We have had extremely hot summer and the temperature is above 35 degree
even in September. It is not easy to grow the wild grass but we are happy
to get well-satisfied result of fringed orchids, or crane orchid which
gives us coolness in the garden under the scorching sun. We call the grass
Sagiso, meaning the flower of the white heron. We cannot see the flower
without feeling the wonder of nature.
Bon Festival
◎Thank you for your message of support. Yes it was a traumatic experience with the earthquake striking at 4.35am on Sept. 4th with the epicentre at Darfield 40 km west of Christchurch. It was a 7.1 magnitude quake, the same as the Haiti quake. It lasted 30 seconds and had a wave like impact that made it almost impossible to scramble out of bed into a safe position - Greg had to walk down a passage way to the childrens bedrooms and was thrown against the walls as he tried to reach them We were very fortunate that none of us suffered damage (apart from a few broken plates) - the pharmacy was OK as was the Curator's House which had undergone major earthquake strenghtening 10 years ago. However many
other people were not so fortunate - 100,000 homes have been damaged or
destroyed, two billion dollars is the estimated cost of replacing or repairing
the buildings and infrastructure of the city. Even three days after the event
we are experiencing regular after shocks of up to 5.2 magnitude- there were one
hundred such shocks yesterday and it is leaving many people and especially
children in a state of shock. However we have been so lucky that there have been
no deaths.It was lucky that the quake took place at a time when shops were
closed and therre was no traffic on the streets. The central city and the
neighbouring town of Kaiapoi have been cordoned off and schools and services
have been closed down until safety inspections have been carried out and power,
water and sewerage services restored..
Everyone- including geologists and earth quake specilists was caught out by
the location of the epiocentre . It was expected that any earthquakes would
occur along the fault lines a long way west of Christchurch or in the North
Island but not on the Canterbury plains which have an understructure of
greywache shingle. In fact apart from Christchurch and places within a 50 km
radius of the city New Zealand has been unaffected by the disaster.
We have been most grateful for the messages of
support and offers of help from friends both in NZ and overseas.Many thanks for
thinking of us - we are all well and feel confident about the future. It has all
happened during the first few days of Spring with daffodils bursting into bloom
along with camellias, rhododendrons and magnolias - a colourful reminder that
life goes on no matter what Nature does to us.
--Colin and Noela Knightd, Christchurch,New Zealand-- ◎Thanks for your kind message Tak This has been a very bad earthquake - the same strength as the one that hit Haiti in January. Our city centre has been badly damaged, as have several eastern suburbs of Christchurch. THANKFULLY, Kate and I are fine (if a little frightened!), and our house survived the quake with only damage to the interior --Tom and Kate Gregg, Christchurch,New Zealand--- ◎AAs always, thank you for bringing the seasonal culture in the different locals areas in Japan to our attention. Your excellent photos, perceptive description and lively songs, allow us to participate in these event as if we were there.What more could one wish for ? By the way, I have just heard from our mutual friends, Fiona and Wayne Dale, that they survived the earthquake in Christchurch without any damage to their home. In two days time, we are leaving for a 7 -weeks trip to Europe; France, Spain and Germany, to catch up with our daughter Susan, who lives and works in London. She will and the rest of the family us in Spain. --Claus & Michiko Jehne, Brisbane, Australia-- ◎What wonderful photos and you obviously enjoyed your visit to the memorable Festival. It’s good to know that you are keeping in good health and continue to lead such an interesting life. With all good wishes, --Ian Hall, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates You are the only person I know who dared to attend Gion
Festival. It is the TV event for my sister although she has lived in Kyoto
for many years. She was amazed at your vitality. We will be looking forward your
next year's report from Gion under the guidance of Ms Hasegawa. ----------------------------------------------------
暑中お見舞い申しあげます。My husband was quite amused by the Japanese custom of "暑中見舞い”。He cannot imagine the most unpleasant combination of high temperature and high humidity of the Japanese summer. Although I am now living in the area of the best climate in Canada (mild winter and cool summer), we have had a big concern about forest fires since the beginning of the summer. This July was one of the driest months and over 300 forest fires are burning today in this province. Right now many families are on evacuation notice and alert. Normally the forest on the back of our house is my pride and joy :it is almost beautiful woods described in "Lady Chatterley's Lover", but the possibility of forest fires strikes fear in us living near huge tracts of forests. Let hope we all survive this unusual summer. --Haruyo Hazelton (nee Konishi), BC. Canada-- The pictures with the fog at the Kobe Arboretum were
absolutely beautiful. We always enjoy your web site and are amazed at all the
traveling you do. Please keep us on our list.
---Joe and Susan Bacskay Phoenix, Arizona, USA---
◎We certainly enjoyed your pictures and our memories of Eitakuji,Sanda-city and unfortunately your theme music captures
our NZ winter season also.---Rex and Jocelyn Johnstone,Christchurch,New Zealand--- ◎Linda and I are in Kona on the Big Island (Hawaii), visiting our daughter and son-in-law. The weather here is perfect, so it was interesting to be reminded that this is tsuyu in Japan. The flowers are indeed beautiful this time of year. ----Don Lorentz, Seattle, Washington,USA---- |
BGM is 'Owara-bushi (Song for Kaze-no-bon)'
At the end of August we visited the city of Yonago, Tottori pref, where
one of our sons and his family live. One day we went to Yonago Water Birds
Sanctuary and found white heron flying high in the sky.