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Camera Roll
Spring is in full swing. I have a million photos of flowers and cats. Wanna see a selection of them? Here are the flowers & plants: And the cats never fail to be sweet or sleepy or fierce:
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Birthday notes
This year, I celebrated my birthday at least five times over the week. On my last day of 58, Naomi and I went to Otaki for an amazing lunch at YamaNeko. They were having a special strawberry crepe event and I have never had such a delicious crepe – it was sugar crispy on the…
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Project 2025 Bingo – No Joke
It’s April 1, but this post is not a joke. I think we have BINGO. Or maybe we don’t. I think it depends on your perspective… There have been 103 Executive Orders signed since January 20th. Not all of them can be acted upon immediately. Congress has power over some of them. For the EOs…
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Color journey with freesia
This did not turn out how I imagined – every step was a revelation. Several weeks ago, I bought a bouquet of freesia to brighten up the house. They were cheerful colors – red, fuchsia, and pink as well as the classic yellow. As the blossoms faded, I decided to see what color I might…
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Cormorants & Commemoration
Today is the 20th anniversary of my father’s death. It is mind-bending to realise that so much time has passed. Dad’s energy, wisdom, and memory is always with me. He was a sailor who loved the sea, so we scattered his ashes in oceans around the world. When I want to visit with him, I…
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Sayonara, Aloha
Aloha Gardens Tateyama is a local fixture; almost everyone in the Awa area has been at least once with family or on a school trip. After a decade living here, we finally made time to visit. Just in time… Opened in 1970 as “Nambo Paradise”, the botanical garden features a long stretch of hothouses, a…
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It’s Fluffernutter
It seems that the Cat Distribution System has selected a new resident for us. On February 11th, I spied a fluffy orange and white cat over by the old shed. A new face. He returned a few times in the next week. He was skittish, meowing loudly for attention, then running away to a safe…
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Project 2025 Bingo, day 50(ish)
We’ve reached the halfway point of this Bingo game. Time for an update. Not much has changed on the card in the past few weeks. There’s legal pushback with numerous lawsuits, so maybe we will unstamp some of the squares. The “big beautiful bill” budget (H.Con.Res.14) passed in the House and is currently under consideration…
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Closing holes
Before planting, rice fields are prepared to hold water for the early growing season. In the case of Oyama Senmaida, which uses rainwater and no pumped irrigation, the timing is especially important. We’re coming out of an exceptionally dry winter and rains are finally starting, so this week we worked on drainage channels. We’re almost…
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Painting and thinking
This morning I was feeling unsettled. American government is transforming into something unrecognisable as the democracy that I am comfortable with. The Constitution is being cherry-picked just like the Bible. Whatever supports the narrative is mentioned and everything else is ignored. Checks and balances of power in Articles I-III are out the door in favor…
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