The Lady In The Lake

15 October 2025

Not much has been going on recently, but just living life has kept us busy. During a quick lunchtime ride yesterday, the skies and setting gave me a ripper chance to take photos of La Cangura in the shallow waters of a wading pool in a park beside the Tama River.

I’ve been cycling a little bit every day, but not as much as I would have wanted, and certainly not with the types of elevations I should be aiming for.

But you deal with your hand, and the clouds made for a moody atmosphere that I appreciated.

I’d been lucky to get some dynamic skies during rides over the past few days, though the spectacular scenes were often fleeting.

And a lot of my recent riding has been along the Tsurumi River, which is picturesque, but I have not stopped to take photos as I have more urgent matters on my mind.

Of course, that issue is poor Dino, who is hospitalized again at the Yokohama Bird Clinic, but due for discharge tonight. She is a fighter and we love her dearly, but care has been an emotional, financial and physical drain. Our little dinosaur remains a delight, though. And most importantly, she just remains, having clung to death’s door for months now.

I spent the recent long weekend visiting Dino, although I had originally planned to use the time afforded me to spruce up our garden ravaged by the fierce summer heat, and then ride in my spare time. I barely got to do either. But I did discover a plague of Japanese fruit beetle larvae had been behind the deaths of several plants including a little prince protea and banksia birthday candles. I cleared what I could, but am vexed by the situation. I can wipe out the beetles and their eggs with an insecticide, but these all use phosphorus, which the Australian native plants making up our garden are also susceptible to. I have decided to go the natural way and hope the colder weather will be an ally and I can come up with a solution before next summer.