A Visit to Hok Tau (Crane Marsh Lake) Reservoir (鶴藪)

I do not know why. Wherever I go, the sun seems to follow me. Last Sunday was no exception. So I hurriedly packed a sandwich, some fruits, a bottle of water and was ready for another exploration of our countryside. This time, I went to Hok Tau, meaning literally the marshy lake for the nesting cranes. But it is now a service reservoir.





I was welcomed by this "Goofy" like tree. Rather like the one outside of the hothouse in Hong Kong Park?.

I was able to see what I like most about life: its profusion, its abundance and its resilience. Plants seldom let go of any opportunities they may have to propagate themselves. Here we find some creepers colonizing a cut tree stump!

The side of the road was full of little plants. Here's the ubiquitous little daisy.

Some purple flowers spread out in all possible directions.
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Some leaves were sprouting.

Others were turning red and brown.

Some brown leaves in the sun.

Elsewhere, leaves were raising themselves as high as they could. Doesn't this look like an insect perched on top of a slender branch?





Here're some dancing tendrils with arms extended in two graceful curves.

I love the yellows and red of these wild plants.

I do not know why. The color of this leave changes from green at its tip, yellow in the middle and red at the bottom. Is that because the red part was the oldest, the yellow part less so ? Only a botanist would know.

These leaves look miserable, both getting old and being eaten up! Yet they stubbornly refuse to wilt!

By contrast, these leaves seem to be basking in the morning sun with joy. How full of life they look!





This bold little adventurer was holding itself up above the others by entwining itself around its brother.

Greens and yellows can be found not only in the plants on both side of the road. Perhaps the surrounding colors may have affected the engineers who put up this temporary structure?
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I had my first encounter with tall grasses and rushes and their stalks laden with seeds, growing by the roadside. It will have hundreds of brothers and sisters up on the mountain a little distance away.





I passed by these reflections on the surface of the Hok Tau Reservoir.

Fishes were disrupting the permanence of the images of the surrounding trees and plants upon the surface of the water. . 





Some parts of the surface of the water were greener than others.

But they shared the same fate! The fishes cared nothing about their need to stay unruffled.

Some more ripples.

As the outer rings of the original ripple approach the shore, they become straighter and straighter.





There were some pretty steep steps which I had to climb to reach the top of the mountain.




But once up there, the path became much easier.

There were tall grasses and rushes everywhere along the slope of the mountain.

They rose up real high.

A photo of one of them.




But they can't stay up all the time!





I found these wild camellia up at the very top of the mountain.

Along the sides of the mountain pat, I found these small yellow flower.





They were blooming everywhere!





And these fluffy balls.





And clumps of berries too!

After consuming my home-made sandwich and my fruit, it was beginning to get dark.

The sun seem to have to fight its way out between two layers of clouds

And emerged victorious!





The clouds have dissipated but not entirely.

The clouds soon fought back.

Dusk has arrived.

Time to go!





Since there were few minibuses at the village mini-van stop, this young mother played "airplanes" with her daughter! My journey concluded with the laughter of the little girl.