bonsai banzai

My brother-in-law is a bonsai artist. He drives himself to a suburban hill of Taipei and spends the day taking care of his botanic yards, from dawn to dusk, Monday through Sunday, rain or shine, for the past 37 years. 

Other than that I don't really know how he works his plants, or the artistic philosophy behind it.

He recently published a book of his works and the moment I flipped through it I was caught not only by those pictures of fine looking miniatures, but also the way he describes how they were made, using the most mundane or throw-away materials, with a most respectful, naturalist touch to the plants, to come up with these creative delights that are quite a step away from traditional bonsai making.

Here are some pictures with accompanying notes I made out of his book:

The plate is a pebble I picked up at some river bank or ocean side. The plant is 20 years old, was never metal-wired or bound up, but through fine manicuring of its branches and buds was it groomed. To put a wild child plant like this on a delicate porcelain plate would be like having me pulling grass in tuxedo, exceedingly uncomfortable. 

One might think the easy way of making this formation is to put the seed in the center hole of the rock and it will grow itself to shape. If you do so the budding root, fiercely digging its way down but cannot find a way out, will hoist itself up and crash and die.

This colorful foundation was a brick relic I picked up at a river bed, shaped by the thrashing water and the turbulent sand. Just tap a 3 centimeter hole on top of the brick and put the bamboo in. The brick is a perfect water conducing material, no need to drill any holes for drainage. 

This elegant looking piece of wood has some shallow notch on top, ideal for the red Azaleas. To make it a rowdy bunch, I added the white Prunella, then the little Coleus down below.

The home base of this plant consists of two shells, the scallop on top and the clam below. Drill a tiny hole on each and tighten them up with a screw, and a most unusual vase is formed.

Slender Araucaria swaying on a flat plate conveys a tropical laid-back meme. To prevent the Araucaria from falling on the shallow plate, grow it first on a coral piece for its root to take hold, then move them to the plate.

Cuckoo flowers are of many varieties, this one is a gift from an elderly friend. To prevent it from drying up, I often put it under shade, which in turn causes some long stem to wilt and fall for lack of sunshine. Not to worry, just cut the leaves and bring it under sunshine and it will come back standing firm and tall in no time.

Lay a hard coil mesh and some soil in the open end of a worn-out valve and put on a fat stem plant, you have a tattered seasoned-looking piece here. Reflecting on this old faithful gadget making its last contribution to the plant it helped watered all its life, and my own ragged, wrinkle-faced self, I can't help but feel at a sentimental loss for a while...

* For those interested, the book is "小自然：林國承的無盆小品植栽"

http://www.books.com.tw/products/0010638256

happy new year

A college friend of mine has some farmland in north-central Taiwan and invited us along with many others there for a visit. We toured the rolling orange grove and a beautiful pond then gathered in the two-story house they built. It was quite some crowd so when Linda needed to go to the restroom and it was occupied the hostess suggested she go upstairs to another one. When she came out and went downstairs, probably because the light was dim (it was turning from day to evening), and probably because it had no handrails, and probably because the steps were of irregular shape at half flight where it turned corner, she missed the step and tumbled down.

The hostess held her at the end of the stairs, and though Linda looked conscious (shaken and pale, of course), the hostess and I immediately felt her right elbow had protruded bone. We needed to send her to the ER, everyone said, so a guy with a car, along with a couple, took us to the major hospital in the city nearby, where they took an X-ray, and saw a bone was twisted and broken, more than just a dislocation we originally thought/hoped it was, that required surgery.

They could do the surgery there, but then the city is an hour drive from Taipei where we live, and where we might be able to get better care, so we decided to hire an ambulance and have them call the hospital in Taipei to which we were transferring while I called my sister in Taipei to see if she could find a good bone specialist surgeon for us. The hospital fixed the dislocation and gave her a painkiller shot (she's beginning to feel the pain now) and put a temporary cast on her arm before the ambulance arrived and off we went to Taipei.

At the hospital in Taipei they did further exam with CT scan, and the doctor (a recommended bone specialist surgeon my sister found) came to discuss with us about the surgery options. He explained the pros and cons of trying to "pin back" the broken bone vs replacing it with an artificial joint... Long story short, though he left the options open for us to decide, I could tell he really preferred the artificial joint option, for its higher operation success rate and better long term sustainability, even though it's more expensive. So we decided to go with the artificial joint option.

It was already midnight Saturday, they did the surgery the next day, and other than some after-surgery discomfort Linda felt because of the anesthesia, it was a smooth and successful operation.

For the first two weeks after the surgery she wore a cast on her right arm, that she had to be careful not to be in touch with water when she bathed, and that hampered her movement in general. So I got to have the honor of helping her bathe and putting her clothes on and off, a fun and not-so-fun job at times, haha.

She's now off the cast for almost two weeks, and has gradually but pretty much got back to her form again, if still being careful not to strain her arm, and walking stairs extra carefully. I used to know I have a fragile wife, but now I know I have a very fragile wife that I need to handle with extra care :)

I am writing this to explain how it all happened to friends and family who showed concern when they heard about the news, and also to thank again in particular those who offered invaluable help to us during the process: our college friends who drove and accompanied us to the hospital, paid visits during and after our brief stay at the hospital, my family and my wife's family here, and the nurses and doctors of a quality and efficient health care system that ought to be the envy of the world!

Happy New Year! 

 Linda right after the surgery                  At an outing with me this Monday

 


 X-ray photo of her arm with the artificial joint