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This is Page 2 of 2 - the best of May 2008!
posted: May 31st, 2008
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The photos on this page begin with May 17th and continue through the end of the month. You'll see trips to Mt. Takao, Mt. Mitake, White Rock Waterfall and Horikiri Shobuen Iris Garden. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin May 17th
  On May 17th Kazuya and I went out and climbed Mt. Takao again. We were specifically in search of the final violet of the season - Viola maximowicziana. We found it too. The first picture here is a plant known locally as Shaga. The next shot is a Viola maximowicziana flower and the 3rd shot is the plant - notice how hairy the leaves are.
May17_Takao_Shaga02RC.jpg
May17_Takao_
Shaga02RC
May17_Takao_Viola_maximowicziana01RC.jpg
May17_Takao_Viola_
maximowicziana01RC
May17_Takao_Viola_maximowicziana07RC.jpg
May17_Takao_Viola_
maximowicziana07RC

  Here are 3 more Viola maximowicziana shots - the 2nd and 3rd shots show how the sepals of the flower curl back.
May17_Takao_Viola_maximowicziana16_BESTRC.jpg
May17_Takao_Viola_
maximowicziana16_BESTRC
May17_Takao_Viola_maximowicziana19RC.jpg
May17_Takao_Viola_
maximowicziana19RC
May17_Takao_Viola_maximowicziana21RC.jpg
May17_Takao_Viola_
maximowicziana21RC

  The first shot here is an unknown flower. The 2nd shot is the place where we ate lunch under the trees. The 3rd shot shows 3 butterflies gathered on the bank of a creek - a favorite drinking place or what?
May17_Takao_WhiteFlower01RC.jpg
May17_Takao_
WhiteFlower01RC
17May_Takao_Summit_LunchPlace_GreenRC.jpg
17May_Takao_Summit_
LunchPlace_GreenRC
May17_Takao_Butterflies04RC.jpg
May17_Takao_
Butterflies04RC
End May 17th, Begin May 22nd & 23rd
  On May 22 I went to the summit of Mt. Mitake - Kazuya was working, but I wanted to take advantage of 2 days (Thursday and Friday) with no teaching assignments. The first shot here is a whitish Wisteria and the 2nd shot is a purple Wisteria - purple is the common color we see. I then hiked to Mt. Hinode, where I camped out. The 3rd shot is a mass of mushrooms in a rotten spot of a tree.
May22_Mitake_Wisteria01RC.jpg
May22_Mitake_
Wisteria01RC
May22_Mitake_Wisteria02RC.jpg
May22_Mitake_
Wisteria02RC
May22_Hinode_Mushrooms01RC.jpg
May22_Hinode_
Mushrooms01RC

  The first shot here is another (different kind) mass of mushrooms in a different place on the same tree. The next shot is an amazingly red Mountain Azalea. The 3rd shot is a Rhododendron in full bloom. There is lots of Azalea and Rhododendron around Mt. Hinode.
May22_Hinode_Mushrooms02RC.jpg
May22_Hinode_
Mushrooms02RC
May22_Hinode_Azalea01RC.jpg
May22_Hinode_
Azalea01RC
May22_Hinode_Rhododendron02RC.jpg
May22_Hinode_
Rhododendron02RC

  Here is a little tiny flower Polygala japonica which we have only seen twice before - a rare find. The next shot is another Rhododendron. The 3rd shot is one of our huge crows - this bird was hanging out around the summit of Mt. Hinode all afternoon and evening.
May22_Hinode_Polygala_japonica02RC.jpg
May22_Hinode_Polygala
_japonica02RC
May22_Hinode_Rhododendron10RC.jpg
May22_Hinode_
Rhododendron10RC
May22_Hinode_Crow03RC.jpg
May22_Hinode_
Crow03RC

  Here is a self-portrait of me standing beside the Mt. Hinode Summit signpost. It says the mountain is 902 meters (2,959 ft.). I didn't have any kind of amazing sunset on the 22nd and likewise, no amazing sunrise on the 23rd, so there are no sunset or sunrise photos. I hiked down the White Rock Waterfall Trail to add some variety to the trip - didn't want to go down the same way I went up! Here is the very start of the creek which about 500 meters later has a series of 3 waterfalls. Amazing how it gets so large so quickly.
May22_Hinode_SignPost_Dan03RC.jpg
May22_Hinode_Sign
Post_Dan03RC
May23_Hinode_Start_WhiteRockWaterfallCreek02RC.jpg
May23_Hinode_Start_White
RockWaterfallCreek02RC

  The 1st shot is the uppermost of the series of 3 waterfalls which makes up White Rock Waterfall. The 2nd shot is the middle of the 3 waterfalls. The final shot is the lower of the 3 waterfalls. The total of the 3 waterfalls makes for quite a drop in a very short distance. And that ends the May 22nd and 23rd adventure.
May23_Hinode_UpperWhiteRockWaterfall03RC.jpg
May23_Hinode_UpperWhite
RockWaterfall03RC
May23_Hinode_MiddleWhiteRockWaterfall02RC.jpg
May23_Hinode_MiddleWhite
RockWaterfall02RC
May23_Hinode_LowerWhiteRockWaterfall03RC.jpg
May23_Hinode_LowerWhite
RockWaterfall03RC
End May 22nd and 23rd, Begin May 24th
  On May 24th Kazuya and I went to Horikiri Shobuen Iris Garden. We last went there in 2004. The Iris flowers were quite a bit before their peak, and therefore the crowds of people were non-existent. We enjoyed ourselves, but we were a little disappointed that we were so early in the season. Here is a Lily and 2 Iris Flowers.
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_Lily04RC.jpg
May24_Horikiri_Iris
Garden_Lily04RC
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_Iris02RC.jpg
May24_Horikiri_Iris
Garden_Iris02RC
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_Iris04RC.jpg
May24_Horikiri_Iris
Garden_Iris04RC

  The first shot here is something from Africa, which they have planted a few of. The 2nd and 3rd shots are Iris flowers.
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_Africa_Hamayuu03RC.jpg
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_
Africa_Hamayuu03RC
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_Iris08RC.jpg
May24_Horikiri_Iris
Garden_Iris08RC
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_Iris11RC.jpg
May24_Horikiri_Iris
Garden_Iris11RC

  Here is one shot of the central part of the garden. The 2nd and 3rd shots are Iris flowers.
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_Scene01RC.jpg
May24_Horikiri_Iris
Garden_Scene01RC
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_Iris13RC.jpg
May24_Horikiri_Iris
Garden_Iris13RC
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_Iris16RC.jpg
May24_Horikiri_Iris
Garden_Iris16RC

  And 2 final shots of Iris flowers.
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_Iris21RC.jpg
May24_Horikiri_Iris
Garden_Iris21RC
May24_Horikiri_IrisGarden_Iris23RC.jpg
May24_Horikiri_Iris
Garden_Iris23RC
End May 24th, End Page 2, End May 2008's Photos
  This is a link to a separate web page showing some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV.
    November 11, 2007 DVD Collection,
Movie of Home Theater System
& Sharp Aquos TV Pictures
(new window)

By the way - Kazuya is still maintaining his 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.)

And, that shows you what we saw from May 17th through the end of the month. Thanks so much for taking the time to look. Please feel free to provide me with any feedback you want to make. Go To Page:


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