To the newcomers in my neighbourhood.

On the Indian pokeweed: Shanglu 商陸

To all happy rustics...

An anecdote about Wang Anshi from an eleventh-century biji collection.

An ancient Chinese hiker and his gear.

A seventeenth-century celebration of the pineapple.

An excerpt from the Bencao gangmu 本草綱目.

From the 19th-century collection Xiaolin guangji 笑林廣記.

A friendly warning to those who are used to a sedentary lifestyle (like myself).

Four 18th-century recipes for pig knuckles from the Suiyuan shida 隨園食單.

Squirrel: a big fan of grapes?

A reminder for mice/bats: never underestimate a cat's hunting skills!

A reminder for those who work with others in the field/garden.

As spring approaches...

Remedy or comedy?

On the spirit of a cat.

An album leaf for the season.

A tip on how (not) to get a dragon.

相傳高皇帝時初起太學，上臨視之，顧學制宏麗，聖情甚悅。行至廣業堂前，偶發一言云：“天下有福兒郎，應得居此。”迄今百四十年來，學生居此堂者，往往占魁選，躋位通貴，他所不及也。又諸堂中都無蜘蛛云。上來時，見蛛布網屋隅，曰：“我纔建屋，爾輒據之耶？”顧叱之出，語訖而蛛遯，從茲遂絕...