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posted: March 31st, 2010 |
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This page begins with March 22nd, a trip to Hikage and Oge Creeks, out in the Takao Area for spring flowers, and takes you through the 29th and a trip to Shinjuku Gyoen (Park). Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin March 22nd |
On March 22nd Kazuya and I went out to Takao on the train and then took a bus to Hikage Bus Stop and hiked a ways up Hikage Creek. The first shot here is a tiny plant with a tiny flower - Chrysosplenium album var. stamineum. The next shot is also quite tiny - it is Mitella pauciflora. Those weird flowers are about 5 - 7 mm (about 1/4 inch) across. The final flower is an Anemone raddeana. It is about 50 mm or about 2 inches across.
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 Mar22_HikageCreek_03_ Chrysosplenium_album_v_satmineumRC |
 Mar22_HikageCreek_05Crop_ Mitella_paucifloraRC |
 Mar22_HikageCreek_21_ Anemone_raddeanaRC |
Here are 2 shots of Viola bissetii - a shot of the flower head and a shot of the flower spur. The 3rd shot is a Trillium smallii - both the plant and the flower.
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 Mar22_HikageCreek_ 36_Trillium_smalliiRC |
Here is a nice shot of a Viola bissetii where you can see 2 flowers in one photo. The 2nd photo is the top of the hill where we enter Ogesawa, or Oge Creek. Yes, after we tired of Hikage Creek we went to Ogesawa and hiked up that creek looking for more flowers. This creek is lesser known and also sunnier in the morning. The 3rd shot is a Viola grypoceras f. variegata - you can identify the forma variegata by the red veins in the leaf (look closely).
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 Mar22_Ogesawa_10 _Viola_bissetiRC |
 Mar22_Ogesawa_ 13_SceneryRC |
 Mar22_Ogesawa_28 _Viola_grypocerasRC |
Here is a shot of the flower spur of Viola grypoceras f. variegata followed by a Viola eizanensis. The 3rd shot is another Viola bissetii where you can see several flowers in one photo.
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 Mar22_Ogesawa_29 _Viola_grypocerasRC |
 Mar22_Ogesawa_38 _Viola_eizanensisRC |
 Mar22_Ogesawa_ 69_Viola_bissetiRC |
Here are 2 shots of another tiny flower (maybe 8 mm or 0.4 inch across) - it is Omphalodes japonica
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 Mar22_Ogesawa_63_ Omphalodes_japonicaRC |
 Mar22_Ogesawa_72 _Omphalodes_japonicaRC |
In this row the first 2 shots are another rather small flower - it is about 30 mm (1.25 inch) in length. The name of it is Corydalis lineariloba. Such a delicate sky-blue in color. The 3rd shot is another shot of Gagea lutea (Yellow-Star-of-Bethlehem). You saw another photo of this flower on Page 3 in Row 11 - a macro-photo is shown there. The photo here shows pretty much the entire plant.
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 Mar22_TakaoCreek_14 _Corydalis_linearilobaRC |
 Mar22_TakaoCreek_23 _Corydalis_linearilobaRC |
 Mar22_TakaoCreek_17 _Gagea_luteaRC |
Here is the Cymbidium goeringii orchid which we have growing on our porch. This year it has 25 flowers. Last year it had 16 flowers. For a year to year comparison from 2006 to the present, please see last year's March web page HERE.
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 Mar22_Porch_ Cymbidium_goreingii02PSRC |
| End March 22nd, Begin March 27th |
On March 27th we went to Tokyo University's Koishikawa Botanical Garden and looked around at spring flowers. We were hoping for fantastic Cherry Blossoms, but it was still a bit early for the peak. In this row you can find 3 different angles on some Viola yedoensis which we found there.
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 Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_ 005_Viola_yedoensisRC |
 March27th_KoishikawaBG 012SIP_ViolaYedoensisRC |
 Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_ 010_Viola_yedoensisRC |
Still at Koishikawa Botanical Garden - here are 3 shots of Viola diffusa. The first and 2nd shots give you an idea of how tiny these flowers are. The first photo is my first finger. The 2nd photo is Kazuya's hand. The 3rd shot is actually 2 shots which have been "fused" into one photo using Photomatix Pro's software. One photo was underexposed and the other photo was overexposed - this is the result of fusing them both together.
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 Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_ 041_Viola_diffusaRC |
 March27th_KoishikawaBG 041_ViolaDiffusaRC |
 Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_055_056 _Fused_Crop_Viola_diffusaRC |
The first and second photos in this row show you some nice Cherry Blossoms. The 3rd photo is a White Dandelion (Taraxacum albidum) and a Yellow Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis) - both Enhanced with Shadow Illuminator Pro and put together into a single photo.
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 March27th_ KoishikawaBG073RC |
 Mar27_KoishikawaGarden _080_CherryRC |
 Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_128SIP_ 129SIP_White_YellowDandelionRC |
The first 2 shots are both Spiraea thunbergii - the 2nd shot is a close-up shot on a single branch of the bush shown in the first photo. The 3rd photo is a really fine example of Viola grypoceras - a very common violet around here.
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 Mar27_KoishikawaGarden _131_SpiraeaRC |
 Mar27_KoishikawaGarden _138_SpiraeaRC |
 Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_ 144_Viola_grypocerasRC |
| End March 27th, Begin March 29th |
On March 29th we went to Shinjuku Gyoen (Park) - another search for Cherry Blossoms at their peak. Once again we were disappointed. It was a cold and windy day with a few rain showers and even a bit of snow! Guess you'll have to wait until next month to see the peak of Cherry Blossom Season. Here is a nice shot of a white-flowered cherry tree and then a nice example of a pink-flowered variety. The 3rd shot has been Tone-Mapped and tone-mapping made this photo come out looking like it was sunny. You can see from the sky, however, that it was NOT sunny. Interesting.
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 Mar29_ShinjukuPark_ 10_CherryBlossomsRC |
 Mar29_ShinjukuPark_ 14TM_CherryBlossomsRC |
Here is a shot of Kazuya in the Cherry Blossoms with his brand new North-Face cap. The 2nd shot contrasts a pink-flowered and a white-flowered tree. The 2nd photo has been enhanced with Shadow Illuminator Pro.
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 Mar29_ShinjukuPark_27_CherryBlossoms_KazuyaRC |
 Mar29_ShinjukuPark_44SIP_CherryBlossomsRC |
| End March 29th, End Page 4, End March 2010's Photos |
Here are links to separate web pages. The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT coverart of all of our DVDs.
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| February 22, 2009 DVD Collection, Movie of Home Theater System & TV Pictures (new window) |
Link to DVD collection in DVD Profiler Click Here. (new window) |
Our DVD Collection Front Coverart Pages Click Here. (new window) |
 Please check it out by clicking on the above button. (Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.) |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the website this month. We hope that you found something which you enjoyed. You can use the e-mail link below to respond with any feedback you might have. |
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