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Paths, old and new
The property around 555 is a jungle. I love it that way, yet I feel the need to tame it. I want a diversity of things growing, attracting insects, birds, and other animals but at the same time, I want to be able to enjoy the space around me without climbing through weeds. And the…
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First snow at 555
Across the Bay, yesterday was a snowpocalypse, closing all highways heading west from the city, grounding flights, and delaying trains. But here we only had a lot of rain pouring down on us all day. Until evening when the temperature dropped and the snow began. First a dusting and then quickly accumulating to a nice…
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555 Then and Now
50 years ago, this area was pure satoyama – mixed use farm and forest land. I have been aware of the changes that happened well before we arrived. Tod & I were fascinated by some photos of the area in a book about the history of the old elementary school, and later combed through arial…
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Odd Things in the Barn
We have decided to delay the full renovation of the barn – saving up more money to do it right. But the 120 year old structure needs some loving attention in the interim so I have started on a new plan. I will remove everything from the inside – all the junk, the treasures, and…
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Reuse & Salvage
As creative as I am in other areas, upcycling materials into new things is a challenge for me. I have a hard time imagining novel ways to repurpose thing beyond the original use. With a hard limit on my budget for exterior work around 555, I have to think creatively about what I can find…
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Rearrangement
Tod was in Tokyo last week and just before he came home, I decided to rearrange the living room furniture. I am not sure why I got the fever to do this, but I did. And I am glad for it. I liked the old arrangement just fine. The sofa created an endpoint in the…
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Making White Vinegar
It is expensive to buy white vinegar in Japan. The default Japanese vinegar is made of rice and white vinegar is a niche import. The prices tell the story: Since I want white vinegar for my botanic color projects, as well as for cleaning and cooking, I decided to make my own. It’s a simple…
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Senmaida De-lights
Today I helped out at Oyama Senmaida for the first time. The annual illumination event is over – I wrote about the torch lighting in October – and today we removed all the LED lights, cleaned them, and packed them away for next time. The work itself was not too stressful – I filled three…
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Harvest #1
I mentioned yesterday to Kawasaki-san that the monkeys were snacking on the Kobayashi mikan. I’d seen them in the tree and found orange peels scattered around the garden. When the monkeys start eating your fruit, it is probably ripe. Not one to put things off, the Kawasakis turned up this morning to harvest. I grabbed…
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Demystifying our Mikan
555 is chockablock with citrus trees. There is a yuzu in the front garden, a kumquat over by the hatake, and our Kobayashi mikan. We added a lemon and a lime to the mix this year. And there are four mystery citrus. Probably some kind of natsumikan, a sour orange that ripens in early summer…
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