zoo revisited

We revisited the TAMA zoo and checked this time, about the operating hours. It seems it is closed every Wednesday...I'm over asking why these days ;P it pays to check as THIS time, we got there early and had almost the place to ourselves. As far as zoos go, this one is beautiful, well kept with lots of new enclosures and happy looking animals.....we would love to see all these guys in their natural environments but it seems these days some may be happier and more protected in a zoo!
this peacock was stunning, another nearby, had his tail feathers up, he was such a prancer, I have seen humans act in a similar way......the peacock is far more beautiful, in fact, he really looked artificial as I rarely see such brightly coloured and such pretty things in everyday life.....
to see these animals in their natural environment must be such an incredible sight....I was so mesmerised by how smooth and beautiful they are....
breathtaking!...and waiting for brekky!.....impatiently......we kept well back :)
...this is what all the Aussies were doing...sleeping...all of them, koala, wombat, wallaby, even the cockatoo...the only ones awake were the kookaburra (such a thrill to hear in Japan) and the cutest and very busy sugar gliders (OK some were sleeping)....I want one of those........
eyeballed by not one...
but two African animals.....I was awestruck by how close we could get to the animals (I did shoot these on a zoom though) and that there were no noisy crowds. We acknowledged at the time this is a rare thing indeed. Just 1 hour or so out of Tokyo and very easy driving there and back. A thrill of a day and such a sweet times with my lovely family.

how are you today?

In an attempt to help talk about emotions with my mooch I made some smalls dogs faces so he can tell me how he is feeling...maybe I hope it is practice so in some way, when he is a teenager he can articulate his feelings and feel comfortable about it and hopefully not have such a difficult time passing through it.....anyway....it is an attempt....so we have happy face, grumpy face and cry face. Mostly, at this age, he swings between the three with maybe a couple of others thrown in......it seems like an easy and relaxed activity so I hope we can continue to develop this as we grow up, together!

weekend peace

This is one of the 5 great lakes around Mt Fuji.....it is truly lovely! We have now ventured to all 5 and think this one (especially on the other side) is the most beautiful (minus the large yellow 'submarine' tourist boat...see it on the left...ugh....)...if you turn around, you can see a huge, silent, still snow capped Mt Fuji. I never tire of looking at it, even on a misty day like this one, it is awesome in its size and beauty. Unbelievably, in this area there are no 'nice' places to eat OR stay! Accommodation and food places that are there have been open since the 50's and never moved into this century.....
in another nearby area we just had a wander around these cabbage (I think) farms....if I were a cabbage I would like to live here....
next to the cabbage patch is the loveliest view.......hence my desire..... if I ever was a cabbage.....and was lucky enough to see this everyday :)

.....you can see a great view of Fuji from the car while driving into Kawaguchiko, another lake area and entrance to the other lakes, Mooey in the backseat said "Mt Fuji - not happy today....." being grey and covered in clouds - rainy season after all....very articulate! We started out early to avoid nasty traffic jams and the weather was predicted to rain around 12noon......so we had a great morning and about as we left about 12.15pm it started to rain....the accuracy of the weather prediction spooks me sometimes....on another note, there is also an info site about traffic jams so you can get an idea of how busy the roads are.....THAT is what I call an excellent service!
....So now we are back into the week, Mooch is sick with a cold, paranoia haunts me about H1N1 and if I need to get the test...he has no flu symptoms....maybe he just has a normal kid cold.....so I'm watching him without trying to pour my paranoia on him and divert our attention and imagination into some fun making of crafty stuff................
..and fooling with paints.....
..and glue......

nice read

I am currently reading "The Divided Heart" by Rachel Power...a good read about art and motherhood...its short stories/interviews make it easy to pick up and put down...I find myself agreeing a lot with what I read and feel less bad about housework blues as it seems plenty of peoples, feel the same...

fun things

We have been busy making some fun things inside while the weather outside swings from hot and rainy to just plain hot, hot....and more of it to come.....lucky my list of things to do is loooong....
experimenting with milk cartons/paper/paint and butterflies and glitter, which was good fun, until I (yes ME) spilled the glitter, a LOT of it....(swearing)......if I didn't share our room space with my loved one, who might not look as professional as he hopes with his bag/computer covered in glitter....then it might not have been a big deal................I think I got it all though...phew...sorry darling....:(
major fun and focused concentration :)

my morning tea

I re-made these little gift tags in my quest to turn off the box at night and do something productive. Collecting stamps is my new hobby but making them into these is even more fun....
oh, and collecting tape, for no good reason, has also become an unwanted hobby...I cannot get out of the stationary shops.....go here for excellent-ness Japan stuff......
...do you notice anything about this paper bag?.................
it DID have my morning tea in it..............................

My day...

What I'm doing: Lots of doodles for upcoming projects...
What Long Long is doing: resting...all of a sudden its over 30 degrees today...I dreamt last night that he died and I found him in the garden all limp and cold...I woke up with such a fright and found it very hard to get back to sleep. I love this pooch xxx
What mooch is doing: fine motor skills development!................
What I'm reading: I never usually buy mags as I think they are a waste of money and paper, flicking through them in the shop is enough to confirm I don't need to buy it BUT.....these ones struck me as something I want to keep....and for some reason mags are generally much cheaper than at home and of course the VARIETY is astounding!