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This is Page 4 of 4 - the best of March 2010!
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.

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.
Mar22_HikageCreek_03_Chrysosplenium_album_v_satmineumRC
Mar22_HikageCreek_03_
Chrysosplenium_album_v_satmineumRC
Mar22_HikageCreek_05Crop_Mitella_paucifloraRC
Mar22_HikageCreek_05Crop_
Mitella_paucifloraRC
Mar22_HikageCreek_21_Anemone_raddeanaRC
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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29_Viola_bissetiRC
Mar22_HikageCreek_30_Viola_bissetiRC
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30_Viola_bissetiRC
Mar22_HikageCreek_36_Trillium_smalliiRC
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).
Mar22_Ogesawa_10_Viola_bissetiRC
Mar22_Ogesawa_10
_Viola_bissetiRC
Mar22_Ogesawa_13_SceneryRC
Mar22_Ogesawa_
13_SceneryRC
Mar22_Ogesawa_28_Viola_grypocerasRC
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.
Mar22_Ogesawa_29_Viola_grypocerasRC
Mar22_Ogesawa_29
_Viola_grypocerasRC
Mar22_Ogesawa_38_Viola_eizanensisRC
Mar22_Ogesawa_38
_Viola_eizanensisRC
Mar22_Ogesawa_69_Viola_bissetiRC
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
Mar22_Ogesawa_63_Omphalodes_japonicaRC
Mar22_Ogesawa_63_
Omphalodes_japonicaRC
Mar22_Ogesawa_72_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.
Mar22_TakaoCreek_14_Corydalis_linearilobaRC
Mar22_TakaoCreek_14
_Corydalis_linearilobaRC
Mar22_TakaoCreek_23_Corydalis_linearilobaRC
Mar22_TakaoCreek_23
_Corydalis_linearilobaRC
Mar22_TakaoCreek_17_Gagea_luteaRC
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.
Mar22_Porch_Cymbidium_goreingii02PSRC
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.
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_005_Viola_yedoensisRC
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_
005_Viola_yedoensisRC
March27th_KoishikawaBG012SIP_ViolaYedoensisRC
March27th_KoishikawaBG
012SIP_ViolaYedoensisRC
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_010_Viola_yedoensisRC
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.
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_041_Viola_diffusaRC
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041_Viola_diffusaRC
March27th_KoishikawaBG041_ViolaDiffusaRC
March27th_KoishikawaBG
041_ViolaDiffusaRC
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_055_056_Fused_Crop_Viola_diffusaRC
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.
March27th_KoishikawaBG073RC
March27th_
KoishikawaBG073RC
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_080_CherryRC
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden
_080_CherryRC
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_128SIP_129SIP_White_YellowDandelionRC
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.
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_131_SpiraeaRC
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden
_131_SpiraeaRC
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_138_SpiraeaRC
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden
_138_SpiraeaRC
Mar27_KoishikawaGarden_144_Viola_grypocerasRC
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.
Mar29_ShinjukuPark_02_CherryBlossomsRC
Mar29_ShinjukuPark_
02_CherryBlossomsRC
Mar29_ShinjukuPark_10_CherryBlossomsRC
Mar29_ShinjukuPark_
10_CherryBlossomsRC
Mar29_ShinjukuPark_14TM_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
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.
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)


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