• Daily Life

    Cyclepath!

    Though my enthusiasm has waned over the past few years due to various factors, I’m a committed-enough cyclist to be worthy of the name, cyclepath. And cycle paths are where you’ll find me in the pre-dawn (or early dawn) hours of most weekdays. Every morning I rise at 4 (by which time it’s already light in Tokyo at this time of the year), pour myself into increasingly tighter lycra and get out on my bike. I get out before I start thinking. Once I start thinking, I will talk myself out of riding. I’m basically not an exerciser, and am…

  • Daily Life

    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…

  • Daily Life

    Delivering Delight

    Having not had the remotest interest in gardening until well into old age, it constantly amazes me how much hanging out with plants brings me joy and wonderment, and one of the greatest pleasures is being able to share that. On a visit back to Australia a few years ago I bought a lot of native plant seeds and tried to grow them by myself. Most failed, but a few got through, like the hardenbergia, dwarf wattle and, especially, kangaroo paw. With the blog association and our huge kangaroo statue in the garden I really wanted kangaroo paw to grow…

  • Daily Life

    Kangaroo Pause

    So much is going on at the moment, it’s been hard to take the time to stop and smell the roses, or at least some kind of flower, but I’ve been able to take a bit of a pause this morning. It seems almost certain that my current career path is over, but where it leads to remains a mystery. Prospects are not exactly hot, but who knows what fate has in store? There’s plenty to love about life at the moment as the glorious weather continues in the ominous lead-up to the rainy season. This morning’s ride was clockwise…

  • Strine - Strine Sports

    Pushbike Paradise

    The few weeks leading up to the start of the rainy season in Tokyo are, for me, idyllic, and for the past few years I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to get an early morning bike ride in on most days, and today was a ripper. The sun rises at about 4 a.m. at this time of the year, and so do I! I get up, pour myself into cycling gear, have a quick brekkie and then get out on the treadly before I can convince myself there’s something better to do than ride a bike. And Mother Nature…

  • Daily Life - Strine - Strine Tucker - Strine Why Atorkin/Australian Methods of Speech/豪語の話し方

    Snot Block Odyssey

    Something was amiss with the start of the weekend when I was barely able to sleep, spending a restless night ahead of plans to head into central Tokyo to pick up some parts, but little did I know that a vanilla slice “snot block” was on the way to rescuing me. Using the restlessness to advantage, I got stuck into the garden, weeding and then being able to cut the lawn courtesy of a quiet push mower and getting down on my hands and knees to manually trim the edges. A quick clean of the Brommie, which has been squeaking…

  • Daily Life

    Get Your ‘Thinking’ Paws From Me, A Damned, Dirty Mate!

    One of my great delights over the past few years has become gardening, and unaccustomedly I’ve taken on numerous challenges, including growing plants from seeds, and the kangaroo paws I wanted to bloom and flourish more than any other plant have started to flower. I picked up dozens of different types of seeds when I last visited Australia in September-October 2022. I started growing them in February 2023. I’ve now got about half-a-dozen blooming in the garden, either in pots or planted in the ground. All but one is orange. Many of the seeds germinated and propagated, but of the…

  • Daily Life

    A Pheasant Makes Things Pleasant

    Late May is nearly always an idyllic time with the glorious weather hiding the impending onset of the rainy season. This morning’s ride was made even pleasanter by getting to spend time looking at a glorious Japanese green pheasant reigning over its territory near the Asakawa River. Pretty much every weekday (when the weather is halfway decent), I get to ride my bike, mostly along the Tama River, and I love it. Returning home today was a delight, though as the grevillea are in full bloom. A row of the gorgeous flowers is simply breathtaking. Only one of the three…

  • Daily Life

    Reflections

    Today’s gonna be a demanding day, but hopefully a magical one in all sorts of ways. I’m connecting with wizards who I am hoping will whisk me away from the uncomfortable spot my professional life has found itself in, but the imposter syndrome is already really strong. At least I got a great ride in this morning as the last few days of the most glorious time of the year tick away. It was wonderful to ride along the Tama River in the early hours of the morning and greet the occasional Japanese green pheasant along the way. And then…

  • Daily Life

    Foo, Gee!

    May is, for me, the most delightful time of the year in Tokyo, and I was doubly blessed this morning when greeted by the sight not only of Mount Fuji, but with snow on top. Fujisan, that iconic symbol of Japan, is notoriously camera shy and it’s a rare day indeed to get a clear view of the mountain outside of the colder months from say, late November through to March. When you do get to see Mount Fuji in warmer times, more often than not it is a view of the bare mountain. But today, just a couple of…