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posted: June 30th, 2015 |
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This page actually begins and ends with an outing to the Mt. Takao Area on May 30th in search of the Rare Japanese Pink Woodland Peony (Paeonia obovata). Kazuya had to work on that date so I went alone. That's all there is for this month. June is rainy season in Japan, and we had rain virtually every weekend day of the month. It's not much fun to go hiking in the rain, although sometimes we do. In addition to all of that, I also had a medical problem in June and that created a good deal of weakness, which was not conducive to hiking/mountain climbing. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin May 30th |
On Saturday, May 30th, Kazuya had to work, but from what we found last year it seemed like the Pink Peony should be in bloom at a certain unspecified location. I went out to check on it. On the way up the trail to where I might find it, I found this Cremastra appendiculata orchid, but that was the only thing of interest in about an hour of climbing.
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 May30_03_TakaoArea _Cremastra_appendiculataRC |
When I arrived at the spot where the single plant of Paeonia obovata - The Rare Japanese Pink Woodland Peony grows - I was rather surprised to find that it was already finishing up. Last year it was at its peak on May 31st and still very nice on June 1. Global warming is causing everything to happen earlier and earlier, we can see this every year now. For last year's photos of this beautiful flower CLICK HERE (new window or tab) and then also look at PAGE 1 starting in Row 8.
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 May30_04_TakaoArea _Paeonia_obovataRC |
 May30_05_TakaoArea _Paeonia_obovataRC |
Here are the two final shots of Paeonia obovata - The Rare Japanese Pink Woodland Peony. It seems that a great number of people now know the location of this plant. We fear that it will be stolen before next year.
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 May30_08_TakaoArea _Paeonia_obovataRC |
 May30_09_TakaoArea _Paeonia_obovataRC |
Here are 3 photos taken from the summit of a nearby mountain. Can you find Mt. Fuji in the first photo? Quite difficult to find it, eh. In the 2nd and 3rd photos, however, it should be easy!
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 May30_13_TakaoArea _SummitSceneryRC |
 May30_14_TakaoArea _SummitSceneryRC |
 May30_15_TakaoArea _SummitSceneryRC |
On this date, although it was hazy, it was possible to see Tokyo's Sky Tree. It is about 33 miles (52.6 km) away - right across the center of Tokyo, so it's a little amazing that it's possible to see it. The 2nd image is the same photo, but it has been "Auto Toned" in Photoshop® and cropped a bit to eliminate the worst of the corner vignetting which occurred during the Auto Toning Process.
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 May30_16_TakaoArea _SummitSceneryRC |
 May30_16_TakaoArea_ SummitScenery_AdjRC |
After I finished up around that area I descended Mt. Takao via Trail #6 to be able to have one final look at the Dendrobium moniliforme - the Japanese Stone Orchid (Sekkoku in Japanese) this season. If you recall, our main Dendrobium moniliforme adventure was last month - on May 23rd.
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 May30_17_Takao_ Dendrobium_moniliformeRC |
 May30_19_Takao_ Dendrobium_moniliformeRC |
The final shots of Dendrobium moniliforme - the Japanese Stone Orchid (Sekkoku in Japanese) - for this year. This is another fine example of what is happening with Global Warming. When we first started coming out here to see this species, around 10 years ago, it was at its peak during the 1st and 2nd weeks of June. In 2015 these flowers are already falling to the ground before the first of June.
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 May30_20_Takao_ Dendrobium_moniliformeRC |
 May30_21_Takao_ Dendrobium_moniliformeRC |
| End May 30th, End June 2015's Photos, Begin Miscellaneous |
In celebration of an historic day in the United States of America!
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 GayMarriage_List |
 GayMarriage_Map |
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.
