Sandhill Cranes

Yesterday my dream to see the cranes in California came true as my friend and I joined a bird watching trip sponsored by the Sacramento Audubon Society. How beautiful and unforgettable their flight and voices were!

"It's getting dark. Time to go to bed."


One group after another took to the sky from an expansive field by Staten Island Road and headed south.


Landed in their roosting field in the Isenberg Crane Reserve.


OMG, I've got to go back!

"Doctors Without Borders" for Japan Disaster Relief

If you think about making a donation, please consider the non-profit organization "Doctors without Border." It's a French, International organization whose doctors have helped people in dire situations all over the world.

The following link (copy and paste) explains their mission and operation. It also provides a link to a secure site for donations:

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=5096&cat=field-news


Or CLICK HERE.

Thank you so much on behalf of the Japanese people.

Fleeting Dream

波寄せて
桜ごときに
散る命

Nami yose te
sakura gotoki ni
chiru inochi

The wave drawn in
scattered like the cherry blossoms
numerous lives

March Adventure in Newark

My little sister and brother in America went to Newark Buffet, bought a pot of cyclamen, and had a "hat" fashion show at a hardware store on a March day with a crisp blue sky.

Cuteness Beyond Imagination

Warning: Please don't scream as I almost did.



Domo arigato!

Red-Crowned Cranes Dance

Someone found this great YouTube video of the birds dancing--probably the best I have seen--with the cherry blossom song "Sakura" in the background.

This must be about the time that the birds are dancing in Kushiro.



Arigato!

New Link for the Tancho Cranes

Someone shared this great website for "Tancho Protection Group".

I want to fly to Hokkaido now...

Arigato!

A Girl of Happiness

A grandfather told a story:

The cranes will return from Siberia
to dance and sing in Hokkaido
when lakes are glass and grounds are veiled
in the color of their feathers.

Was it his sense of wonder
at those snow ballerinas
or his hope to see his granddaughter
celebrate life with them
that helped him name her
a girl of happiness?

Remembering words three decades past
like a river that never freezes,
standing on a knoll of grass overlooking the sunset West,
she reaches out in time and space
for bridges to get closer...

Return of the Crane

Hooray! The crane symbol "tsuru maru" is returning to JAL!! Click HERE for the picture.

My Sister

You and I shared laughter and pain throughout the years. You have been there for me all this time quietly but in so many important ways. Hearing my story, you say, "Your happiness is my happiness. I understand what makes you happy because we share the same values and similar experiences and because I trust you." I treasure your words and gentle smile that have supported me, and I love the special playfulness that you only seem to reveal around me. I only wish you had been a little bit better student of English...

At the Narita Airport on the day I left Japan in 1984. You hardly spoke that day.


At Yokohama's "Minato no Mieru Oka Koen" (Hilltop Park Overlooking the Port) exactly one month after my departure.


In a high school hallway with one of her students, 1993.


From my summer Japan trip 2010. Off to work from her apartment, my favorite place to stay.


More pictures to come...

恩師へ贈る俳句 （Haiku for a Great Former Teacher)

Ozawa Ayano Sensei, my modern dance teacher, still teaching in her studio, heard from me after a 33-year absence. It was 9 a.m. her time, 4 p.m. my time yesterday when I called her. Despite her appointment with two students, she happened to be in her Kamakura home due to a cold. She remembered me, my mother, and my personality and cried for joy with me.

She e-mailed me to say that my call was a present for her "koki," a Japanese milestone celebration. She has just turned 70 years old. How honored I am to participate. She spoke with the same exuberant voice and spirit, which has influenced me all those years.

A chapter of my life finally seems to have closed as I took care of unfinished business, giving a sense of starting a new chapter.

I wrote this haiku, dreaming of our meeting here or in Japan.

時を越え
恩師に贈る
古希祝

toki wo koe　（overcoming time)
onshi ni okuru (Sent to my former teacher)
koki iwai (her 70th birthday present)

Inspired

When Shiro and I left New Year's dinner at my Chinese friend's house around 8:30 last night, I saw a beautiful crescent in the night sky. But when I looked for the moon around 10:30, all I could see were shining stars. Then I heard a sound under the distant sky.

Here's a haiku written this morning inspired by ...

夜も更けて
麗しき月
かくれんぼ

yomo fukete (As the night deepens)
uruwashiki tsuki (the pretty, graceful moon)
kakurenbo (is playing hide and seek)

Entranced

酔わす唄
あればいらない
お酒も肩も

With entrancing songs
I'll be OK with no drinks

Love Song

Doves

Apparently there was a dove convention during the rain storm last week. All these doves parked in my apricot tree. They were so cute.

Kakizome

My first calligraphy for this year for peace, harmony, and balance.

Akemashite Omedeto!

Happy New Year!

We were supposed to join the doggie friendly San Francisco Zen center for the New Year ringing of the bell. But unfortunately we couldn't park our car anywhere within five blocks, so we went to Ghirardelli Square and had a Hot Fudge Sundae. Then we visited Union Square still in Christmas lights. The New Year arrived as we were passing by the Port of Oakland.

Please notice--sunglasses at almost midnight.



A picture Shiro helped take: