Too many weeks have passed since I posted here.
Serious jet lag after Japan followed by Christmas with family, followed by the taking on of writing a blog for Artspring Gallery, followed by cutting my head whilst putting away the Christmas decorations, followed by a mysterious ankle injury, followed by being unable to decide whether I am retired or not have all made it difficult to write.
But enough is enough. Two things happened this week that made me realise that I need to put words to screen....
Firstly....
OH (my other half ) told me a fib.
This should not go unrecorded.
He advised me that he had to go to London for a 'snack lunch' with a business colleague.
You and I might think that a snack lunch would be a sandwich or a bowl of soup.
Not so, dear reader. After a little gentle probing I discovered that said snack is 'one or two courses in a mediterranean restaurant'.
I presume the snack part is the olives that are eaten before the one or two courses.
Secondly, we received a round-robin email informing us that the 'rogue' waste bin left accidentally by the refuse collectors at the bottom of the road is being used by members of the public for 'all sorts of rubbish'.
Action is being taken. This is a road where things get sorted. For which I am very grateful.....
but........
personally I was quite glad that a real bin was being used for the rubbish that is normally left by the public in the gutter and behind the telephone substation.
That way I don't have to pick it up.
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| litter from my street |
Now that I have got those facts off my chest I would like to share some images from Japan.
Travelling with OH on a whirlwind tour meant that I came back with very few images that I love. So much to see, and so little time to linger....
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| view from Kumano Nachi Taisha grand shrine |
The ones that I love are all of trees. What a surprise.
Trees lovingly clipped into exquisite shapes. And some more natural.
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| gardener at ritsurin garden, Takamatsu |
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| gardener at ritsurin garden, Takamatsu |
The tree forms at Ritsurin gardens would have kept me busy with my camera for hours.
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| trees at Ritsurin garden, Takamatsu |
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| trees at Ritsurin garden, Takamatsu |
Sadly it got dark and our time was limited.
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| trees at Ritsurin garden, Takamatsu |
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| tree at Ritsurin garden, Takamatsu |
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| pine tree at Ritsurin garden, Takamatsu |
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| pine tree at Ritsurin garden, Takamatsu |
These shapes come from years of pruning. I have never seen anything like it in an English garden.
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| trees at Ritsurin garden, Takamatsu |
We also spent time away from formal gardens on the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail. This is ancient pigrims trail is mainly through pine forest.
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| kumano kodo trail |
The hiking was very peaceful after the city crowds.
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| view from the Kumano kodo trail |
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| kumano kodo trail |
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| kumano hongu taisha shrine |
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| kumano hongu taisha shrine |
Autumn leaves added a little magic to the temples and shrines that we passed along the way.
Occasional acers amongst the pine trees created pockets of colour.
Sometimes I feel that less is more. I am trying to work towards a more Japanese aesthetic.
And sometimes nature without the pruning is just perfect.
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| Japanese acer in autumn |
After all writing it must be time for a snack.
Fish and chips followed by sticky toffee pudding will do nicely.
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