The Rice Is Growing!

You can definitely tell from these photos that the rice I mentioned in a previous post is growing like crazy. It won't be long until it's drying along the sides of the roads, hung in bunches on handrails and the like.

Front Door Treasures

While out on my front porch today, I saw a neat looking moth. My wife HATES moths, but I think they're neat. I marvel at the transformation that they make from the various grubs and such that we grow to hate (ever seen what a tomato worm turns into?).

My wife said that this moth looks like a jet fighter. I had to admit that he/she is very aerodynamic looking.

The other picture is of our Shisa dog. We have two of them in front of our door, as is the custom here in Okinawa. While we might get the occasional gecko in our house, the Shisa keep the evil spirits out!

As always, you can click on the photos for the full size versions. That moth is pretty neat looking up close.

It's not always about the tupperware

I haven't been doing much geocaching lately. I haven't been doing much besides working, and getting ready for school (my next term starts Monday).

I did, however, stop and look for a cache on my way home from work on Thursday afternoon. I have often eyed the local rice paddies with a detached interest, and have marveled at the rice being dried on the roadside guard rails just like it has been done for many years.

The cache I stopped at was intended to bring the cacher to a local rice paddie so that we can watch rice being grown, and harvested, the way it has always been done. This is probably a unique experience, since nobody in The States is going to see rice being harvested by hand.

A local farmer was working right next to ground zero, so I was unable to search properly for the cache container. I did snap a couple of photos of the rice paddies. From the smell of things, I suspect that the rice has been well fertilized too!

Overall, it was a neat little spot, and I'm glad I stopped there. I'll be back there again to grab the cache, probably on an early morning when Farmer Yoshi is still asleep!

Trip To the Beach

My mom jokingly asked me what I thought would happen if I planned a family trip to the beach. I responded with, "We'll probably have a typhoon!" Laughing ensued...

Who's laughing now? I'm just that lucky!

Back In The Land of Strangeness

I went out and grabbed a couple of geocaches with my daughter on Saturday morning, and she demonstrated that she's very good at pointing out things here in Okinawa that are strange, funny, or just a little out of place.

I'm not sure what that depiction of the moon landing is supposed to be doing, but it looks pretty permanent...

Postcrossing

Thanks Erika!

I was recently introduced to the hobby of postcrossing. It's a neat little website where you can sign up and get interesting postcards from all around the world. Like I need another hobby, right?

Sounds boring? Maybe, but it's neat to get little glimpses of other nations in your mailbox.

Here's a few that I've recieved:

All Good Things Must Come To an End

I had a wonderful time visiting family in California, and it seemed like it was over in a flash. We were on the go most of the time, and we spent as much time as we could with family. We did take two days on our own to go to Knott's Berry Farm (see my previous post about their crummy hotel by clicking here), but that was about it.

I even got to meet a friend of mine, and his family, for an afternoon of mall shopping and lunch. Gary, and his family, were great, and we had a wonderful time with them.

Alas, I didn't get to do as much geocaching as I would have liked, but there just didn't seem to be enough time. Three weeks doesn't last as long as you might think when you have family that you haven't seen in years (and grandkids that they haven't seen).

I did see a really neat vending machine on the way back to Okinawa; it's full of electronics and video games. Who knew they had vending machines in airports that sell ipods? Are cars next?

Ipod vending machine?