3 in 30 - 2001.05.20 Sunday
We have two patches of Japanese iris (ayame) that we grew from a rescued patch lost to a demolition job on the air base. They have grown okay, but would probably do better if they had more sunshine.
It is always a pleasant surprise when they bloom. If I recall correctly, last year we had half a dozen blooms in one patch, none in the second. It looks like we will only get two blooms this year. Still, they are very pretty.
Last week I mentioned that we knew of only one public shrine in our immediate neighborhood, but several churches. One church is next door while another is perhaps 500 meters to the southeast. It is just to the southeast side of the 13 story apartment building, visible in the right hand portion of the picture. The shots from the top floor of that building looked north and west, so this building and environs was not visible. Nov 4.
In the middle of Sunday afternoon, the parking lot is not full, but there are people in the building. Mr. Kim's church next door has services and study groups nearly all day Sunday. It is interesting to hear familiar hymn melodies sung in a different language. Earlier today we heard "Jesus Loves Me" in Japanese.
Rose trellis behind the wall
Walking down the street after taking the above snapshot, I was nearly overwhelmed by the aroma of roses. One of the houses along Edo Kaido has a higher than usual fence around it and a solid metal gate. It is not easy to look in and see the house and property from the street.
It is difficult to keep the odor of the profussion of roses inside the fence. The smells climb over the fence and out to the sidewalk. I walked across the street to take this picture. The wall is just less than two meters.
To the right in the picture is the rose trellis and the black steel gate is to the left. Looking at the visible roofs, it looks like it is a very beautiful house built in a an older traditional Japanese style. Having read an old book about Japanese architecture, I can guess at some of the components but would err in the details.