They Marched Forward, Up.

Let’s be clear.  We don’t see these things in Beijing.  I suppose when I first lived there, one could go out to Shunyi and expect to see lambs in large groups, being herded here and there.  You need to go much further now to see that.  Out beyond the hills that separate Beijing and then Hebei from Shanxi, I suspect.  There are no more flocks of sheep to easily be seen in greater Beijing .

But in my back yard in New Paltz this morning I saw one and then another fawn scamper by my window.  The seemed aimless, innocent as they marched forward, up towards our house and off toward the drive way.  Then suddenly they scampered back down and skidded to a stop below their mother.  And there one locked on to her mammalian nipples and drank his (or her?) full of mother’s milk. 

I tried to get my daughter and I tried to get my wife but by the time they arrived, the nursing mother and her fawn had move off down to the brush and disappeared.  And some people lie in wait for scenes like this only to shoot a deer.  I find this hard to understand.  What possible satisfaction would there be in dropping such a beautiful creature to the ground and tying it to the roof of your car?

I bought some pork chops.  I don’t want to shoot deer in my back yard but I’m ok to eat pigs that someone else has slaughtered.  I had one meal in mind but my wife was homesick and tried to make some hongshaorou.  It was good, if lean, hongshaorou.  One suspects that many dishes will not be tasting the same, as we try to prepare them here, far from China.  This, one suspects, is going to be a long journey of acclimation. 

Sunday 8/04/19