Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Queen of mountain plants


Komakusa is now getting in bloom at the Alps-daira slope at the top of Hakuba Goryu ski slope. Roughly 1,500 meters + above sea level there.



Komakusa with white flowers.


Komakusa with red flowers


They are there just besides the walking trails, they are in bloom this quietly.
Once I was presented some komakusa before but they were gone away before I knew it. They can survive only around high mountains.

Hayaokidori website

Making a layout #39 Cyclers


3 cyclers go in front of a mountain restaurtant.


The last cycler glance around, a bit dangerous while he drives a bicycle.
It needed time to glue these figures because I was able to use only the tyre width to glue them.


Don't move, be glued!!!!!!!! (^^;;;

Hayaokidori website

To plant cuttings

I decided to try cutting plants as it was a little bit cloudy today, easily supposed it would be rainy. Would be survenirs for our overnight staying customers in this coming summer.


Spare mints and pepper mint I cut 1 week or 10 days ago. I put them into water. The left side ones which looks a bit lighter color with more wrinkles are spare mints, others are pepper mints.

It makes some roots come up from the end and joints to put them into water for a week or 10 days. This makes things a lot easier.


Just like this below. You can not expect the plants to stay completely vertically when you do this. This is not the same when you transplant some new pots which you buy in some flower shops. I just let them lean the edge of the pots. When their roots grow enough, they will grow vertically.


Hum... I should have cut them a bit shorter :(


Cut pet bottles for the roots to come up. You just need to fill some water in each bottle to put some plants for a week or 10 days. I will put some other cut mints late.


These below are common thymes. Their roots don't come up easily even if we put them in pots full of water. In that case, just put them in some sand directly.

Plants we can grow their roots first like basil, mints are easier for us to plant cuttings. Plants we can not do that easily e.g. thyme, rosemary are not so easy to do. Probably better to try another way to get some new pots.

Hayaokidori website

Sunday, June 24, 2007

JNR/JR 205 series?


Took this picture somewhere along the JR Sagami line. I think these passnger cars are JR 205 series judging from their side views but the front design looks a bit different from the 205 series in service at Saikyo line and Yokohama line.
Maybe a special one only for Sagami line? Not sure.

Hayaokidori website

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Taking a nap


I felt it sleepy after I had lunch as it was a little bit busy this morning. Since it had been raining in the previous 2 days, the windblow today was cool, what I heard were bugs singing, noise of water going down the stream etc, very much a day for some nap!
As it's very tough to survive here in winter, it's very comfortable in summer.

When I was young, I might have felt that it was extravagant to have some delicious meals or to buy something expensive by bonus etc but now I am turning the middle 40's, I feel it very extravagant to have this kind of time.....

Hayaokidori website

Making a layout #38 Fair adjustment


Station staff : Gottardo needs a T.E.E fare,madam.
Lady : Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that. One moment, please. I pay it now.

Something like that seems to go on..... :)

Hayaokidori website

Friday, June 22, 2007

Making a layout #37 Phone box


A man almost hits the door to make a woman inside of the box stop speaking over the phone but she's still speaking! Maybe this kind of scene is found less and less nowadays as cellular phones are widespreaded.

Hayaokidori website

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Making a layout #36 Chat with a driver.

Finally I found a proper figure for a tracter driver. Also put a figure who chats with the driver beside it.

Looks as if some stories are going on.

Hayaokidori website

Some cool dishes.

It's rainy season now, when it's forwarding summer, sometimes we would like to have some "cool" dishes.

A dish with sour - cucumber, wakame (sea weed) with some strawberries harvested in our tiny farm and a piece of Japanese pepper leaf.


As there were some fresh horse mackerels available, we made them as "tataki" (minced raw horse mackerel). As Hakuba is located in mountains, fresh sea fish is not always available. But when we find some, sometimes try this way.

When it gets hot and humid in big cities, it feels as if it were hell sometimes, hope eveyone is alright by taking some healthy meals like those which helps to refresh people.

Hayaokidori website

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Mulberry

A mulberry tree is now heavy with fruits.

When the fruits look darker red or maybe I can say black, it's time to harvest them.
Mulberry fruits are sweet, but you had better rinse your mouth after having some because if you didn't do that, your mouth looks as if it were with "ohaguro" teeth for married women in edo era in Japan. Even your right person may get disappointed with its looking lol....
When you cook some mulberry jam, it's slightly sticky and taste very mild and sweet.As mulberry fruits are not easily available in Japan, it would cost a lot if you tried to get enough to make some jam, but worth trying.

Hayaokidori website

Friday, June 15, 2007

A sunny day in the rainy season

It seems that the rainy season finally has come to this area as well. It rained very sensitively yesterday like silk. It was cloudy and sunny today. They say it'll be hot summer this year in Japan due to the La Niña

Japan North Alps mountains view from Mt.Iwatake. Some snow still stays at the top area. Usually they stay there even in summer. Wonder how it'll go this summer.

Hayaokidori website

Friday, June 8, 2007

Making a layout #35 Happy return



Seen this kind of scenery in some Western movies. Seldom seen ones in Japanese movies.

Hayaokidori website

Switchbacks

Found some switchback clips at Youtube, as I don't think I can visit some of them soon...

Ubasute (JR Shinonoi line : Nagano prefecture)
Close to my location but have never ridden on any trains there after I moved into Hakuba. The joint sound when the train going across the cross point is cool.

Tateno (JR Houhi honsen line : Kumamoto prefecture)
Trains go uphill by changing the direction to climb the Aso mountain. This train abouve goes strongly uphill, but when I rid on one in '76, it seemed too tough for the train to go up there.

Tsubojiri (JR Dosan honsen line : Tokushima prefecture)
I sometimes passed there but only with express trains, have never experienced the local trains there yet.

Hayaokidori website

Sunday, June 3, 2007

A suspension bridge at Ooide


This is often found in some pamphlets, a suspension bridge at Ooide with the symbolic Hakuba 3 mountains on its back. Full of green which is comfortable to see. It looks different in winter because everything is covered by snow.....

Hayaokidori website

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Making a layout #34 A tractor


Put a tractor at an unpaved road along the lake. Would like to put a driver, but can not find a figure which can sit in the driver seat. Every one is a bit bigger :(

Hayaokidori website