Recycling

We were driving on a road when we spotted a black hump on the side.

I spare you the corpse of the cow or whatever animal it was...

Karakorum

Karakorum has been the capital of Mongolia.
It still has a walled "city", in fact the remains of monasters. If you have a good sight, you can see the white squared walls below.

Entering this space brings you into quite a different world, with a different architecture.

Outside the walls are the merchants of the temples, where you can have your picture taken

This city is guarded by 4 tortoises. As in discworld?

still in progress

At the end of Monday

Yesterday

Today

Next step is due early next week: plants!

Landscapers at work

Believe me, they have been busy all day! I thought I went to a wrong address when I came home tonight...

Renovation going on

It does not rain a lot here. I mean on most years, it rains for two days, then the sun is back.
How come that it does rain a lot this year?
Anyway, they manage to build and finish the front wall, and the door threshold.

You note that the ground is a mess, old and dirty. Landscaping begins on Monday. More fun to come...

Renovation started!

This is what it looks like yesterday morning

And how it is tonight.

Yesterday was just gray, with no wind. Today has been another story.It has been pouring all morning. And more rain is expected for the rest of the week. So I'm very glad they could clean the existing walls yesterday, and build the new one today.
You may notice that the front door is blocked. Because of that.I'm  not allowed to step on it until tomorrow afternoon.

As I said, it has been pouring. Had the light on all day. Making this beauty even more enjoyable.

That is the first time I see 4 stems from the same bulb... I saw it with another kind of amaryllis, a first with the regular one.

A bit or gardening

I promise I'll go on with Mongolia soon, but there is a second subject in my mind right now.
The front garden has never been really taken care of, in 30 years... The temporary solutions had become final.

Until one day I had enough of all of it (and checked that my bank account was positive enough).
So I called a landscaper, in fact it is a team of two. They drew a project, now we are at the stage of the quotations.That include building a font wall, designing a garden, cleaning the existing walls. The project also includes transplanting the rose bush that grew out of control. The nursery man is going to take care of the rose bush, but a slight inconvenience appeared. The rose bush hinders the cleaning of the walls, and having the nursery man coming just to transplant it would increase the bill behind reason.

The solution is that I  trim the rose bush, to make room for the cleaning team. Done.

At first, I wanted to keep the rose bush where it was. The landscapers were not thrilled. But I am the customer, so they agreed. However; when I saw the plantation plan, I changed my mind because it broke the harmony of the project. Now that it is trimmed, I'm sure it was the right decision.

And I'm more impatient than ever to see the final result. Most of it should be done before  Xmas...

Bayanzag - Flamming Cliffs

Aswe left the camp that morning, we saw a biker taking position on a hill. He waited for us to go by. To sell some objects his wile had made (mostly felt). You can find those object anywhere, toys, Xmas decoration and so on, But they are made locally, from local wool. And it is always a pleasure to discuss and meet the nomads.

Unfortunately, the sun was hidden when we arrived at the cliffs. So they were not flamming as much as they should.

Another sad fact is that they are a big sand castle, meaning they collapse and disappear quickly.

Hongory Els - Singing Sand Dunes

First a bit of explanation about the sheep.
Men kill the sheep. They are not allowed to pour blood on the floor. And they are up to the challenge. They cut one vessel near the hear, through a small incision. Death occurs very fast. All the blood is kept inside the cavity.
They skin the sheep, cut the flesh into pieces. The women step in to take the inner organs. They will boil them with onions. They are then presented and eaten as such, or you can grill them or whatever you fancy. Most of the meat is boiled. I was surprised to see how tasty it remains, and the texture too is amazing. I suppose that is because of the way they are fed. Grass, and only that.

Now let's go to the South of theGobi desert.

This goat was a leader. While the other kept their distances, it came to us to ask for some treats.

Those are singing dunes. Not every dune can sing, but those can. Because of the shape of the grain, of the temperature and other parameters. When the sand moves, you can hear it.

 

at the bottom, there must be a lake at some time of the year.

Indeed, there is

but as you see, it is very dry.

I

I did notmake it up to the top. However the view was something, even from the middle.

Some local chatting together