Tag: Spring

Daily Life

Don’t Think!

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A good mate of mine often quotes William Shakespeare’s Hamlet by reminding me that, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

Kangaeroo is prone to over-thinking, and this week is looming as a tough one.

There’s plenty on the schedule, both professionally and privately.

And it’s still bloody cold and dark.

Moreover, riding up some hills yesterday and being easily overtaken and outpaced by another old codger, then hearing my heavy breathing along the river this morning sparked another reminder from Hamlet that I am fat and scant of breath!

But in better news, the relatively mild weather of the past few days has hinted at the onset of spring.

And another heralding of the end of winter came upon seeing the neighbor’s plum tree starting to bloom.

There were only a few blossoms, but the appearance of plums mean the cherries aren’t too far away.

And Kangaeroo Coven’s wattle is poised to unleash a spectacular golden bloom soon, too.

Strine Sports

Enough Of The Cold, Already!

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May weather is generally the best of the year in Tokyo, by Kangaeroo’s reckoning, and though it looks like it’s gonna shape that way, it would be nice to say “bye” to the cold until at least the late autumn.

The first weekday of May greeted early risers with a delightful sunrise over the Tama River.

Rain started falling around midday the previous day, rendering riding as a bit too tough.,

The rain persisted overnight and into the early hours of the morning.

The forecast was for the weather to clear and become sunny by the end of the day.

Roads were still wet and slippery, though, so care was required.

This is a strange day, being a one-off work day in the middle of a period of potentially close to two weeks’ off for some.

Unfortunately, Kangaeroo has to work, which meant waking in a downbeat mood.

Nature had a nice way of making the early rise worthwhile, though.

And Belladonna appreciated the morning, too.

She certainly got the chance to look resplendent.

And put on a fine show.

The outlook for the rest of the time off is pretty promising.

Unknown Nichigo

Fantastic Flowers!

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Selfie

Blessed with great company, brilliant sunshine and time, Kangaeroo got to enjoy the unexpected pleasure of HANA BIYORI.

HANA BIYORI is a new type of botanical garden that forms part of the sprawling entertainment complex centered around Yomiuriland in the Tokyo suburb of Inagi.

HANA BIYORI was a delight simply to see all the vibrant spring flowers in bloom in a pretty park with lots of greenery, water and the occasional spectacular view.

The site also has a magnificent projection mapping show on the half-hour every hour during operation.

Also on site are stores with some interesting house plants on sale (mostly beautiful but overpriced), a Starbucks coffee shop that has adopted a unique, greenhouse-like appearance with some wonderful aquariums (but retained its exorbitantly priced and tasteless menu it offers ubiquitously) and a petting zoo for the littlies.

Absolutely loved the visit, though that was highly influenced by companions and the weather.

Strine Sports

Bloody Beauty! Back on the Bike!

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After months of near inactivity, Kangaeroo was finally able to indulge regularly in the pursuit that brings probably the greatest pleasure in life: cycling!

So far, 2022 has been a series of calamities in terms of cycling, starting with poor weather then moving on to poor equipment, poor health and poor luck!

But things slowly slotted back into place and have finally allowed for a week on the bike that is as good as it gets now!

And some of the results were stupendous, as can be seen in the gallery.

What sheer delight!

Strine Sports

Bloomin’ Marvelous!

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For all sorts of reasons, Kangaeroo hasn’t had much of chance to get out and about and cop a look at the cherry blossoms in bloom in Tokyo in 2022.

Nonetheless, that hasn’t meant being completely deprived of a sight that possibly makes the Japanese capital the most beautiful city in the world for a week or so every spring.

Various restrictions have limited viewing to the area of the Tama river and its tributaries, but even then it has made for some wonderful sights, as this gallery shows.

Strine Sports

What a Gift!

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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.

Strine Sports

Beating Jobsworths with Luck

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Waking early gave Kangaeroo a slice of luck this morning, enabling a visit to Yakushiike Park in Machida before the jobsworths arrived there and booted him out for bringing his bike.

The park is a delight, unbelievably located in the Tokyo suburbs.

It has some spectacular wisteria growing on trellises, with a huge pond (the ike of Yakushiike) surrounded by a picturesque garden currently flourishing with bright new leaves.

The wisteria are yet to reach full bloom, so there may be another visit before we’re finished this year.