Moving Redux---Recharging

Moving is wearisome business. Especially for an old man like me, toting those boxes and lifting those bales is tiring but the midnight worries are even worse.  In the condo, is the painter going to be done in time for the carpet man to do his thing before the movers arrive with our furniture and household goods? In the old house, Patching walls where pictures hung, getting the last of the furniture and such out and coordinating the cleaning team give plenty of grist for midnight thought.

In a protected corner we saw the last of this year's roses.

This morning was beautiful with the bright sun peeking through departing storm clouds so Kuro and I decided to take an early walk, commune with Mother Earth and recharge our (my) batteries.

Kuro doesn't need his batteries recharged. The  mere sight of his leash in my hand has him dancing a jig and waiting impatiently to get out the door.

The early morning rain was still on the grass. Kuro got soaked
from mid-belly down and my feet got wet.

Here in Seattle, it's just a little early for good fall colors but we found a few reds, yellows and golds.

We came across hydrangeas in shades from blue to bronzed purple. I've read about how soil acidity affects the colors of the hydrangea but I wonder if the sun exposure might also make a difference in blossom color.

It's almost Halloween. This little guy will make a perfect Jack O'Lantern

In a secluded area we came across a small tree in the cedar family that had an emerald jacket.

Watching moss grow is restful and brings peace to the soul.

The old timers say Mountain Ash and snow berries foretell the severity of the coming winter. We didn't happen upon any Mountain Ash but I wonder if these snow berries are harbingers of cold and misery in our part of the country?

In a nearby park there is a big old poplar that serves as a message board for local dogs.

Old man poplar attracts passing dogs. He seems to say, "Come smell the latest news."

We had a refreshing and invigorating walk but it was time to head back home. As I opened the garage door a single leaf blew in to rest on the concrete floor. It seemed to be soaking up a last measure of sunlight before it was placed in the compost bin to complete life's cycle and nourish life anew next spring.

Ole Mossy Rock

Seattle is known for being a wet city. Not wet as in alcohol, although there's plenty of that too, but wet as in rain.

As of the evening of April 25th, Seattle had 44.7 inches of rain between October and up until then in April. As the headlines announced, we smashed the record set just last year for the most rain in the October-April period. Of course, because we are such a young city, we've only been keeping such records since 1895. But two sequential years breaking the rainfall record? What's up with that?

When Kuro and I went walking a couple nights ago, we decided to look for moss, one of the natural results of the rain. We found moss in plenty and of various kinds. Moss on rocks, sidewalks, tree limbs and roofs.

Moss growing on a small shed roof just across our back fence.

We found many varieties of the four kinds of moss: sheet moss, cushion moss, haircap moss and rockcap moss. I don't know how many varieties there are in each division but the articles in Wikipedia and other places go on seemingly forever.

Here in Seattle many people battle the moss. They fight the moss in the lawn, on the sidewalk and on the roof. They put up a good fight but the moss always wins. Some people don't fight but seem to enjoy the moss that grows everywhere.

Moss is called "koke" in Japanese and is admired instead of despised. Most people who grow bonsai encourage moss to grow in various ways over and around the roots, and temple gardens sometimes have glorious expanses of various kinds of koke.

We sometimes walk this way just to admire this huge old wisteria vine that stretches along the top of a fence from property line to property line, probably fifty feet. I don't know how old it is but it is covered with beautiful moss now and it will soon bear blossoms from here to the end of the fence.

I've walked these same streets for many years, both with our old Kuro and now this new dog, Kuro, and I've looked at flowers, trees and sunsets. I've looked at moss before but I've never searched it out and really seen it. It's everywhere.

As Henry David Thoreau said, "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

Moss gets along well with our wild violets that, like moss, grow in the shady moist places, if left alone.

Three or four different kinds of moss plus some lichens thrown in for a bonus.

Speaking of lichen, the micro-climate on this north side of an old fence grows a bumper crop. Several kinds fighting for space plus a couple kinds of moss find breathing room.

Moss, moss, everywhere, if you really see what you are looking at.

Moss and lichen grow on the larger branches of my nashii (Japanese pear-apple) tree.

The old saying goes, "A rolling stone gathers no moss." Stationary stones and old tree branches allow moss to grow undisturbed. Shiny growth wears a badge of new life. No moss here until the new leaves join previous generations in the humus below.

As I get older I find it necessary to roll a little harder to keep the moss from growing.

Hanami, Cherry Blossom Viewing

This is cherry blossom viewing time around the world, at least in the northern hemisphere, and especially in Japan.

In Japan hanami means cherry blossom viewing. Literally hanami means flower viewing but for the past thousand years or so it has meant viewing cherry blossoms.

Kuro and I went walking Sunday afternoon to admire to blossoms in our neighborhood. I'm not sure how many cherry trees are in Magnolia, but within a mile of my house there must be fifty or more. 

Hanami is the occasion for flower viewing parties where groups of people take special food and sake to parks or temple grounds when the cherries are in bloom. There they spread blankets or thin tatami (straw mats), share food and drink and admire the ephemeral beauty of the cherry blossoms.

After a few cups of sake, people begin to sing, and after a few more cups of sake, especially the groups of younger people can become quite boisterous.

There is an even older tradition in Japan of viewing plum flowers, umemi. This custom, even though more ancient, doesn't appeal to the younger people so sometimes older folks will go to view the plum blossoms and enjoy a more sedate party, without the boisterous sounds of the young people partying nearby. 

As the cherry blossoms mature, they begin to fall while still in their prime. Today when we were walking under the trees and admiring the blossoms, they were just reaching maturity and there were no petals on the ground. Maybe by tomorrow evening the petals, still fully formed and elegant, will begin to fall. 

In Japan the petals falling at their peak of beauty came to symbolize soldiers in war, falling in their prime.   

Instead of soldiers, I see the falling petals symbolizing the people in our civilization who die unnecessarily.

• In the United States about 44,000 people died last year from drug overdose
• About 88,000 people died in 2015 from alcohol-related causes.
• Texting while driving causes 1,600,000 accidents with at least 4,020 teen deaths each year.
• There are approximately 480,000 deaths caused by smoking and breathing second-hand smoke.
• Pedestrian deaths while texting are on the increase. No concrete numbers yet but authorities estimate paying attention to cell phones causes ten percent more pedestrian deaths each year.

Like these flowers, light can shine through people. That light comes from religion, ingrained culture or family teachings. Religion denied, culture changed without thought for the greater good or families dissolved into individuals can block that light and the flowers suffer.  

We admire the falling petals of the cherry blossoms but so many lives flickering out before their time is sad. We need some changes in our lifestyle. Perhaps that's a topic for a different post.

Exercising This Old Body

When I was young, sleep was unbroken, food was fuel and exercise was easy. Time was light on my hands, I expected to live forever and my body almost maintained itself.

Now I’m older and I find myself making nighttime trips once or twice or even thrice to the bathroom. Food serves not only as fuel, it easily turns to ballast. Life seems shorter than I expected and the end just around the corner.

For the subject of this post, I can only speak for myself, with the occasional observation about others. If you can identify with some of these thoughts, fine. If not, I don’t blame you, no one likes to dwell on a difficult side of life.

Maintaining fitness is an endless job, especially as I’ve aged. The older I get the harder it is to exercise and the harder it is to be fit, even if I exercise.

When I was young I enjoyed all kinds of exercise. I walked, I ran, I stomped on tin cans to crimp them around my shoes so I could clomp along feeling cool or run making a grand noise. I hammered together stilts from wood scraps and used sticks to roll barrel hoops. When I got tired of running I climbed trees to observe the world from a higher vantage point and when I ate supper I cleaned my plate and asked for more.

Incidentally, for those of you interested in taking up the art, it took a can with two good ends to make a decent shoe clomper. If one end had been cut out, as was usual, the can would flatten on that end so it wouldn’t do the job. Evaporated milk cans worked because they had small holes punched in one end. Also, in those days before aluminum cans, beer cans worked because the tops had only the openings made by the church key so the can would clamp nicely around a shoe.

Now I try to find ways to exercise that are fun but not too difficult or painful.

About nine years ago a new hybrid electronic game called Wii was introduced. At first I thought it was like the many other gimmicks advertised to magically take off weight, tone muscles and make its buyers handsome or beautiful, depending.

 The set consisted of a balance board, a small DVD player/game console and some hand-held wands with inertial sensors and pointer/clicker controls. The console was wired into the buyer’s own TV set and with that you were off and running, if you’ll pardon the expression.

I made a wooden support for my balance board so the feet wouldn't sink into our carpet.

 Compared to later gaming devices such as the X-Box and others with body-sensing capabilities, the Wii was pretty primitive. However, it was better than exercising alone so I tried out the various games and worked through many of the exercises and yoga poses. Finally I gave up playing the games but did manage to select a combination of eighteen yoga poses and exercises that I added to “my workout” and tried to do that workout every other day or so.

Almost ready to start the day's training session.

Like most things, the Wii had pros and cons. I liked the feedback from the balance board that helped me keep my body balanced and the positive reinforcement when I managed to do an exercise or yoga pose without falling over. "Nice balance," or "You've got great posture," made me try to repeat whatever it was that prompted that comment. On the other hand, I thought the wait between exercises was a too long and start-up time dragged out.

About four years ago I got another exercise motivator. A new little schnauzer came into our lives and he quickly learned how to get me away from the computer and out on the sidewalk every evening after dinner.

Being a cuddly little dog, Kuro fits inside my sweater on cold winter days keeping us both warm.

Walking with a dog is a pleasant way to exercise. I can walk as I like when we use the long retractable leash because Kuro keeps busy sniffing the bushes, ground and fire hydrants for evidence of other dogs passing his way. No matter my walking speed, he runs ahead, does his sniffing then runs to catch up and range out in front again.

When we use the short leash, Kuro knows he has to curtail his sniffing and keep close to me. He prefers the long leash but he’ll go with the short one if it means a walk.

At the beginning of last year I began using the Fitbit my son gave me for Christmas in 2015. It was a good little motivator also. If I was lacking some steps to hit the day's target I would walk a few extra blocks to make sure I hit the mark. It lasted about one year before the strap broke. Now I've gone to a Garmin fitness tracker. It's more sophisticated and accurate although so far it shows me descending more stairs than I ascend. The motivation level is about the same so I enjoy using the Garmin too. The sleep tracker, which shows times of light and deep sleep and time awake is a useful addition. 

The motion  detector/tracker which is worn on the wrist is synced with software which displays several different pages of stats on my phone. This is the display for last night's sleep.

The yellow circle shows total sleep, although it doesn't subtract waking
time. The sleep intensity bars near the bottom I find most useful.

Our treadmill is a last resort for me although Ikuko uses it almost every day; see the notes she uses to practice her shigin while walking up and down the treadmill hills. She has been attending shigin classes for many years and is skilled in the art but, as with any skill, she needs practice to maintain proficiency, so she combines pleasure with pleasure and sings while she walks. 

I use it when the weather discourages outside exercise. I’ve tried to teach Kuro how to walk with me but he can’t quite figure out the concept of a moving sidewalk and a stationary environment.

Lately, we’ve started a yoga class every Wednesday at our VFW post. I’ve never attended a formal yoga class so, in addition to the exercise and stretching, I’m looking forward to learning breathing and grounding techniques from a professional. After we've held a number of sessions, I'll try to post some impressions of a formal yoga workout.

One exercise lesson sticks with me in my older years. Persistence and dedication are essential to staying fit. It's so easy to find other, more interesting things to do. Instead of exercising, I see a book waiting to be read, email to be answered, the VFW office to be staffed or many other things to do, all so much more interesting than exercising. 

Scientists say exercise is even better for the bodies of older people. It fights bone loss and increases stability and balance. It warms the body and strengthens the cardiovascular system. All these are needed by people of any age but especially those of us who are a little older can reap the benefits of regular exercise.

The key for me is to remember that the time I spend exercising is a gift to my body and a way to brighten my day. Exercise is so important I now try to place it number one on my daily "to do" list, thus paying myself up front before I move on down the list. 

My motto has become: "Exercise to gain strength, agility, youthful vitality and happiness, not just to get the daily drill out of the way."    

Strange Spring Weather

Last week Kuro and I went walking not long after the sun had gone down. The light was in transition between daylight and streetlight.

Daffodil posed quietly but Kuro moved in the low light so the slow shutter speed blurred his head.

 These first few photos were taken on February 22, 2017, long before the plants are feeling the juices of spring, normally. This year apparently isn't normal.

This rhododendron is really confused.

The owner of this lawn planted crocuses a few years ago. Now they have naturalized and pop up
in large groups of sisters. Normally there is plenty of time for the crocuses to bloom before first
lawn mowing but this year the grass is growing already. The owner is going to have long grass
before the crocuses are done blooming.

The pure colors of the primroses come through better in the dim light. Why do red primroses
have yellow centers when yellow primroses have no red in their hearts?

These daffodils and emerging tulips are located on the north side of the rockery but they are ahead of the game.

Not far from our house there is a nice house occupied by two women who have been working long hours on their yard. They recently had these beautiful rock walls built. The rocks were laid up dry without mortar or concrete backing. The mason had a good eye for shapes and lines.

The stairs in the next photo are in the middle distance.

The rock walls mirror the curve of the stairs. Every time we pass I admire the angles of the corner rocks. Note the acute angles on the left and obtuse on the right side. 

Kuro checks out the flower beds and rock walls only to detect the scent or sight of another dog. When on the leash he is very protective and noisy, barking and straining at the leash to get at that intruder who is daring to walk near out route. When he is off the leash he acts more friendly, running up and performing the sniff routine with the other dog.

I'd let him walk off the leash (and sometimes do on deserted streets) but the attraction of a strange dog makes him forget about the danger posed by drivers who probably couldn't see a dark dog on a dark street. Like a texting driver who knows the danger but can't delay immediate gratification, he would ignore the danger to satisfy the immediate urge.

Last Sunday morning, almost as an afterthought, I went out to look at the shivering early birds braving the remnants of Saturday night's snow. Those few days of cold weather slowed down the growth spurt. Our weather forecaster is calling for warmer weather this week so they will resume their race to flower early. 

Our neighbor used to have a large forsythia bush so I could note the coming of spring. The current owner dug it out and put in a rock patio so I'll have to search the neighborhood for those blazing yellow branches. 

Kuro says he's in favor of searching the neighborhood, no matter the reason.