What a Gift!

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, May is, in Kangaeroo’s opinion, the nicest time of the year in Japan.

Having said that, 2021 has been a little out of the ordinary.

Where we are normally blessed with dry, warm, sunny weather at this time of year, but much of the month has been bleak and sodden.

Combined with preparation for a move of home, conditions have conspired to curtail Kangaeroo’s much-loved cycling at a time when it was expected to peak.

This effect was demoralizing, leading to excess eating, dearth of exercise and a downward spiral of mental and physical deterioration. It doesn’t take much!

But it doesn’t take much to bounce back, either, and Mother Nature blessed us with a week’s worth of weather typical of May, inspiring bucketloads of delight.

And little more delight came from the spectacular show that the natural world turned on early this morning. It was a delightful gift and appreciated with heartfelt gratitude.

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • Sunflowers in the Rain

    Fortune smiled favorably on me this morning, too, as I got to ride out to a nearby sunflower field and get some awesome photos. There’s not much I can elaborate on, other than to say the field was a spectacular sight. There were lots of people around, even though the dawn had only just broken, so I rushed in and out before I became too much of a nuisance with my bike around, too. Also got blessed with some wonderful spurts of rain that I hope will rehabilitate the lawn at Kangaeroo Corner, but was distressed to discover the first of the kangaroo paw plants to be wilted by the…

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    「Naughty」と「Nice」コリアの五輪メダル表で北朝鮮が豪フリーペーパーに激怒

     オーストラリア東海岸3都市に無料で配れるフリーペーパーmXが2012年ロンドン五輪メダル表に「Naughty Korea」と「Nice Korea」と北朝鮮と韓国をそれぞれ表示したことに対して北朝鮮の国営通信社である朝鮮中央通信社(KCNA)が猛烈に怒りを示した。  KCNAはmXのメダル表が「イジメ」「オリンピック精神違反」「浅ましい」など、同紙を強く批判した。  「Naughty」は「悪い」という意味が「Nice」の反意語としてよく使われ入るし、その場合「やんちゃ」というニュアンスもある。  批判に対してmXが配布されているシドニー、メルボルン、ブリスベーンの各編集長が共同声明を発表した。  「mXはニュースに対しての非礼な解釈がよく知られている。表は、世界が二つのコリアがどのように見られていることをユーモアを込めて示そうとしただけで、北朝鮮でも韓国でも選手や国民に対して軽蔑する意図が全く無かった」といった。

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    No Wonder the Wallabies Were Wallies in RWC2019

    Australia’s rugby team, the Wallabies, were ignominiously dumped from the 2019 Rugby World Cup that Japan is currently hosting (and being lauded for both its organization skills and the rousing performance of its unfancied team). The Wallabies lost badly to England in a quarter final, mostly because they were not good enough as a team. But Kangaeroo.com has also discovered another reason for the Wallabies’ woes. Gorgeous Jindaiji Temple, which supported the Wallabies’ woeful World Cup, is situated in the Tokyo suburb of Chofu, location of the Aussies’ group stage loss against Wales on September 29 that effectively derailed their campaign on the field. Jindaiji had proudly displayed Wallabies jerseys…

  • Pawing My Heart Out

    June continues rolling on and the rainy season has yet to appear, which is an immediate blessing yet also a warning, but for the time being the kangaroo paw are leading the way in bringing me unimaginable delight. The rainy season can be pretty bleak with day after day after precipitation. I also find the low pressure systems that dominate the weather have a tendency to drag me down. But with a few years in the garden, I’ve also learned how much plants appreciate the rain. They like the unadulterated dose of water with all its nitrates that gives them a decent feed of what they’re love. Last year, we…

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    Japan’s ‘Japow’ Transforms Australia Into A Winter Sports Force

    For most of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano and Cortina, Australia occupied a prominent position on the medal tally. In fact, that land famous for its searing heat, blistering sunshine and water games outranked countries like Canada, where snow sports are a part of daily life from birth, and recent Winter Olympic Games powerhouses like China and Korea. And Japan, itself one of the top Winter Olympics performers, has much to do with Australia’s success. Australia has taken part in every Olympic Winter Games since 1936. But it didn’t win a medal until 1994, and a woman didn’t pick up one until 1998. That year, the Winter Games…

  • Springing Into Action

    After an interminably long wait, it finally got warm this week, prompting me to spring into action. It was hard to believe that just last week Tokyo got blasted with heavy snow. Short sleeves and shorts were the watchword, even for typically well-covered types such as Mrs. Kangaeroo. Even though she notoriously feels that anything under 35 degrees Celsius is cold, even Mrs. Kangaeroo was walking around on Friday night in short sleeves due to the delightfully warm weather. My aches and pains eased a little with the warmth, too, which made it a bit easier to be mobile. It allowed me to work in the garden a little. Mrs….