Self-Made Dumplings 自製水餃

Being an international student without too many Chinese food restaurant or supermarket around town, I always cook for myself. I would cook stir-fry vegetables and slow-stew or oven-roasted meat with steamed rice. But my favorite is dumplings. I used to buy some from local asian grocery store, but they are always expensive and not very tasty. So, occasionally, I would make dumplings myself, like today. I bought the flour skins from a local Chinese grocery store, and prepare the filling. The filling is made of ground pork, mushroom, Chinese or Napa cabbage and ground ginger root, from my own secret recipe.
這裡沒有太多道地的亞洲餐廳和超市，所以大部分的時間我都是自己煮。水餃一向是我的最愛，但是店裡買的冷凍水餃多半不好吃又貴，所以三不五時還是得自己包來解饞。麵皮當然還是得在超市買，餡料就隨便自己配了，我這次用的是絞肉、香菇、白菜和薑泥。咬上一口，濃郁的香菇香搭上淡淡的辛辣薑味，實在是解遊子思鄉之苦的好食物啊。













The sea of dumplings. 這片餃子海，夠吃好幾餐了。













Aren't they arty? 包得還算漂亮吧。












Served with green onion and sesame oil. Yummy. 加上蔥花、淋上麻油，就是一份美味的晚餐。

Cumberland Island National Seashore 康泊島海岸國家公園

Cumberland Island National Seashore is a large island-based US national park. It was renamed from Spanish name San Pedro Island by General James Oglethorpe in honor of William Augustus, the then 13 year old Duke of Cumberland in England. Blending saltwater marsh, maritime forest and white sand beach, these three ecosystems play equal important role in contribution to this island's bio-diversity. The richness of lives and environment make it more than just a “national seashore”. Thanks to the upcoming tropical storm which was brewing closely, the sky was very dramatic that made my shots brilliant.
康泊島海岸國家公園 (Cumberland Island National Seashore) 是以一座大型島嶼為主，由鹽沼、海岸叢林和白色沙灘所組成，所以說它是「海岸公園」其實不太正確。也由於多樣化的生態環境，孕育出豐富的生物物種和景觀，讓人深有不虛此行的感覺，而我們在島上逛了大半天，才走了整座島南邊的一小塊，可見要完全探索它的豐富多樣，還是得多待幾天才行，這也難怪大多數的遊客都是在島上露營，在茂密的叢林裡搭帳篷露宿，享受野趣，真是人生一大樂事呢。

















































About 30 minutes ride, the ferry gives you a feeling of escaping from the world. 入島須搭乘約30分鐘渡輪，一開始就覺得有脫離塵世的感覺。

























The maritime forest is consisted of live oak trees as canopy and saw palms on the ground. 海岸叢林是以橡樹和棕梠樹所構成，置身其中真的很有林深不知處的感覺。

























This piece of sand dune is like a horse or horse head. 像一匹馬或馬頭的沙堆。













Rose-pinks flourish on the hot and dry sand dunes. 燥熱的沙丘上居然也有美麗的野花盛開。
























Unknown lizard sunbathing on the ground of the forest. 不知名的蜥蜴在叢林地上就著篩下來的陽光做日光浴。

























The only “Road” on the island. 島上唯一的大路，南北連絡交通。













Built in 1796, Dungeness Mansion was a center of Georgian high society where the elite of the fledgling country held parties and social events of legendary proportion. After Confederate's failure in Civil War, it fell into disrepair and burned to the ground in 1866. Dungeness Mansion 建於1796，是當時喬州菁英暫離塵世聚會飲樂的場所，後來因為南北戰爭的失敗，這幢華麗的建築在1866年也難逃北軍大規模破壞焚燒的命運。

























Wild horses feeding on the grassland between ruins. 目前只有野馬在廢墟裡自在繁衍。























Due to erosion on the shore, some trees were fallen with despair. 因為海岸的侵蝕作用，比較靠岸邊的樹往往根基被掏空而倒下。

















Fiddler Crabs are abundant in salt marshes. 鹽沼裡有大量的招潮蟹。













Armadillos were introduced in 1970s. 犰狳（發音為求於）是七零年代才引進島上的。



































Josh, one of my best friends at SCAD, just got his new toy, an Olympus DSLR. 喬許也晉身DSLR玩家了。












What a nice day! 好風、好水、好日。