Finding Nature in Taipei’s Metropolis- Part 2

My daily commitments require me to move no more than 40 feet in a tiny small apartment.  Luckily Fuzhou Mountain Park is a 15 minute walk  from our home.  For centuries this mountain was a gravesite.  The state is gradually moving cemetaries to larger columbariums and converting the hillsides to forest parks.  Logging has been illegal in Taiwan for a few decades.

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The view from the top of the mountain Eastward.  You can see more green mountains in the background.

The ascent steeply climbs up the small mountain, a brisk 5 minutes to the top.

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City view in the NorthWest. Taipei 101 lumbers through the near perpetual haze of Taipei.

 

In the adjacent Fouzhou Eco Park Mags finds a hula hoop for public use!

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Mags never misses an opportunity for Hoop Dance!

We take the frog path, and behold!

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Horny Formosan Frog

This frog is as large as my hand.  On another day at Dahu Park we find the tiniest frogs ever.

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Tiny frog, smaller than my fingernail

Amphibians are a good sign of water quality.  They are usually the first to disappear in polluted areas.  The water is safe enough for fishing as well!

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Fishing at Dahu Park

 

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18 Turtles on a log

I think living in such a dense environment gives Taipei dwellers a sense of longing for nature. Even grocery shops and construction sites grow “living walls” of plants.

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Living wall

 

Orchids grow abundantly both in nature and under the tender care of humans.

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Orchids are everywhere in Taiwan. These are at the Talu hotel.

Coming soon!  Rites and Rituals, and City Life

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