"Baby Turtle"

"I held a moment in my hand, brilliant as a star, fragile as a flower, a tiny sliver of one hour. I dripped it carelessly. Ah! I didn't know, I held opportunity." -Hazel Lee

According to the weather forecast,

this is the last sunny day

for the next 3 weeks.

And so,

I ate my lunch outside

at the Pond.

Little did I know,

when I sat on a rock to eat my sushi,

I'd find a miniature friend

in the grass by my feet.

Sweet little guy

was bathing in the sun

until I stomped along and woke him up.

Down the path,

a little ways more,

I found some proof

of our Lord's

love for colors.

♥

I haven't a clue what they are,

but I sure do think they're pretty.

Any flower experts out there?

"Remember Today"

"The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here."

-Robert G. Ingersoll

We had a successful class yesterday,

the 7th graders and I.

We learned how different

the minds of Americans

and Japanese

are.

We played a game

where they guessed

what picture I was holding in my hand.

I gave them clues, according to color and shape,

and that's when the class erupted.

"Tigers are yellow!"

No, they're orange.

"Onions are brown!"

No, they're pink.

"The sun is red!"

No, it's yellow.

"Stoplights are blue!"

No, they're green.

Teaching can be mundane,

because it's selfless.

But, if I let the days of the week pass me by

without a second glance,

I throw away moments of life.

To quoth Keith Urban's music:

"These are the days we will remember,

and these are the times that won't come again."

I learn so much

by living here.

There's nowhere else on Earth

I need to be

right now.

{Music via The Lovely Bones. Gorgeous film. You must watch it.}

{Quotes from "Hawksong" & "Eclipse"}

"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie..."

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."-Margaret Atwood

One day at school,I had 7 hours of nothing to do.Well, besides my homework, but pffft.So, I told the staff I was taking a walkand headed down the street to the post office.

But then I saw the Family Martacross the streetand had to get an ice cream.

Which led to spotting a very green,very grassy hillnearby.

And the next thing I knew,I was climbing the hilland crunching along the gravely pathof the Greater Pond of Kakogawa{Kako Ooike 加古大池}.

I didn't take out my camerauntil the stroll was almost over,because I was practically floating in the cloudsthe entire way.But I'll go backand show you all of it sometime.

{"Clair de Lune" via Claude Debussy}

"The Trees are Exploding"

...with life.

I've posted bitty previews of spring before,

and even though my little Canon

--no matter how I adore it--

cannot capture their absolute beauty...

...I hope this satisfies your eyes

until the time when

you can see the flowers for yourself,

should that time ever come for you.

While walking down this path,

strewn with cherry blossom petals,

my mind took to a bit of poetry

delivered by Mr. Knightly of Emma:

"Maybe it is our imperfections which make us so perfect for one another."

...Which, I do think,

could make any woman swoon

if delivered on such a path as this,

scattered with the milky pink

of sakura.

"Today, I Chose a Different Train"

...and brought you in my pocket, love.

{'cuz I couldn't have you missing all the fun.}

I'm kinda sorta almost pleased to report

I've figured out Japan's bread and butter

--the local train system--

kinda sorta.

Almost.

-*-♥-*-

Life's too short to go home "the normal way"

all the time.

It helps keep life curious

when you follow your curiosity

for a minute

or two.

{Image via M.R.}

"Japanese Spring Fever"

Today felt so GOOD!

I shed my jacket,

swapped my shoes,

{there are "indoor" and "outdoor" shoes here in Japan}

and bounced out the school doors,

for a before-lunch stroll.

- - -

The birds were chittering,

the flowers swaying in the lazy breeze,

and I was dizzy-drunk,

soaking in the sun

and the scents of nearing springtime.

- - -

I finished my stroll at the soccer fields,

plopping under a tree and watching the boys kick up dust,

and thought to myself,

"Why not let spring break begin a bit earlier than planned, Mr. Principal?"

- - -

Oh, I wish he would.

Spring Fever is already sprouting out of me,

mirroring the drowsy sakura buds,

rousing from a wintry hibernation.

{Art via Emmy}

"Fresh Air by the Tombstones"

"Life is a process. We are a process." -Anne Wilson Schaef

I took a stroll in the cemetery today.

Like the rest of their architecture,

Japan builds their tombs up.

There were statues of gods in every courtyard,

along with wells where you wash your hands and pray.

I need hardly say it,

but I think this country is growing on me.