COOL DOWN AND REFLECT

Lush, robust wildlife is all over the place in Okinawa--I did not realize it when growing up here. The past few months, however, I have been immersing myself in another kind of aesthetics: the visual arts. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the artist attests...altho' I've enjoyed being able to experience a new kind of appreciation, I've also developed a wariness to the mindset that would permit any individuality and call it good quality. I think it is a slap in the face of the actual skilled artist to accept any and all in that way.

I don't know exactly how to state this, but I know what I mean. May I give a little example? I have an artist I highly respect who can take the folds of a wilted flower and give them the worth of gold with the atmosphere, character, texture, feeling she can bring out of even that.  I have seen some of her paintings and can only imagine how she must've first felt when she saw lifeless plants and the time she spent infusing them with the life she did, how it made her feel when she was done (but then true artists are never fully satisfied with the work they do).

     

Every work is worthy. But not all attain to the same quality--not hardly.

Let's put that aside. Even the top gold medalist would not be able to jump as high as the moon. Those flowers blooming in the Tokkuri Kiwata tree in front of our house show a glory no gold medalist will ever be able to attain. And that birdie in the tree several paces to the right would cock his neck up to look up at the moon in the sky. The moon doesn't even shine with a beauty it has worked hard all these years to give off, but it simply reflects the glory of the SUN, doesn't it?

I was going to show you the Tokkuri Kiwata tree mentioned earlier to talk about it, but 3 mins. outside, and I felt my fever coming, so I had to come home. Man, that sun sure is hot! I'll tell you about the Tokkuri tree tomorrow, okay? I made and drank about a third of a glass of lemonade, splashed my face with water, and had to lay down for an hour's nap.

Yup, I slept, didn't work hard at all, dreamt about the time we grew up here, I think. Children are carefree, let their parents take care of them, do all the hard stuff. "Live for the Glory of God?" That kind of religious lingo little kids didn't think about.

TAKING A BREAK-Again

No, that last photo wasn't a composite of a river tern and a heron's head. I don't know enough about photography to do stuff like that. The only "trick" I pulled was when I came home yesterday and said to Kinya, "What does this look like?", showing him this:

He looked, squinted, then said: "A turtle!"

I grinned, showing him the REST OF THE photo: it was the poster of the turtle people were trying to catch. I'd only seen what looked like a turtle's head in the water, not the entire body of a turtle, I told him, but THAT wouldn't make a very good picture; besides, I haven't even seen the turtle, head or otherwise, since that day, so....

Junie's been working a little too hard, some butterflies nearby decided. Her brain's gotten a little fried. And they decided, with the wildflowers nearby, to give her a little break. Out came luscious, soothing blooms resting on foliage beds, where dainty butterflies skipped in glowing trances of aqua and green.

Sweet dreams, Junie

Oh--OK; I got wordy again. I get that way when I've worked too hard writing, I think.

Maybe I should just go nap.

THOUGHTS FROM BED...

I guess I overdid it in the heat yesterday and need to take it easy today again, so here's an "easy post". Here are a few more photos taken with my cell. Usually, Purples don't show up in photographs, but this time, the lavender wildflowers don't look a powder blue! (are cameras partial to wildlife in Okinawa, I wonder.) Thank you, Lord. Altho' this pink hibiscus was one of the first blooms on my walk, I noticed yesterday a lot of them were blooming just across street from the Gushikawa Baptist Church.

Come to think of it, it's not just cell. THESE were taken with the compact camera. Last month, Chiaki Garner, who goes to Gushikawa BC, sent over to our home a loaf of her famous zucchini bread...and I didn't think to take a picture until I was about to eat the last slice!

Last week, it got cool enough for me to get out for worship service plus pot luck, and I went again this week for something more yummy than Chiaki's zucchini bread.

At the last half of the message, the preacher mentioned how our self-worth had to be grounded in the reality that God loves us so much Jesus died for us on the Cross. Simple Gospel. We say we believe it, then we easily get upset by other things.

I so needed to hear that. I've been having issues with Kinya. I know, I know; I'll put my eyes back on the Cross (this is Sze Wan's drawing on the bookshelf at the back of the church) and remember to do so for now; probably will forget about it tomorrow and will need another reminder then...but God, tap me on top of the head whenever I need it, OK?

I mean, it's been over 50 years I've been walking with Him, and I STILL forget what you would think are the easiest things.

I'm so glad we have a merciful Savior!

MY CAMERA MADE IT OUT

You thought I wasn't going to be posting as much? I thought so too. But I seem to have overdone it--duh--so found myself in bed this morning all sore with a dull headache. (OK, the "dull head" is something I was born with, but the sore muscles are DEFINITELY witness to good, honest work!)

Anyway, last week, when the temperatures went down at least a few hours in the early mornings, I had gone down to the river to look at some wildlife and not posted any of it due to all this other stuff going on, so here's a little bit:

I wanted to see if my favorite hibiscus was still where it was several years ago. The popular hibiscus is a large, bright, red one; I've fallen in love with a tiny, dainty one that hangs upside down with streaks of white, kinda looks like a tiny valentine for someone on walks, I think, not a healthy bloom to be plucked and placed behind the ear...IT WAS STILL THERE! On a future post, I want to tell you about Senchi, a friend I made there.

There were waterfowl here before...no Swamp Pigeon (only pretty pigeon on nearby post)...but I saw an egret! It had flown quite a ways from the congregating place downriver, I knew. An old poster told of hunt for a snapping turtle nearby, but all I could see in the river were little carp...wait...THAT WAS A TURTLE HEAD--THEY HADN'T CAUGHT IT YET!

"I kinda don't think they ever will," a yellow flower seemed to say. Flowers don't talk, I told myself, and looked again. It was a pretty dragonfly. Butterflies were still around, but most dragonflies were gone by Oct. "Please don't run away. You're so pretty! I thought you were a flower--one of those yellow spears!" I knew I'd get feverish if I didn't go home soon so headed back.

I'm going to have to start to learn the name for the wildlife I see everyday. The first photograph looks like tiny peaches, but I KNOW they're not. And the red flowers bloom all over the place, and I just call them "those red flowers" and Kinya knows which ones I'm talking about.

THIS IS MY FATHER'S WORLD

I'd set the alarm to ring to remind me to take my medicine at 10AM, 4 PM, 10 PM, so habitually, I went to shut it off at 10...but wasn't there something I was supposed to remember? OH NO! The weather forecast said it would get cool this morning after 3, and I had planned to GO OUTSIDE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE COMING TO OKINAWA THIS TIME! But temperatures had been forecasted to be back up by 9; I had missed my chance to feel the cool air!

I ran to the genkan (front door), slipped on the rubber thongs decided to skip down to the riverside just a few minutes. I don't really know what I was thinking--you can't pull back a bulk of cold air or turn back the hands of time. I trotted across the street towards the shady area...

Yes, the flowers in Okinawa have brighter blooms than the ones in mainland Japan, even the small ones growing in the wild, I thought. Maybe it's the moisture of higher humidity, but even the wild ones seem bigger and more robust. My favorite hybiscus, the dainty upside-down one, was still there. I want to brag and say look at what I saw! But these pictures were taken in Izena and Yagaji when we visited those islands in January.

I got excited seeing butterflies in the air and carp in the water, but the waterfowl had all gone back to their nests, and the egrets had all flown to the end of the stream too--I knew where they congregated--but I also knew I'd get feverish if I tried to go there, so I went home while I was still happy to have been treated to as much as I was in so short a time. Thank you, Father!

(The reason I posted pictures from Izena and Yagaji are I don't have photos today. I jumped out of the house this morning without my camera!)

BLOOMS

I have this thing with flowers. I know Anne of Green Gable thought pretty flowers like roses should be given beautiful names, never be called "Skunk Cabbage". But for me, I don't know how to put it...it's never just how pretty a flower is that draws me. I feel like there are millions and billions of pretty flowers in the world...but I'm strange...Japanese would call me "heso-magari", or a person with a screwed-up belly button". I need a flower that inspires me.

20 years ago, when we were living up in Koriyama, I remember seeing a tiny field flower which, on a normal day, looked pretty insignificant. But on a morning after the rain...OH! I HAD to take a picture of THIS! It looked like it was dripping with CRYSTALLINE ORNAMENTS! I know people step on these tiny blooms rushing to floral shops to purchase orchids that cost a hundred times as much money....

Then there was the year I'd been sick and unable to get out to the park when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and the park was, I heard, looking like a dream. I'd rushed out when I got better but most of the flowers had already fallen from the trees. I remember seeing ONE twig with just a few blooms almost breathing their last, saying, "June...up here...look!" and I snapped a photo before they fell. I'm sure a lot of people take a lot of pictures of a lot of cherry blossoms, but few flowers would've been appreciated as those few were that day.

When tourists to tropical islands think of the hibiscus flower, they picture the popular, robust, bright red floral burst many girls stick above their ears. Of course, others prefer the pink, yellow, or orange variety. But they're usually the large, strong flowers. But my favorite hibiscus species ? I saw it  one morning, dangling on the riverbank in front of our house in Okinawa. I wonder if that plant is still there. I haven't been out on a walk yet. It is a small, dainty, red and white flower that hangs upside down, and its petals look shredded, but it seems to bloom just for the person who pauses on a slow walk.

Our new home is situated about three minutes' walk from our cousin whose mother gave us the land on which to build it.

"I remember your Mom;" she once told me, "She'd see a grass growing on the side of the street, know what plant it was, would wrap it up in tissue, put it in soil in an eggshell at home and water it." She smiled, remembering. "And she would come back one day with a beautiful flower!" My mom was a botany major.

I pray my cousin herself would take in the Water of Life to bloom beautifully too.

BLACK PEARLY

I just blogged about a home near the park at which a few kitties live. But I had to post a story I'd written a few years ago about another black kitty at the park because I wanted to tell you an interesting tidbit about that picture. I'll post the story here, give the info about the illustration separately, ok?

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It was past time, but would the cat be there? I hurried to the vending stand. Yes! There was the black ball of fur curled up on the wooden counter.

"So sorry I'm late," I tried to start, but the cat looked away.

"You really don't want to see me," that gesture seemed to say. "It's those pretty flowers over there by the park entrance, right?" It started cleaning its paws. "Or maybe you wanted to take pictures of the shiny Kawasemi bird?" The cat was not interested in interaction if it did not mean that much to the human. It would only get hurt again.

I could see the many scrape and bruises it was licking. I wasn't interested in the flowers or birds; it really was this cat, but what could I do to let it know I was sincere? My species probably kicked it around shamelessly.

After some time, it lowered its leg and looked at me as if to say,

"You said you'd go home and think of a name for me. Was that just something to say, or did you really get one?"

I think I was elated. "Yes. I did. Pearly."

"Pearly?"

"Pearls are precious and beautiful. I know you're going to say but they're white, and I'm black." But I continued, "but there are such things as black pearls, and they're much more rare--maybe one in a million--so they're much more valuable too."

And I looked straight at the cat. "I want you to be a one-in-a-million cat, not just any-old-cat. So I was wondering if the name "Pearly" would be OK? What do you think?"

The cat seemed to be taking her sweet old time thinking about it. I couldn't be sure, but after a while, it seemed the cat was liking the feel of the sound. From now on, whenever I see this all-black cat, it will respond to the call "Pearly".

It got up from that plywood stand and started going home. She seemed to be thinking, "Black Pearls?! What d'ya know. Learn something new every day."

END

NEAR THE "TURNSTILE GATE"

"a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted" --which is what she was doing: yanking up that vine or something. I had to go over and speak to her, telling her it was her yard's flowers I always looked forward to seeing on the way to the park. She wiped her brow and told me she had to clean out that garden or flowers wouldn't grow there.

That was several weeks ago. I wanted to show her the cartoon I'd drawn from photographs of her passion flowers (drawn in 2021), but I was a little scared to ring the doorbell and call on her so kept the sketches in my purse and waited until I "happened" to catch her outside.

I was able to tell her then how my mother liked raising flowers too.  Maybe the next time I see her, I'll be able to talk with her a little more.

WE WENT AGAIN FOR ONE DAY

Maybe we've had too much activity. I felt a little under the weather and had a bit of fever recently, had to spend some time in bed.

Fortunately, for most of the latter half of this week, God had arranged our schedule such that there were no pressing engagements. I've enjoyed being able to slow down and take time to sketch. Yesterday's drawing was from last week's stay on Izena island. Today's composite is of the following:

The Hotel Resort at which my sisters and I stayed for one day earlier this week; its scenic ocean view & watersport enthusiasts; Yellow Walking Iris in my sister Joyce's yard; and my sisters & I pictured in the center of the composition.

The Iso Hiyodori (blue rock thrush, May 16 post) at the center front, I will tell you more about tomorrow.

No Wi-Fi for Izena Grandma Evangelism!

Well, I wasn't "at Grandma's"; I lived with my cousin Rumiko (Mar. 8 post) all last week.

Rumiko had decided to go to the small island of Izena where her she and her late husband had worked while he was alive, and that place is so out of the way, there are few cars there, only one traffic light on the entire island, and no Wi-fi in her home. When I went down to Okinawa, my sisters and I spent one week with her--and I went without my laptop or cellphone.

What a full week it was though. God had been helping Rumiko live simply and form special bonds with the elderly folk in the rural villages of Izena island. The first day we were there, she took my sisters and me to visit her hundred- year-old friend.

She had found the Lord, and on the day before we left the island, I was able to hand her a sketch I'd drawn from a photograph taken on that visit, along with words from her favorite verse, "In everything give thanks,"

(The hibiscus in the background were growing in her yard.)

I don't really know what you look like!

"Please come back," I said to the brown butterfly. It had looked so pretty sitting atop the bright red hurricane lilies, but now flitted away and wouldn't come back. And I didn't get what I needed to do the sketch. The flowers were much harder to do the actual drawing too--I couldn't do either B-fly or flower right; maybe I should just scrap it. No--even the butterfly wouldn't expect more than my best, I decided.

I'VE GOT A SECRET

One day at the park, I saw somebody else with a camera aiming at something in the pond and clicking his shutter, then somehow beaming with the air of--"GOT IT!" And then it was almost like he tried to hide his expression, like he didn't want to give away the secret that there was something really good there, and he wanted to keep it to himself. Well, you can imagine what that did. 

Right. I grabbed my compact camera and took off in the direction he came from!

Maybe I missed what he saw, because by the time I got there, all I saw was a very pretty water lily scene.  You'll just have to see real beauty yourself in wildlife--God has put breathtaking displays of it all over the place. Here is my rendering of the sight that day.

But I wonder...do I go around with an expression of secret joy on my face to make others want to get it for themselves too?

BLOOMING DESPITE THE SHADE

"Wow; nice sketch," a teenager said, politely commenting as he pushed his bicycle across the bridge.

I'd seen down there at the bottom of the gulley a tiny flower growing out of the wall and couldn't help myself--I had to draw it. Everyone admired the pretty blossoms at the front of the park, not here at the gate in the back where you didn't get much sunlight in the Irrigation Ditch.

But in that world of grays and browns, a small magenta pom pom turned its face toward the sun and was smiling! I looked carefully, and even smaller blossoms below its collar (I'll call it that) seemed to be depending on it for their cheer too.

Do others--family members, perhaps--look up because of me, or do I smile only when it's sunny?

BREEZY DANDELIONS

Recently, I've been on a dandelion coffee kick. Apparently, it has no caffeine; it's supposed to help you lose weight; and among many health benefits, I think improved eyesight is one.

I always have to be careful about what I drink with my medicine, so finding something completely caffeine-free is a relief. And anyone in their 60's or more would smile at anything that's good for sight or hearing, I think.

I'm not sure I'd reach for something that offered longer life, tho'. I used to think I would. But I thought about it. That would just mean I'd be kept out of heaven that much longer, wouldn't it?

Anyway, today, I thought I'd post a drawing of the dandelion I've grown fond of. A ladybug would've added a nice touch of red to the picture, but I think it held onto the stem of one of the cottony things when a strong gust came and went hanggliding away, so all you have are the flowers.

I received word Uncle Seiko went to be with the Lord, and his funeral will be Friday. The family has requested the church to have a Christian funeral for him. Please continue to pray his 3 children get saved even after their parents are gone.

DIDN'T HAVE TO; JUST DID

It was a red light anyway. I stopped, turned around and saw growing on the ground behind me something that wouldn't have arrested my attention any other day. But at that moment...

I had been down to my sister's in Okinawa just after my stepmother's passing away. Both mothers are gone now, I had been thinking, and had decided to take a walk that morning, when those orange nasturtiums seemed to smile, "Remember?"

I did. Mommy had orange nasturtiums crawling all over the rock garden of our Ojana yard. 

It's not just Red Lights God sends, sometimes  happy little reminders like this. He doesn't have to; He just does. He is so kind.

The Painting Contest Theme was "Peace"

The prize for runner-up went to a painting of an idyllic spring pasture, where you could almost feel the velvety breeze floating over the scene and sunbeams danced off pastel flower petals and glinted over chirping birds chatting over their reflections in the brook. The theme for the art contest was "peace". Of course that picture would've been given a high rating.

...but if that was "runner-up", what was the winning painting like?

It was a black, violent, stormy scene, in which a wave crashed against the cliff, sending spray all over. But if you looked carefully, you could see on those rocks was a branch with a nest, and on that nest was highlighted a still bird...that depicted a peace that nothing could shake, the judges decided.

Yesterday was Resurrection Sunday, when we celebrate the true life we have in Christ. People have the wrong idea of "life". Many think it's doing a lot of work, being successful, having a lot of friends; so the "Christianized" version of that might be being involved in a lot of ministries, having a lot of Christian friends or maybe going to church. That's more like the spring cherry blossom blizzards I see in Japan now. They are pretty, no doubt about it.

But when God takes everything else away--natural man would call that "he has no life"--and puts children of God in isolation, but they learn to find peace and life in His Love alone, maybe there are actual snow blizzards--I remember seeing the real, "sticking kind" of snowfall in April up in Koriyama once, and the sakura blossoms were so shocked they all fell from the trees. But sometimes from deep within the ground, we can see surprising blossoms fight their way up. Here's a drawing of a rose in the snow. It was drawn from a photograph, not imagination, so it really does happen. No, it wasn't that same year.

IN KING'S PALACES

Some of you may've wondered why I got so excited seeing the garden spider in the "8 Legs" post. Maybe this will show you why. I remember, in June 2021, feeling something akin to awe in watching these outdoor creatures.

"The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces." (Prov. 30:28)

Sun-glinting raindrop-studded spiderwebs have often looked to me like diamond carpets--wouldn't only royalty walk there, I have often mused. Growing in the pond is the pink lotus, or as it is also called, the "Morning Dew". Although raved for its beauty, this flower has to wait for its few drops of moisture; unlike the despised garden spider overhead who has so much, she'll slip if she goes out for a walk!

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But make no mistake about it, I admire them from a comfortable distance; I am not one of those people who doesn't mind letting spiders crawl all over their arms or faces. I began thinking positively about these creatures after 50 years of automatic-reflex-conditioned jumping when I saw them move. Physiological responses don't change overnight.

So I can only apologize, but I honestly cannot stand to touch or be touched by spiders. They know how I feel. After all, their automatic response is to hide from humans--even the ones they trust and have no reason to run from.

Come to think of it, don't we do a lot of things without really thinking about it--but that's what we've always done? I know. I've strayed quite a bit from what I intended on writing about. But I always do that. 

I Set The Flowers Near the Bed

 

This is another one of those photos I completely forgot to sketch. Beautiful flowers were sent by the Koriyama Baptist Church, among others, for the funeral.

That day (Nov. 18) started at 8 a.m. for the pre-cremation ceremony. We then went to the place where the actual cremation was performed, and the funeral was in the afternoon, when the flowers to the left were one of the many given. Joyce suggested I keep these, so I brought them home. When we came back after the funeral and didn't have to go anywhere until the next morning, I put a cushion under my head like a pillow, pulled a light afghan over me, and was out like a light, there on the floor. Joyce, I think, started to recline on her bed and was asleep in no time too.

When I opened my eyes, it was dark outside, but the flowers made it bright inside.

CORAL BANANA?

Ukon Sango Bana

 (Pachystachys Lutea)

There were pretty yellow flower spears growing in the flower bed next to the parking area under the Gushikawa Baptist Church sanctuary. Takashi Nishino's mother learned its name for me! Since it's colored the pretty yellow of bananas and the Japanese nickname for the flower sounds like "Coral Banana", that's what I decided to call it.

(By the way, this is NOT the real banana flower. It actually has nothing to do with the actual banana plant. Sorry. But you knew that, right?) 

PASS IT ON

I better skip a few drawings and move on, or I'll never get through my sketches. 

Remember Scot Garner, the modern day Bezaleel-Oholiab who fashions offering vessels for God? He gave a challenge one Wed. night to the older generation to set an example for the younger folk, using the Century Plant, which blooms every 70 years. Anyone have a guess as to what I had to sketch that night? When a reference photo showed the height of the plant next to a human being, well, the drawing just had to be, from Scot's talk, a grandfather passing on what he had to his grandchild.