• Daily Life

    Just Flowers

    It’s a sodden day with rain punctuated by drizzle, but the flowers in Kangaeroo Corner are brightening an otherwise bleak day. The grevillea are simply gorgeous and our star tree is filling with flowers that I have to learn to deadhead so that we get even more. Snow in the summer made its first appearance for the year. More white came from the willow bottlebrush. And the linear-leaf grevillea, which has now been blooming for months. Perhaps an unsung star of Kangaeroo Corner is the coastal rosemary, which has also been consistently in bloom since pretty much the start of…

  • 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

    Feast of Flowers

    There’s much to love about Tokyo in May–long, warm days with little rain (for the most part), lots of greenery and things settle down after the hectic early months of spring when much of the country starts and ends the business year. Little, though, can beat the delight that the month’s flowers bring. For me, at least. Of course, the real stars of the Japanese spring flora are the cherry blossoms, wisteria and azaleas as the main players, but they’re usually gone by the time May hits its straps in the middle of the month (and there are plenty of…