Spring Has Sprung - Sakura-Style

It's been a long time since last I posted... and for good (and bad) reasons. Firstly, I've been pretty busy this time around with our daughter, C-chan, who has just clocked up her 7th month! Secondly, work has been a bit hectic of late (as it should be). But finally, I've just been spending what online time I've had on G+ rather than blogging.

That, I hope (and keep telling myself) will change. And so, let's start the ball rolling with something that happened just now. Cherry Blossom season. Well, actually, the cherry trees have been blossoming around Adelaide for a while now, but our cherry tree has only just hit peak now. So I thought I'd just liven up blog with a few of my shots of our own Sakura down South....

Hanami - the Japanese tradition of going out to watch the cherry blossoms (amongst others)... but is really just a good excuse to get totally drunk with your friends and workmates...  is a tradition in our house. Normally it means us setting up a picnic rug and table under the blossoms and eating a homemade picnic hamper, and me of course knocking back a couple of beers (suitably Japanese in origin).

This year was looking a little grim weather-wise, and indeed it's been blowing a gale, and when not blowing a gale, it's been raining, then sun-shining, then back to the gale part. Thankfully, today (a public holiday here, for Labour Day) the weather turned a treat. Beautiful sunshine, not too hot, not too cold. Just right (though it did get a little chilly later in the day). So we quickly revised our plans and grabbed the picnic gear. Hanami time was here again!

Now I was going to also throw down a few of my favourite pics from the season... in no particular order. But these were shot over two days, and the weather really did change around a lot (hence why you will notice a very dark grey sky in some of the shots).

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

 

Hanami Time 2011 - Summer's Coming

Well - it's no surprise that Spring is well and truly here in Adelaide, Australia. It was an incredible 30.5 degC today (at noon). And you could tell it as well. The air was hot and strong, a northerly blasting across Adelaide. It's only just turned Spring, and yet already the hot weather's here.

And Spring means blossoms, and that means Cherry Blossoms - or Sakura - for us. We've got a weeping cherry tree, and another small cherry tree (that blooms much later), plus a Chinese Crab-apple that does a good impersonation of Cherry Blossoms. But every year at this time, we get busy in order to have a picnic under our Weeping Cherry Tree. It's a small thing, but we like to maintain at least a semblance of the Japanese traditions for L-kun to be inspired by. Hanami or blossom viewing is an age-old tradition in Japan, where families and groups of people camp out underneath the cherry blossoms and indulge in food, drink, love and life/

The Cherry blossoms were not at their peak - unfortunately half the tree was past their peak, whilst the other half is still a couple of days away. Still, gotta go with what you have at hand, and with weather like this, today was perhaps the best day for it.

So T-chan prepared some zangi (also known as karaage) - a delicious fried chicken, boiled eggs, sausage salad and some ripe and beautiful roma tomatoes. Meanwhile L-kun and yours truly put together some ham, cheese, lettuce and mayo sandwiches.

Of course - what with the hanami without a drink or two. And those that know me, know I'm partial to some Sapporo Beer. Hmmm.... I feel a hot summer coming on.

So here we were earlier today... enjoying our picnic lunch. 

Meanwhile, I'm a little worried that L-kun's taking just a little too much interest in my beer. Whoa tiger... you've got another 14 years before you're going to be enjoying this. 

And T-chan was also able to enjoy some time with L-kun and I... although she worked hard to get it all together. I love you T-chan. Thanks for a wonderful lunch time.

And after a yummy lunch, and a few drinks, it's time to lay back and enjoy the warmth of the new season. Hmm - that sky looks very clear.... ZZZzzzzz zzzzzz. 

Note: This post is my contribution to the JFesta compendium for September 2010. Don't forget to check out the links to contributors here on of Japingu.com.

A Tokyo Tease

Hi all - well, I said that I wouldn't be posting my usual lots of photos, but I couldn't resist posting some at least. Here's a sample of some of the things we did. As you can see from these photos, the theme is Sakura - Cherry Blossoms. Actually, you can also see that there were quite a few people in Ueno Park as well making the most of viewing these short-lived blooms. However, there were relatively few people enjoying hanami parties underneath and the night-illumination had been cancelled. The other thing that was very apparent, there were almost no foreign tourists on this day.

Ueno Kouen (8th April)

This canal is just 1 train stop (and walking distance) from Musashi-Koyama where T-chan's brother lives (and where we stayed during our week or so in Tokyo). It was truly beautiful - and lots of people again.



Fudomae (Near Musashi-Koyama, 10th April)



Returning to Ueno 3days later showed just how short-lived the sakura are... they were well and truly past their peak, and had started falling. Quite a few more tourists today for some reason, and a few more people sitting down for a spot of relaxed cherry blossom watching. 



Ueno Kouen (11th April)



 Asakusa, another favourite was also very busy on the 11th, but few foreign tourists (but still a few - Tokyo certainly hasn't been totally abandoned by us foreigners!). The spirit here was simultaneously more festive (the approach to Senso-ji is full of life), and more respectful within the temple grounds.



Asaskusa, Senso-ji (11th April)



 Even with the uncertainty and sadness that has gripped Japan, the sakura proved to be a popular distraction. I had thought, perhaps hoped, that the sign for spring and re-birth that the cherry blossoms herald may be a breaking of the dam in terms of releasing some of the mourning. Perhaps a month is too early, especially when there was a significant aftershock that occured perhaps an hour after this photo was taken. Not to mention the sudden rain storm that suddenly brought thoughts of radioactive dust to mind (even though airborne radiation has been quite low of late).



Imperial Palace Park, near Yaskuni Jinja (11th April)



I had not thought that Tokyo during the cherry blossom season would be so beautiful, and I feel very lucky to have experienced it with T-chan and her family. To cap it all off, the wedding was a wonderful occassion that was one we couldn't have missed. I might post on that one later however...

These photos are just a quick snapshot of places that we went. Hope they wet the whistle for later posts on my Japanese Ties blog. Eventually.

Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens... Spring-time Fun

10th October, 2010 - Mount Lofty is the highest "mountain" near Adelaide, at 727m in height, it's not going to win any awards for altitude. However, at this altitude, there is a marked difference in the climate, and a number of different plants and trees (especially of European lineage) are much more easily grown in this more moderate environement. 

Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens is a part of the Botanic Gardens that we visited earlier... but about about 17km up into the Adelaide Hills. It's a quick drive up the South Eastern Freeway. Unlike the city location, these gardens were only opened in 1977... very youthful indeed.

View Larger Map

 It's a huge garden, spanning 98 hectares (that a lot of lawn mowing)...and the beauty is that it's free to enter (note that parking is paid, except on Sunday's when it's also free).

The lake is one of the focal points of the garden... not because it's particularly scenic (even with the Black Swans), but because it literally is the frame through which you walk to get to gardens themselves.

As an aside... Europeans had never seen a black swan prior to 1697 here in Australia, and it was not studied scientifically until 1790... indeed prior to this time, such a thing as a black swan was assumed to be an impossible absurdity by the western world. Such was the strength of that view that the foundations of many the Europeans world views were brought into question. The Black Swan Events Concept now describes the  theory that much in life (especially our world changing discoveries) are seemingly both rare and unpredictable - and therefore difficult to anticipate. Seems a lot of trouble over a black coloured swan...

The world that we live in however, is much simpler. Spring comes, flowers bloom. I for one, am happy to be amazed by those things that we take for granted every day.

One of the reasons we were up here was because we wanted to find cherry blossoms (we're just suckers for them I guess). And we had a good idea where to find them... L-kun however had other ideas of how he could amuse himself. Bridge stomping. That' good exercise... just as long as you don't wake the bridge-trolls up.

 Quite a distance in from the carpark you will find this small little gully with quite a few sakura planted as a gift from Japan some 20 years ago. These trees can be found on the way to the rose garden - though it was still too early in the year for the roses. Much of the garden appears reasonably manicured, but this part of the garden is fairly natural. In a way that makes it even more enjoyable for me.

We didn't exactly arrive there at the peak time - but the blossoms were already rapidly  being replaced by the new season's leaves... for which I was a little confused. Most times, plants up in the Hills bloom later due to the cooler weather, but these were blooming almost simultaneously with the ones in our front yard. I wonder if it has more to do with the type of sakura?

And for those observant blog followers out there (all 0.75 of you), you may recognize the following photo from some where.... look up at the top of the blog for a hint.

There were other trees scattered around that were also in bloom (or just finishing)...

Even though it's Spring, the light today was a little strange. This wasn't that late in the afternoon, but th case of the shadows is like a late summer evening. I love this soft yet bright light... if only I knew enough about cameras to know how to capture it.

Spring time is a great time in the garden... always little flower shows along the way.

Along the path that leads around the lilly pond, you can find whole hillsides bathed in the beautiful carpet of bluebells. I can imagine just laying down and drifting off to sleep.

But... there are other paths to tread before we can think about sleeping...

There are two lakes in the gardens, with the smaller one being dedicated to lilies.

However, why we are going this way is to reach the creatively titled Rhododendron Valley... one of my favourite places for flowers in Adelaide. Unfortunately, the Rhodoendron's were not yet in full bloom...but they weren't far off either.

At their peak, the whole valley is festooned with vibrant pinks making for a beautiful sight. I've slightly cheated here and put up a photo that I took back in 2009, which was taken around the same time of year... but it wasn't that easy to photograph the vista.

L-kun came up with a new game today... the "Thinking Chair". And what is involved in the Thinking Chair game. Lots of sitting and lots of thinking. Somehow he's come across the idea of sitting to think (I'm sure a morning cartoon)... but it was quite a hoot to see him staring off into space... lost, apparently, in thought. You have to ask yourself, what does a 3 yo think about?

As you walk around the lily lake, you come to a more large fern garden... with lots of ferns... once again, the higher altitude of the gardens allows many different types of plants to grow well that would otherwise struggle (or just outright die) in Adelaide's dry hot summers.

L-kun found a special rock... he could tell because this rock had writing on it. "Daddy, take a photo of me with the rock", he asked. How could I resist? This is for you L-kun.

It's funny however, that in the heart of Spring that you can find things that remind you of the opposite end of the calendar. Some of the new leaves give a distinct autumnal feel...

And some of the plants seem just out of place altogether. Yet it is these "surprises" that make for a a very enjoyable time to go to the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens.

Overall, the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden is a great place to get out and commune with nature (at least a more temperate nature than what you'd find on the plains). The gardens are not however very representative of the natural environment around Adelaide. The garden has two major entrances... we normally enter through the lower entrance - and maybe next time we'll have have a look around from the summit side.... but that's for another time.