfort without any sounds from birds or insects.

The air was still as there was no breeze with gloomy skies.

After walking three-quarter way up, our human decided to turn back since no human was sighted as well.

It felt spooky!

Walking down shortly, our human met this chap that immediately brightened up everything!

Our human squatted, had a chat while stroking it. Looking around with no one in sight, our human quickly placed it at the side well camouflaged with its surroundings.

Can you see it?

Happy, our human continued downhill with much lighter steps and finally met some human almost nearing the entrance carpark.