• Daily Life

    Wattle Happen Next?

    It’s becoming increasingly clear that spring is not too far away, and the wattle tree in Kangaeroo Corner is giving hints of something about to spring into action. March, which starts tomorrow (der!), is traditionally a coldish month, with a warm day every few days here and there. This winter has been mild, especially when compared to the chilly one last year. But it’s still too bloody cold for too bloody long for my liking. Nonetheless, starting today we have a week of relatively warmer weather forecast. And I’m excited for the garden, particularly our wattle tree, which looks poised…

  • Daily Life

    Full Seed Ahead!

    Buoyed by the emergence of buds from everlasting daisies on Saturday and given the gift of desperation on late Sunday afternoon following a weekend of sloth, I planted the last of my seeds from Australia. With “budding” success from the humidity pods I have been using, I got enough confidence to try some different things with the seeds that I had left. Most of the seeds I brought back from Australia from my visit last year went into humidity pods last week, and the remainder went in by today: kangaroo paw, desert pea, golden everlastings, native wisteria and heath banksia.…

  • Strine Sports - Unknown Nichigo

    Up There, Kazari!

    Australian Sports Day was a fantastic event held at Komazawa Olympic Park yesterday, and I got to go and enjoy some of the proceedings that were a decorative display, (or should I say kazari?), of some of Down Under’s favorite pastimes. The day itself was a ripper, starting with explanations, demonstrations and games of cricket, moving on to games of footy and then ending with a netball exhibition, with sales of Aussie foods, wear and fare such as meat pies and banana bread and cuppas from Club Australia‘s Tad Watanabe and the Australia Cafe van. Needing to deal with duties…

  • Daily Life

    Open Up Your Eyes, An Everlasting Bud!

    Kangaeroo’s Aussie seed experiment is moving forward, and today resulted in its first buds. Seedling growth came from an everlasting, a pink, yellow and white flower native to Western Australia. I potted everlasting seeds last weekend in humidity pods. They’ve been growing under lights daily ever since, except for Tuesday night when the power plug short-circuited. I’ve checked the pods daily to see how they are developing, so was delighted to see the little leaves sprout. Might have some stronger seedlings in the works. Once they have grown big enough, I will transplant them into pots and move them into…

  • Daily Life - Japanese Kangaroos - Roo-ing the Day - Unknown Nichigo

    A Bit of a Roo-ed Shock

    Kangaroos have always taken center stage in this blog (which I started almost 13 years ago to try to tap into the then recent introduction of Australian English into TOEIC testing), so it was a bit rare yesterday when I had the chance to write about roos but didn’t (albeit giving prominence to quokkas, another member of the marsupial family). Yesterday, the Kangaeroos had a wonderful time at the Saitama Children’s Zoo, which has an Australian animal area., and attracted us because Mrs. Kangaeroo wanted to see its quokkas. I know a lot of people aren’t too keen on zoos,…

  • Japanese Kangaroos - Unknown Nichigo

    Chocka Quokka

    Quokka took center stage today as the Kangaeroos hopped over to Saitama Children’s Zoo to see the little marsupials. The zoo’s Quokka Island is chokka quokka, including a joey born in late January. Quokkas have become something of an Internet meme after a photo showing one of the little fellers with a huge grin went viral a few years back. The only place to see a quokka in Japan is at the Saitama Children’s Zoo. Mrs. Kangaeroo has a stuffed toy quokka and yearned for years to see one, so dragged me out of bed and off to deepest, darkest…

  • Strine Songs

    Bringing a Western Beat to Japan

    For some reason, Japanese artists covering Western songs has also held something of a fascination for me. I’m not really attuned to hit charts, nor really have been. And music isn’t one of my great loves, though I have an appreciation for pretty much any type of tune. Perhaps my liking for the out-of-the-ordinary stems from the Aussie DNA, which seems to have a likeness for the novelty song, with national and international No. 1 hits during my lifetime Down Under including the likes of I’ve Been Everywhere, A Pub with No Beer, A Redback on the Toilet Seat, Tie…

  • Daily Life

    Plugged and Unplugged

    Project Plants was temporarily unplugged because of overloading just as I’d been able to plug in again on another aspect. Mrs. Kangaeroo gave a frantic phone call as I headed off on an afternoon ride to say that the humidity pods containing the Aussie plant seeds were emanating an awful smell. I asked her to unplug the pods and headed off on my ride again. We’ll get some extension cords out today and give the pods a try again. It seems that I overloaded the power outlet. At least, I hope that’s what it was. Project Plants is on hold…

  • Daily Life - Unknown Nichigo

    A Seed Of An Idea

    As I touched on over the weekend, I’ve started trying to grow plants from seed and I completed the first round of the process this morning before heading off on my bike. Dwarf wattle seeds that I soaked in boiling water last night were the final group of seeds that can be planted in the winter. I managed to spread the seeds over a tray and put them in the humidity pod. Most of the work was finished yesterday after the ride. The process so far started in September and October of last year (2022) when I collected Australian native…

  • Strine

    Fatal Attraction

    Following slovenly Saturday where I did basically nothing for the whole day, today has become a bit of sprightly Sunday, being busy from the get-go, with the Death Machine taking a prime position. The Death Machine is, of course, the nickname I give to my Performer recumbent bicyle. It gets that name because the bike feels so unsafe, the feeling while riding it is that death is imminet. It’s no exaggeration. Riding the bike is a frightful experience. And I crashed the Death Machine badly around this time last year, fracturing my leg and causing permanent damage to my knee.…