The End of the Road

This morning Josh and I left for another mountain adventure. We have been to Dashueshan Forest Recreation Area several times before, mostly driving through foggy, chilly mountains hoping for a glimpse beyond the next hill. We drove thousands of meters into the air today along familiar road, then kept going until the road petered out at a path that led to a sacred tree. This tree was 1400 years old, had a diameter of 4 meters, and a perimeter of 13. Incredible in size and majesty, we hiked for a bit in it's pine forest, feeling the soft give of old needles below.

Today was a wonderful day of smells. of Rhodedendrons just finishing their bloom, of pine needles, and of old rotting logs that split under foot.

On our drive up we spotted a man along the side of the road in full camouflage with his enormous camera lens disguised as the forest. I assured Josh he was waiting for the Mikado pheasant, an elusive species endemic to Taiwan. Five hours later, as we were driving back down the mountain, we were surprised to see a crowd where just this man had been before. There, two feet from the road were both male and female mikado pheasant. We hurridly joined the group, binoculars and cameras in hand. This bird cannot be justified with pictures, and was a species I was sure was going to elude me in Taiwan. It's striking blue feathers, black and white markings on the wings, vibrant red around the eye, exquisite, long tail-feathers, and shy composure win this bird a spot on the 1000 NT note. I nearly cried as I watched it feed silently near us.

Of course I couldn't explain to those around me that I had wished to see this bird for months, but had relegated myself to pictures. I think those around me were excited that a foreigner was so interested in their bird, for I caught at least several women taking pictures of ME while I was looking at the bird. It's such a wonderful thing to see people so excited about these two, relatively small creatures.

And now I am thinking about Charlie as I remember the vibrant blue of the male and the muted brown of the female and the words from Hair,

"I would just like to say...that it is my conviction
That longer hair and other flamboyant affectations
Of appearance are nothing more
Than the male`s emergence from his drab camoflage
Into the gaudy plumage
Which is the birthright of his sex"

So we descended from the chilly mountain humidity to the sticky night of Fengyuan and are gearing up for another week. That pheasant has haunted my thoughts thus far...