THREE CASTLES!!!
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Thursday, March 22, was our first full day in Japan, and our first touristy-sightseeing event: Nagoya Castle ... in Nagoya!! Perhaps because it was the first, it was also my favorite.

Nagoya Castle was built in 1612, burnt down by a US air raid in 1945, and rebuilt in 1959. It is now a cultural and historical museum.
We climbed, as Katie says, "a million flights of stairs" to get to the top.
From the top we had a view of the city but we couldn't see the 2 golden tiger-headed fish that adorn the top of the castle. Lucky for us, there was a lovely replica inside for our photo-taking enjoyment:
The castle is surrounded by the beautiful Meijo Park, full of strange trees and rocks. I think the blooming tree behind us is a plum tree.

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Because the Americans decided not to bomb Kyoto during World War II - its historical heritage was considered too valuable - we were able to visit our second castle: Nijo-jo in Kyoto on Monday, March 26.

Check out the detail over the entrance gates!

Nijo Castle was begun in 1569 by warlord Oda Nobunaga (remember that name; there will be a quiz later!) but it was completed by the shogun who built Nagoya Castle. We were able to tour the castle but weren't allowed to take photos inside. The coolest thing was the "nightingale" floors. The wooden floors were made to "squeak" when walked on as a way to warn of intruders, so we tried to make them sing as much as possible. The walls of the audience halls are covered with gold leaf! We couldn't take pictures, so you'll have to take my word on that.

Everything was of castle-esque stature. duh!
And moats! The castles have real moats!

We wandered through the lord's strolling gardens where hundreds of camellias were blooming. Some of the flower pics I posted earlier (see "Beautiful Japan" below) were taken here. Unfortunately, the 140 cherry trees were not in bloom :-(

Katie climbed all these stairs to see the view from the castle walls.

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Our final castle (Friday, March 30) was Kanazawa-jo in Ishikawa Province, about 20 minutes inland by train from the Sea of Japan. I think this was the coldest day we had - my little notes say, FREEZING COLD!!! But ... on to the castle!
Kanazawa was spared the air raids of WWII but not a slew of fires during its history! The castle suffered a couple fires in the 1600s, was almost completely destroyed by a big fire in 1759, another one in 1808, and all the castle walls were destroyed by fire in 1881. Only Ishikawa-mon Gate survived, through which we began our exploration. The various buildings have been rebuilt (1998-2001) based on how they looked in the 1850s but we weren't able to go inside any of the structures.
Of all castles in Japan, Kanazawa-jo has the biggest variety of stone walls. This gate has big stones placed horizontally and vertically and here you can see natural uncut stones fitted roughly together. Cool, huh?!

As with the other 2 castles, there is a fabulous garden (Kenroku-en) associated with Kanazawa-jo, but I will devote a separate blog entry to it.

Beautiful Japan
In my first post about Japan, I said we had taken over 2,000 pictures. Actually, between Katie, Ma, and me, the count is closer to 3000 - and Katie didn't even get to take pictures on our last day because she had to work! For starters, I have chosen some pictures of the beauty that greeted us just about everywhere we looked. I enjoyed the flowers and trees without knowing their names, so I hope you can do the same :-)

Flowers and trees were blooming in the city and in the country, in front of homes and shops.

A cherry tree in bloom? No way! Quick, take a picture!! The cherry blossoms were expected to be earlier than usual but the warm weather turned cold (and stayed that way the whole time we were there!) so the cherry trees pretty much decided to keep their pretty little buds to themselves.
I took this picture for Weldon near the Sea of Japan just to see if he could name that weed! Don't ask me if he could name it ... I don't think he's seen the picture yet :-)

SATURDAY
We interrupt the s-l-o-w-moving travelogue on Japan to tell you about the events of this past Saturday.

Right after morning chores and a quick breakfast, Weldon and I went to Indian Land, SC, to see my grandson Marshall's final soccer game of the season. He just started playing in February and Weldon had never seen a soccer game before, so we didn't want to miss it. The team, affectionately known as the Pink Panthers, is made up of girls and boys, ages 6-8, and Marshall is the goalie. The parents were well-behaved, yelling directions and encouragement to their kids. "RUN HARD! THAT WAY!!!" pointing towards the goal. We admired the coaches and refs for their patience and good cheer :-) The game appeared to be quite boring for Marshall - no kicks on goal - but once he got to throw the ball out onto the playing field.

Marshall's shirt is a different color (not pink like his teammates') because he's the goalie.
End of story: the Pink Panthers won 2/0. One of the two points was kicked into their goal by the opposing team, but Hey! they'll take it :-)

We had lunch with Anna and Marshall, I gave them some gifts from Japan, and then it was time to make the long trip home. It's a lot of driving in one day, but worth it when you want to see family!

Before we left the farm, I asked Weldon's sister Pat if she would look in on Jasmine once or twice because it was Jasmine's 10th birthday and I hated to leave her alone on her special day. Not only did she doggie-sit most of the day, she made Jasmine a birthday cake. Now that's a sister-in-law you can love!

Happy Birthday, Jazz!!

P.S. In response to the comment made by "anonymous" about not being able to see the description of the photo when they click on the picture: There are no descriptions on the photos except what you read in the blog.

A d v e n t u r e !

Perhaps you've been wondering where I've been since Christmas. Well ... right here on the dairy farm! But I was busy busy busy making plans and preparations to go with my mom (Naomi) to see my daughter (Katie) in Japan. We spent bunches of hours online trying to figure out what we most wanted to see/do and how we could put it all together. It took hundreds of websites & emails, a blog, a spreadsheet, a few phone calls, and the advise & help of friends - and it was worth every effort. On March 19 I flew to Phoenix to meet up with my mom and begin our adventure.

Weldon was singing, "How ya gonna keep her down on the farm, after she's been to Japan?" but on April 2, I was back home after 11 wonderful days with my mom and Katie in the Land of the Rising Sun.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Had we not taken over 2000 pictures, we would have been obliged to write a book! As it is, I hope a few words and pictures over the next week or so will give you a little glimpse into the beauty and strangeness that is Japan.

This is our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Isn't it cute? It certainly was easier to decorate than a bigger one :-) Plus, it doesn't detract from my favorite little nativity set. You should see the sceptical look on Joseph's face. It's like he's asking himself, "And just what am I supposed to do with HIM??!"

Actually, that's a question we each need to ask ourselves - Just what am I supposed to do with Jesus? Christmas is the perfect time to ponder that question. Nicole Nordeman sings a song that includes, in part, the following words:

"What if He takes His place in history
With all the prophets and the kings
Who taught us love, and came in peace
But then the story ends
What then

"But what if you're wrong
What if there's more
What if there's hope you never dreamed of hoping for
What if you jump
Just close your eyes
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise
What if He's more than enough
What if it's love"

I love that line, "what if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise." The Bible says, "Underneath are the everlasting arms." He holds us whether we recognize Him or not. What a beautiful picture.

Well, I still have presents to wrap and Christmas goodies to finish in the kitchen, but I wanted to share our Charlie Brown tree with you. And, speaking of Charlie Brown, there's a wonderful book called The Parables of Peanuts, by Robert L. Short, that you might enjoy. It was published in 1968, so I don't know how difficult it would be to find ... but it would be worth your while.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year

Cow Curiosities1. If you treat a cow with respect, she will still crap on you.
2. Although they are a large breed, "Yuhbig Duhmie" is not the scientific name for cows.
3. Cows have udders; in rare but documented cases, an udder can have a cow.
4. As a leftover from their days of surviving in the wild, the scent of freshly laundered clothes literally scares the crap out of cows.
5. Contrary to appearances, cows cannot "milk" to death.
6. A cow, through infection or natural mutation, can become a goat.
7. Cows have a pooping order. Pecking! I mean pecking order!
8. No two tits are alike.
9. A distant relative of the ostrich, the cow escapes detection by turning her backside to you.
10. Some years ago, a famous jingle immortalized the very essence of cowdom: "Plop Plop, Whiz Whiz; Oh, what a relief it is!"

ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO PRINT

There are many little daily occurances that make me think, "That would be good to write about on the blog!" but the thought is always easier than the sitting down at the computer at the end of a busy day and composing an interestsing story. There has been plenty going on since we got back from vacation, so let's see if I can relate a few of the hi-lights.

It's calving season. Who knew there was such a thing?! The typical ratio of girls (heifers) to boys (bulls) is 1:1. So far this fall, of about 16 calves born, only 6 have been heifers. The bulls are sold when they're about a week old, but the heifers are raised to become our milkers in two years. In other words, baby heifers are our future livelihood. Come on, girls! We're counting on you!!

Seems like it's always kitten season on the farm. One of the gray cats in the milk barn has 2 new, fat, furry babies. We have named them Shag and Mo'Hair:
Kit Carson has had another baby (in the junk yard, of course) and her name is Kitty Carlysle:
You might remember one of Carson's spring babies, Sonny, who fell in the bucket of oil. Well, he has recovered handsomely! Here you will see him curled up on the hay barn floor, with Groucho snoozing in the milk pan behind him. Creamsicle, the only one of the Soda Shoppe Kittens who hasn't been adopted by a loving family, has fun playing with her mom in front of the milk barn.
Tripod, the quintessence of motherhood, is picutred here with 5 babies wrapped around her. Two of them are her own, but all of them are too old to be nursing. Don't tell Tripod that!

With some help from family and friends, Weldon has chopped the corn and got it stored in the silos. He grows the best corn in the county and probably the state and maybe even the nation! Although the corn wasn't as tall as last year's, the yield was better. The chopped corn (silage) is the staple of the cows' diet. One field of "tropical" corn remains to be chopped after the first frost.

This past week, Weldon and I went to his uncle's and picked about 5 gallons of scuppernongs. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about them:

Some muscadines in a bowl; the green ones are scuppernongs

A scuppernong is a large type of muscadine, a type of grape native to the present-day southeastern United States. It usually has a greenish or bronze color, and is similar in appearance and texture to a white grape, but rounder and about 50% larger.

Its name comes from its original place of production, Scuppernong, North Carolina, where it was first grown during the 17th century, a name itself tracing back to the Algonquin word ascopo for the sweet bay tree.

Several small green seeds are found in each grape. The skin is very thick and inedible. To eat a scuppernong, one must put the grape between the front teeth, stem end pointing into the mouth, then squeeze gently to burst the grape. The pulp is thick and viscous. The seeds, which are very bitter and unpleasant tasting, can be extracted or spit out. Some people choose to swallow the seeds.

The part that says the skins are inedible is not true; it's just that they're very tough and bitter. Last year I made a scuppernong pie, including the skins, and it was delicious. This year I made jelly and preserves, both of which turned out quite ymmy. I froze 5 or 6 quarts of juice and also have enough grapes left to make a pie ... if I can get up the gumption to go to all that work again :-)

It sounds like we work a lot, doesn't it? We do, but, for the most part, we enjoy it! Plus, we squeeze in a little entertainment every now and then. Yesterday we went to see a college production of the musical "Beehive." I had never heard of it, but it was cute and fun ... the music of the female singers of the 60s.

The fall weather is upon us. Although I don't like the cold weather, we have the beautiful colors of the changing leaves to look forward to. Also, the cold weather isn't as cold as Minnesota and it doesn't last nearly so long. Ahh, there's always a bright side.