





Many families were out walking and hiking Gyeryong Mountain on the Lunar New Year. A time to celebrate family and loved ones, fill your belly with Om-ma's home cooking, remember relatives who have left this world, make traditional bows to your grandparents and relax in good company. Certainly made me miss home and annual Pompo & Ames gatherings.
We arrived at Gyeryongsan late in the day. With only an hour of daylight to spare we walked the base of the mountain. I was disappointed that we had so little of the day left, but that changed when we passed this temple. Whether it is a part of their daily routine or an annual ceremony in honor of the Lunar New Year I don't know, but as we were walking we saw a group of female monks performing outside of the temple. One at a time they pounded on these huge, elaborately-painted drums. The vibrations carried through the air. We watched as the sun sank behind layers of thick cloud. I'm happy we went late afternoon.