Happy Halloween!

No party yet this year. Little Brother came home Friday with a fever. H1N1 is making its rounds here. It is called Type A. Fortunately, he doesn't have that flu. Just a cold. So no happy Halloween for us.

Something exciting did happen today, though. I rescued another kitten! I heard it meowing in a shed near the field behind our house. Click on the label below. We will take care of it until we find a home for it. She's spending a couple of days at the vet.

Click on the label below to see what we've done in the past for Halloween. I wanted to post a photo of something orange so here's a persimmon tree. The kitten is orange, but I didn't get a picture of her.

Spokes

Look at all these spokes on this bicycle wheel!

The bicycle was locked to a sign on a corner next to a building. Note the plastic bag over the seat. It's been raining every other day here. (Click on the photos to enlarge them.)

That round thing in the street is a light. It flashes red in the evening. The big white kanji on the street is the beginning of the word tomari. It means "stop".

Cutting Cabbage

Our vegetable stand man walked along this row squeezing the heads of these cabbages. He chose one and cut it off at its base. Then he cut some of the outer leaves away from the head.

He put it in his basket along with another kind of cabbage to take to his vegetable stand to sell.

But first he stopped to check the broccoli.

Neighborhood Barber

More Around the Neighborhood

Someone is airing futon outside this apartment building.

Street mirror.

Garage made out of corrugated plastic.

Train crossing.

Around the Neighborhood

I bought a pen today and the shopkeeper put it in this small paper envelope. Some of the bears are holding signs that say "Mitsubishi Pencil." The pen I bought wasn't from the Mitsubishi Corporation.

Taking Flight

The color is not so good in this photo, but look at the different "poses" of flight! These birds all took off when the cat moved (see this post.)

Sweet Olive

In the first weeks of October, the air is heavy with the sweet perfume of kinmokusei trees. The small trees near our grocery store were heavily in bloom. The trees can get really tall.

Cat In the Bean Field

Yesterday I saw one of the cats we caught last year. He's the one who got caught eating the fish head I had for another cat. We took him to the vet to have an operation. He looks healthy and well fed, but he doesn't look very happy to see me. click on the label below to see more posts about cats.

In the Morning Light

The leeks look blue.

So does the broccoli.

Click on the photo to enlarge it. Actually the camera was on the wrong setting!

What's this? And what is it used for?

It's not a clothes pin.

It's a clip to hold the net. I think that's daikon under the net.

Sports Day

Today was a national holiday for Sports Day. Click on the labels below for past posts. Little Brother's junior high had its Sports Day last June. Big Sister's high school had its Sports Day in September.

It was a beautiful day today. I didn't hear any loudspeakers in our area today or over the weekend.

Check the Kids Web Japan link, too.

Kids Web Japan--Sports Day

Typhoon approaching us

Click here to track the typhoon. So far it's raining but quiet and still here in west Tokyo. No winds yet.

Neighborhood Fall Festival 2009

Kids wearing happi coats are pulling something out of the park.

They were pulling this mikoshi, portable shrine. They carried it down the street and around the neighborhood several times. Grown-ups helped.

They pushed and beat this drum, too. The festival was Saturday and Sunday.

Click here for the 2006 post. here for close-ups of the mikoshi. Click on the label below for posts on other festivals.

Autumn Moon Viewing

Tonight was the night for moon viewing. Read about Autumnal Moonlight Viewing at Kids Web Japan.

We all went to the roof garden several times to view the moon. It was a nice crisp night. It is difficult to take pictures of the moon. I still need more practice!

We bought flowers with pampas grass. We also bought mochi round like the full moon filled with adzuki bean paste. The rabbit is a decoration our family uses when we decorate for Easter. Click on the label below for other posts.

I took this picture from the roof garden. I used the tripod and zoom lens. Much better!

Still hanging on

This is what the morning glories near the public garden looked like today. It is the end of the season for morning glories. Actually, people in our neighborhood usually clear them away after summer.

This was two weeks ago.

Two weeks ago, I took this photo in the evening when the blooms closed. I had to use the flash. The blooms looked purple after they closed.

This was taken at the same time. These morning glories were waiting for morning to bloom.