Braeside Cottage Garden and Music

2011-12-16T23:59:00.000-08:00

The decay of the grape vine, the leaves are losing their chlorophyll, as it is a precious substance reabsorbed into the plant, and the leaves develop patterns of decay, pixels of decay.
The vines will be pruned back, and the plants will regrow in the spring.

2011-12-16T21:49:00.000-08:00

Hannah decorating our Xmas tree. It is 2 metres tall, and rooted in a pot. After Xmas the tree will be put into the garden where it will stay until next Xmas or the one after that. Then it will be brought into the house, decorated again, and returned to the garden. There is nothing like having a real tree in the house, instead of a plastic one. The real tree has fragrance, charm and is alive...

Serpent Squash

2011-07-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

It has been raining constantly, almost with a day of break since the middle of May. A couple of weeks ago, a weekend break and I could do some garden work. Last weekend I spotted these two serpent squash hanging from the trellis. They were not there last Sunday, five days before and now they are over a meter in length and growing!

Ode to a Lemon, Neruda

2011-03-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

As we anticipate our lemon tree blooming, wondering if it will set fruit this year or not here is a poem to the lemon tree by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. It is a wonderfully organic, sensuous poem. Every year for the past 4 years or more the tree has blossomed, but the fruit drops without setting, at best. This year we live in hope...

Ode to a Lemon
Pablo Neruda

Out of lemon flowers

loosed

on the moonlight, love's

lashed and insatiable

essences,

sodden with fragrance,

the lemon tree's yellow

emerges,

the lemons

move down

from the tree's planetarium

Delicate merchandise!

the harbors are big with it-

bazaars

for the light and the

barbarous gold.

We open

the halves

of a miracle,

and a clotting of acids

brims

into the starry

divisions:

creation's

original juices,

irreducible, changeless,

alive:

so the freshness lives on

in a lemon,

in the sweet-smelling house of the rind,

the proportions, arcane and acerb.

Cutting the lemon

the knife

leaves a little cathedral:

alcoves unguessed by the eye

that open acidulous glass

to the light; topazes

riding the droplets,

altars,

aromatic facades.

So, while the hand

holds the cut of the lemon,

half a world

on a trencher,

the gold of the universe

wells

to your touch:

a cup yellow

with miracles,

a breast and a nipple

perfuming the earth;

a flashing made fruitage,

the diminutive fire of a planet.

Sowing season 2011

2011-03-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

Here are the seedlings one week on from the pictures below. First, ate the sunflowers, and also one or two globe artichoke, violet. Second,are the emerging barlotto seedlings. Third, are dwarf French beans. Fourth is labelled Goldtuft, which is a variety of safflower. The next is Zinnia, Giant Scarlet, followed by field poppy, with Cavolo Nero in the pots behind. So far germination has been good to very good. The tomato seedlings have grown greatly and need to be potted on. I cannot do that until Saturday.

Feburary Poem

2011-03-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

Here is an occasional poem, written in 1916 by Irish poet William Butler Yeats, almost 100 years ago today. It is a simple poem of simple and rich pleasures and as with many of Yeats' poem it is marked by melancholia, mixed with joy. The ephemera of life to be lived in love and with pleasures. Wine is certainly a pleasure, as is being with, seeing the ones you love most in the world. Social beings have social pleasures, drinking wine together is one.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A Drinking Song

William Butler Yeats

Wine comes in at the mouth

And loves comes in at the eye

That's all we shall know for truth

Before we grow old and die.

I lift the glass to my mouth

I look at you and sigh.

Sowing season 2011

2011-03-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

I made this cold frame to germinate seeds for vegetables and flowers. The frame is a little over 1 metre tall and the space between shelves is approximately 33 cm. If anything, more space between shelves would be better for ease of watering. So far it seems to be working, on the left there are two pictures of germinating seedlings, French beans and sunflowers. I am hoping to have an array of sunflowers spread around the garden this year, perhaps around 100 sunflowers, as well as other flowers and vegetables and fruits. They look magnificent reaching two metres or more with multiple flower heads that can be cut and displayed indoors as well as enjoyed outside.

Sowing season 2011

2011-02-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

Now is time to start planning for this year's growth in the garden. I have a hoop tent where broccoli was planted, some spinach, carrots and other seeds sown at the end of January.
On the left is a picture or the Brussels sprouts seedling.
The photo in the middle below is of a broccoli seedling.
To the right below shows the emerging carrot seedlings, with their long cotyledon leaves, on still holding on to its seed cover.
The final picture at the bottom is of spinach seedlings, with their second stage leaves. The string appearing in the photos is the marker dividing the square metre bed.

Hannah preparing dough

2011-02-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

Hannah preparing our weekly bread dough. At the back you can also see some of her recent artwork.

Vietnam, vacation

2010-08-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

Here is the view of the shower area. I should have taken more images showing the stepping stone path leading across a bed of white gravel to here, with the twin glass was basins and rich wood in the wash area, but is did not, unfortunately.

Vietnam, vacation

2010-08-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

The interior of our villa, showing the bed laid with welcoming heart formed from hibiscus flower petals gathered from plants growing around the villas. This was a delightful touch, adding a feeling of welcome, to the charm of the villa itself, with its thatched roof, white walls, Vietnamese red and black lacquer work.

Vietnam, vacation

2010-08-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

Our destination, where the boat will dock and we will disembark, with a villa to the left, similar to the one we will occupy for our stay. We stayed at villa number 5, which as it was sitting on an elbow of the path leading to the villas, and we were reading our way through Winnie the Pooh on the holiday, we dubbed Pooh Corner by writing the name in the sand at the entrance.

Vietnam, vacation

2010-08-26T19:03:00.001-07:00


Hannah

Hannah, hair blowing in the slipstream as the boat raced along to our island paradise...

Vietnam

2010-08-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hannah on the boat going to the small island of Tam Hai, just off the coast of Vietnam. She is excited to be taking this trip, going to a beach villa, in the Domaine de Tam Hai which has only 12 villas. We are all excited, and joyed to see Hannah's face light up and hear her shout in her excitement. Everything is new, everything is different for her, and she was relishing all she saw, all she heard as the boat sped across the water. Soon the jetty and our first images of the villas will appear...

Vietnam, vacation

2010-08-25T21:42:00.001-07:00

We spent out summer vacation in Vietnam. Left is a picture taken from a car traveling from Danang to Tan Hai island where we spent most of our time at the Domaine de Tam Hai relaxing. This was a 2 hour trip by car that was at times quite scary as the traffic on the two lane road appeared to obey no rules other than the biggest is the strongest is the one with priority. I will up some more photos over the coming days.

2010-07-31T02:04:00.000-07:00

Elegy for Jane by Theodore Roethke

I remember the neckcurls, limp and damp as tendrils;
And her quick look, a sidelong pickerel smile;
And how, once startled into talk, the light syllables leaped for her,
And she balanced in the delight of her thought,

A wren, happy, tail into the wind,
Her song trembling the twigs and small branches.
The shade sang with her;
The leaves, their whispers turned to kissing,
And the mould sang in the bleached valleys under the rose.

Oh, when she was sad, she cast herself down into such a pure depth,
Even a father could not find her:
Scraping her cheek against straw,
Stirring the clearest water.

My sparrow, you are not here,
Waiting like a fern, making a spiney shadow.
The sides of wet stones cannot console me,
Nor the moss, wound with the last light.

If only I could nudge you from this sleep,
My maimed darling, my skittery pigeon.
Over this damp grave I speak the words of my love:
I, with no rights in this matter,
Neither father nor lover.

Girl with Dragon Tattoo - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

2010-03-08T17:16:00.000-08:00

I have not written for a little time now, partly because the weather has not been good for photographing the garden recently, and progress on the greenhouse / potting shed has slowed by other garden tasks determined by the calendar as well as the weather, such as sowing seeds.
Recently I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which started as an amazing tour de force, of complex plotting with themes and sub-themes without the principle theme being immediately apparent. Eventually, the story settles down and the major theme, plot becomes more conventional with its simplification. I have avoided giving detail as that would spoil an intriguing aspect of the book for anyone beginning it. The story commences with a disgraced financial journalist and magazine owning partner in Sweden being confined to prison for libeling a major industrialist. The girl with the dragon tattoo is introduced as a misfit who obtains a job working for a security firm, who quickly recognise she has major investigative talents and assign her in that line of work, freelance. These two themes become entwined in a mystery of the death of a girl some 30 years earlier which the journalist is hired to uncover... The book is part of the Millennium Trilogy, written shortly before the death of its author Sven Larsson, I have the second volume, but have not yet commenced reading that one as I started reading another book while waiting for the next volume, The Girl who Played with Fire to be delivered in the post.
I picked up Gabriel Garcia Marquez's wonderful book Love in the Time of Cholera that I bought many years ago. I had thought I had read this books, as I read many of Marquez's books while reading a large number of Latin American fiction over a good many years earlier. The last book if his I read was The Melancholy Whore, the last one he has written that is published. But, shortly after beginning Love in the Time of Cholera I discovered that I had read only the first 40 or so pages, where the book mark lay. Why I never finished this, is lost to my memory; as not finishing a book is an anathema to me, even when the books is not enjoyable or turns out not to be so good as expected... I can only guess that some major work, reading or writing project prevented me finishing the book and I simply forgot to pick it up again or put it away during removal of home.
The book is beautifully written, a thoroughly modernist work, with a sense of hope and redemption at the end... I will write more on this book later, now other duties call me as I expected to write shorter comments than this...

New Combo Jazz, 20100131

2010-02-07T19:52:00.001-08:00

Left is a photograph taken of the pianist with the Japanese trio, Visions. I watched the images, shadows cast on the wall, the light and shapes seemed to reflect the interacting piano and bass...

Garden Path

2010-01-24T19:17:00.001-08:00

I have been trying to figure out how to cover the garden paths between the raised beds, as they are long it would be too expensive to lay any commercial materials.

Well, it got around the neighbourhood that I accept logs, wood from cutting down trees. Shortly after new year a guy stopped his small farmers' truck at our gate. I have never seen him before. In the back of the truck were logs, branches he had chopped from a tree. Do you want these he asked, I heard you took this sort of wood? Of course I replied, so we unloaded the lot. He then asked if I took smaller ones, and point to some thinner branches. Yes, I can use these for kindling, thank you. Off he went and returned twice, later for a third and fourth time. The second two he dumped conifer hedge trimmings. Gosh, what to say, no thank you after he had dumped half of them on the ground on his first return. Okay, what to do with these: 1) make a raised bed and slowly layer them to make a blueberry patch, as the firs acidify the ground; 2) Eureka, how about layering them lengthways along the paths, and make a covering. This will break down over time, will look nice and green, can be trimmed to remove the larger branches, looks good and even smells nice too... So that is what I did, see the photo left of the trimmings being laid. It is a bit springy to walk on, but where it has been frequently used it is flattening down, and it is also easy to run a wheelbarrow over it. So far, no problems, is this a win win?

Morning Snow

2010-01-12T17:49:00.000-08:00

The path towards the top of the mountain side...

Morning Snow

2010-01-12T17:47:00.001-08:00

The hillsides, or mountain side if you prefer...

Morning Snow

2010-01-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

Colour, the first or Black and white, the second?

Morning Snow

2010-01-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

The view from the university rooftop...

Morning Snow

2010-01-12T17:38:00.000-08:00

Hannah rushing back indoors...

Morning Snow

2010-01-12T17:28:00.001-08:00

We awoke this morning to find the ground covered with a layer of snow. Here, at 06:45 is Hannah in her gown walking in the snow on the path.

Jazz Photo- New Combo 20091218

2010-01-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

Before when taking photographs I employed two cameras; one permanently held B&W film, the other colour slide film. B&W was usually given priority, so that film we in the better of the two camera, a Nikon F3, the other being an older Nikon FE. Now using a Nikon D300 the camera can be used for either without the problem of having to switch films and settings on the camera. But this feels is rather peculiar, because previously it was a simple matter of deciding this image would be better in B&W and that one in colour and choose the appropriate camera. Now the master image is always colour and the switch is made after the photographing session is complete. I provide two examples of the same picture, one is in B&W the other on colour. Which one do you prefer of the two, if any, and why? Please comment if you would...

Setting sun

2010-01-03T01:01:00.000-08:00

The afternoon sun provides a gorgeous light for photography. So, this photo of the path stretching up the hill just across the road from our house is bathed in rich light, and shadows. Our neighbour recently had his home renovated, and externally repainted, but it is really the colours on the tree, the fence, and the bicycle waiting to be used that attracted my attention.

Potting Shed, Greenhouse Project

2010-01-03T00:46:00.000-08:00

This is the level of progress attained at the end of today, 3 January. In effect, this is the 4th day of work on the project. Now all of the verticals are in place, with the dividing wall structure built, allowing for a doorway access between the potting shed and the greenhouse sections. The dividing verticals have added strength to the floor. The base structure is also painted to preserve this against moisture and bugs. Should the upper structure be given the same treatment? I wonder? The plan is to paint the completed shed/greenhouse either white, white shaded with a hint of lime, lemon or green, with the window frames painted a brighter colour such as yellow, orange or red. It may even be the case that Hannah will paint flowers on the outer walls, and perhaps a line or two from some favourite poems painted on with acrylic paint. We will see.

Potting Shed, Greenhouse Project

2010-01-03T00:41:00.000-08:00

This is the stage reached when I stopped working on the potting shed, greenhouse yesterday afternoon, when the weather clouded over and a shower of rain occurred forcing me to give up as the clouds caused the temperatures to chill considerably. But, the supports for the roof are now in place as well as most of those for the surrounding walls. It is looking as I expected but the structure may need strengthening through the addition of some diagonal beams.

Winter Garden Produce

2010-01-02T15:23:00.001-08:00

The array of colours, forms and textures created by companion gardening is evident in this photograph of beet leafs emerging from carrot fronds, neighboured by leeks.

Winter Garden Produce

2010-01-02T02:49:00.001-08:00

Here you can see our Brussels sprouts, still quite small but growing, next to the broad beans sagging under the shivering coldness. These beans are Spanish varieties which are frost hardy and produce prolifically in the late spring. Usually I dislike cutting them to stop their growth, the end up growing way too high. This year I am determined to stop their growth at about 1.3 - 1.5 metres.

Winter Garden Produce

2010-01-02T02:45:00.001-08:00

Here is the Sorrel sagging in the bitter cold, frosted over.

Winter Garden Produce

2010-01-02T02:37:00.000-08:00

While this is mid-winter, and the weather is appropriately cold, that does not mean the garden is bare; indeed some plants thrive better in winter for being left alone by pests. There was a sharp frost on this morning, 27 December, so I took some pictures. On the left you can see the frost on a leek, seeds from Britain. Of course, because of the companion planting, the leek is not sitting in the middle of a row of leeks, but is surrounded by carrots, garlic, and other vegetables not seen.

Potting Shed, Greenhouse Project

2010-01-02T02:24:00.001-08:00

Here is a picture of the shed at the end of work on January 1. The upper frame is now sunk into the lower frame, and a couple of uprights, and bracing straps added to the corners. My neighbours passed on their way to visiting their relatives or friends and wondered why I was working on New Year's day, me too. But time is not something I possess a lot of so, a little done here and there speeds things along a little more.
One very kindly neighbour remarked that she had old hoop greenhouses on abandoned farm land, I think she was suggesting I could have had or used them.

To the left, foreground you can see last year's Xmas tree stripped bare of needles in most of its branches by a bagworm attack late summer. The infestation went unnoticed because I was busy and neglected the garden, and the worm gather pine needles around themselves, looking like a part of the tree, from which they exit, gather more needles into the cocoon to dine in cycles. I pulled off 200-300 of these cocoons, large and small. The treatment is weekly feeding with fishmeal fertiliser mixed with molasses sprayed over the plant, and compost and vegetable scraps, coffee grains etc., scattered around the base. Watching to see if spring bring some recovery, though it is obvious that the branches have not died as they remain flexible and have not become brittle.

Potting Shed, Greenhouse Project

2010-01-02T02:17:00.000-08:00

This was the shed as work began on January 1. My daughter Hannah is sitting in the centre of the shed.

Potting Shed, Greenhouse Project

2010-01-02T02:04:00.000-08:00

Here is the results of the first day's work on the shed. I dug out much of the sandy soil from within the base, to allow me to build the frame for the floor and the growing beds. Next the verticals were put in place, with supports, adding the top frame in stages. The next day saw the way the top frame is attached here modified slightly to lower it within the verticals supports. Two reasons for that: One, I discovered that the two main woods used for the project sold as 2 metre lengths are different lengths; the frame lengths here are a little over a 2 m, while the other piece that will make up the wall, door and window frames were shorter, and nearer to 2 m in length. Thus by lowering the top frame here this problem is solved. Second a modicum of strengthening is added by sinking the top frame into the bottom frame.

Potting Shed, Greenhouse Project

2010-01-02T02:00:00.000-08:00

On the left is a picture of the base prepared. The base is partly sunk into the ground to the north, top of the picture, and partly elevated above ground to the south, requiring some adjustments later to enable a raised bed in the south side as the greenhouse.

Potting Shed, Greenhouse Project

2010-01-02T01:52:00.001-08:00

It has been too long since last posting to the blog, so now I return to write about a new garden project. It will soon be time to think about sowing seeds for next years growing season, thus the question arose of where to put these and the idea of a potting shed for sowing and storing the seedlings arose. This soon developed into the idea of a potting shed with adjacent greenhouse. After searching for some open source plans for building a potting shed, I adapted some i found and came up with my own. In the left is a picture of the ground being prepared for the construction. Previously this was where my daughter's garden and sand pit were, but it became obvious that this was not the best place for her garden and the design was not the best for her either. So, some new concepts came into being, and some new plans are being worked on for Hannah to have a new garden and perhaps an equivalent of a tree house.

Saturday busy buzzing

2009-11-30T16:25:00.000-08:00

Saturday was way busy around our home and garden. At the edge of the garden there is a utility pole, and early morning I heard the sound of too many trucks on the road for our quiet neighbourhood. There were three or four truck from the electric company, and they proceeded to set up to adjust the tension in the power cables. They first installed bridging cables, when there was some buzzing as the connections were made, when the air became tainted by the smell of electrical burn, weld. Then the cables were cut, shortened and connectors fitted, with the cables reconnected, and the bridging wires removed. It took them 6 hours to achieve all of this for four cables. Here is a photo of them working with the bridging cables.

Bread baking

2009-11-30T16:08:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we baked a batch of bread in the wood fired oven. This turned out quite nicely as the photo on the left suggests. Unfortunately photos do not capture the music of the bread as it cools, crackling crusts, nor the aroma that filled the garden as it cooked and then the house, or the flavours as we ate them.
This bread was made from type 55 French flour, salt, a little sugar, some polish starter dough, and 60% hydration of water only. We shared some of the bread with neighbours and friends.

Fennel and... companions

2009-11-30T15:48:00.000-08:00

Companion gardening wisdom is that fennel is a no no for growing along with other plants. As luck had it, some carrots appeared in the midst of my recently planted fennel bed. The fennels are mature enough to be approaching their second harvesting. The image to the left shows a carrot harvested on Saturday that was growing cheek by jowl with a couple of fennel plants, there are others still sitting there. The coin next to it for scale purposes is a 5 yen, which is 2.2 cm in diameter, sorry I forgot to measure the carrot and it was eaten on the day of harvest, delicious. The only problem was, as can be seen, some splitting, which is the result of uneven watering, i.e., a dry spell followed by lots of rain. I will harvest more carrots soon...

5 yen coin:
http://braesidecottage-garden-music.blogspot.com/

Floating Worlds Tour

2009-10-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of a reflection of Ab on the lid of a grand piano.

Floating Worlds Tour

2009-10-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

Here is photo of Ig proper, with Ab's hands playing clarinet in the foreground.

Floating Worlds Tour

2009-10-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a photograph of Ab Baars, shakuhachi, and Ig, viola. Enjoy, the music was as angular;-)

Floating Worlds Tour

2009-10-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

I have been sooo busy with the Floating Worlds Trio concerts on top of all else to be able to post. Now I will begin to post some of the photos I took of their concerts. The first concert was performed at the Kumamoto Street Artplex Extravaganza festival, where they performed in the Contemporary Art Museum. Attached is a photo Ig Henneman playing viola to the audience.

Kikuchi Gorge

2009-10-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

Over the September break, known here as Silver Week in contrast to the May Golden Week, we took a trip to Kikuchi Gorge and Mt Aso, with its active volcano. The day was overcast, not providing the best light for photography, but I think I succeeded to capture a few nice images here and there. Here is a photo of life in the crevice of black wet rocks in the coolness of the Kikuchi Gorge. The gorge is densely foliated and boasts a wonderful torrent of water that feeds into the Kikuchi River.

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-15T22:24:00.001-07:00

A couple of days before we arrived a typhoon swept over Okinawa islands, dumping salt laden water all around which damage the leafage on much of the vegetation. Some trees were as good as stripped of the leaves, and were sprouting new ones. Here, the choral landscape in miniature is scattered with leaves fallen from the vegetation running along the edge of the choral bay.

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

More landscape in miniature; a chasm that is about 15 cm deep, with the residue of a salt water lake in the bottom, with the sun descending to the left generating shadow and texture to surfaces.

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-15T19:35:00.001-07:00

A close image of the texture of the choral that forms the basis and structure of the island.

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

Images of the landscape in miniature can provide a different perspective on the same formation processes, as illustrated to the left.

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-15T19:01:00.001-07:00

This is a photo of the elementary and junior high schools combined on Minna Island; they have an enrollment of 5 students in total; 3 elementary, and 2 high school students attend this school. The total population of the island currently is about 65 people, of whom 18% are young, 61% adults and 21% are elderly residents. However, 29,100 people visit the island every year using the beach some of whom stay overnight in the bed and breakfast accommodations, as we did.

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-15T18:20:00.001-07:00

There are very few roads on Minna Island, they could probably be counted on two hands, if not one hand; they link the port to the opposite side of the island, with a few branches running at 90 degrees off of that main trunk. This is the branch leading to the primary school; on Minna Island there is only elementary and junior high school provision, to attend high school students need to take the ferry daily to attend school.
The first building on the left is a typical older house on the island, constructed of concrete with heavy roof tiles because of the power of typhoons. Looking closely reveals that the tiles of half of the roof furthest away are newer, probably the others were whipped off in typhoon storms.

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-15T00:52:00.001-07:00

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

Choral textures and colour; the colour of choral is quite varied depending on circumstances and location.

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-15T00:30:00.001-07:00

The shore line on the opposite side of the island from the port, and beach.

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-15T00:22:00.001-07:00

A simple view of one of the few roads on the island, this one leading into the vegetation, perhaps to a farm or house.

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-15T00:03:00.000-07:00

The flowers and vegetation on Minna Island are remarkably beautiful and give the island much of its attractive charm. This flower is called hama-omoto in Japanese, and White Spider Lily in English.

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-14T23:33:00.000-07:00

These small mini-vans, and mini-trucks seem to be the vehicles of choice on the island. I have no idea how people obtain petrol for these, as I saw no petrol station, there is not even a shop on the island. The vessel that brings people to the island is unequipped for carrying anything other than people. There must be some form of provisions shipping to supply gasoline and other provisions. Otherwise, people most likely go to the mainland to purchase their goods.
This mini-van has been lying here for some time, the doors taped closed, with bamboo growing through it, as well as around it.

Summer Okinawa

2009-08-14T23:28:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of Minna Island taken from the Tropical Dream Centre's incredible Shell tower. It is easy to see how low it sits in the ocean, with little undulation in the overall profile. Just as out family spent our summer holiday on the Scottish island of Millport, getting there by train and paddle steamer, so my wife spent her family summer vacations on Minna Island, taking a chug chug fishing boat to get there, bathing in miniscule amounts of water as then water was extremely scarce with no source from the mainland, which is not the provision. Here is the google satellite image of the island:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=
116093404158140423252.0004712947338d2d6be7a

Summer Okinawa, Minna Island

2009-08-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

Early in the morning of 12 August we took a jet ferry to Minna island, which is a quite small, low lying crescent shaped island. Minna has a delightful choral beach, with clean, clear water where numerous fish can be seen swimming by beneath you as you swim above or swim among them. The island offers extensive water sports facilities if that is what you want to do, it also offers quiet peacefulness for swimming and sun bathing. There are few facilities on the island, though a few houses offer chalet or bed and breakfast accommodation. The people who live on the island and offer the accommodation are welcoming and friendly. The island itself is beautiful, as I will attempt to show with a few of my photographs.

Summer Okinawa

2009-08-14T22:28:00.001-07:00

This is the view to the east of the hotel balcony, taken in the early morning.

Summer Okinawa

2009-08-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

The quality of the water surrounding Okinawa is astoundingly clear. The choral also contributes a vibrancy of colour to the sea and wondrous array of forms, textures and colours to the landscape. This view was taken from the balcony of our hotel room, of choral rising out of the sea, eroded at the water level which will probably eventually eradicate them as the pounding sea constantly erodes further and further years onwards.

Summer Okinawa

2009-08-14T22:11:00.001-07:00

The manta ray are amazing fish, seen left. I particularly like how the colours combine with the darkness of the fish itself.

Summer Okinawa

2009-08-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

A third photo from the aquarium presents a wonder of light and colour,

Summer Okinawa

2009-08-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a second image from the aquarium, enjoy the beauty of the fish and the colours in combination.

Summer Okinawa

2009-08-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

In the north of the main island, Okinawa possesses a magnificent aquarium. We often visit there and have taken Hannah there since she was a little older than a baby. She loves watching the fish swimming through the rays of light against a choral background. The image is a little soft as the light was low, the fish was moving and I used an iso setting that was a little low for the light conditions.

Summer Okinawa

2009-08-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Hannah, her grandfather and I spent morning in a small park near the sea, where Hannah played on the chutes, climbing frames, and so on. Then we went to the neighbouring beach. This beach is low key, with life guards and a safety net. Last summer Hannah and I spent many hours at this beach swimming and playing in the water. Here Hannah is tumbling into the water, unintentionally as she is fully dressed. Soaked then, from that point onwards she enjoyed splashing about in the water.

Summer Okinawa

2009-08-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

This is an image of a heart in a tree, taken at the start of our trip up north, just the trio together. The tree was in Nago, in the northern part of Okinawa main island.

Summer Okinawa

2009-08-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here is another orchid image, I will add their names when they are confirmed with grandfather. I particularly like flowers which are green or green tinged, this one is particularly gentle. This orchid's name is, Grammatophyllum scriptum, about which wikipedia offers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatophyllum

Summer Holiday

2009-08-14T20:25:00.001-07:00

Hannah's grandfather in Okinawa has a garden richly endowed with flowers, particularly orchids. On the left is a photo of one of his orchids in bloom. This orchid is called Vanda, for which wikipedia informs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanda

Summer Holiday

2009-08-14T20:12:00.001-07:00

We are all now on our summer holidays in Okinawa, at the home of our in-laws. Here you see a photo of Hannah in boxing spirits, jumping and waving clenched fists with a fierce laugh.

Solar Eclipse

2009-07-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the images I managed to capture of the solar eclipse yesterday, 22 July 2009, at 11:05. Unfortunately, this being the end of the rainy season, the sky was heavily cloudy, with intermittent small breaks when this was taken. I think the thin cloud actually facilitated the photograph, as when the cloud cleared more there was overexposure, but the images produced are engaging and curious in different, not representation of eclipse, way.

As I edit the original images I will add some more later.

Courgette Stem

2009-07-20T17:42:00.001-07:00

Every year a number of my courgettes succumb to some form of stem rot. I had put this down to squash vine borer, and thought the only possible solution was covering with nets. Well this year, the stem of one courgette plant severed, so i dumped it. Only later I learned I should have sliced the stem vertically, removed any insects and then left it suspended in a bucket of water for a week to re-root before transplanting it.

On Sunday, another plant is beginning to rot at the stem. But close examination revealed no insect infestation. The top of the split was sealed, but careful splicing of the plant revealed no insects inside. The bottom of the splice looked open, but I dreaded digging into the roots, certain this would kill the plant. But now my suspicion is this might not be vine borer but some form of rot. We are at the end of the rainy season, and sometimes it has poured for days. Often the rot occurs in the rainy season in these plants. When I looked at the image of a stem infected with squash vine borer there are similarities with this picture, but they do not perfectly match. Opinions please, is this squash vine borer infestation or is it stem rot due to excessive wetness/humidity, or to some deficiency that can or can't be rectified. Thank you.

Squash Serpente di Sicilia

2009-07-14T16:33:00.000-07:00

This is the first Squash Serpente di Sicilia harvested, indeed it is the very first I have ever harvested. Here, Hannah is playing it like a guitar, enjoying the fun. Seems this can be cooked as courgette, I look forward to trying it.
The rainy season is ended or ending, and the squash and courgettes are blossoming again, so we look forward to a renewed wealth of fruits.
One of the courgette plants succumbed to squash vine borer so it was buried in the compost heap. It seems that was not the best solution.
Solution, if the stem is sheared, cut back the stem to where the squash borer is removed, perhaps jetting it with water. Then suspend the plant in a bucket of water until it re-roots and replant it. Re-rooting should take a week, and the plant will establish itself again.
If the stem is frayed. Eliminate the worm by spraying with strong jets of water. Perhaps this will need splicing the stem vertically and prying it open. Perhaps the worms will need to be cut, or otherwise destroyed. Then bind the stem back together again and bury it in earth and compost, as it will then re-root and regrow.
These will be the approaches adopted next time, hopefully not necessary.

Street Artplex Festival 2009

2009-07-12T23:38:00.001-07:00

Dancing hands on the piano.

Street Artplex Festival 2009

2009-07-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

Pianist with action bassist.

Street Artplex Festival 2009

2009-07-12T22:35:00.001-07:00

This is the hands themselves as the topic of the photo, low iso setting captures the movement as a blur.

Street Artplex Festival 2009

2009-07-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of the audence reflected on the piano above the pianists briskly moving fingers.

Street Artplex Festival 2009

2009-07-11T16:56:00.001-07:00

This is the last on for the noo, must do numerous other things this morning, now it is not dreech and dreery!

Street Artplex Festival 2009

2009-07-11T16:51:00.001-07:00

In profile, backdrop lighting, saxophonists. I will add the names after confirming with the programme.

Street Artplex Festival 2009

2009-07-11T16:45:00.000-07:00

Contorted expression, of the ones this pianist adopted, this one is mild.

Street Artplex Festival 2009

2009-07-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

Here is another of the pianist, in movement.

Street Artplex Festival 2009

2009-07-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the pianist, the focus prefers the piano, rather than the individual.

Street Artplex Festival 2009

2009-07-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here is another photo of the bassist with the image of the pianist reflected on the inside of the piano.

Street Artplex Festival 2009

2009-07-11T16:25:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the day for the Kumamoto Street Artplex jazz, music festival. There were numerous musical events, all free, all performed in public spaces, such as arcades, department store foyer. Events were occurring simultaneously in different parts of the city centre. I took some photos, still learning how to manipulate the new DSLR Nikon D300. On the left is a photo of bassist and pianist as part of a quartet.

Three Sisters bed

2009-07-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

Here is an image of the three sisters companion planting bed. This seems to have been a practice of native American, and is very effective indeed; the plants grow in harmony, and the weeds are having a real tough time growing; a win - win situation in my book. The French beans here are a purple variety, unfortunately they revert to green on cooking, but fortunately the taste simply delicious.

Runner Beans

2009-07-10T20:28:00.001-07:00

This is a close-up of one of the runner beans, these form beautiful scarlet flowers, and are delicious to eat. They should be prolific.

Sunflowers mutiple heads

2009-07-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo showing the multiple heads of the sunflowers; it is quite stunning to see these around the garden.

Swiss chard

2009-07-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

On the left you can see the Swiss chard growing healthily, forby suffering a few bits. These are rugged plants that provide delicious greens, that are extremely versatile in the kitchen. They can be baked with potatoes into gratin with gruyere, of course. cooked to make a pasta sauce, cooked with beans to add depth of flavour and colour, and much more. They especially thrive in the winter, when there is nothing popping along to eat on them besides us. If you do not have at least one of these plants in your garden, one is sometimes enough, then it is time to sow those seeds and get it added. Any time is almost possible for these plants, depending on the growing zone your garden is located within.

Sunflowers

2009-07-10T20:07:00.001-07:00

Here is a photograph of one of the varieties of sunflower I planted, Earthwalker which grows to Triffid dimension, over 2 metres tall with multiple large heads, ring of fire, which I think is this one here, and Little Dorritt, which is a yellow dwarf variety. The large ones grow in among the other plants, e.g., tomatoes, peppers, beans, apple trees, etc., to attract beneficial insects and to divert the unwanted bugs. They add a lot to the garden, towering above everything else, and with lower heads in the midst of the lush green backdrop.

Zinnia, Green Envy

2009-07-10T19:57:00.001-07:00

On the left is my favourite, or one of my favourite Zinnias, called Green Envy, for obvious reasons. This, unfortunately, seems to look more delicious than the other varieties to whatever insect(s) is/are eating them. But it seems the trick is to get them established and they will thrive. This one is becoming established.

Courgette Flower

2009-07-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo taken of the courgette flowers. We have three varieties of courgette growing; lungo bianco, genovese and rugosa friulana; they vary in appearance, and texture and flavour. Bianco is white, and with small seeds but large fruits, genovese is a standard courgette, light green and striped. The latter is a rather rugged shaped courgette, which retains more of its texture after cooking. The plants are growing vigorously around the garden and in pots. in one bed there are three courgette plants, four or so sweetcorn, and a bunch of french bean plants growing together, harmoniously, if densely. These and the other courgettes are fed weekly with a liquid manure made from chicken manure, but with the rainy season finishing this feeding will be doubled.

Zinnia

2009-07-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well today it is raining down in waterfall proportions with occasional lightning bolts variably near and far. So, the blog will be updated with some photos. Here is a one of the zinnia's growing in the garden. I don't know, but the amount of seeds that I sowed and the number of flowers that have grown are out of proportion; 10 to 1 at least! I sowed and I watered regularly, I sowed into pots and many did not survive the transplanting. I have more in pots, and they are growing well, marigolds in particular.
I like this zinnia, and think it is called whirligig. Closer inspections will reveal that it has been eaten, and that is probably why many of the others did not survive. But, I am of the view this is my first year growing flowers, so I am taking this as a learning process and will keep trying, this year and next.

Snake(s)

2009-07-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

To return to the subject of this post, we have snake(s) in / visiting our garden. The photograph on the left shows it in the planter, from where it escaped and I lost it. Investigation suggest it is a Japanese Rat Snake, so called because its preferred diet it rat. In Japanese it is called Ao-Daishou. At first I understood this is a venomous snake, but now I understand that it is non-venomous. The snake comes in different colours, here it is a dark, slate blue colour, and is an excellent climber. It climbs trees to eat birds and birds eggs with ease, indeed I have seen this perched on the window frame of a house, and my wife saw one like that too. I took this photo with a handy digital camera and it is not very good at all, but it does show the snake is somewhere about a metre in length, the creatures usually grow to 1.1 - 2 metres long.
The important thing is that it is non-venomous. Indeed, it seems that farmers, other than chicken farmers, welcome these snakes as rat controllers. But my neighbour, who is a farmer asked me if I had killed the snake and advised that I did if I saw it again. The one on the left I saw on 6 June, about two weeks later, late afternoon / early evening I was weeding around the same are when I heard a dull thump behind me, I looked but saw nothing. Later I was walking and heard the same dull thump and saw the snake winding its way down the side of a wall, so expect the snake had launched itself off of the wall and onto the dirt. The snake than made as if it was to climb up the wall again, but did not. My efforts to eradicate it failed, probably due to nervousness, and the snake slithered away through the bushes and onward to where I do not know. I am now, knowing more about this snake, less apprehensive about it or its friends visiting the garden, but would prefer not to meet it unexpectedly sitting in a corner...

Companion planting

2009-06-14T22:28:00.001-07:00

I have bought a new camera and will upload more photos over the coming weeks... This is a Nikon D300 SLR with a Nikkor 18 - 200 mm lens, a good all-round lens. This is an exciting camera and is an adventure embarking upon learning how to utilise the camera to bring out its maximum potential.

On the left is one of the first photos I took with this, in JPG format and shows the density of the companion garden; in the foreground are the leaves of the Olive tree, in the centre is a sunflower, variety Little Dorrit because it is a dwarf variety. To the left of the sunflower you can see a cluster of tomatoes, probably Ailsa Craig variety, To the right the flowers for the Fennel and if you pear through the dense vegetation then the flowers of Ring of Fire sunflower are apparent. More will follow over time.

Hungarian Bluebeard Poppy

2009-05-12T17:09:00.001-07:00

Being obsessed with making breads of various kinds, and starting to grow various flowers in the garden meant that growing poppies for seeds is highly attractive. Spotting seeds for Hungarian bluebeard poppies last summer in a seed catalogue I bought a packet and sowed them, on the ground and in trays. The seed trays produced delicate seedlings, but i never did see the seeds sprout in the ground. Late winter I transplanted the seedlings into the ground, and watched and watched, as slowly they began to grow. Knowing where the seedlings had been planted did not convince me that the plants were actually poppies, but once they became bigger it became more obvious these were poppies, and now they are flowering. I took a picture of these yesterday, soon after watering the area around the plants, where new seeds had been sown; droplets of water are on the petals which are partially closed. The flower had been open for a couple of days, but the camera was reluctant to work the day before, battery exhausted... again! I will upload another photo when the flower opens or others appear in the neighbouring poppy plants.

Gooseberry and Blackcurrant bushes

2009-05-08T21:30:00.001-07:00

Last spring we planted in some gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes; they were intermittantly devastated by caterpillars over the summer months, and a couple, if not all of the plant we thought had died. But, here this spring they have produced fresh, green-faced leaves and are growing with a new found zeal. They probably would have been bigger and thicker had they not suffered from being eaten so much last summer, but this summer they will be protected with netting to keep those scalliwag creatures at bay and the plants growing vigorously into the future.

Globe Artichokes

2009-05-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

Globe artichokes are forming the flower heads that are eaten with relish. The first time to grow artichokes means that it is much of a mystery to me, as many other new plants and growing contexts are as yet. These were grown from seeds in the autumn of last year, and they grew vigorously over the winter, being subject to a severe aphid, blackfly, attack, from the beginning of spring. I learned the most efficient, and easily the most organic, way to eliminate these pests was to wash them off the plants with strong sprays and jets of water from the garden hose. The nasty aphids have now all but taken leave of the globe artichokes and the older ones are budding with flower heads, as here. They also have side shoots beginning to appear, which I understand can be parted from the parent source to form a new plant. I look forward to eating the first flower heads with home prepared mayonnaise.

Geranium blossoming

2009-05-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

Here the geraniums are growing thickly and blossoming. I believe that scented geranium is one of the plants supposedly disliked by mosquitoes, thus we have a few plants growing in different parts of the garden to advertise they are unwanted around here... The plants add to the many fragrances of the garden.

White roses bloom

2009-05-08T20:57:00.001-07:00

Here is a white, fragrant rose blooming merrily in the sunshine.