Stepped out of the forest

2007-04-02T06:04:00.000-07:00

Well It's been a long time since my last post. Not much has happened in the past few months. I've been working and that's about it. I spend the weekends at home and I don't go out much. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I hope to go on a trip to the country side. I was planning on going last weekend, but it rained and rained and rained. The thunder was so strong, that it was setting off car alarms. I got a cool pic of lightning from the front window at about 4:00 am on Sunday morning. I took about 150 photos before I got this one and I missed many more. It's hard to get a good photo of lightning with the camera I have. The slowest shutter speed is 15 sec and it takes the camera about 10 sec to process the image. All the good flashes of lightning happened while the camera was processing the last shot. I can't wait to get a new camera!!

2007-01-13T06:56:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a few weeks since my last post and not much has happened since then. I've landed a few more jobs at different schools and companies and I'm going to be working about twenty hours a week. I know it doesn't sound like much, but you try to deal with children for twenty hours per week. It's not really that bad. The good thing is I'm making more money than last year for about the same amount of work!! yeehaa.. I haven't been doing much for fun and the holidays were pretty tame. I get out hiking about once or twice a week and do a bit of birdwatching, but other than that not much. I'm going to make a point of posting more photos of Korea and not just Korean birds, but this time you're going to have to settle for the birds. The birds from the top are; Japanese pygme woodpecker, long-tailed tit, varied tit, vinous-throuted parrotbill and a great tit on a feeder I set up in the forest. I hope you like all the tits!!!

2006-12-12T09:03:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from the past two weeks back here in Korea. The birds are a bull-headed shrike (male) and a yellow-throated bunting(female). The other photos are of Jade's aunt's birthday party. She is 62 years old. It was a pretty good time. Lots of food and soju. After the party Jade and I headed back to her grandmothers house. We stayed there and talked about how Korea was 60-70 years ago. Jade's grandmother and her neices were there. Her neices were in there 70's and her grandmother is 82 years old. It was a pretty interesting conversation. I was also pretty drunk by that time. So I was full of questions. They offered to take me fishing in the summer, so I think I'll take them up on that offer.. They live on an island called Seokmo, just off a larger island called Gangwa. I've been there before and It's a very pretty place.. It has mountains, rice fields and salt marshes. I can't wait to go. Well' I guess that's it for today. Hope every one is doing well and I'll try to post more often!!!

2006-12-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

Some more photos from home....

2006-12-07T19:58:00.000-08:00

Some of the photos got posted more than twice.. I thought the photos didn't get posted, so I posted them again.. Sorry about that... I'll know better next time..

2006-12-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

A ruff and spruce grouse... That's all the posts for today. I hope you like the photos of Canada..

2006-12-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

Here is the bun-tree taken through the camp window and a red-breasted nuthatch.

2006-12-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pics of our trip back to Canada. I wish it would let me upload more than 8mb. Well, I guess it's better than not getting any photos posted at all!!

This is the skunk that sprayed Jake (my friend Darcy's dog). These are the stars as seen from the camp step.

2006-12-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I've switched over to bata, let us see if It'll let me upload my photos now!!! I sure hope this works...

It worked!!! YeeeeeHaaaaa

2006-12-02T02:42:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a long time since I published a post so here I go!! The reason I haven't posted in such a long time was that I was having to much fun in Canada to do so. Thanks everyone for making my trip sooo much fun!! Darcy was a pretty good guide, even though we didn't shoot too many grouse and woodcock, it wasn't his fault. There were not many birds around the camp this year.. It was the first time that I hunted over a dog and boy it sure makes life a lot easier. Jade also had a wonderful time. I was really surprised that she spent so much time up in the woods with the gang and me. I think she is becoming Canadian. Not too many woman can spend that much time in the bush.

I think we spent about a third of the time home up in the woods. It was a great brake from city life. It just confirmed how much I love small town life and forest vacations. I'm already planning my next trip home, even though it won't be for a while. I'm planning to come home some time in November and stay until the new year. That way I can get deer season and Christmas in one vacation.

Well, we all had a few laughs while Jade and I were home. I think the funniest part was Jake getting sprayed by the skunk(though Darcy may not have found it too funny). Warning to all, Don't feed skunks if there are dogs around. It's bad!! Very,very bad!!! There is no quicker way to make a party disperse, then to put a dog who has been sprayed by a skunk in the middle of it..

So much happened while we were home that I can't write about it all and even if I could I'm not fully sure I should!! So that's it for today. My next post will be about my first week back in Korea. Thanks to everyone again for the great time. Well, some things have not changed over the past few months, I'm still having problems uploading photos. Maybe next time.

2006-09-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Today Jade and I hooked up with some former coworkers and friends, Silver and Violet (English Names). Most Korean teachers here create English names. It was really good to see them. It's been many months since Jade and I have seen them. They are both very busy with work and family life. They stopped by our apartment and then we went out for a bite to eat. The food was really good. We had a verity of shellfish, shrimp, Kulguksue( knife noodle soup) and a Korean seafood pancake. I'm still full and it's 4 hours later!!! Tomorrow Jade and I are hooking up with one of her friends to do a bit of shopping. There are still a few things we have to buy for our trip to Canada. Like a few bottles of soju for Scott and Darcy. I know how they love that stuff!!! Four days and counting!!!

2006-09-19T06:12:00.000-07:00

Well I had another good day out with some of my students and their mothers. They took Jade and I to Incheon museum and then out to a Chinese restaurant. It was a good time!! The weather was really nice today and I saw some interesting things at the museum. The last week of work has been pretty fun thus far, but I can't wait for it to end. It's hard to concentrate on work when you know it will be over soon. Ten more days and Jade and I will be back in the good'ol Miramichi!! YEEEEEEEHAAAAAA!!! Well that's it for today. I'll tell you about tomorrow, tomorrow. My adult evening class is taking Jade and I out for some drinks and a meal. Should be fun!!

2006-09-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note!! My class took Jade and I out for a meal today. It was my farewell party from the school. The food was really good. We had BBQ duck. Oh what a taste!!! It's the best duck I've ever had. Darcy, we are going to have to go shoot some Ducks while I'm home. You have to taste BBQ duck. The restaurant was also very nice. It was done in a log cabin style, with a central hearth. The class also chipped in and gave me a cash gift. It was very nice of them. They are truly wonderful people. I will really miss them!! Well I guess that's it for today.

2006-09-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

Moegee is the Korean word for mosquito and boy there were a bunch of them out today. Jade and I went to her parent's tomb in order to cut back the weeds and vines. We planted grass on the tomb in the spring, but it didn't take. The vines grow so quickly here, due to the hot wet climate and it hindered the growth of the grass. Next year we're going to have to go more often and keep cutting them back. The weather here was good for working and we got a lot done. We cleaned the tomb up in about two hours and then headed for home. You should see Jade's face, it is all swollen from mosquito bites. I feel sorry for her!!! The photo of the peppers is a really common sight here at this time of year. A lot of farmers dry their peppers on the sidewalks. Each pepper is cleaned and split open by hand, in order to dry them. Pepper paste and ground red pepper is a big part of the Korean diet. It is found in just about every dish.

2006-09-10T05:59:00.000-07:00

Had a great day out birding today.. Added 5 new birds to my list! I happened to run into a couple for South Africa who were also out birding. I spent most of the day with them.. I think I'll go out with them again sometime. They're pretty cool. They both have degrees in biology and spent two years in the Amazon doing wildlife guiding before coming to Korea.
The only problem is that I got a wicked sunburn on my face and arms. I left the house at 9:30 and didn't get in until around 8:00. It's the start of the fall migration season here in South Korea and It was good to get out and see the new arrivals. The 2 highlights of the day were seeing a Brown Hawk Owl and a group of about 40 black-faced spoonbills. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get a picture of the brown hawk owl, but I got lots of pics of the 40 black-faced spoonbills. That flock makes up more than 1% of the world population. It is one of the rarest birds in the world. There was also a peregrine falcon chasing shore birds around the lagoon I was at. Other highlights were a blue and white flycatcher, greenshanks, great cormorants and black-tailed godwits. All in all it was a pretty good day.

2006-09-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

Go to CBC news New Brunswick and click on "Insurance reform gone wrong". See what the Lord government has been doing for you, the New Brunswick Driver!!!!! Bastards!!!

2006-09-03T05:05:00.000-07:00

Well I went downtown today and got myself a new pair of gore-tex hiking boots for hunting season. I tied them up and went for a hike. I hate braking in new boots!!! I went to Incheon grand park for about three hours and took a few photos. The weather was great about 27 degrees. It seems cool compared to about a month ago. I feel great these days, just knowing that I'm going home in less than a month lifts my spirit. I always find that just before I go home time seems to fly by. I have the plane tickets and the boots, I'm ready to rock and roll. I just found out that my brother and his family are going to come up to the camp during deer season. I'm pretty stoked about that. He hasn't spent any time up at the camp yet and I can't wait to have him there. I'm sure his two sons will have a blast. I don't know if Katie will have fun, but I hope she does. She is a bit of a city girl, just like my wife. I think it's the outhouse they don't like, but they should consider themselves lucky, we have a door on it this year!!! Well I guess that's it for today.

2006-09-02T01:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos I took over the spring and summer.

2006-08-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

2006-08-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

Less than a month to go !!!!! Today we had an activity Day at School. Early in the afternoon we took the young kids out for a picnic and a few games. At about 6 O'clock we went back to school and watched a movie with the middle school kids. After that we had Cooking class. I really liked the cooking class!! The kids made labokki. For those of you who don't know what labokki is, I'll tell ya. It's water with red pepper paste mixed in. After that you add fish cake, rice cake, onions, green onions or what ever odds and ends you can find. At the end you add instant noodles. It's really hot and yummy. Sorry no pics!!! It won't let me add images!!! I'm really starting to get pissed!!

2006-08-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

Well not much new in these parts! The past few weeks I've been just keep close to home. The weather is just too hot for a Canadian boy like me. I'm dreaming of the flying snow.. Today marks the first day of my last month of work..Yeehaaa!!! The end of August was suppposed to be the end of my contract, but I was asked to stay on for as long as I could. So I told my boss that I would stay until the 22nd of Sept. Jade was also asked to stay. It's nice to be wanted, but free time is also sweet!! The photos are of my hood, slugs, a beetle and a cicada. The sound of cicadas can be heard throughout the city. It's almost deafening in the forest. It sounds like yeeeeeeeeeeee mem mem mem mem yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. The Korean word for it is memme. The brown slug was about 15 cm long and about 7cm wide. Pretty big!! The only other slug I've seen that was bigger was a sea slug that was about a pound and a foot long.

2006-08-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

Jade and I decided to go to an island about 40 km from home. On a good day it should take about 50 min to an hour to get there. Today it took about two hours by bus. The traffic was really heavy. It's a long weekend and everybody is on the move. The west coast of Korea is one large mud flat, so we didn't do any swimming. We just hiked around the coast for a few hours and had a small shore lunch. The weather was really nice and clear, with a day time high of about 35. After resting in the shade we decided to head for home. We caught the bus at 6:30 and we didn't get home until 10:30. It took us four hours to do 40 km!!! Gee wiz!! That sure was a long trip. I don't think we'll be going there again on a long weekend. Jade said she's never leaving the apartment again. I can't blame her for that!! Tomorrow I'm heading to another island, but I'm taking a ferry this time. So there will be no traffic jams!!!

2006-08-08T03:45:00.000-07:00

You don't have to tell me!!! below!!!

2006-08-08T03:25:00.000-07:00

The photos above are of my school. The woman standing in front of the sign is my boss, Mia. She's pretty cool. I really enjoy working at the school and I'll be sad to go. The students are also very nice and I will surly miss them too. My last day of work is Sept 20th. Time really seems to be flying by. It won't be long and I'll be sitting up at the camp and counting the stars and breathing that fresh Canadian air. On a good night in Incheon you can see about three stars and the air isn't what you would call fresh!! The photos are of two s.u.vs that I'm thinking about buying in December. I haven't made up my mind yet on which one, but I think I'm going to get the smaller one. It's really hard to find parking in my hood. Which one do you like????

2006-08-08T03:09:00.000-07:00

2006-08-06T05:06:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't do much this weekend. It was too friggen hot! Here in Incheon it was 34.7 degrees, wow! So I just stayed in front of the air conditioner. On Sunday at 6 o'clock Jade and I went over to her aunt's apartment. It was Jade's uncle's one year death memorial service. They all prayed and sang hymns. After that we all ate together. Jade's aunt doesn't have air conditioning, so it was really hot. The photes are of Jade's cousins, their wives and children. That's it for now!!!

2006-08-03T03:05:00.000-07:00

here are some pics from last weekend. I've been trying to post them for three days, but it won't let me. I hope it works this time!!!!!

2006-07-31T06:13:00.000-07:00

Well another long weekend just about over. I just relaxed Saturday and Sunday and on Monday I went hiking for about 7 hours. It was 31 degrees and sunny. It's the first time I've been out in the sun for three weeks!! I really hate the rainy season. This rainy season was the wettest in 33 years. I'm sure glad it's over. Usually August is hot and sunny with only a little rain. I didn't see too much today, but is was nice to get some fresh air. Only two more weeks and I have another long weekend. I can't wait!!! Next one is a four day weekend...

2006-07-23T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well I got up this morning and decided to go for a bit of a hike. I headed off to Incheon grand park again. I'm really getting sick of going there, but it's the only bit of forest in the area. I hiked around for about 6 hours and took a few photos. I've been looking to take some pictures of vipers for the last five years, but I've never been able to find any, until today. I was walking along a grassy trail when I happened to look down, there next to my foot was a common viper. As many of you know I have a bit of a fascination with snakes and I'm not scared of them, but seeing that viper made my hair stand on end. I jumped about four feet and turned around to get a photo of it, but it was already heading into the long grass and I wasn't about to grab it. So I still don't have any photos of a viper. I could kick myself in the ass for not being more careful. Most times I have my eye on the ground looking for interesting things, but just when you least expect it something is there. That's the way it goes with nature photography. The only other time a snake gave me a fright, was about 3 years ago. I was climbing over a rock pile and a rat snake over a meter long took a strike at my family jewels. The viper today was small, only a little over a foot. I'm just glad I didn't step on it!! My foot was only 6cm away from it, but it didn't strike. I think their first line of defense is camo. I also noticed that they puff up there body, as a warning. I think you would have to hurt it in order to get it to bit. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

2006-07-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics I took a few weeks ago. I'm off for the weekend, but I really don't have any plans. I think I'll just laze around the apartment or go for a walk. Next weekend is another long weekend, so I might go camping, if the weather holds out. There is an island about 70 km off the coast of Incheon that is pretty nice. Its name is Dukjuk island. You can get there in about an hour and a half by high speed ferry. I only have a little over a month left to go at one of my jobs. I'm starting to get pretty excited about that. Also a little sad! The people I work with are great and the students are also very nice. I teach 4 adult classes and those students have become like friends to me. Out of those four class, 2 are free talking classes. We usally pick a topic related to current events in the news at home and abroad. My favorite issue is North Korea. That always gets a good debate going. I make a good devil's advocate. As many of you at home already know. Well I hope you like the pics.

2006-07-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

Well this is my first post and I don't have a lot to say. Things are going well here, except for all the rain!! I haven't seen the sun for over a week. Last weekend was a long weekend, but I didn't do much. It rained every day except for a few hours on Sunday. We have had hundreds of mm of rain over the long weekend. There was extensive flooding and landslides in many parts of Korea and 25 people lost there lives in the south. In the north about 100 people died and about 12000 homes were lost. In the south there was also a lot of damage to the infrastructure. Other than that, things are just dandy. I don't live close to any rivers or mountains and I'm 50 meters above sea level. So I think I'm safe? That's if the north doesn't unleash there goods and turn the south into a parking lot. On Sunday I went to Incheon grand park and took a few photos. It was great to go in the rain, for there were few people out. It's a rare thing in South Korea to have a park to yourself. It's more often than not, Packed to the tits.Well here are a few shots I took on Sunday.