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This is Page 5 of 5 - the best of March 2013!
posted: March 31st, 2013
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This page begins and ends with March 23rd and a trip to Minami (South) Mt. Takao and a LONG hike all the way to Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama and down the Hikage Creek Road. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin March 23rd
  On March 23rd we got up at 4:35 AM, got ready and left for our local train station of Musashi-Sakai. We took the trains to Hashimoto and then took a bus to a bus stop where we could start climbing up to Mt. Takao via the Minami (South) Route. We had only been to this area together once before, so it was Kazuya's 3rd time here and my 2nd time. In this row you can see the first impressive find of the day. The 1st and 3rd shots show you Viola phalacrocarpa and the center shot shows Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima. What's the difference? Well, you must look closely, but if you do, you will note that the flower stems of Viola phalacrocarpa have small hairs on them, while the flower stems of Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima are smooth or hairless (glabrous), and therfore V. phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima
Mar23_002_MinamiTakao_Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
Mar23_002_MinamiTakao
_Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
March23MinamiTakao008_ViolaPhalacrocarpaFGlaberrimaRC
March23MinamiTakao008_Viola
PhalacrocarpaFGlaberrimaRC
Mar23_004_MinamiTakao_Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
Mar23_004_MinamiTakao_
Viola_phalacrocarpaRC

  In first position in this row is a species of Ajuga. The 2nd shot shows a species of Arisaema (Jack-in-the-Pulpit). The 3rd shot shows an ugly sight for people with allergies to Cedar Pollen - it is blowing Cedar Pollen.
Mar23_011_MinamiTakao_Ajuga_spRC
Mar23_011_Minami
Takao_Ajuga_spRC
Mar23_006_MinamiTakao_Arisaema_spRC
Mar23_006_Minami
Takao_Arisaema_spRC
Mar23_012_MinamiTakao_PollenBlowingRC
Mar23_012_MinamiTakao
_PollenBlowingRC

  Here is another shot of Blowing Cedar Pollen and then a shot of Viola phalacrocarpa. In 3rd position is a shot of Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima. This is a rare find for us, so you may expect to see several more photos of it.
Mar23_013_MinamiTakao_PollenBlowingRC
Mar23_013_MinamiTakao
_PollenBlowingRC
March23MinamiTakao016_ViolaPhalacrocarpaRC
March23MinamiTakao016
_ViolaPhalacrocarpaRC
March23MinamiTakao021_ViolaPhalacrocarpaFGlaberrimaRC
March23MinamiTakao021_
ViolaPhalacrocarpaFGlaberrimaRC

  In 1st and 3rd positions are 2 more shots of Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima and in center position is an example of Viola obtusa.
Mar23_022_MinamiTakao_Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
Mar23_022_MinamiTakao_
Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
March23MinamiTakao029_ViolaObtusaRC
March23MinamiTakao
029_ViolaObtusaRC
Mar23_025_MinamiTakao_Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
Mar23_025_MinamiTakao_
Viola_phalacrocarpaRC

  In the first shot in this row you can get an idea of how tiny the flowers of Viola obtusa are. In 2nd position is another shot of Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima and in 3rd position is a shot of Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana.
March23MinamiTakao031_ViolaObtusaRC
March23MinamiTakao
031_ViolaObtusaRC
Mar23_033_MinamiTakao_Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
Mar23_033_MinamiTakao
_Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
March23MinamiTakao033_ViolaTokubuchianaVarTakedanaRC
March23MinamiTakao033_
ViolaTokubuchianaVarTakedanaRC

  Here are 2 additional shots of Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana and those are followed by a shot of Viola bissetii.
Mar23_039_MinamiTakao_Viola_tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC
Mar23_039_MinamiTakao_
Viola_tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC
Mar23_040_MinamiTakao_Viola_tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC
Mar23_040_MinamiTakao_
Viola_tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC
March23MinamiTakao045_ViolaBissetiiRC
March23MinamiTakao
045_ViolaBissetiiRC

  In 1st position is another photo of Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana and then 2 more shots of Viola phalacrocarpa.
Mar23_047_MinamiTakao_Viola_bissetiiRC
Mar23_047_Minami
Takao_Viola_bissetiiRC
March23MinamiTakao057_ViolaPhalacrocarpaRC
March23MinamiTakao057
_ViolaPhalacrocarpaRC
March23MinamiTakao061_ViolaPhalacrocarpaRC
March23MinamiTakao061
_ViolaPhalacrocarpaRC

  In first position here is a shot of an Orchid - Cymbidium goeringii. That is followed by a shot showing Viola phalacrocarpa on the right & Cymbidium goeringii on the left and then a shot of Viola phalacrocarpa.
March23MinamiTakao067_OrchidRC
March23MinamiTakao
067_OrchidRC
Mar23_064_MinamiTakao_Viola_phalacrocarpa_Cymbidium_goeringiiRC
Mar23_064_MinamiTakao_Viola_
phalacrocarpa_Cymbidium_goeringiiRC
Mar23_065_MinamiTakao_Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
Mar23_065_MinamiTakao
_Viola_phalacrocarpaRC

  Here is another shot of the Cymbidium goeringii Orchid and then a very rare find for us - Viola chaerophylloides f. sieboldiana. We generally only find this species once a year, so don't expect to see it again unless we are incredibly fortunate. The 3rd shot is another species of Ajuga.
Mar23_077_MinamiTakao_Cymbidium_goeringiiRC
Mar23_077_MinamiTakao_
Cymbidium_goeringiiRC
March23MinamiTakao085_ViolaChaerophylloidesFSieboldianaRC
March23MinamiTakao085_Viola
ChaerophylloidesFSieboldianaRC
Mar23_094_MinamiTakao_Ajuga_spRC
Mar23_094_Minami
Takao_Ajuga_spRC

  Here are 2 more shots of Viola chaerophylloides f. sieboldiana followed by another shot of Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima.
March23MinamiTakao086_ViolaChaerophylloidesFSieboldianaRC
March23MinamiTakao086_Viola
ChaerophylloidesFSieboldianaRC
March23MinamiTakao096_ViolaChaerophylloidesFSieboldianaRC
March23MinamiTakao096_Viola
ChaerophylloidesFSieboldianaRC
Mar23_098_MinamiTakao_Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
Mar23_098_MinamiTakao_
Viola_phalacrocarpaRC

  Here is another shot of Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima and that is followed by 2 shots of Viola chaerophylloides f. sieboldiana.
Mar23_100_MinamiTakao_Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
Mar23_100_MinamiTakao_
Viola_phalacrocarpaRC
March23MinamiTakao103_ViolaChaerophylloidesFSieboldianaRC
March23MinamiTakao103_Viola
ChaerophylloidesFSieboldianaRC
Mar23_104_MinamiTakao_Viola_chaerophylloides_f_sieboldianaRC
Mar23_104_MinamiTakao_Viola
_chaerophylloides_f_sieboldianaRC

  Here is where we stopped for lunch last year. This year, however, we noticed that we could get to Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama by only hiking another 7.1 kilometers, so we decided to keep going and eat our lunch there as it was only 10:41 AM at this time. The first shot in this row was taken this year. We remembered that last year Tsukui Lake looked very different when we here on April 13th. We couldn't figure out what was where, so we took several shots. The 2nd shot was taken last year on April 13th when we hiked this course. The 3rd shot was also taken this year - again, it is Tsukui Lake.
March23MinamiTakao112_TsukuiLakeRC
March23MinamiTakao
112_TsukuiLakeRC
Apr13_131_SouthTakao_LakeTsukuiRC
Apr13_131_SouthTakao
_LakeTsukuiRC
Mar23_121_MinamiTakao_TsukuiLakeRC
Mar23_121_MinamiTakao
_TsukuiLakeRC

  The first image in this row is a collage of the best photo of last year and a small portion of the first shot in the previous row to show you how much different it looked last year - for 2 reasons. The 1st reason is the water level and the 2nd reason is the Cherry Blossoms on what was an island last year. We have no explanation for why the water level is so much lower this year. The 2nd and 3rd shots are Cymbidium goeringii.
Mar23_2013MinamiTakao112_Apr13_2012SouthTakao_TsukuiLakeRC
Mar23_2013MinamiTakao112_
Apr13_2012SouthTakao_TsukuiLakeRC
Mar23_125_MinamiTakao_Cymbidium_goeringiiRC
Mar23_125_MinamiTakao
_Cymbidium_goeringiiRC
Mar23_126_MinamiTakao_Cymbidium_goeringiiRC
Mar23_126_MinamiTakao
_Cymbidium_goeringiiRC

  The first shot in this row shows a small portion of the trail we hiked and the forest we were hiking through. The 2nd and 3rd shots are of Viola eizanensis. We keep playing with the settings on our cameras to try and get these flower shots to come out as our eyes see them, but the color is never correct. The actual color of the flowers on this plant were a very light pink, somewhere between the 2 shots shown here.
March23MinamiTakao123RC
March23Minami
Takao123RC
March23MinamiTakao126_ViolaEizanensisRC
March23MinamiTakao126
_ViolaEizanensisRC
Mar23_129_MinamiTakao_Viola_eizanensisRC
Mar23_129_MinamiTakao
_Viola_eizanensisRC

  We had never been on this trail before and now we are at Oodarumi Pass and headed up to Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama (670 m = 2,199 ft) for the 38th time. As you can see on that sign, the elevation of this pass is 392 m (= 1,286 ft). We will not be going over the summit of Mt. Takao to get to Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama. The 2nd and 3rd shots show a violet which we consider ourselves fortunate to see every couple of years. It is a Viola grypoceras f. purpurellocalcarata.
March23Oodarumi133RC
March23
Oodarumi133RC
March23Oodarumi135_ViolaGrypocerasFPurpurellocalcarataRC
March23Oodarumi135_Viola
GrypocerasFPurpurellocalcarataRC
Mar23_135_OdarumiPass_Viola_grypoceras_f_purpurellocalcartaRC
Mar23_135_OdarumiPass_Viola
_grypoceras_f_purpurellocalcartaRC

  Here is a final shot of that Viola grypoceras f. purpurellocalcarata - and probably the final shot of it which you will see this year. The next shot is a Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana and the 3rd shot is a Viola japonica.
Mar23_139_OdarumiPass_Viola_grypoceras_f_purpurellocalcartaRC
Mar23_139_OdarumiPass_Viola
_grypoceras_f_purpurellocalcartaRC
Mar23_142_OdarumiPass_Viola_tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC
Mar23_142_OdarumiPass_Viola
_tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC
March23Hikage154_ViolaJaponicaRC
March23Hikage154_
ViolaJaponicaRC

  Here is another shot of that same Viola japonica. This was after we passed over the summit of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama. The 2nd shot is one of our favorite violets - it is Viola yezoensis f. discolor - the Takao Violet. This was one species which was not yet in full bloom. In fact we barely saw any plants at all.
Mar23_155_KobotokeHikage_Viola_japonicaRC
Mar23_155_Kobotoke
Hikage_Viola_japonicaRC
March23Hikage156_ViolaYezoensisFDiscolorRC
March23Hikage156
_ViolaYezoensisFDiscolorRC

  Here is another shot of that same Viola yezoensis f. discolor - Takao Violet. The 2nd shot was taken at the Hikage Creek Bus Stop - too many people today! Where did they all come from? We didn't see hardly any people as we came down the Hikage Creek Road. The time now was 2:38 PM! We hiked for about 7.5 hours today. A darn good hike.
Mar23_156_KobotokeHikage_Viola_yezoensis_f_discolorRC
Mar23_156_KobotokeHikage_
Viola_yezoensis_f_discolorRC
Mar23_158_KobotokeHikage_BusStopRC
Mar23_158_Kobotoke
Hikage_BusStopRC

  You're probably thinking "But, wait a minute, there is one more weekend in March, 2013!" Well, yes, you're correct, but there are already too many photos for March and seeing that the remaining weekend happens to fall on the final 2 days of the month (the 30th and 31st), it would not really be feasible to take photos on March 30th and 31st and then get them sorted, labeled and ready by April 1st. I have therefore decided to post any great photos from the final weekend of March with next month's photos. Hope you don't have any big objections.
End March 23rd, End Page 5, End March 2013's Photos
  Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). 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 shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.

January 1, 2013 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System






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