Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden – April 2023

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Earlier this month, we made our first visit to the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden since the winter holiday lights event in December (Gardens Aglow). I plan to go frequently during its April – October season since I joined Friends of the Garden; one of the membership benefits is free entry to the stroll garden.

We walked around the loop counterclockwise. Near the Meditation Sand Garden there were many cairns…some large and permanent…others built of smaller stones by other visitors. My favorite was a small stack of three stones on top of a post.

There are lanterns throughout the garden, and I always make a little project of photographing the ones that I notice. Next time I will hone my skills getting the horizon straight!

Interesting textures and colors abound: dried hydrangea flowers, new Japanese maple leaves in the sun, a pine tree with a challenge (disease, drought,?), reflections in a tinted pool.

A phoebe was close enough to identify.

A native dogwood was close enough to the path for some macro photography with my phone. I was fascinated about the way the flowers open – stuck at the apex…one petal-like bract opening …then another…the last two finally letting go to open the flower completely.

I suspect that there is a richness in this garden that will make it one of my favorite places in Springfield.

Ten Little Celebrations – June 2022

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What a month! It is probably the busiest, most stressful in my post career decade….with so much that has gone right in the end…lots of little celebrations.

Hearing a phoebe in the morning….seeing a crane fly – The sights and sounds of nature often become little celebrations for me…they just happen and make the day brighter.

New low weight for the year – With all the work getting ready to move and then moving, I expended a lot more energy and lost a few pounds. I celebrated a new low weight for the year in June.

A new house – Settling into a new house/location is stressful…but there is also a lot of to celebrate. Noticing all the aspects of the house that I like…celebrating that it is becoming home.

A picture taking walk around the ponds in the early morning – The water features of my new neighborhood are more extensive than where I lived previously. There were plenty of sights to celebrate in my first walks around the ponds and I anticipate enjoying them all through the year.

Internet/cable at Missouri house (just in time to make hotel reservations for the follow night going back to Maryland) – Our internet/cable access was installed the morning after we closed on our new house; I celebrated that my husband had been proactive for making that arrangement.

Made it back to Missouri even with the blowout before lunch – The drama of a blown-out tire on the trek from Maryland to Missouri was not traumatic as it could have been….and I celebrated when we made it to the new house.

The movers arrived….delivering our stuff – The house was so empty…then was full of boxes. I celebrated that it all arrived intact even though the piles were daunting.

Finding the missing piece to husband’s desk – I had packed some pieces of my husband’s desk and we didn’t find the box for about 24 hours. Celebration by all when the piece was found!

Unpacking progress (slow but steady) – We are still unpacking but every day I celebrate the progress we are making. At this point, all the critical items are unpacked and put into their long-term location.

A contract on our Maryland house – My husband and I were pleasantly surprised that we sold our house in Maryland in just 4 days and for more than the asking price. At first, we were overwhelmed…and then we celebrated.

Crane Fly

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A quick celebration of nature – a crane fly was resting on the garage door frame as I came back from an early morning trip to Home Depot for the last boxes I need. I took some quick pictures with my phone…pleased with the quality of the 8x magnification.

Another intrusion of nature into my laser focus on getting ready to move - the birdsong in the morning is at its peak this time of year and happens just as I am ready to get up. There is a phoebe that is almost always contributing to the symphony and sometimes I hear it in the evening as well.

Ten Little Celebrations – May 2022

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May was a month of preparation to move…but there were plenty of little celebrations along the way.

12 boxes packed in one day. In April I had a few days that I got to 20 boxes…but that included some that all I had to do was tape (i.e. they were already packed). Doing a good job packing a box takes some thought…and gets harder after there are fewer items left to go in boxes. I celebrated that I managed a 12-box day!

Another load to the landfill/recycle center. Every time we take a load, I celebrate that we have a little less to move!

Getting the pile out for curbside pickup. It was a significant effort – requiring the wheelbarrow to get the heavier items up the hill. But we did it – more easily than I anticipated!

Getting the pile out for curbside pickup. It was a significant effort – requiring the wheelbarrow to get the heavier items up the hill. But we did it – more easily than I anticipated!

Finding boxes to pack larger items. I am packing larger items now…that are generally light weight too. I like the Home Depot’s ‘large’ boxes and celebrate how many odd items they hold gracefully.

Drawing down refrigerator items. I’ve been trying to eat things from the freezer/refrig so that I don’t have to move them. So far so good. The refrigerator is not entirely empty, but we’ll have less to move in an ice chest when we move. Celebrating that my strategy is working!

Reservations made for the trip to close on the house in Missouri. I’m celebrating that the further along we get…the more we do toward moving…the more ‘real’ it becomes. There will be a big celebration once we close but the steps leading to that milestone are worth celebrating too!

Birth of my niece’s child…the first of the next generation of our family. Celebrating the birth of child…mixed with relief that all is well with the mother and child.

A phoebe in the backyard in the morning (on almost every morning). The bird has become a normal early morning sound for me…not loud enough to be an alarm clock…but reminds me to celebrate the new day.

A timely appointment to get a crown on a broken molar. I was worried that my mouth would become painful before I could get an appointment with my dentist…but it happened quickly…and 2 hours later I went home with a temporary crown! I’m also celebrating that it is (so far) my best experience ever getting a crown.

A fox in the backyard…passing through. I happened to look out my office window to see a fox stop by the base of our feeder in the back yard….and then continue its way into the forest. It was transitioning from winter to summer coat. Celebrating that there is wildlife in our forest…and sometimes we get to see it in our backyard.

Gleanings, MAELSTROM prompt, and a Phoebe

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Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Gleanings from the Past Week

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

The world’s most nutritious foods - BBC Future – The one on the list that surprised me was ‘pork fat.’

New Thoughts on Corn Cultivation at Cahokia - Archaeology Magazine – Evidently maize arrived between AD 900 and 1000…about 1,000 years later than previously thought. I remember visiting Cahokia in 2010 about this time….a road trip from Ithaca NY to Flagstaff AZ with my daughter for her summer of undergraduate research.

Old Wisteria Tree in Japan Is the Most Beautiful in the World – I missed the wisteria blooming at Brookside Gardens this year. This 150 year old tree in this post is huge in comparison.

How the news changes the way we think and behave - BBC Future – I find that I feel better when I don’t check the news as often…once or twice a day is often enough unless there is something happening that impacts what I am doing (like very bad weather coming). I want to stay informed but don’t need stories repeated again and again…one time is generally enough and there are very few that I need to know as they are developing.

Top 25 birds of the week: #May 2020 - Wild Bird Revolution – A little feathery color….

Waves of Fluid Bathe the Sleeping Brain, Perhaps to Clear Waste | The Scientist Magazine®  - Still a lot to learn about the brain. I found myself wondering of poor sleep is the cause or effect of some disorders.

An Intimate Look at Italy’s Saffron Harvest - The New York Times – Color and flavor – and labor intensive.

Saber-tooth surprise: Fossils redraw picture of the fearsome big cat – The big cat was a forest/ambush hunter rather than one that hunted in more open environments.

Welcome Back! | The Prairie Ecologist – Noticing the firsts of spring….a bird returned…insects emerging (or sometimes returning), plants beginning to grow….lots to take in.

Medieval Arrows Inflicted Injuries That Mirror Damage Caused by Modern Bullets | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – The English longbow. The best ones were made from yew and measured 6 feet long. Drawing the weapon required 150-180 pounds of force. They shot arrows to 1,000 feet. At the Battle of Crecy in 1346, historians estimate that the English archers shot as many as 35,000 arrows per minute….were victorious even though they were outnumber by 2 to 1.

A Zentangle Prompt

Experiment with the MAELSTROM pattern. This is a grid pattern and is an opportunity to play with different orientations of a simple basic design made in each small square.  I always like to reuse materials I have around the house and an old calendar is great for these patterns. My calendar has large enough blocks for each day that I divide each into 4 x 4 grids and then cover the whole page (except for the small blocks that have a number in them) – in this case with MAELSTROM variations. I’ll share the results with you tomorrow.

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Here is a tile I made yesterday based on the prompt: Make a tile with TRIPOLI as the central tangle.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Phoebe in the morning. I hear a phoebe almost every morning but usually don’t get a photograph. Yesterday I did…while it was proclaiming its name.

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Small chipping sparrow. I’ve noticed a chipping sparrow that looks smaller than the others coming to the feeder the past couple of days. I finally got a picture of it with another chipper on the other side of the feeder. Doesn’t the one on the right look smaller? Maybe it is just the way the bird is oriented/holding itself.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts  here.

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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. "Zentangle" is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.