Autumn's here, so let's enjoy the leaves!

Today was another clean the yard day. Yesterday's rain stopped, and it is an overcast, cooler day (18C). It feels really nice to be outside working in the yard. Mayu started it with some sweeping up and cleaning of leaves because we have someone coming over today to practice AHR (Aroma Hand Relaxation).

This woman, Taniguchi-san, works with Mayu but she does "Body Balance" or a dry massage that is deeper than aroma massage which is designed to relax, not to work the muscles. I got to be the model for her practice. Yaay! I sure can't complain... I get to have two women's hands sliding all over my body... up and down my legs, my back, arms.... (no no no no happy ending gang, this is not Thai Massage). The only sad thing is that I usually never make it past about 10 minutes before I start snoring! That means I'll miss all the fun! Drat!!

I thought I would fall asleep, but I had my mp3 player with me and was listening to some wonderful stuff that kept me wide awake, elated, and totally at peace. I didn't fall asleep once, enjoyed both of their hands all over my back and legs and just was in the zone... and I must admit that Taniguchi-san's touch is a lot deeper than Mayu's, who is trained in relaxation. It is a different feeling all together.

We cleaned up as many leaves and weeds and stuff as we could in the yard and around the street. Mayu went in for lunch at the 11.30 bell and I stayed out and did some more because I had a later, larger breakfast than she did. I took a stump in our yard (one that I had peeld, burned, and buffed many years ago) , one that isn't rotten and used it to stand on so that I could finish trimming the tree out by my car. It is the tree I showcased last year about this time to show how bald everything got after the Silver Center Gardeners came and prepared our yard for winter. Now that tree is ready for winter, by me. Last year i thought I had cut it back too extremely, but this year it grew like never before! So I did it again, and cut it waaay back, and I think it looks just fine the way it is. I like it like this! Wait until you see (maybe) the yard after the Silvers come and prune it all waaaay back.

The Silver Center gardeners will come by in November (we booked but they are filled up until that time) to do the entire yard. It will cost us more this year with the extra costs we have to pay to have the clippings carried away (trucking fee) and burned (new bylaw). Such is life, I guess. We have paid for this every year and just haven't bothered to ask our owner to help. I consider it a part of the fees to enjoy this place as long as we have been able and as long as we can. If any of you ever come for a visit while we are still here, I think you will agree that it really is worth the cost, and the effort to have the greenery that we are graced with in this home.

I cut away a few of the hostas that are finally starting to turn yellow; I'll cut the rest in the coming months as they turn, little by little until the entire yard is clean of them until next spring when they grow like crazy of their own volition. I also cut the rose "bush/tree beeste" back down to about chest height. The branches on it are as thick as a mechanich's index finger and this year the thing kept growing and sprouting and blooming so that finally in the rain yesterday, to prevent my umbrella from always getting caught in the thorns as I walk Mayu out to her car in the mornings, I cut it back. It was seriously about 12ft high! It just kept growing! AND it kept blooming, so there were roses waaay above the tree that it was standing next to. I found that rather humourous.

I needed to label our trash bags, and take a few out to Mayu. We have to label them with the area we live in, and our names. Why? Because those damn Japanese don't follow the rules! They throw non burnables out on burnable day, and so on. And then they refuse to come and collect it when the garbage collector won't take it away! So it sits there until the next day comes around and they just pretend that it wasn't theirs. It really bugs me, this aspect of the Japanese culture. They don't want to take responsibility for anything, don't like "inconvenience", avoid any sort of admission until caught, and then bow, say "I'm sorry" and expect to just be forgiven. It is like that in the traditional businesses as well.

Today one of the old guys across the street came by to say that we should ask the owner of our house to have the big zelkova tree cut down because in autumn time the leaves fall and make garbage everywhere! Yes, he isn't the only one to believe this shocking thought. When we left the previous place we lived in, one of the big reasons was because our neighbour (and a nice guy, too) complained about the same thing about the big old beautufiul trees there, so many times, that our landlords came and cut all the trees down, killing any green that was once there, and driving up the temperature in the house. If it falls... it's garbage and an eyesore and should be cut down.

This is shocking and probably hard to believe coming from a culture that seems to love gardens, and bonsai, flower arranging, tea ceremonies, and all that stuff. But it's true. Very very sad... very sad indeed because they won't realize the true impact of what they say until it is too late.

As Mayu said, it is really sad that they forget the beauty of the falling leaves, how poets for thousands of years have been writing about it, as a beautiful part of the life cycle. We get to enjoy watching the trees grow, expand, fill out. They give us shade, moisture, and a comfortable soul. In the autumn they change colour and give us more pleasure, and then we watch them fall. But for so many people here, even the old ones who grew up with so much more greenery around, to them it is "garbage" and the entire tree should be cut down. It's a very very sad statement of this entire society.

The people in Tokyo, the concrete jungle, appreciate it so much more because they don't have it nearly as much as here! They try to recreate nature, and greenery because they know the stresses of living in a heat island, a concrete jungle where it is very hard to find a quiet place to enjoy some peaceful nature (this was the hardest thing for me when I first moved to Yokohama in 1989). And they do a really good job at it, too!They know, so they try to recreate what over here, they want to just cut down, toss away, and forget. How sad.

We live in a relatively new community of 50 homes surrounded by older communities. The greenery here is surprisingly lush for the rest of the area. When Max first came here for a visit when we moved, he was shocked because it looks so completely different from the rest of the village. Well, if this mentality of "falling leaves are but an eyesore, and garbage" continues, then the beautiful large trees in Japan, even out here in the country don't stand much of a chance to continue growing, and giving us such beauty, and peace in the soul.

I love my Shangri-la so very much. I hope that you will come and visit me before either I am gone from here, or here is gone from me! Seriously, this is an open invitation to anyone who wants to visit. I have always offered this since I started writing blogs as I do so want to share with you what I have experienced here for the past 20 years. Who knows how much longer we will be here? Seriously! Take me up on my offer if you can; because I will take care of you with all my soul and once your time here is done, send you lovingly on your way back to family and friends so that you too can share the wonders with those dear to you, and perhaps instill in them the dream to visit Japan some day. This chair is here, and waiting for YOU!

I love YOU!

Cam