We had every intention of getting a note out to you last night but fortunately it was a very good day in the field and prep and field notes went quite late into the evening just missing being morning. We left the botanical candy store of Shennongjia and Hubei today are now in Anhui which is to the east and required a long all day drive. We opted out of lunch at the gas station/rest stop where the specialty was fish heads but our guide and driver were quite pleased with their meal.
Tons of work to do tonight and glad today was a drive day so no field notes just a tot of whisky and plotting the morrow. Steve is hoping to find Rhododendron shenii which would be quite a coup and we are after a yet to be introduced Polygonatum which would be a treat to see. Everyone is doing great – just the usual trots and respiratory viruses hitting some of us although Sue gives lie to that ‘weaker sex” myth as she is unscathed. The biggest annoyance is poor to none internet for google searches although email works. There must be some serious filters in place.
Just got settled into our room for the next 3 nights and about to head out to another interesting meal. We are sad to leave the hot spiciness of the Sichuan influenced cuisine and into what we imagine to be more familiar American Chinese food but with far more mysterious ingredients. Thank you for this opportunity!
Kelly & Sue
Far Reaches Farm
