Harvest Time

For two years we have tried to grow vegetables in containers on our veranda. Last year we were able to grow a few tomatoes and cucumbers, but most of the other plants were eaten by bugs, or just died for no clear reason. This year we grew a few bean plants, but even the cucumbers died (it was a hot summer). But one thing we CAN grow: basil. Each year we've grown two plants without any work at all, other than watering them when there wasn't enough rain for a few days. Last week we picked enough leaves for a jar of home-made pesto. Just for a fun effect, I tried backlighting the jar with a very strong L.E.D. flashlight. It almost looks like an early Halloween picture.

Fireworks and Frogs

Monday was Respect for the Elderly Day (or sometimes just called "Grandparents Day" in English), so Saturday afternoon we went to Nozomi's parents' house in Ichikai to visit her grandmother. We had a great family time relaxing and talking together. Part of the time we practiced English and Japanese vocabulary; I learned soy bean in Japanese is "daizu", which literally means "big bean". The word for green bean is "ingen", which I frequently confuse with "ningen", which means "person/human". I realized you could make a REALLY horrible, cross-language pun using ingen/ningen and human being/bean, but I'll let somebody else work that out...
Later in the evening, we went outside in front of the house and did fireworks. Americans usually think of fireworks as an early summer activity because of Independence Day on July 4th. But in Japan, they are an activity people enjoy anytime during the summer, and packages of fireworks are sold throughout the season in home improvement stores and 100 yen shops.
After finishing, we were talking on the porch outside. I noticed a frog sitting under the porch light, enjoying a dinner that came to him instead of having to go hunting for bugs.

(Video offline.)

Amazing Storm

Many people know that I love thunderstorms. I'm sure I must have posted about that before, and I'm sure I've probably posted pictures or videos that I've tried to take with various degrees of success. This time I don't have any pictures or videos; I don't think photos of the storm tonight would have the same impact that it does in person, so you'll have to imagine.
Earlier this evening, it finally got cool enough to turn off the air conditioner and open the windows. Shortly before midnight, I was just about to go to bed when I noticed faint light flashing outside. I assumed it wasn't lightning, because I didn't hear any sound. I looked outside, and far to the east (toward the Pacific Ocean) I saw flashes of light that were slowly and irregularly getting brighter. Thunderstorms here are often strong and loud, approaching from the mountains northwest of here and moving over the city toward the south or east, so it seemed a little strange that the storm hadn't passed through Utsunomiya.
I watched the storm for about 20 minutes, and it's continuing as I write this. From my perspective in our sixth-floor apartment, it looks close to the horizon. The light is an eerie, salmon-color when it flashes. About every five seconds, it looks like a gigantic strobe light blinks on and off a couple of times behind enormous dark clouds, silhouetting them for an instant in the sky. Sometimes it looks like bad special effects from an old horror movie, but the brightest flashes with a sudden bolt of lightning jumping between the clouds look more like computer graphics from a sci-fi movie set on another planet. Except for the hum of an electric fan or the sound of an occasional car driving down the street, it's absolutely silent. The storm is so far away, I can not hear any thunder at all. It is astonishingly beautiful, and as always with thunderstorms, I am reminded of God's power.