A story of cats in a family

Eighteen years ago or so, my wife has got a cat from her colleague person at the office she was working those days. This cat, named Aichan which stood for "Lovely", was one of the kittens an ownerless cat had given birth in the colleague's garden. She had been trained for toiletting etc there. She was told to have been most friendly to people. That was the reason she was named as it was.

 

Aichan was a smart cat. She won't be easily accoustomed with her new environment here as if she had been taught not to be by her mother. In the begininng, she won't come in our home. It was a week or so later when she came into the living room. An even more tiny kitten was following her. Of course, it was not her baby. Aichan was only a few months old at that time. That kitten was tiger patterned with grey brownish hue. It was so small as a sparrow. It was a male kitten and was named Suzume at first, which meant sparrow in Japanese. Later, being afraid people around us might be confused to hear us call him as Suzume, we have shortened the name as Suzu. He was a real astray cat descendent and has been educated by Aichan for some time. Aichan was a mother substitute for Suzu for a year or two. They have been good company throughout their lives. Suzu has been a real pet for our daughter.

 

Aichan in 2008. She always loved being in a narrow space like this box.

 

 

 

Aichan in 2007. A smart cat that was very good at grasping what was going on around her. She was loved by everyone very much.

 

Aichan and Suzu in 2010. They were son and mother, family members and good company throughout their lives.

One day in 2007 or so, we have made a regular evening walk around here. We have come across with a kitten on a street. Crying badly, she was limping. At first, she came closer to us. When embracing her with arm, she cried even worse. She seemed to have been injured, which later turned out to be a pelvic bone fracture, possibly due to a traffic accident. When I placed her on the ground, she was slowly leaving us somewhere. In a second, she turned back to us again as if she had made up her mind to be with us. It was the moment when we decided to add her to our family. She was named as Mitchan.

In 2007, Mitchan on a chair. She grew to be a fatty cat later. But her voice has been charming throughout the years she was with us.  Our son has loved her so much. She was like a dog in character. Whenever we did something in the garden, she was always around us in a radius of 1 meter. She would never go out of the property to the street. Seemingly, she could not forget having had the bad injury on a street.

They have lived with us over ten years. Really good family members. Parting with them has come for the past 4 years. At first, Aichan, suffering from some kind of respiratory tract problem, has gone somewhere at the moment she got quite ill. I first knew a cat would disappear from us when she/he knew it was the time of passing for her/him. She would not stay home by any means. We let her go out. It was the time of farewell with her. Mitchan was curious at anything narrow or closed. She disappeared from us abruptly one day. It was when a man of transport industry visited our home on a truck. We later suspected she might jump on it when we were not aware of that. It is our hope she is still spending happy life somewhere being loved by some family. This summer, Suzu has passed away. He was 18 years old and has gradually lost weight. He has vomitted if he took as much food as the other cats ate for years. Later, he got some kidney dysfunction as well. It seemed he learned it was the time to say good by to us.

Without them, our home is really empty. It could be kept clean. But something has been lost since they went away. They have been with us watching what went on in the family. Children have grown up and got out of the home. My parents have got old and ill. In an interval, both of them have passed away. Both I and my wife have been left. I would thank those lovely creatures having been with us for that period.

Since a new cat would live longer than ourselves, we decided not to keep anyone any longer. We still miss these three cats so much.

Three of them have made our lives more pleasant and even meaningful. Farewell to our beloved beings until we meet again!

An ancient tomb site

On the way to my old office, there is an old tomb site named Bentenzuka. Driving to the town there, I have stopped by the tomb. I don't know when it was constructed. Maybe, 6th or 7the century. This is rather a compact in size. Compact ones were always constructed in later era. Such tombs were constructed for the men of power those days. It is surprising there are more than ten such tomb sites in this city. This area is not necessarily more abundant with such historical monuments than the other areas. They are pretty common everywhere.

What it touches me is that it has been maintainted by the people around this area. In our tradition, we have worshiped our ancestors as gods. I am still moved by the fact there have been generations of people having taken such tomb site as an important monument and having cared for it as it is now. It is still a primitive religion. But the ancestors have had faith in some being supreme beyond our knowledge. It is touching me a lot. It is a relief for me that we have had those ancestors with religious mind.

I sometimes stopped by there on the way back home from work. I felt a kind of relief from this old tomb.

The rice paddies were already harvested. It stood quietly in the crisp atmosphere in the farms.

Re Ebola virus disease again

CDC has published the risk factor guide line for Ebola virus disease quoted below in this post.

We should avoid any contacts with symptomatic patients without appropriate protection. At the front of medical services, it could be difficult for the staff to observe these instructions once there is an epidemic occurring in the community. Quarantine is of limited power as well.

At present, the biggest issue is that China could be the source of the outbreak world wide. There is a close relationship between China and African countries including the epidemic area. There is heavy traffic of people between these two areas. It means EVD could be transmitted by them into China. The secretive politics as well as undeveloped medical system in China might reinforce the possible outbreak there. In such an epidemic world wide, it could be quite tough to do with it since the infrastructure of medical system could be destroyed at first anywhere.

We still should be careful about what goes on with this outbreak. Much more support should be given to the Western Africa in the outbreak now.

From CDC web site;

The following epidemiologic risk factors should be considered when evaluating a person for Ebola virus disease (Ebola), classifying contacts, or considering public health actions such as monitoring and movement restrictions(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/exposure/monitoring-and-movement-of-persons-with-exposure.html) based on exposure.

1. High risk includes any of the following:
   • Percutaneous (e.g., needle stick) or mucous membrane exposure to blood or body fluids of a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic,
   • Exposure to the blood or body fluids (including but not limited to feces, saliva, sweat, urine, vomit, and semen) of a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic without appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/procedures-for-ppe.html),
   • Processing blood or body fluids of a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic without appropriate PPE or standard biosafety precautions,
   • Direct contact with a dead body without appropriate PPE in a country with widespread Ebola virus transmission(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/distribution-map.html),
   • Having lived in the immediate household and provided direct care to a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
2. Some risk includes any of the following:
   • In countries with widespread Ebola virus transmission(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/distribution-map.html): direct contact while using appropriate PPE with a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
   • Close contact in households, health care facilities, or community settings with a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
     • Close contact is defined as being for a prolonged period of time while not wearing appropriate PPE within approximately 3 feet (1 meter) of a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
3. Low (but not zero) risk includes any of the following:
   • Having been in a country with widespread Ebola virus transmission(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/distribution-map.html) within the past 21 days and having had no known exposures
   • Having brief direct contact (e.g., shaking hands) while not wearing appropriate PPE, with a person with Ebola while the person was in the early stage of disease
   • Brief proximity, such as being in the same room for a brief period of time, with a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
   • In countries without widespread Ebola virus transmission: direct contact while using appropriate PPE with a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic
   • Traveled on an aircraft with a person with Ebola while the person was symptomatic.
4. No identifiable risk includes:
   • Contact with an asymptomatic person who had contact with person with Ebola
   • Contact with a person with Ebola before the person developed symptoms
   • Having been more than 21 days previously in a country with widespread Ebola virus transmission(http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/distribution-map.html)
   • Having been in a country without widespread Ebola virus transmission and not having any other exposures as defined above

Piazzolla



Piazzolla is a mysterious composer. His works are mixture of tango, jazz and classical music. Based on his native tango, they go beyond it over to the cosmopolitanism. It may be related with the fact he has been grown up in Argentina, educated in Europe and worked in the USA. His works won't belong to any of these genres, even though the outlook is still that of tango, but they form a unique genre themselves. Various emotions and feelings are heard from his music. The basic one is, I believe, sorrow. It is not a transient emotion but something flowing  on the bed of our lives like basso continuo.

 

This piece, Concerto para Quinteto, is my recent nightcap. Fuss spreads. In the midst of boisterous rhythm, a tender and heartfelt melody is sung by the violin solo, folowed by a song of sorrow by the accordion.

 

 

 

Susan W7KFI/KH6

When have I met Susan W7KFI for the first time? Maybe, on 40m CW in early 2000s. She was sailing the west coast from SF to Mexico. Since that time, I have talked to her in maritime mobile once or twice in a year. This morning,she has given me a call on 15m, where there were very few stations on CW with the SSB portion getting hot with WW SSB, from USS Missouri club station KH6BB.

She told me she would enter a nursing home for retired soldiers in Wash DC soon. She used to tell me she would go to KH3, V7 and T32 etc after leaving Hawaii. She is now 79 years old. It seemed she had given up sailing in solo in the Pacific Ocean for now. There seem she had a few good friends in Hawaii, who would help her to get ready for her move.

As written above, she has dreamed croussing around the islands in the Pacific. When I asked what she would do after the journey was over in a QSO in 2007, she answered me "Who knows?". She must have hoped her dream cruise might last forever. But it is the time for her to put an end to her cruise.

She told me she could set up a ham radio station at the facility in Wash DC. I am anxious to know who would help her to set up her station there since she told me she hadn't had any friends around there yet. There are a number of kind and great CW operators in that area, so that she might find some people who would help her there.

She is stepping into a new phase of her life now. I wished her very good luck and pleasant retirement over there.

Visit her page in QRZ.com as well as her own web site: http://www.w7kfi.com/

Reception for Jim N3JT and Nina

Last night, I have met Jim N3JT and Nina who were here on a tour in Japan. It was not so easy for me to catch them. I have arrived at the lobby of the Hotel Monterey Akasaka in time as promised with Jim. But they did not show up even some time after the promised time. I asked the front personnel if they were staying at the hotel. He told me their names were not on the list. What is wrong?!, I uttered to myself. In addition, Atsu JE1TRV, who kindly arranged the party, won't reply to phone call. Sitting on a sofa at the lobby, I was desparately wondering if I was in a deliberate trick.

In a few minutes, Jim has called me on the cellphone. It was the Hotel Monterey Hanzomon near to that of Akasaka that they were staying at! Needless to say, I rushed to that hotel on a taxi. I was supposed to bring them to the reception place. Coming back to Akasaka with them, where the reception party was planed at a restaurant, I found there were too many restaurants around there. It was a kind of amusement area with many bars and restaurants in high buildings. The illuminations were so bright but were confusing me enough again. When I called the reataurant of the reception, I finally could catch Atsu who had already arrived there. He came to bring us to the restaurant. My mission was finally copleted! Is it my age which has made such a mess? I used to do such a mission much easier years ago.

There were already all the attendees at a cosy small room in the restaurant except for three of us. From left to right, Nina, Jim, Dan WA6URY as well as 7J1ABD.

 

 

From left to right, Atsu JE1TRV, Hiro JA7QLP and Kazu JA1GQC.

 

 

Various kinds of Sushi. As expected, Jim was curious to know the names of sushi material. Atsu has brought a list of such items. Jim has enjoyed much sake named Hakkaisan. I hope he has not hang over this morning.

 

 

I have known Jim since mid 80s, I guess. He has been a man of great deal of topics and curiosity for anything in the many QSOs on CW. In this first eye ball, I have had the same impression with him. He looked young and sociable as well.  

 

 

In the various topics in the discussion, I was impressed to hear he had thought decline in ragchewing activity on CW was related with prevalence of the internet. We could get in touch on it easily. And e mail would got the role of ragchewing on CW. That was his idea. I know he was aware of my thought of criticism against contesting and he has emphasized more importance in contpeting activity on CW in the discussion with me.

 

I should have discussed about this issue in depth. But the mood of the party and lack of my debating ability in English have prevented me from doing that. Maybe, in the near future, I should write an article regarding how important ragchewing is on CW communication and how it has been affected by contesting activities. Nowadays, both of enjoyments in CW communication won't exist in parallel but are in the phase of confliction each other.

 

Jim was curious to learn things in Japan. Especially, japanese characters or ham radio license system etc. A sharp guy. Nina was a warm hearted lacy as I expected. I have learned where they were from and what they have done for jobs. It seemed they have enjoyed the meeting so much. It was my joy as well. It has passed over 3 hours since starting the party when we realized how late it was. Hiro has taken both of them to the station close to the hotel they were staying.

 

I won't go back home last night but stayed at a hotel in the other area of Tokyo. There were crowds of people in the amusement area. I felt a bit of dizziness among them. It was not the place for me to live any longer. Getting up early in the morning, I came back to this peaceful countryside.

I wish Jim and Nina a wonderful trip thereafter.

Ensemble is living together.

Ensemble is a communication sharing our lives. We breathe together when we play an ensemble. Needless to say about wind instrument, even string ensemble requires us to synchronize breathing in the beginning. It is one of the communications based on our life.

 

Music itself is something difficult to be defined. It won't stay anywhere for a long time. It passes away somewhere as soon as it is played. It covers our entire being for a moment. It enters deeply in our emotion and mind. It is a world present apriori. It is closely related with, or rather, expresses the universe as a cosmos. In ensemble, we confirm and please ouselves to be living in the cosmos together. Playing ensemble, we live the eternity through the moment.

 

Nevertheless,  ensemble won't exist as an ideal thing from time to time. Last night, after we finish our dinner with our daughter coming home, I could hear some note from my wife's room. A violin and a flute. Daughter accompanied my wife playing flute with her violin. Our daughter used to practise violin for years in her childhood but quit it at age 15 years. She seldom opens the violin case any longer. I don't know why but she has taken the violin and started playing it for a while.

 

I and my wife wanted to play an ensemble at home some day. It has not come true. But in some years, maybe, we could play some simple trio sonata or something. Hopefully, our daughter would enjoy her violin when she finds sometime free in the future.

 

Music far away from its ideal form would go on sounding at my home until that time.

 

 

 

What a mess in this room!

 

Seeded Marygold

Marygold has been my favorite flower. It is lively even in cold or hot weather. It lasts for months from spring to fall. It has occupied a corner of the garden this year again. This photo was taken in this August.

 

 

A few days ago, seeing the flowers dying in the garden, I was going to pick and discard them. I found flower heads with a lot of seeds within them. Every flower head contained dozens of seeds. The photo below shows the seeds in a flower head.

 

 

I have collected the seeds. So many seeds. I would keep them in refrigerator and seed them in the garden next spring.

 

While collecting them into vinyl bags, I was amazed anew that life had been succeed in this way from a generation to the next. It is the same as with human being. Those tiny seeds looked lovely to me.  

 

Ebola in the past, at present and in the future.

According to C. Duncan and S. Scott, there have been a number of epidemics of viral hemorrhagic fever, including Ebola viral infection, in the past. In 5th century BC, at Athens. In 14th century, in whole Europe. And in London and Italy in the 17th century. Pest has often been attributed to those epidemics as the pathogen. But the above mentioned researchers found the findings they could trace from various records are not suggestive of pest but are rather compatible with that of viral hemorrhagic fever.

The Ebola virus has been hiding themselves in certain animal. In such a long interval, it starts epidemic among the civilized society. All the society is threatened by this virus at present.

There are a few urgent questions to be solved at present.

1 Elucidate how this virus spreads among people. By only direct contact to the body fluid of the patient? Or is airborne infection possible? This will determine what precaution is necessary to prevent from further spread.

2They say RNA polymerase inhibitor could be effective against the virus since it belongs to the genre of RNA virus. The effect should be confirmed with experimental and/or epidemiological study. Any other agent or drug of efficacy should be searched for.

3The epidemic could destroy the infrastructure of the medical system. The panic and the increased number of victims among medical staff could make it fall in dysfunction. Support, financial as well as man power wise, for the medical facilities is essentially important to avoid such dysfunction.

4Needless to say, we should give much more support and aid toward the West African countries most suffering from this disease.

5In Japan, no lab could do with the virus itself. Level 4 lab which could handle with the virus should be prepared somewhere. It is necessary for proper diagnosis and for management of this disease.

We should not be in panic at all. But we should be awake and careful about any further consequences of this epidemic. It is a divide whether we would be regarded as defeated by the pathogen or would make triumph over it by the historians in later age.

Hot pot cooking

Cooking in an earthen ware pot is very popular in Japan in winter. The materials could be a variety of fish and/or meat with vegetables. Chinese cabbage is a regular vegetable in any hot pot cooking. Cod or salmon is popular fish for this dish. The soup stock is always made of fish. Tofu is another material to be added to this dish. Taking advantage of the simplicity of this cooking, we always use some ready made soup. Warm the soup and put the materials from vegetables to fish/meat. Heat up them in an earthen ware pot until every material is cooked enough. 

In this cooking, I have featured a solid soup material named "Premium Nabe" manufactured by Moranbong. Nabe means earthen ware pot in japanese. This soup material is quite tasty as if it was served at a high quality japanese restaurant. It is much better than any kind of ready made liquid soup.  We could enjoy "full-bodied" taste with this item. Try it.

Ebola virus could be airborne

When I knew a nurse caring for the 1st patient of Ebola virus infection had become infected from the same virus in Texas, I wondered why and how it had happened to her. Hasn't she protected herself from the virus whici was believed to be contageous through direct contct to the patient? It was not answered yet.

But a group of Minnesota University has published yesterday that the virus could make airborne infection from pathophysiological as well as epidemiological standpoint. If this view is right, we are getting into a new phase of fight against this virus infection. Airborne infection is quite difficult to deal with. Separation of the patients as well as special set up as positive pressure respirator is mandatory in that situation. The nurse as well as the other who have been proved to be infected by the virus at the same hospital might be infected through airborne virus from the patient.

Then another question comes on. Why haven't much more people been infected arount the patient? In west Africa, there could have been more people suffering from the virus.

There should be certain percentage of the people are undergoing subclinical illness or inapparent infection. There must be some strains of the virus which may not make overt infection and/or there must be certain people who won't develop serious illness thanks to their immune response characteristics. This virus is told to occur mutations frequently. It may be another factor which contribute such mechanisms.

We should not get into a panic. But we should be careful about what goes on with this possible outbreak. We should make support to the people in west Africa suffering from devastating outbreak now. Hopefully, the authority would give financial and technical support to those working at the front of the medical system, who are working at the hazard of the virus.

The 5th anniversary of the death of a close friend

This Oct 6th was the 5th anniversary of the death of an old friend of mine. He was a ham, JH1HDX, named Mamo. 

 

I knew him through ham radio in early eighties. It was when I came back on the radio while serving residency at a med school hospital. He was a young engineer working for a battery manufacturing company. Both of us have had humble set ups. We used to talk a lot on 15m SSB.

 

Even though there were some intervals of absence, our friendship has lasted and we have been in touch each other since then. We have had a drive trip together to a mountain area one time. It was a fun trip dipping ourselves at a hot spa and visiting a ham friend over there. While having an intense personality, he was also a kind and tender person. He was a kind of a man of defiance to any authorities. It might be common to me. That might be a point which we had felt attracted each other. That personality made him look like a peculiar person in a sense. At the same time, he was sensitive in human relationship and was very tender to the others. 

 

In the spring 5 years ago, he abruptly gave me a phone call from a hospital. He let me know that he had been suffering from acute leukemia. For the next few months, he has undergone a few courses of treatment without any remission. It was a severe fight for him. I have visited him at least once a week and have tried to share hopes for the future with him. However, for the last 3 weeks, feeling too sad seeing him declining rapidly, I could not visit him. I still regret that. Wasn't it the time when he had needed me? I heard he had passed away being cared for by his family. 

 

His wife and daughter have welcomed me at a Soba restaurant over there. I haven't seen his daughter since  her elementary school days. She has become a lovely lady. His wife also looked fine. Even though there have been a few family event at her family for the past 5 years, all of them seemed to get along fine. Both of them in front of the restaurant. 

 

 

 Beside the restaurant, there was a brook running from a spring close there. A quiet and nice place. 

 

 

After enjoyable lunch with them there, we have worshiped his tomb near there. He was sleeping together with his father there. Praying that I was sorry I hadn't visited him for the past years, I left them there and headed home. On the way back home, I ran on Reiheishi Highway, where they had walked in order to worship Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa at Toshogu in Nikko.

It was the way I used to drive in my young days when visiting Nikko area as well as Mmo's home. It looked exactly the same as 30 years ago.

 

 

 

Late fall in our garden

It is getting cooler day by day. Expecting another big typhoon, I prepared protecting plants and vegetables from gust and harvested some vegetables.

 

This is cosmos naturally grown from the seeds derived from the planted cosmos last year. Seeing them swinging in the breeze, I feel the fall is getting deepened.

 

 

 

Fully grown basil. I should have used it for material of a sauce or something else. Maybe, it will grow again from the seed of these plants next year.

 

 

 Enkianthus in front of my parents' house. It could have shown more bright color. It has grown to a big tree.

 

 

Callicarpa japonica with purple fruits. It was also naturally grown at a corner of our lot.

 

 

The fruits in close up view. Clusters of elegant and beautiful fruits. I guess I have already introduced this plant before. It is named as Murasakishikibu after a famous novelist in Heian era who wrote the famous novel titled Genji Monogatari.    

 

 

Some tomatoes are finally ripened. Those planted before the rainy season were mostly failure. The plants were infected with some virus or mold. After the rainy season, it has been successful. It resulted in these good fruits. Very juicy and thick in taste. I knew those sold in supermarket had been harvested while they were not ripened. I have learned a bit how to raise the tomato now. Maybe, we might enjoy more of these ripe tomatoes next year. This was the high light in our garden this year.

 

 

Our lot looking from the entrance toward the east. The left is the house my parents used to live. The front is a storage house. Whenever I look this, I still feel as if, in this scene, my father was busily going somewhere and my mother was smiling at me. Time is passing.

 

 

The west side of our lot. It looks like a small forest. Or jungle?

 

Ragchewers quit without saying anything.

Cliff K6KII has been an avid DXer as well as a ragchewer for decades. When I came back on the air in 1980 after 10 years absence, he was one of the very few hams who had been active on the radio. I respected him for his activity and his beautiful fist on CW. The most of my friends had gone QRT or SK by then. Or some of them have changed their calls with the vanity call system in the US. Cliff has moved to Colorado early this year and has not been heard from either on the air or even by e mail.

Several weeks ago, I heard from Jim W6YA about why he won't come back on the radio. He seemed to enjoy outdoor activity there so much that he won't have time for radio. The other reason was that he was disappointed at too much prevalence of 599 QSL style QSOs in radio. I was surprised to hear that at first. He could have been looked on as a real DX chaser. Possibly, he has done everything in DXing. However, it was surprising for me to know how important it had been for him to have enjoyable conversational QSOs. In a few seconds, I fully understood of Cliff.

I often call CQ for ordinary QSO on 40m through 15m. As I have been telling in this blog or the other sites, I seldom get call. Much less often than 10 years ago. Only once in 10 times or less in my impression. I sometimes feel bored with calling CQ because of such few calls to me. Even if I get a call, there is only 30 or 40% of probability that I could enjoy conversation. It is becoming even less than a few years ago. Most of callers would exchange reports and the other routine informations. And then they say good by to me.

Yes, I know I have been repeating the same kind of complaint in this blog or elsewhere. I believe we should consider what is making that trend of shorties on the air. ot there will be more Cliffs on the air. They would quit radio without saying anything to us. It seems to me there is a vicious cycle that the shorties are replacing the oridinary ones.

I wonder how John 9V1VV has been doing. Another big ragchewer I haven't heard of for some time.   

Pot-au-feu

Simple pot-au-feu. The menu will go on being on the table for 2 or 3 days.

For Sleepless Nights

I sometimes couldn't sleep well at night when I was young, possibly, 5 or 6 years old. My father used to read a book by Carl Hilty, a swiss philosopher. The title was "For Sleepless Nights". Of course, it was translated to Japanese. At that age, I might not be able to understand the content at all. He might read it for himself or wanted me to remember of that book when I grew up.

At this age, I often have insomnia again. It is due to aging. Maybe, a glass of beer I enjoy earlier in the evening might disturb sound sleep. Whatever the cause might be, I often stay up until this time in morning, that is, 3:30AM. Most quiet and dark before dawn. At this time in a day, imagination and contemplation wings its way. On the past, present and future. I wonder if I am going on in the right way.

I felt as if wrapped with my father's affection when he read that book. A peaceful and satisfying moment. When I was in teen age days, I sometimes criticized him in my mind that his love toward family was a kind of self-satisfying. I could not deny it completely. But he has loved us in his way. Or I would not recall of the scene he was reading "For Sleepless Nights" for me in this way.

I would look for that book and go on reading it for myself again.

A typhoon passing by here.

In an hour or two, a typhoon will pass by this area. Fortunately, our area is a kind of basin surrounded with low mountains in all directions except for to the south, so that any typhoon always loses its force by the time it arrives here. But who knows?

My antenna is still alive. The wind is not so hard yet. the weather forecast warns of tornado or gust of wind occurring here. Still much rain. You may see the farm over the fence is becoming like a pond. I am concerned about the tomatoes on their plants but could not go out to see them yet.

Isn't it dut to the global warming? Not mentioning of the strength of wind, I think the average amount of rain per a typhoon exceeds that several years ago. There have been warnings of landslides in various parts mainly of western Japan. I hope there won't be any disaster or injured people due to this typhoon.

 

A corner of the garden here. You may see the farm over the fence is becoming like a pond due to the heavy rain.

Fall deepens.

Recent snap shots taken in the garden here.

 

One of the flower garden. Flowers are shining for the last moment in mid fall.

 

 

 

The other flowers and plants. These were planted by my wife while they have been cared for by me. Weeds are growing much slower.



 

 

One of the roses. My wife has been caring for roses. I didn't know it had taken us so much energy to grow. Beautiful things are always to be damaged by illnesses or infestations of bugs.

 

 

Another rose. Visible only to the farmers in the neighborhood.

 

 

My biggest concern is these tomatoes. I wonder if they could ripen before cold snap comes here. I have learned how to grow them. I would be more successful at them next summer, hopefully. 

 

 

An old perssimon tree. Not very rich crop this year.

 

 

Our garden is going through fall in this way. The more they are ripened, the more I have free time. I am spending more time for cello again. In a week, we will have a small private concert in Tokyo. These plants are forced to listen to basso continuo of Bach played by my cello. Is that why they grow slow?  

 

 

 

Gifts from old timers.

This morning, I have run across with Rob N6KIX, who told me he had rescued some materials of old japanese hams like photos and QSLs from a neighbor. Some of them were prewar. J1EE, J1FT or J1FO etc. He got them from the family of W6IU. He wondered how to do with them. I thanked for his effort and told him to get in touch with JARL.

Seventy years since the end of the war will have passed next year. Most old timers are not active or some of them have gone SK. I still have fond memories of such as JA1KFN, JH1WIX or JP1BJR, who used to be pioneer in ham radio before the war. Unfortunately, they were all gone. We should preserve the materials which tell us how they have lived and contributed to ham radio.

Those old timers were real gentlemen without any exception. They have dreamed ham radio could be a window for the world. They have enjoyed it by themselves and have tried to deliver good things to us. I feel we are asked by them if we are making efforts to deliver them to the next generation by ourselves.