A Little Typhoon Damage

The tree farm suffered the most. This is only half of the damage.

One of those "disposable" umbrellas in satsuma imo, taro.

Two at the foot of a mailbox.

This shop expected more water.

Up under the shop's awning, Mrs. Starling is safe at home.

These photos were taken with a Panasonic Lumix 10x.

Brown-eared Bubul Enjoying Sakura

Field of Pigeons

 

Because the bats were too fast

In the Doorway

 

A plastic pan was hanging from the ceiling of the doorway of a karaoke place.

But why?

What is that above it?

Hungry birds.

Mom came back just in time.

Birds' Ledge

Walking to the station near the American school, I saw lots of birds twittering around. Two broke away from the rest and landed here. I'll have to look up the name of these birds. Do any of you know what it is?

The owner of this house put a ledge for them to build a nest over the garage. Can you see them up there? Note the little street garden and the roll down door.

Another Haiku Moment?

There are many haiku moments. Even in one of the biggest cities in the world.

Bird on the Neighbor's Roof

Our neighbor's house is our view from our dining room. Sometimes birds line up there. This bird seemed like she was looking for or waiting for something. Not sure what kind of bird she is. I will add that later.

P.S. I think it is a brown-eared bulbul.

Persimmons, Kumquats & Oranges?

The persimmons are ripe enough for the birds now. This gardener did not gather the fruit. There was quite a bit on the sidewalk, too.

This little bird looked at me for a long time. He was waiting for me to go away, I think. I didn't go away and he flew away to join all the other birds. They had flown away earlier.

I waited for a while and these sparrows gathered on the roof next door. The other birds flew away. A hawk almost got one of those green birds so they all took off. Yes, there was actually a hawk in Tokyo!!

I saw these kumquats on the way home. We have a small potted kumquat tree in our garden. The caterpillars ate most of it after they devoured the yuzu tree. Search this blog under "yuzu" for that story. (Actually, I carried the caterpillars to the kumquat tree because they were starving.) These kumquats look big because I was using the zoom lens, and I was too close to them. They were actually the size of a seedless green grape.

I also saw these orange trees on the way home. On second thought, are these Chinese grapefruits?

What's That Hanging on the Gate?

Here's a hint:



gomi © John Shelley


Notice the small "c" with the circle around it? That means this sketch is copyrighted or protected so don't copy it or print it out! I got John Shelley's permission to use it.

This sketch of gomi (garbage) was done by John Shelley, a children's book writer and illustrator. He lives in Tokyo. Check out his website to see the books he has illustrated and his gallery of art. He recently illustrated Bella Baxter and the Lighthouse Mysteries, a new book from Aladdin Books.

The Bird

This is the bird that runs around in the field behind our house in the morning. I'll try to find its name. If you know, drop me a line.

At the Train Station

What do you think these spikes are for? On the train platform, they are everywhere up above.

On the signs,



on the camera,



on the beams and outside walls of the building,



and even on the clock.



They were put there to prevent pigeons and other birds from building nests up above. Because of the spikes, the birds can't even sit above the platforms. All the train platforms on my line are open to the outside, but not all of them have these spikes. Surely, birds know to stay away from these places. At least, I hope so.