Strewth Prevails

Spring finally seems to have arrived in earnest in western Tokyo after what has been a funny kind of first few months of 2024, and I know this because of the Fountain of Strewth.

Our fountain is finally sprouting proudly in the morning sunshine where just a few weeks ago I had been lamenting that it was no longer working.

It was operating perfectly, as it turned out, but the problem was that the solar-powered fountain wasn’t pumping water into the skies.

It took hearing that veggie prices were skyrocketing for the pump’s poor performance to finally sink in: it has been a dark year.

For me, the cold months in Tokyo are symbolized by bright sunshine, icy cold air that is crisp and clean and then as spring moves forward, powerful winds.

We sure got the winds this year, and the icy cold air, but the sunshine wasn’t quite how I’d come to expect it to be.

And the onset of spring was proof of that, with flower growth stunted or non-existent, and the poor Fountain of Strewth serving only as a bath or drinking source for the local birdlife.

But the fountain has finally found form and the sun has started showing up more regularly. Hopefully, we’ll see some rapid plant growth now. But, strewth, it’s taken a long time.

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • Glimpses of Gloriousness

    For a few seconds this morning, I got to have a couple of glimpses of gloriousness. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve noticed Tokyo’s outer suburbs have had some amazing sunrises and sunsets. The old sayings about red skies in the morning and night seem to have been put to bed as we’ve had many days with both and rain either turning up or not falling in contrast to the conventional wisdom. Due to timing, I’m lucky enough to be out on my bike on most days now as the sun appears in the sky. This morning I was rewarded big time. I noticed that we were getting something…

  • Grass is Greener….Here, And Not On the Other Side!

    Kangaeroo Corner’s garden is about to enter its second spring, and is currently going through its first winter. And its grass is greener than could ever be imagined…literally! Although Kangaeroo comes from a family of avid gardeners, he had never really had a chance to do much gardening. Only an unfortunate attempt at a balcony garden during penthouse living at the turn of the century had afforded itself, with less than promising results that were later to dwindle away to nothing. Until Kangaeroo Corner came into being, and with it a garden. It was an ounce of luck, actually, as the garden had been sought to provide a place to…

  • Koala Attack! 一日中寝ている訳でもない

    コアラ、カンガルーやエミューなどが人間に対してあまり危険視されていないが、下記のビデオで見えるように、危ない場合もある。 　コアラは、一日中寝ているという印象を持っている方が多いだろう。（実際に合っているが）年間を通してコアラもさまざまな行動を行っている。Australian Geographic誌がこのビデオにあるコアラ群れを未着取材し面白いドキュメンタリーを制作された。 　普段あまり動かないコアラの活発な姿で驚ければ、この映像がなおさら怖い！今年4月、オーストラリア北部になんとヘビを食べられるクモがいった！糸で捕まったより、ヘビが偶然に糸に上の枝から落ちてクモが素早く動いて捕まって、糸で拘束して食べちゃった！