Dickens Christmas Fair

Another Yultide romp in Charles Dickens' London. Never enough time to see and do everything, but had lots of fun anyway.

Taking a Little Break

There are more wee birdies in the garden, as the weather gets cooler in the hills and up north. The fox sparrows have been back for a couple of weeks, and this time I have three visiting instead of just one. Because there are more, I get to hear their squeaky chatter, that kind of sounds like the "chirp" I can make. Last week, one of them was startled, and flew into the breakfast room window. I dashed out to pick it up before the cats did. It just had the air knocked out of it, and I set it in a rhody while it reinflated. They look so big when I look at them among the white-crowns, but it was so tiny in my hand. I love their dark brown plumage and streaky breasts. Of course I didn't think to get a photo until it had flown off.



But this morning, an Anna's hummingbird hit the same window. I had the camera at hand, and charged to the rescue. Although there was no blood or obvious injuries, Mr. Anna didn't look so good, and I worried he wouldn't make it. I took a few pictures, and then set him in the dish of the thistle feeder. He wasn't grasping with his claws, so I figured this was a safe enough spot for him. When I checked back in a few minutes, he was gone, hopefully to defend his flowers from the honeybees. Yes, I've seen them chase off a bee.

I've been working on my third and last indexing exam, and I've been mostly a mole person for about a week and a half. This afternoon, before having some lunch, I went out to blink at the weak sunlight, water the veggie garden and pick some produce. The beans are still producing, and I'm sure the lettuce will continue until the rains really come on.



There are still some beets and carrots left. Sadly my August plantings didn't do anything, so I'll have no winter and spring roots. The broccoli and kale are coming into their own, and I am pleased to finally have success with the broc. Marathon is great, because it keeps putting out flowerets after the main bunch is cut.



I'm not sure where the seed came from, but I have a volunteer tomatillo. I doubt it'll give me any fruit - it's way too late in the season. But it's blooming prettily.



And now it's back to the exam.

5FEE92B3-FCC5-5F41-17B5-7F94BD8AAD57

1.02.28

Wild Hive in Petrolia

Today I took my friend Ananda out to collect a wild hive. She's been wanting to start beekeeping, and this seemed to be a perfect opportunity.




Petrolia is on the Mattole River out on the Lost Coast of Humboldt County, reached by a narrow, windy, potholed road. The scenery is lovely, but sometimes must be missed if one is not to plunge off the road or get hit by an oncoming vehicle. The town is in a lovely broad valley that is home to many back-to-the-landers. The cabin with the wild hive was a bit out of town, just a poison oak-laden stone's throw from the river. I was expecting the weather to be horribly hot, but it was a most comfortable mid-70ish day.

This particular wild hive was in a solar power battery box, and was small but thriving. The bees were very mellow, and tolerated us removing and trimming comb remarkably well. This was an intermediate to advanced level beekeeping exercise, but Ananda bravely stood her ground amid a cloud of confused bees. I believe her only other beeking experience was helping me with a hive inspection last year. Our only problem was that a large number of them kept leaving the hive box, and settling on the cabin wall in a large cluster. We would brush them into the box, and more would gather. Thinking that perhaps they just needed some time, we drove back into town for a lunch break.

Oh my goodness, if you find yourselves at the Petrolia Market, and there's freshly barbecued tri tip and pork ribs (and you're a meat-eater), buy some and devour it on the spot! We quickly polished off a pound of sliced tri tip, and had apples for dessert.

On our return to the cabin, we found the main cluster still on the wall, and several small clusters of bees in fights to the death. It appeared that a nearby hive had scented the honey, and had come to rob our hive. We swept up as many bees as we could, dumped them into the hive box and closed it all up. A small but lively cloud of bees followed us to the car, and joined us inside. They behaved themselves quite well on the drive back.

Ananda also keeps chickens, a turkey and rabbits. The turkey closely supervised the hive set-up. I think she was watching me, but she could have been thinking about a little bee snack once our backs were turned.

Two Hive Cut Outs

On August 23, the FBBBs* united with Bob MacMullin to remove two wild hives from the wall of the abandoned Bomac lumber mill in Arcata. Much stickiness ensued. The bees were amazingly mellow, though it took Julia & Bob a few days to get all of the bees to go to their new homes.



I processed the honeycomb, and extracted close to 3 gallons of honey. There are plans to make mead with some, with plenty left over for each of us to take some honey home.

*Fabulous Babes of the Bee Brigade

Loch Morgan July 14-18, 2010

In the 11th year of this Morgan's Compaignie tradition, XX chromosomes were allowed to play. Of course they couldn't be wimpy, froofy chromosomes, but strong and "manly". Belching and crotch-scratching were optional.



The camp lies across the Loch, on Ryan's Cove. This year the water was high, which presented some boat-mooring challenges. In typical Siren fashion, these challenges were creatively & effectively met.

The mornings were lazy, with waking and breaking fast lasting until about 10:00, when our first rum ration was poured and the colours were raised.



Then it was out on the water for a sail to the sand spit. Because of the westerly ocean breeze, tacking to the spit took a goodly portion of the midday. I got more experience working the jib and being ballast.



On Friday, Pierre (Pia) met us on the spit, after hiking in from Dry Lagoon. As most of us lunched on the spit, Pierre transformed into a siren, and helped the Otter ashore in a calm spell. Upon our return to camp, Harvey-sensei made picnic-style Tea for all takers. A sake party followed, complete with camp sushi by Michael. In the evening there was gambling in the tavern tent and a campfire outside.



Saturday saw the annual treasure hunt. Boats darted across the water as swiftly as the wind would allow. Michael piloted the gin boat, delivering G&Ts to thirsty sailors. One clue was missing, but fortunately the architects of the hunt recalled the words to it, and we moved on. Later, the missing clue was found in a geocache by the boat dock, apparently moved by someone who didn't appreciate treasure hunts. At least they didn't follow the clues and find the treasure.



On the spit, we unearthed a "teaser" treasure that contained yet another clue. We played a game of bocce on our way back to the boats, stopping to visit an attractive wee wooden boat and its crew. Nearby, sunbathing lasses waved and flexed lithe gams at the sailors.

The final treasure was hidden back at camp, and was properly distributed into rum cups upon discovery. The chest also contained "educational materials" which no doubt were useful to many of this lot.



A few stinky sailors took an afternoon dip in the cove, and played sea lions on the floating dock. The Lord Chamberlain suffered the indignity of becoming a diving board for some. John learned to be cautious about accepting drinks from disreputable sorts like Michael.

The evening saw more drinking, gambling, smoking and singing (if you call what we do singing).



On Sunday morning, all but Bruce & Rauri broke camp, and began loading boats for the return to the mundane world.

Swarms

On a sleepy Independence Day Monday evening, I responded to a swarm alert at the home of two local artists, Becky Evans and Bob Benson. The cluster was nice & big, perhaps 4 pounds, and relatively easy to gather. Becky took some photos of the process, and kindly sent me copies. In a quick check of the hive two days later, I found some eggs. Here's hoping the queen continues to be a winner.



A few days before, I'd joined my beek friend Joy in gathering a swarm near my house. Joy didn't want the swarm, so I got it. Getting bees off the base of a rose bush is not easy. We may have injured the queen, because when I saw her, I found a dent in her abdomen, and a tag of "skin" hanging off it. She seemed lively enough, but there were no eggs after a few days. I trimmed the "skin", in case it prevented her from sticking her abdomen into cells and laying eggs. Here's hoping she is also a winner.

Joy also let me have a swarm from one of her hives, but she has right of first refusal if I find a marked (recently purchased) queen in there.

Overall, the queen situation is improving. Some of this spring's young queens are doing well, and I'm waiting on a couple more. I think I have nine hives right now, though three of these are nucs. After all the queen trouble this spring, I want to hoard as many queens as I can until after harvest.

The hives are filling nicely with nectar, and mature honey is getting capped. I'm hoping for at least a couple of boxes of honey to harvest in August.

12 July Update:
The Evans/Benson swarm is doing very well. They have four frames well filled with eggs and larvae. The queen is very long and a beautiful espresso color. Now that she's proven herself, I have named her Rebecca, after Ms. Evans.

Sadly, the rosebush queen is no more. I fear my intervention did more harm than good. I found a small patch of brood right after trimming her (of course), but now there is no new brood. Her followers will be combined with another hive today.

The queen from Joy's swarm does not appear to be her recently bought one. This one is unmarked, and hasn't started laying yet. She's a blond Italian beauty. I hope she has mated well, and will be laying soon so she can earn a name.

Lots of Princesses. Who Wants to Be a Real Queen?

As I recently mentioned, this has been a difficult year for queens. I'm not the only one in the area. We had a long cold winter that only now seems to be abating - and here it is nearly Midsummer!

In the last few weeks, I've had a number of young queens hatch out. I prefer to call them princesses, until they prove themselves in the brood nest. Last week, two were laying; this week I'll see if their volume and quality are up to snuff.

I decided to buy another queen, just in case. She arrived last Thursday, and I installed her in a hive that I thought was queenless and queen cell-less. The next day, the workers exhibited pre-swarm behavior, e.g. loitering on the landing board in large numbers. This told me that there might be another queen in there. I took the hive apart, and began shaking off frames. Soon I found a rather plump princess and many queen cells. I'm not sure how I could have missed all those the week before, unless there was an older queen who was laying only a few eggs that the workers turned into baby queens. So that hive got split, with the plump princess in one and the bought queen in the other. That's eight hives right now. Yikes!

Of course, I forgot to mark the plump surprise princess when I had her within my grasp. Hopefully she'll be easy to find next time. But yesterday I found and marked two more: one was December's wild queen Grainne (who currently has two daughters in finishing school), and the other is another princess who just started laying. This princess needs some experience - she's often laying two and three eggs in one cell. If she keeps that up, or winds up making mostly drones, she'll go the way of Anne Boleyn and Mary Stewart. But considering she's only just started her career, I'll cut her some slack for a week or so. I hope she makes it - she's a third generation Myrtletown queen, and the last of her line. I'd love to have all local queens that are better adapted to our coastal climate.

16 June P.S. The queen in the hive over at the Harveys' looks to be a keeper! She's a second generation California Street queen, daughter of Athena, granddaughter of Sofia. In honor of her location, I have named her Califa.

Bee Industriousness

A week ago last Sunday, I collected a swarm. I gave them some sugar syrup to keep them happy and to encourage comb-building. If I don't use a feeder board that restricts their entry into the feeder box, I fill the remaining space with frames. Not only had they been industriously building comb on the adjacent frames, but they filled the space around the jar with comb. In the photo (not that you can tell) the jar is being held by the surrounding comb. The comb was full of eggs and larvae. I salvaged some of the comb by holding it onto empty frames with rubber bands. Some comb was too wavy, so I abandoned it. It was full of drone larvae, so it wasn't as great a loss as if it had been full of workers.

While preparing to remove and reattach all this comb, I heard queen piping. I saw a clot of bees and separated it, finding a small black queen in the center. After dislodging most of the bees that were clinging to her, I put her in a queen cage. Then I saw another clot, and found a large golden queen at the center. I caged her, too, and then proceeded to check the rest of the hive. I suspect that the small black one is the bought queen (Lolita) that I thought had died. Having thought this, I had combined the swarm on top of Lolita's hive. Big and Golden must be the swarm queen.

Anyway, I decided to keep both queens for now, to see how they'll do when they're not bitch-fighting. I made a double-decker hive, separating the two queens with a double screen. Next week I'll decide whether Lolita is any good (I doubt it). I've got to stop naming these girls until they've proved themselves.

I set up another double-decker hive today. This time, the queen has been making swarm cells, and I don't want her to leave. So I tracked her down and set her up in the penthouse, and will see what happens below with what are now several queen cells. I've been having some queen melodramas this spring, so want to see if I can get some decent queens. Not only was Lolita a disappointment, but a second queen I bought at the same time (6 weeks ago) wasn't much good, and then died. Considering I have just about as good luck with homemade queens, I figure I'll try and save some money.

I've not reported on the bees for a while, mostly because so much of it becomes too routine to tell. But I hope this satisfies those who hunger for news of the bees.

Big Lagoon Messabout, May 14-16, 2010

As Ratty told Mole in The Wind in the Willows:

Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing — absolute nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing... about in boats — or with boats. In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not.

About a week before Messabout, the lagoon was so full that the campground was flooded. But all that water wound up breaching the sand bar, and the lagoon had drained quite a bit before the weekend. We had to walk carefully down the slick clay beach to our boats. Because of the new connection with the ocean, there were jellies and seals coming into the lagoon.



We sailed down to the breach both Friday and Saturday. Depending on the tide, we had to beware of getting sucked out to sea or being pushed back into the lagoon. For me, it was all good for experience, especially when Thorne let me man the helm of the Lord Chamberlain.



Along with the usual cast of ne'er-do-wells, we acquired new friends. Jeff, Dean and Eric came out to play. It turned out that Jeff is the son of one of my beek friends, and it was great to finally meet him.



In camp, we were visited by a very friendly cat. According to the campground host, someone abandoned him when they broke camp. The host has been feeding him, but hopes a kind soul will give him a good home. Some of us were sorely tempted, but already had cats at home to consider.



On the spit, the agates were ripe. During our Sunday morning inspection of the ocean, many of us settled down for some treasure hunting. Some of us got to coach others on the art of agate spotting, and many fine specimens were collected.

Anderson Ren Faire (aka Shasta Dragonwood Celtic blah blah blah Faire) May 1-2, 2010

This is a favored event for the Sirens, mostly because it's relatively close to home. They also let us fire cannons and muskets, which makes it even more attractive. The weather was great, which has been a rarity so far this year.



The fair itself is rather small, but who cares when you get to go costume camping by a gorgeous river?



Our camp was out of the way, which was lousy for getting visitors during fair hours, but wonderful for having privacy and relative quiet. We encamped with the Earl of Stampford's Regiment of Foot (Thorne's roundheaded bunch) and Montrose's Free Artillerie Company (Dale Shinn's royalist bunch). Despite having opposing sides in the English Civil War at such close quarters, peace and harmony were maintained throughout the event.


Photo from Stacy Dunbar

Dale Shinn brought his hurdygurdy, and serenaded us now and again with old timey tunes. If only he had been playing when we sang Friday night; we might have stayed more in tune. Dale also had a reproduction of an old water-filled clay bird call that got me running about looking for that strange bird. Saturday was gambling night, with a good game of three pot brag. Some fellows from another camp came by, hoping we'd be singing again. This surprised us, considering our singing is strong on enthusiasm and short on tunefulness. But I guess they were desperate for entertainment.

School of the Renaissance Soldier, 16-18 April 2010

After hearing tales from John and Pia about SRS, I finally made the time to go. It is a private, participants-only, all-period-all-the-time event. It is intended to teach participants some of the historically accurate military maneuvers from the time of the English Civil War and Thirty Years War.



This year's event got moved at the last minute to Camp Tamorancho in the rolling hills of Marin County. Sadly, this meant that the cavalry couldn't participate, because there was precious little level ground for them to ride. Instead, the drills were specifically for pikemen and musketeers. There was also one cannon crew who made many a goodly BOOM!





Camp followers like Pia and I got to tend camp while the men (and some military women) were away, or bring water to the troops as they drilled and skirmished. Water-bearing meant I could wander about and sometimes follow a quiet trail, and to take photos of the action. I think that next year I might help in the kitchen a bit, if only to learn some open fire cooking techniques.



At night the tavern was open, and there was much drinking, singing and gambling. Of course.



Some of the more seasoned camp followers devised a competition that filled time here and there. One task was to hold two jugs of water with arms outstretched. I was napping at the time, so could be wrong, but it sounded like they were using the Hail Mary as a timekeeper.



I never did find out what the second task was. An evening competition in the tavern consisted of looting the fallen. Ten men got to have their clothes and body parts rifled in the pursuit of gold. The final competition was a dice roll, but I got distracted by something else. The winner bore a crown of golden furze, and the fame of being the first best camp follower.



Our next-tent neighbor was Lodema the Potter, and Pia and I made off with many a piece of her wonderful crockery. She came with 80 pieces, and went home with only six. There was also a participant who had a number of leather bottles and knives for sale, but I resisted. Pia came home with a nice bottle, and John a rondelle.




Our table, with many of Lodema's wares

John, Pia and I, along with Lodema, Patrick (Col. Gaul) and Barry (Cpt. Syler), stayed over on Sunday night. The Camp Tamorancho manager, Linda, graciously invited us to dinner. Homemade lentil and split pea soups and a baked pasta dish made a wonderful cap to the weekend. Some of us were even able to dine fresh and clean, thanks to a belatedly revealed shower. Oh bliss!



This really was the best event I've been to. Ren Faires are fun because of all the frolicking and shopping, but they're hardly accurate. And there are people in T shirts and shorts drinking Budweiser out of a plastic cup. American Civil War reenactments are infested with too many people who take themselves far too seriously. I've only day-tripped to one Rendezvous, but I think it holds a close second to SRS.

For more photos, please visit S.N. Jacobson's (Jacob) site, David Luckhart's (Lt. Thorne) Flicker page and Stacy's Flicker page.

Japan

This blog entry may take a bit of time to fill in. Right now, the photos are all uploaded, but I need to work on the text. As usual, click on a slideshow if you want to go to the Picasa album. From there, you can access my other albums, too.

Arrival and Our First Day, March 22 and 23
After landing at Narita Airport and taking a two or three hour bus ride, it was late (23:00?), and we were very tired. We met the Hiroses (our Tea sensei Yoshiko-san and her husband Kazukio-san) at Ikebukuro Station. We then took a train to Hoya Station and caught taxis to our respective lodgings. It was a good thing they were there to guide us, because our brains were fried, and no good for further naviation. Yoshiko-san took Harvey and Holly home with her, and Kazukio-san helped Kristin and me to Tatami Guesthouse. It is also known as Hibari House, which is possibly its old name that is still over the door. We tolerated a rather long introduction to the features of the guesthouse, took our room key, and promptly landed in bed.

Hibari House is very inexpensive long-term lodging. I think we paid a total of $700 for three weeks. It is bare-bones dormitory-style, with toilets and a trough sink down the hall. The small common room with kitchen, coin-op showers and laundry are on the first floor. Most tenants are college-age, and stay out late, often returning after midnight to have a loud conversation in the echoey hall before retiring for a noisy nightcap in their tissue-thin walled room. Even the hosts seemed oblivious to normal sleep patterns. One night, at 3:00, I had to yell at the otherwise thoughtful Mokoto-san, who was flinging recycling into a bin outside our window. The white noise application on my iPod got a workout every night. The money savings on the room was great, but was not worth the loss of sleep.

The next morning, Mokoto-san kindly gave us a street map of the western part of Tokyo, which supplemented the copies of Google Maps that I had brought. We easily made the ten minute walk to Hibarigaoke Station, got transportation passes, and hopped on the train to the next station at Hoya. Then we fumbled our way along toward the Hiroses' house, getting some friendly help from a shop keeper who spoke as much English as we did Japanese. Harvey and Holly met us along the main road, and guided us the rest of the way. This saved us from getting lost, because precious few Japanese streets actually have signs, or even names. I'm not sure there are any streets in Tokyo that actually run on a grid, so it is easy to get lost once one leaves the safety of a known street. I still haven't quite deciphered their district, block, street and house numbering system, and am not sure how anyone can find a house without a seasoned guide.

All in all, the trip from Hibari House to the Hiroses' home took us about 45 minutes, which on one hand was great for exercise, but on the other hand was annoyingly inconvenient, especially when we happened to be carrying lots of loot. ...Especially in the rain. ...At night. ...When it was often already way past my bedtime after a long day of running around.

On that first morning, we visited with Sensei for a while. She showed us her Tea room, and we helped get the sunken hearth ready for the summer season. In the afternoon the Hiroses' daughter, Yumiko-san, showed us around Kichijoji, a district where she has her massage studio. After seeing her cozy studio (with a wee garden), we went to a beautiful park called Inokashira-koen. The centerpiece of the park is a lake surrounded by sakura trees. I think that this is the park depicted in the German film "Hanami" (or "Cherry Blossoms" in American versions).

On a small island in the lake is a shrine to Benzaiten (a.k.a. Benten), the goddess of music and art. Yumiko-san told us that Benziaten is said to be jealous of couples who go boating on the lake, and will cause them to break up. There is also a small shrine on the island dedicated to a white snake (Ugajin) that protects the island. The sakura were barely beginning to bloom, but delicate white magnolias were blooming and maple leaves were opening. We began our birdwatching here, greedily spotting large-billed crows, bulbuls, great tits and other birds that enjoy the park.

In the evening, we met Yoshiko- and Kazukio-san at Kichijoji Station, and went out for a delicious dinner. As with most (if not all) train stations in Tokyo, Kichijoji Station has a large shopping mall with many enticing restaurants. I could have happily eaten my way through this station, and then moved on to the next. I should have followed Holly's example (learned from experience), to photograph my meals. Not only were they delicious, but even the simples noodle dish was lovely. I think I had fish for this this first dinner. Afterward, Kazukio-san made sure Kristin and I got onto the correct bus to a train station. The others took a cab home, in deference to the Hiroses' age. Then with help from some kind strangers Kristin & I got to Hibarogaoke Station, whence we retraced our steps to our room at Hibari House.

Our lodgings in Hibarigaoke and the Hiroses' home southeast of Hoya are approximately nine miles from Tokyo Harbor, and are out in the Tokyo suburbs. I had thought of Tokyo as being a huge crush of concrete and humanity, but found that the suburbs have room for modest gardens, and even sizable market gardens. Across from the Hiroses' home there is what appears to be a family farmhouse surrounded by a couple of acres of cabbages. On that first morning, we met one of these family members planting cabbages on another plot down the road. Eriko-san told us that her family farmed many plots in the neighborhood, supplying nearby supermarkets with fresh produce. Later, on our walk with Yumiko-san, we came across a vegetable stand with a coin locker "vending machine" for vegetables. The doors were plexiglass, so one could see the veggies in question. It seemed a perfect solution for market gardeners who could not quite rely on the honor of others to leave, rather than take, money in an honor box.

On this day, I began my photographic collection of manhole and other utility covers. I'd become interested in such things in New Orleans, where I took a couple of crayon rubbings of decorative utility covers. It seems that each city or district in Japan has their own distinctive artwork, and it was a delight to find new ones. Some are even painted. In the Hiroses' neighborhood, most of the manhole covers bear sakura (cherry) blossoms. In Hibarigaoke ("Skylark Hill"), the covers bear a plump little hibari with a spray of fruit blossoms.

March 24: Chaji at Rieko-sensei's
This trip was partly about doing tea, and we didn't waste much time starting. On our second day, Yoshiko-san sent us to study with another Tea master, Rieko-sensei. To get there, we met up with another Tea student, Chieko, at Shibuya Station. This station is huge, and fortunately we had an excellent landmark at which to meet. There is a statue of a dog named Hachiko, who in the 1920s would accompany his human to the station in the morning, and wait for him to return in the evening. When his human died, Hachiko continued to wait at the station for many years. His loyalty touched many people, and was thus memorialized with a statue.

From Shibuya, Chieko took us to Shinjuku Station, switched trains, and arrived at another station. I was getting quite turned around, and have no idea where in Tokyo we wound up. On the way, we acquired some other Tea students, and we walked the remaining distance to Rieko-san's house.

Yoshiko-san had told us that a "light lunch" was planned before Tea practice. We soon discovered that this is code for a full-blown chaji: a formal meal followed by koicha (thick tea) and then usucha (thin tea). See my February entry about my birthday chaji for more details.

Fortunately, Rieko-sensei anticipated our still travel-weary bodies and Harvey's difficulty with extended sitting on mats. She provided all of us with comfortable low stools. This conveniently gave her the chance to introduce us to her new Tea table, which allowed her to sit on a stool and make tea. Rieko-san is in her 80's, and she said her hips were getting bad. But she wanted to continue doing Tea. This table was the solution. For usucha, she invited Harvey to begin as host. Then many others of us took the opportunity to try out the table. It was also my first experience with a sunken hearth and a Tea stand.

Rieko-san knew that Holly, Kristin and I enjoyed birding, so many items in the Tea room were selected for us. The scroll in the tokonoma (art alcove) read "Birds Play Naturally", the natsume (thin tea container) was decorated with a flock of birds, and the shifuku (cloth bag around the thick tea container) had a bird and flowers in brocade. The incense holder in the tokonoma was shaped like a closed umbrella, to commemorate the rain. It was wonderful to see new styles of dogu (Tea utensils), and to see how they can be utilized for a specific occasion. After using the same ones for practice for so long, it is easy to think that there is little variation.

Everyone was very nice, and we had a lovely time. Because many of these people are students of Yoshiko-sensei's, we got to meet several of them again at following Tea practices.

March 25: birding near Seibukyujomae (Seibu Dome baseball park).



Kamakura, March 27
Featuring Tsurugaoke Hachiman-gu, Kotokuin (aka the Kamakura Daibutsu) and the Hase-dera Kannon Temple complex



Kawagoe and the Shichifukujin (Seven Lucky Gods) Tour, March 28
Kawagoe is also called "Little Edo". It is a historic merchant center, and some of the Edo Period buildings can be seen on Kurizakuri Street. The city is popular for the Shichifukujin (Seven Lucky Gods) shrine tour.



Not yet posted: Tea Practice at Nishihara-sensei's I, March 29
Wherein this Grasshopper learns much about self-consiousness, defensiveness, letting go of what has been previously learned and submission to learning. Lovely people. Dinner at a great hole-in-the-wall.

Kyoto I, March 30
Featuring Hirano Jinja, Kinkaku-ji, Ryoan-ji, Daitoku-ji and Urasenke School of Chanoyu



Horyuji, April 1
About a half hour south of Kyoto is the city of Ikaruga. The temple complex of Horyuji is home to a five story pagoda that is the oldest extant wooden structure in Japan and one of the two oldest in the world.


April 1 Continued: Nara
Also to the south of Kyoto is Nara. It is home to a whole bunch of historic and spiritual sites that could have occupied a couple of days on their own. We toured the National Treasure House on the grounds of Kofukuji. On display are dozens of old gold-leafed and lacquered wooden carvings of the Buddha, Kannon, monks, guardian spirits etc. Photography wasn't allowed, but I later saw a poster with a photo of the huge many-armed Kannon.

Nara is also home to sika deer, sacred messengers of the gods. They freely roam the parks and temple grounds, harassing tourists for biscuits that vendors handily supply. The souvenir shops are full of various deer and "deer-boy" Buddha tchotchkes.

After the Treasure House, we hurried to Nara Park, which contains many temple and shrine complexes. We only had time for an important few.


Todai-ji contains Daibutsu (the Big Buddha), which is pretty darned big. I'm not sure if it's bigger or smaller than the Kamakura Daibutsu, but it's impressive, housed in a Daibutsu-sized hall. There is a pillar with a hole in the base that is the size of one of Daibutsu's nostrils. It is said that if one passes through this hole, one will attain enlightenment in the next life. Children have an easy time of it, but even I was able to pass after getting my arms in the right position.

Up on a hill is Nigatsudo Hall, which sports dozens of lanterns made of stone, bronze and paper. The view of Nara is lovely from there.

Kasuga Taisha (Kasuga Grand Shrine Complex) is also famous for its hundreds of lanterns. Stone lanterns, often capped with moss, line the approaches to the main shrine. The shrine was closed by the time we got there, but we were able to peek through slats at the bronze lanterns within. In the gloaming we made our way back to the bus and then the train station. Back in Kyoto Station, we had a stand-up dinner. On a poster were photos and descriptions of the noodle dishes. One buys a ticket for the desired dish from a vending machine. Then one goes inside and bellies up to the bar, and offers the ticket to the cook. In a trice, a delicious bowl of noodles is delivered. These noodle places are popular with salarymen who need a bit of dinner on their way from work. It is not the sort of place to linger, but is wonderful for a quick bite.

Before retiring to our hotel, I wandered through Hirano Jinja again, to see the Hanami festivities at night. Things were winding down, with only a few parties lingering over their drinks. The lanterns lit up the sakura blossoms beautifully.

April 1: Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine Complex
This is the Inari shrine of all Inari shrines. Inari is the god of rice & sake, and therefore agriculture. In modern times he has also become the god of business. His guardians & messengers are foxes, or kitsune. The torii leading to his shrines are painted vermillion. The shrines of Fushimi Inari cover the mountain overlooking the town of Inari. The lowest shrine is linked to the next by twin serpentine paths lined with the Thousand Torii. These were beautifully featured in "Memoirs of a Geisha". We visited only the two lowest shrines, but someday I would like to make a pilgrimage to each one on the mountain.



Kyoto II: The Eastern Area
After a morning in Inari, we returned to Kyoto to visit the eastern part of the city. There, we paid our respects to a descendant of Miyamoto Musashi's famous sagarimatsu tree where he defeated a gang of rivals who thought to ambush him. Then we visited Hachidai Shrine, which has a small shrine containing a piece of Musashi's very tree.

Back down the road is Shisendo, the retirement home of the exiled Ishikawa Jozan, a retainer of the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The gardens are gorgeous, even before the azaleas bloom.

Back down the hill, we strolled up the sakura-lined Philosopher's Walk to Ginkakuji (Temple of the Silver Pavillion). Although it was raining, there were many people out to see the blossoms, some in beautiful kimono, and more with colorful umbrellas. Ginkaku was built by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the grandson of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu who had Kinkakuji built. Yoshimasa planned to have his hall covered in silver foil to emulate his grandfather's Golden Pavillion. Sadly work was delayed, and he died before it was finished. Now visitors enjoy the wabi beauty of the unfinished wood. The gardens are also outstanding, and feature a large dry garden raked into deep furrows and punctuated by a large truncated cone of granite sand. A path up the hill provides a broad view of the buildings and gardens and the city beyond.

That night, we boarded the bus back to Tokyo. Someday I want to travel between these two cities in daylight, so I can see the countryside.



3 April: Ueno-no-Oyama and Asakusa
Back in Tokyo, we got to see a full-blown Hana-mi at Ueno-no-Oyama (also called Ueno-koen, or Ueno Park). There is a long, wide path lined with sakura that were in full bloom. At 10AM, the crowds were building, and the bare ground on either side of the path was occupied by blue tarps for group picnics. As the day wore on, even tiny bare patches between bushes were occupied by smaller groups. Soon we were packed elbow-to-elbow in a river of humanity, all admiring the ephemeral blooms of the cherry tree. Here and there were food and beverage vendors. "One shot" glasses of sake soak in a hot water bath, and were quite tasty.

Just off the path, we visited another shrine to Inari, which included a grotto shrine. A bridal couple were visiting the adjacent Gojo Tenjin. Then we enjoyed the view and lighter crowd atop Ueno Hill, which was the site of the Shogitai Warriors' last stand (as seen in "The Last Samurai"). Back into the fray, we elbowed our way between twin rows of food vendors along a causeway to a shrine to Benten. I wanted to eat my way along the causeway, but my stomach only allowed a tasty grilled fish cake pressed into a lobster shape. Next time I'll come with an empty stomach and time to devour one of each delicious treat.

Then we caught a train to nearby Asakusa, the home of Senso-ji and the vendor's street of Nakamise-dori that leads from the Thunder Gate (Kamarimon) to the temple. The crowds were just as thick as they were in Ueno-koen, but this time there was shopping to be done. Sadly, our time was limited, but a vendor of kimono accessories got a workout by us.



4 April: Totoro's Forest and Wada-en Tea Plantation
We returned to the Lake Sayama area west of Tokyo center (see 25 March). We fumbled our way through Tororo's Forest and ended up at the Kurosuke tea plantation. The forest and old family farmhouse inspired Miyazaki Hayao when he wrote the film My Neighbor Totoro. Hirose-sensei's daughter Yumiko-san joined us, and helped translate. We seemed to be the only ones at the tea plantation interested in tea.



6 April: Nikko
Mostly visiting Rinnoji and Toshogu Shrine in Nikko National Park. Nikko Toshogu buildings are covered with elaborate carvings that apparently ere inspired by Chinese architectural ornament. Above Toshogu is an inner shrine that holds the grave of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Shogun of Japan.



7 April: Yokohama
Sankein is a beautiful garden filled with distinctive old buildings collected from around Japan. Matsui Midori and her students Yuki-san and Mihoko-san showed us the gardens before a relaxed Tea practice and a delicious dinner.



8 April: Return to Inokashira-koen
This is the first place we visited on this trip. On my last day in Japan, I wanted to see the sakura over the pond now that they were in full bloom.



Shrine Book and Tourist Stamps
These are due to get disseminated into their respective photo albums. But for now, this will do.



Signs and Miscellanea

Odds and ends of Japanese culture that caught my eye, and were informative or amusing.

My traveling companion Holly Harvey has a dizzying array of Japanese signs and graphics in her Picasa album. She also has a larger photo collection of Japanese toilets and restrooms than I do. Of course, she also has many "run-of-the-mill" photos from Japan.

Manhole and other Access Ports

I first became interested in the artistry that can be found on these everyday objects in San Francisco, where many water valves are covered with an image of the Golden Gate Bridge. Later in New Orleans, I found they could be interesting pieces of regional flavor. So far, Japan has won hands down for the rich variety of Utility Cover Art. It seemed that every sub-city of Tokyo had at least one unique design. For example, I was lodging in Hibarigaoke ("Skylark Hill"), so manhole covers often sported a skylark. Fire hydrants are subsurface, and have their own designs. One of these, the fireman's pole, is illustrated in life in the Kawagoe album.

Architectural Features

I am generally fascinated by architecture anyway, and Japan offered many new examples. I was especially smitten with roof tiles and roof decorations.

5FEE92B3-FCC5-5F41-17B5-7F94BD8AAD57

1.02.28

My 50th Birthday Chaji

After I requested a birthday Tea, Harvey & Holly decided to make it a full-blown Chaji, minus charcoal ceremonies. A Chaji is a formal Japanese Tea ceremony that includes a meal, koicha and usucha.


Harvey directed the preparations and goings-on behind the scenes. Holly was our chef extraodinaire, making many delicious dishes.


Kristin was Teishu, our Tea host, and Annie was her assistant. Shana was our kimono expert, who later helped in the kitchen.

I was Shokyaku, or principal guest. John and Tony were the middle guests, and Pia was Makyaku, or last guest.

We arrived an hour early so Shana could dress us in kimono. The men's are simple, with just one obi in a simple knot. However, the women's kimono are much more involved, with several small obi in addition to the big obi. It's all rather snug, and enforces good posture. Harvey says many Japanese women can easily dress themselves, but we're mystified how. The kimono were a bit small for most of us robust Westerners, so that keeping them from gaping was a challenge.


After the preliminary greeting and drinking of toasted rice tea, we were invited into the Tea room for Kaiseki, a light meal served in many courses. Much sake was also served. Receiving dishes and pouring sake for each other kept us so busy that it seemed we barely had time to appreciate all the beautiful and delicious food.





At the end of the meal, we exited the Tea room and retired to the living room, which served as our waiting room. After the Tea room was once again made ready, a gong called us to return. First Teishu made us koicha, a very thick tea that we found difficult to drink. I found that it made me even more lightheaded than all the sake I drank.




The koicha dogu (Tea utensils) were different from what we usually see in practice, so examining them was a treat.


After koicha we had usucha, a thin tea that is much easier to drink. Different dogu were used, and we had a chance to admire these as well.


All too soon, the Chaji was over, and we needed to change clothes and leave so our hosts could clean up. Although my legs hurt after four hours of Chaji, they did much better than I expected. I suspect that the sake helped.

In the evening, after all was set back in order, most of us met at my house for an after party. Pizza and beer might not compare to the Kaiseki dishes and sake, but the company was superb.