In Situ

One of the problems I had at Harbin was that my knees were giving out. Harbin has a lot of hills and stairs so it was difficult for me to get around. Bob kept wanting to go on walks, but I refused because I knew that my aching knees would only ache more. He thought it was a shame that I couldn't get out "in nature." I thought so, too, but as it turned out, I was able to experience nature without exerting myself much.

The main buildings and hot springs are surrounded by trees and gardens. One morning two blue jays settled on the railing just a few feet from where I was sitting. They were so near that when they spread their wings, I could admire the iridescent blue sheen of their feathers in intimate detail. It was a pretty spectacular sight.

That afternoon, two deer strolled up the lawn and then stopped about three feet from the seated statues in the photo. I had to wait for them to move before I could continue up the path, but they didn't move. They stood completely still, as immobile as the statues. They weren't scared of me at all. I finally detoured around them, but for a few minutes they were so close that I could have reached out and touched them. I didn't, afraid that I 'd catch lime disease, but I could have. They were that close.

In the day, one could sit on the porch and look out at the dramatic panorama of hills; at night, the stars. One night I saw a whirling circle of color moving through the trees; then I heard voices and laughter. It was a large hoop of flashing neon -- like a hula hoop, only larger. Its owner was spinning it; then tossing it up in the air -- so I'd glimpse it whirling through the branches -- flashes of red, blue and white dancing through the dark.

The next day Bob took me up to The Dome, a new building complex at Harbin. Again, I couldn't walk much so I sat in the car while he explored the site. Before me was a row of boulders dotted with small solar lamps. One lamp seemed oddly shaped until I realized it was a lizard. He was sunning himself on the rocks, so still that I thought he was an inanimate object.  Then another lizard came scurrying out of the crevices and he turned his head to say hello.