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This is Page 3 of 3 - the best of March 2007!
posted: March 30th, 2007
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The photos on this page continue with March 21st - a National Holiday - and go through the end of the month. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin March 21st
  On March 21st we had a National Holiday - the Vernal Equinox - and we went to ICU, the university near our house and walked around the woods-like campus. The first thing we stumbled across was a Spiraea thunbergii bush. How amazingly filled with blooms it is, eh!
Mar21_ICU_Spiraea_thunbergii01RC.jpg
Mar21_ICU_Spiraea_
thunbergii01RC
ICUMar21_SpiraeaThunbergii_03RC.jpg
ICUMar21_Spiraea
Thunbergii_03RC
Mar21_ICU_Spiraea_thunbergii02RC.jpg
Mar21_ICU_Spiraea_
thunbergii02RC

  We also found some violets - all Viola grypoceras. In the first photo here you can see a great shot of the flower. In the 2nd shot you can see a shot showing the flower spur. The 3rd shot shows a white variety or form of Viola grypoceras. Unfortunately neither Kazuya nor I took a picture of the flower spur. There are 2 different white varieties/forms and the only real way to be able to differentiate between them is a close examination of the flower spur!
Mar21_ICU_Viola_grypoceras14aCropRC.jpg
Mar21_ICU_Viola_
grypoceras14aCropRC
Mar21_ICU_Viola_grypoceras05CropRC.jpg
Mar21_ICU_Viola_
grypoceras05CropRC
Mar21_ICU_Viola_grypoceras_White10aRC.jpg
Mar21_ICU_Viola_
grypoceras_White10aRC

  We also noticed that the Magnolia trees (Magnolia kobus) are in full bloom. The first photo is a single flower and the 2nd shot is an entire tree top. The 3rd shot is a nice plate of Morel Mushrooms which we found. It's quite early to find them and in addition it's been very dry, so we were pleasantly surprised to find any at all. Kazuya bought us steaks for supper and I fried the mushrooms in butter with a bit of salt and pepper and we ate them with the steaks - talk about a meal fit for a king!
Mar21_ICU_Magnolia_kobus02RC.jpg
Mar21_ICU_Magnolia_kobus02RC
Mar21_ICU_Magnolia_kobus04RC.jpg
Mar21_ICU_Magnolia_kobus04RC
Mar21_ICU_MorelMushrooms03aCropRC.jpg
Mar21_ICU_MorelMushrooms03aCropRC
End March 21st, Begin March 26th
  On March 26 (my weekend day that week) we went to Ogesawa (Oge Creek). It was a fantastic day and we found lots of spring flowers. This month has seen lots of changes in the flora - think back to the first page and then look here. An AMAZING month for flowers. The first shot in this row is a Trout Lily (Erythronium japonicum) - an amazing shot. The 2nd shot is a Viola grypoceras and the 3rd shot is a Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema limbatum).
Mar26_Erythronium_japonicum05aCropRC.jpg
Mar26_Erythronium_
japonicum05aCropRC
Mar26_Viola_grypoceras02aRC.jpg
Mar26_Viola_
grypoceras02aRC
Mar26Hikage05_ArisaemaLimbatumRC.jpg
Mar26Hikage05_Arisaema
LimbatumRC

  After about 1 hour both of my camera batteries died - so the remainder of the photos here were taken by Kazuya. He got some really great shots! The first photo here is a (Euphorbia sieboldiana). The 2nd and 3rd shots are Viola eizanensis - notice the bee inside the middle photo.
Mar26Hikage06_EuphorbiaSieboldianaRC.jpg
Mar26Hikage06_Euphorbia
SieboldianaRC
Mar26Ogesawa09_ViolaEizanensisRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa09_Viola
EizanensisRC
Mar26Ogesawa13_ViolaEizanensisRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa13_Viola
EizanensisRC

  The first photo in this row is a Takao Violet (Viola yezoensis f. discolor). There is one photo of this species on Page 2 (final photo), but this one here really shows the purplish-brown leaves. The 2nd photo is a Viola bissetii - also with an insect inside of it. The 3rd photo is a Meehania urticifolia.
Mar26Ogesawa18_ViolaYezoensisFDiscolorRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa18_Viola
YezoensisFDiscolorRC
Mar26Ogesawa20_ViolaBissetiRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa20_
ViolaBissetiRC
Mar26Ogesawa27_MeehaniaUrticifoliaRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa27_Meehania
UrticifoliaRC

  The first shot here is a new angle on an Anemone flaccida - a photo taken from the back side - intriguing. The 2nd photo is one more Viola eizanensis. This violet comes in many colors and forms. The 3rd shot is another Omphalodes japonica (2 more shots on Page 2).
Mar26Ogesawa31_AnemoneFlaccidaRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa31_Anemone
FlaccidaRC
Mar26Ogesawa35_ViolaEizanensisRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa35_Viola
EizanensisRC
Mar26Ogesawa39_OmphalodesJaponicaRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa39_
OmphalodesJaponicaRC

  The first photo here is a Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana. The 2nd shot is a Viola grypoceras and the 3rd shot is a Viola grypoceras f. variegata. Notice the difference between the leaves in the 2nd and 3rd shots (red veins in the 3rd shot, plus a slightly different shape).
Mar26Ogesawa45ViolaTokubuchianaVarTakedanaRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa45Viola
TokubuchianaVarTakedanaRC
Mar26Ogesawa54_ViolaGrypocerasRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa54_Viola
GrypocerasRC
Mar26Ogesawa55_ViolaGrypocerasFVariegataRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa55_Viola
GrypocerasFVariegataRC

  The first 2 photos here are Ogesawa - the creek itself - showing 2 different small waterfalls. In the first shot you can notice that tree leaves are not yet coming out. The 3rd shot is Viola japonica - a new violet for us, or at least which we have never identified as such before.
Mar26Ogesawa69RC.jpg
Mar26
Ogesawa69RC
Mar26Ogesawa70RC.jpg
Mar26
Ogesawa70RC
Mar26Ogesawa72_ViolaJaponicaRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa72_
ViolaJaponicaRC

  The first 2 photos in this row are also Viola japonica. The 3rd shot was taken at Sekiba Touge (Sekiba Pass) - one place we passed on our route this day.
Mar26Ogesawa73_ViolaJaponicaRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa73_
ViolaJaponicaRC
Mar26Ogesawa74_ViolaJaponicaRC.jpg
Mar26Ogesawa74_
ViolaJaponicaRC
Mar26SekibaTougeRC.jpg
Mar26
SekibaTougeRC

  Here is Kazuya at the summit of Mt. Doudokoro (733 meters = 2,398 feet). From here we continued to Mt. Kagenobu (727 meters = 2,385 feet) and then headed down to the nearest bus stop. On the way down the Kagenobu trail we found a new species of Asarum, which we were not able to positively identify. And then we found an area with MANY Cymbidium goeringii orchids in full flower. We never realized that they were in such abundance at this place! Surprise!
Mar26MtDoudokoro03RC.jpg
Mar26MtDoudokoro
03RC
Mar26MtKagenobu09_AsarumRC.jpg
Mar26MtKagenobu09_
AsarumRC
Mar26MtKagenobu13_CymbidiumGoeringiiRC.jpg
Mar26MtKagenobu13_
CymbidiumGoeringiiRC

  Here are 3 exceptional shots of Cymbidium goeringii orchids - all taken by Kazuya.
Mar26MtKagenobu31_CymbidiumGoeringiiRC.jpg
Mar26MtKagenobu31_
CymbidiumGoeringiiRC
Mar26MtKagenobu21_CymbidiumGoeringiiRC.jpg
Mar26MtKagenobu21_
CymbidiumGoeringiiRC
Mar26MtKagenobu33_CymbidiumGoeringiiRC.jpg
Mar26MtKagenobu33_
CymbidiumGoeringiiRC
End March 26th, End Page 3, End March 2007's Photos
  This is a link to a separate web page showing a Relatively NEW photo of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our new Sharp Aquos TV. You can see the new DVD Shelf here too.
    April 1, 2006 DVD Collection,
Movie of Home Theater System
& New TV Pictures
(new window)

By the way - Kazuya has started a blog which exhibits different photos than shown here (mostly - I have used some of his though). It looks very nice and you can find it HERE. (Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.)

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