Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of February 2003! posted: Originally in 2003, 2nd Edition - July 2012

This page includes photos taken on February 3rd and 13th, 2003. These photos were originally posted back in 2003, but were somehow "lost" until recently. Now that they have been found, We are going to the effort to repost them - with the hope that they may be enjoyed by a few people. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 2003 The first photo here, taken at the Inokashira Park Pond in Kichijouji, was taken on February 3. The 2nd photo was taken at Bubaigawara - a plum blossom park - on February 13. That's Kazuya standing under the tree.

Inokashira Park02aRC

Bubaigawara _Plum21aRC End February 2003's Photos Thanks so much for taking the time to look at these old photos which have been found and reposted. We hope that you found something which made your visit worthwhile and enjoyable.

Link to Amazon.com (new window). We get 2% of whatever you spend if you go to Amazon from this link!! Please shop on Amazon from here. If you would like to donate to our hiking & traveling fund or show your appreciation for our efforts you can donate through PayPal. A single donation will entitle you to request a single full-sized photo IN THE DONATION MONTH - which you may then use as a desktop wallpaper or whatever. The copyright will be retained by us and the photo will be inconspicuously marked with the copyright symbol (©), year and photographer's name. (Donation probably not tax deductible.)

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This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of February & Early March 2004! posted: March 7th, 2004

This page includes photos taken between February 14th and March 6th, 2004. Most of the photos are of flowers this month. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

This first row of photos includes a Hamamelis sp. (Witch Hazel) flower taken on 2/14 at Jindai Botanical Garden. There are also 2 pictures of Crocuses - taken on 2/21.

JindaijiBotGarden_Hamamelis_60.jpg ShowaKinenPark_Crocus06.jpg ShowaKinenPark_Crocus07.jpg

This row shows 2 plum blossom photos and a Winter Sweet Blossom - all taken on 2/21.

ShowaKinenPark_ ShowaKinenPark_ ShowaKinenPark Plum14.jpg Plum16.jpg _WinterSweet34.jpg

Here you can see a Plum Blossom bud, a Lily of the Valley Bush and a spring flower collage (2/21).

SpringFlowersCollage ShowaKinenPark_ Postcard.jpg Plum61.jpg

ShowaKinen_Pieris japonica48.jpg

Here is a collage made by Kazuya, an Egret at Mizu-Moto Park and an Equisetum (2/28).

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This row is 3 bird shots, taken at the Mizu-Moto Bird Sanctuary. There were Cormorants and Herons nesting. Notice all the bird dung under the trees in the center photo!

MizuMotoBirdSanctuary15.jpg MizuMotoBirdSanctuary18.jpg MizuMotoBirdSanctuary27.jpg

Here is a nice shot of chickens, taken by Kazuya, a nice full moon photo at Mt. Takao, and a psychedelic full moon shot (both moons taken on March 6th) - exposed at 10 seconds - hand held, looking through a tree.

MizuMotoChickens_Kaz06.jpg TakaoSan5_Moon29.jpg

TakaoSan5_Moon38.jpg

In this row there is a collage of Chrysosplenium album var. stamineum, a 2nd collage including other plants, taken by Kazuya (both taken March 6th), and The 3rd photo is my DVD collection as of some months ago. By the way, here is a link to my entire DVD collection if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend! Click Here. The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on title to sort that way if you desire. This link will open a new browser window.

TakaoSan5_Chrysosplenium MtTakao2004march albumvarstamineum.jpg Collage01a.jpg

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That's all for this month, hope that you found something which you enjoyed looking at.

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This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of February 2005! posted: March 1st, 2005

Photos included this month include only those taken during February, 2005. There are only 30 photos. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

The first 2 photos are of a display along the street where I walk to work at Louis Vuitton. There were all of these water tubes along the street for about 3 blocks. The name of the exhibit was "Aqua Illusion". The first photo is daytime and the 2nd photo is night. The 3rd photo is a poster of various kinds of "Winter Soba" (buckwheat noodles) available for those who make the trek out to Takao during the winter. It's a good gimmick to get people out to the mountain in the winter, also delicious!

Aqua Aqua Illusion03.jpg Illusion07.jpg

TakaoSanWinter Soba01a.jpg

The first photo shows some Japanese Grosbeaks at Nogawa Park - near our house. Taken through binoculars on February 6. The next is some kind of hawk - taken on a trip to Enoshima Island on February 12. Third photo shows Enoshima Island and Mt. Fuji to the right of it - taken from Inamuragasaki Point.

NogawaPk_Japanese EnoshimaFrom Grosbeak03.jpg Inamuragasaki02.jpg

Inamuragasaki Hawk02.jpg

First, another shot of Enoshima Island with Mt. Fuji to the right of it again - we took these photos from Inamuragasaki Point before we went to Enoshima Island. Then we went to the island itself (no great photos). The next photo is a Monticola solitarius on the back side of Inamuragasaki Point - taken at night and then lightened up in PhotoShop. Final shot is Enoshima at night.

EnoshimaFromInamuragasaki EnoshimaFrom Night.jpg Inamuragasaki05.jpg Kamakura_Monticola _solitarius02a.jpg http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:35:11 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

First picture taken on 2/13 at Nogawa Park again. It's a woodpecker, but I didn't take the time to look up what kind, sorry. Next shot is the first photo with my new camera - a Canon PowerShot S70. It's a 7.1 megapixel camera (my old one was a 4.0 megapixel model). This plum tree is behind my bus stop where I wait every day. The 3rd shot in this row is a bird sign of the birds which are common in Naganuma Park, a place we went on 2/26. We didn't see much - too cold and windy, although what we DID see was impressive!

NaganumaPark04a.jpg NogawaPk_Woodpecker01a.jpg NishinoBusStopPlum2005_03.jpg

This is Takahatafudo Shrine - at Takahatafudo! It's a place the train passed through on the way to Naganuma Park, we saw this shrine from the train on the way home, so we stopped there and looked around for a while. Third shot in this row is a plum blossom at the shrine.

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We went to Showa Kinen Park on 2/27, and the remainder of the pictures this month were taken at Showa Kinen Park. This row shows 2 plum blossoms and a Witch Hazel (Hamamelis) sp. tree.

ShowaKinenFeb05 Hamamelis02.jpg

ShowaKinenFeb05 ShowaKinenFeb05 Plum01.jpg Plum04.jpg

First picture is "candle ice" or "frost flowers". Next shot is some kind of shrike and the 3rd shot is a Bonsai tree. They just opened a new Bonsai Garden in Showa Kinen Park and it is REALLY INCREDIBLE. Each tree has a sign listing the genus & species of tree, how many years old the tree is, and so on.

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Isn't that first shot amazing, looks like some kind of a miniature hill. The remaining 2 shots are coniferous trees.

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Three more coniferous trees. The tree in the center is a Sakhalin Spruce and it's 300 (YES - THREE HUNDRED) years old!!!

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The first shot is a hardwood, and although I cannot remember the age, it was amazingly old. Next shot shows some interesting Bonsai tree information - a small piece of a big sign. This picture is easily readable in it's full size version, request it be e-mailed to you if you're interested. The 3rd photo is my DVD collection as of Aug 20, 2004 - this photo is no longer current! By the way, here is a link to my entire DVD collection if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend! Click Here. The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on title to sort that way if you desire. This link will open a new browser window.

ShowaKinenFeb05 Bonsai20a.jpg

ShowaKinenFeb05 DVDShelf20Aug2004 Bonsai18.jpg ResizeSmall.jpg

That's all for this month, hope that you found something you enjoyed out of the limited selection which there is.

donation will entitle you to request a single full-sized photo IN THE DONATION MONTH - which you may then use as a desktop wallpaper or whatever. The copyright will be retained by us and the photo will be inconspicuously marked with the copyright symbol (©), year and photographer's name. (Donation probably not tax deductible.)

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This is Page 1 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2006! posted: March 1st, 2006

The photos on this page cover from February 5th through February 18th - the photos from 3 weekends. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

The first picture in this row is a red Hamamelis sp. (Witch Hazel). The 2nd and 3rd shots are yellow Hamamelis sp. (Witch Hazel) - all of these photos were taken at Jindai Botanical Gardens on February 5th.

JindaiBotGar JindaiBotGar JindaiBotGar Hamamelis03RC Hamamelis05RC Hamamelis06RC

Here are 2 water lilies - taken at the inside greenhouse of Jindai Botanical Gardens. Also February 5th.

JindaiBotGarWaterLily01RAWRC JindaiBotGarWaterLily05RC

And - here are 3 orchids, also taken at the inside greenhouse of Jindai Botanical Gardens on February 5th.

JindaiBotGarOrchid10RC JindaiBotGarOrchid11RC JindaiBotGarOrchid12RC

The first shot here is a Shibateranthis pinnatifida (also known as Eranthis pinnatifida). This is an endangered species in Japan. We found this one in a special part of Nogawa Park on February 8th. The 2nd image is the same shot with some PhotoShop effect used which highlights the flower's texture. The 3rd shot is a Wintersweet - also in the special part of Nogawa Park.

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NogawaPkShibateranthis_ NogawaPkShibateranthis_ NogawaPk_Wintersweet pinnatifida07aRC pinnatifida07a1RC 02RC

The first 2 shots here are both Pertya spp. at Mt. Takao. The first shot was taken on February 11th and is a fully opened seed head with all of the seeds gone. The 2nd shot - included primarily for contrast - was taken on March 25, 2004 - obviously a different species because even though later in the season, the seed head is not yet open. The 3rd shot is the first Asarum sp. of this season - also February 11th on Mt. Takao.

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Takao_San_Pertya_sp03aRC TakaoSan6_Pertyasp02RC

On February 18th we went to Tsuru-Tsuru Hot Spring and after our soak we hiked down to the White Rock Waterfall. The first shot is the sign at the start of the trail. The 2nd shot is about 90% of the waterfall and the 3rd shot is only the very top part of the waterfall. Compare the 3rd shot with the 2nd shot and try to find what part of the waterfall you are looking at.

WhiteRockWaterfall05RC WhiteRockWaterfall01RAWRC WhiteRockWaterfall03aRAWRC

On the trail to White Rock Waterfall we found a bunch of "Winterberries". It was well past the peak of the season for them, and Kazuya collected about 99% of those shown here - my eyes have trouble finding them. He made a watery jam out of them, it was tasty though. A couple of you should notice the newspaper!!

Winterberries01RC

Thanks so much for taking the time to look, please go to page 2 for the conclusion of the best photos Go To Page: http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:35:56 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 of February.

This is Page 2 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2006! posted: March 1st, 2006

The photos on this page are from the weekend of February 25th - a trip to Bubaigawara Plum Garden - and our 3 porch violets as they looked on February 28th. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

The first 3 rows on this page contain only pictures of Plum Blossoms at Bubaigawara Plum Garden. The blossoms are about a month late this year, but they finally came out. We visited on February 25th and, much to our surprise, the Plums were still not at their peak. Before you comment that "oh, there's nothing here but plum blossoms" please note the diversity in the colors, the number of petals per flower, the subtle differences in shading of the anthers and stamens and so on.

Feb06BubaigawaraPlum07RC

Feb06BubaigawaraPlum12RC Feb06BubaigawaraPlum14RC

As forewarned - 3 more Plum Blossoms.

Feb06BubaigawaraPlum20RC Feb06BubaigawaraPlum22RC

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As forewarned - 3 more Plum Blossoms.

Feb06BubaigawaraPlum28RC Feb06BubaigawaraPlum32RC Feb06BubaigawaraPlum35RC

In this row you can find one more Plum Blossom photo and also 2 photos of Adonis ramosa. This is a threatened or endangered species in Japan, so the only place we have ever seen it is in various parks and botanical gardens.

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More Plum Blossom photos.

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And the final 3 Plum Blossom photos.

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These are pictures of Violets which we have growing on our porch. The first picture is a Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana - Hina Violet - note the tiny flower bud too. The 2nd shot is our Takao Violet (Viola yezoensis) and the 3rd shot, the one which is making the least progress to date, is a Mandshurican Violet (Viola mandshurica).

Feb28HinaPorchVoilet 01aRC

Feb28TakaoPorch Feb28Viola_mandshurica_ Violet01aRC Porch02aRC

This is now a link to a separate web page showing 3 photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. Dec 2005 DVD Collection - 3 Photos Movie of Home Theater System & New TV Pictures (new window)

Thanks so much for taking the time to look this month. We hope that you found something which you Go To Page: enjoyed looking at.

http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:35:56 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

This is Page 1 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2007! posted: February 28th, 2007

This page covers February 4th through February 10th. On February 4th we hiked to Kawanori Waterfall and on the 10th we went to Nogawa Park. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 4th On February 4th, when we were climbing up to the big waterfall on the Mt. Kawanori trail, we were blessed with a view of a "Kamo-shika" or Japanese Serow. I was fortunate enough to have seen one of these critters last May (see those photos HERE) when I climbed Mt. Mitsutouge, but we saw this one really close-up and we were able to get some good pictures. For more information on this animal please see the article at the Wikipedia website CLICK HERE - will open in new window. There is also a larger JPG of this image HERE (1.1 MB and 2,000 x 1,516 pixels).

Feb04_Kawanori_KamoShika03aRC or HERE for 1.1 MB larger JPG file

Feb04_Kawanori_ Kawanori_ KamoShika04aRC Kamoshika08aRC

The first shot in this row is a 1.42 MB Movie of the Serow as it runs away, very cute. The 2nd shot is a small waterfall on the way to the big waterfall - you can see where this creek and waterfall may have flowed a millennia ago! The 3rd shot is a rock wall covered with icicles.

Kawanori_KamoshikaMovie Feb04_Kawanori_ a 1.42 MB Movie Ice01RC

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The first shot here again shows the same waterfall as the 3rd shot in row 2, but it shows the channel of a millennia ago with a bit more clarity. The next 2 shots show yet another waterfall on the way to the big waterfall.

Feb04_Kawanori_SmallWaterfall04RC Feb04_Kawanori_SmallWaterfall05aRC Feb04_Kawanori_SmallWaterfall07aRC http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:36:56 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 The first shot here is the same waterfall as in Row 3. The next shot is another icicle wall and the 3rd photo is the first view we had of the Kawanori Big Waterfall.

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Feb04_Kawanori_Small Kawanori_Hyakuhiro Waterfall08RC NoTaki01RC

Here are 3 different shots of the Kawanori Big Waterfall. I don't know what the height of the falls is, pretty tall! For summertime shots of this waterfall, please see July 2004's Photos. (CLICK - will open in new window). It was a lot greener and there was more water.

Kawanori_Hyakuhiro Feb04_Kawanori_Big Kawanori_Hyakuhiro NoTaki06RC Waterfall03RC NoTaki12RC

The first photo is some ice crystals in the creek. The next 2 shots are the Big Waterfall again - that's me in the 3rd shot.

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Kawanori_Hyakuhiro Kawanori_Hyakuhiro NoTaki17RC NoTaki18RC

That's Kazuya in the first shot, and then one final shot of the waterfall. That's the end of the February 4th pictures.

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Feb04_Kawanori_Big Kawanori_Hyakuhiro Waterfall08RC NoTaki30RC End February 4th, Begin February 10th On February 10th we went to Nogawa Park and found some more Shibateranthis pinnatifida in bloom - the first shot - and some Adonis. Adonis is an endangered species in the wild - due to overzealous collecting.

Feb10_NogawaPk_ Adonis01aRC

Feb10_NogawaPk_Shiba NogawaP teranthis_pinnatifida02RC Feb11_AdonisRC

Here are 3 more photos of Shibateranthis pinnatifida flowers. This will most likely be the final shots of this flower which you'll see until next year.

Feb10_NogawaPk_Shibateranthis _pinnatifida10aRC

NogawaPFeb20_ Feb10_NogawaPk_Shibateranthis SetsubunsouRC _pinnatifida15aRC

Here are 2 shots of what is locally known as Zazensou, or Swamp Cabbage. The Latin name is Symplocarpus foetidus var. latissimus. It was the first time we ever found it in Nogawa Park! We were surprised.

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Feb10_NogawaPk_ Feb10_NogawaPk_ ZaZensou03RC ZaZensou05RC End February 10th, End Page 1

Thanks so much for taking the time to look. Please continue on to Page 2 for a continuation of this Go To Page: month's adventures.

This is Page 2 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2007! posted: February 28th, 2007

The photos on this page continue with February 11th and go through the end of the month. On the 11th we went to the Musashi-Itsukaichi area. On the 17th we went to Bubaigawara Plum Garden and the Plum Blossoms were pretty nice already. On the 24th we went to Nogawa Park again - no pictures included. On the 25th we went to Yokohama and the Yokohama Chinatown. There are 4 pictures from that minor adventure. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 11th On February 11th we took the train to Musashi-Itsukaichi and then a bus to the Hino-Hara area in search of some waterfalls which we had never been to before. In the first shot you can see a waterfall which we did NOT go to, but which we will someday go to. In the 2nd and 3rd shots you can see the waterfall which we DID go to - Fussawa Waterfall (my labels are spelled incorrectly).

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And here are the final 2 shots of Fussawa Waterfall - the total height is 60 meters and it is 4 steps. You can't see all of the steps from the base.

11Feb_Fussawa_ 11Feb_Fussawa_ Waterfall05RC Waterfall13RC End February 11th, Begin February 17th On February 17th we went to Bubaigawara Plum Garden. The first photo in this row is actually a Witch Hazel (Hamamelis sp.). The 2nd photo is a small branch with nice Plum buds bursting open and the 3rd shot is a beautiful Red Plum Blossom.

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Feb17_Bubai_ 17Feb_ Hamamelis01aRC Bubai09RC

The first shot here is the same photo as the 3rd shot in the previous row - this one has been cropped. The 2nd shot is more buds and the 3rd shot is also buds, but open more than in the 2nd shot.

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Here are 3 more shots of plum blossoms. Note the 3rd shot - the center of the flower looks like tiny gold nuggets! There is an amazingly beautiful larger JPG file of this shot AVAILABLE HERE. It's 608 KB in size and 1,517 x 2,000 pixels.

Feb17_BubaiPlum Feb17_BubaiPlum Feb17_BubaiPlumBlossom22aRC Blossom17RC Blossom19RC or HERE for 608 KB larger JPG file

Here are an additional 3 plum blossom shots.

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Feb17_BubaiPlum Blossom28aRC

The first shot here is taken from where we ate lunch at Bubaigawara. The 2nd shot is Kazuya in front of a nice plum tree and the 3rd shot is a very early flower bunch of Cornus officianalis.

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Feb17_BubaiPlumBlossom_ Feb17_Bubai_Cornus_ Kazuya43RC officianalis04RC End February 17th, Begin February 25th There is an old Red Brick Building (Warehouse) on the Yokohama waterfront. It's historic, but I cannot find out why - or what it was originally used for. One website says it was originally a Dutch Warehouse, but I really don't know, anyway - it's picturesque. These first 2 shots in this row show the backside of the building, the front of it was jam packed with people due to a marathon starting there on this day. These first 2 shots have been "shadow and highlight" enhanced with ACDSee. The 3rd shot is the same as the 2nd shot, but with no enhancement so you can see what the original photo looked like. As you can see - the ACDSee "shadow and highlight" enhancement changed a useless and disappointing photo into something which is enticing and interesting.

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The only shot here is a picture of one of the several gates into Chinatown in Yokohama. Chinatown was somewhat disappointing to us - we expected some interesting shops and sidewalk vendors of interesting things, but it's just streets of Chinese Restaurants with long lines of people waiting to eat in them.

Feb25_Yokomaha_ ChinaTownGate01RC End February 25th, End Page 2, End February 2007's Photos This is a link to a separate web page showing a Relatively NEW photo of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our new Sharp Aquos TV. You can see the new DVD Shelf here too. April 1, 2006 DVD Collection, Movie of Home Theater System & New TV Pictures (new window)

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page, that's it for this month. Any feedback is Go To Page: always appreciated.

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This is Page 1 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2008! posted: February 29th, 2008

This page begins with February 2nd at Jindai Botanical Graden without snow. Next is the 3rd at Jindai Botanical Garden - with snow. Then on the 9th we took a trip to Sawai and Mitake on the Upper-Tama River. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 2nd On February 2nd Kazuya and I went to Jindai Botanical Garden - that's the one near our house. The first thing we found were some blossoming plum trees of various species and/or varieties. It was early for most of them, but there were a few out.

Feb02_JindaiBG_ Feb02_JindaiBG_ PlumBlossom09RC PlumBlossom24RC

Feb02_JindaiBG_ PlumBlossom13RC

We also found some Hamamelis spp. The first shot here shows the bud as it just starts to open - notice the way the flower petals seem to unroll from the bud - interesting. The 2nd shot is a yellow flowered variety and the 3rd shot is a red flowered variety.

Feb02_JindaiBG_ Feb02_JindaiBG_ Feb02_JindaiBG_ Hamamelis01RC Hamamelis05RC Hamamelis11_REDRC

Here is a Setsubunsou (Shibateranthis pinnatifida), one more Hamamelis sp. flower and finally - 3 pine trees across the pond wearing their snow protection.

Feb02_JindaiBG_Shibateranthis_ Feb02_JindaiBG_ pinnatifida07cRC Pines_Pond04RC

Feb2_Jindaiji20_Hamamelis XIntermediaDianeRC

http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:37:59 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 Here are 3 shots taken inside the greenhouse. First there is a shot in the cactus area and then 2 shots in the Begonia Room.

Feb02_JindaiBG_ Feb2_Jindaiji34_ Begonia04RC BegoniaRC

Feb02_JindaiBG_ Cactus01RC

We lucked out and saw a Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera) and this bird just sat there pecking away for 10 or 15 minutes while we took pictures. I used my Optical Zoom PLUS Digital Zoom for these shots so you can notice some pretty severe chromatic aberration.

Feb02_JindaiBG_Picus_awokera_ Feb02_JindaiBG_Picus_awokera_ JapaneseGreenWoodpecker09RC JapaneseGreenWoodpecker13RC End February 2nd, Begin February 3rd It snowed most all night on February 2nd and most all day on the 3rd. We returned to Jindai Botanical Garden on the 3rd and took snow pictures. Here is one plum tree with snow on and around it. And here are those SAME 3 pine trees across the pond wearing their snow protection (Row 3, Picture 3).

Feb03_JindaiBG_ Feb03_JindaiBG_ SnowyPlum02RC SnowyPond02RC

Here is the "Big Lawn" with the Pampas Grass - buried under a good solid 4 inches (10 cm) of snow - just happened to catch 2 crows flying over too. The 2nd shot is a plum blossom with snow on and around it.

Feb03_JindaiBG_ SnowyLawn06RC

Feb03_JindaiBG_ SnowyPlum05RC http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:37:59 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 End February 3rd, Begin February 9th On February 9th we went out to Mitake and Sawai on the Upper Tama River. It was supposed to snow that day and we had wanted to stay in an Inn at the summit of Mt. Mitake and witness the snowstorm, but they were not accepting any reservations at all. So, we went out to Mitake and hiked along the Tama River and took pictures. It had snowed just the previous weekend too, so these photos show some snow in them.

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It is really quite rare to see snow along this area, in fact we were trying to remember if we had EVER seen snow out here and decided that we had not. So, it was pretty impressive for us to see snow on the shore of the Tama River.

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Here are some crazy kayakers (it was -4 degrees C), a very early Pussy Willow and the 3rd shot shows an older building and in this shot you can see that the snow has started. It actually started around 2:45 PM.

Feb09_SawaiMitake_ Feb09_SawaiMitake_ SnowyScene22RC Inn02_SnowRC

Feb9th_SawaiMitake25_ NekoYanagiRC

In the first shot here you can see the snow falling. In the 2nd shot you can see a Hiyodori (Hypsipetes amaurotis) (Bulbul). In the final shot you see a Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) - a bird which we rarely see. Pretty little guy isn't he!

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Feb9th_Sawai Feb09_SawaiMitake_ Mitake31RC Hiyodori03RC

Feb09_SawaiMitake _RuriBitaki02_09RC End February 9th, End Page 1

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the Go To Page: continuation of this months adventures.

This is Page 2 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2008! posted: February 29th, 2008

The photos on this page start with February 11th and a trip to Nagaike Park for bird photographs. On February 16th we went to Koishikawa Botanical Garden for Plum Blossom photos. Finally, we went to Nogawa and Musashino Parks. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 11th On February 11th we went out to Nagaike Park to search for birds. We did pretty good. Here are 3 shots of a female Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus). This is the same bird you just saw on the previous page, but that one was a male. Note the 2nd shot where she seems to be saying "what are YOU looking at human?"

Feb11_NagaikePk Feb11_NagaikePk Feb11_NagaikePk http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:37:59 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 _Bird06RC _Bird20RC _Bird39RC

This bird was our ultimate find of the day! It's a Uragus sibiricus or Long-tailed Rosefinch. We were so excited to find this bird - it was specifically what we went there to find. We had never seen it before. There were several photographers snapping away at this place - many of them had HUGE Telephoto lenses! This bird likes the berries on this tree so everybody was just hanging out here waiting for one to come.

Feb11_NagaikePk_Uragus_sibiricus Feb11_NagaikePk_Uragus_sibiricus Feb11_NagaikePk_Uragus_sibiricus _LongTailedRosefinch01scRC _LongTailedRosefinch08cRC _LongTailedRosefinch31eRC

More Long-tailed Rosefinch photos - note in the 3rd photo that he is scratching his side.

Feb11_NagaikePk_Uragus_sibiricus Feb11_NagaikePk_Uragus_sibiricus Feb11_NagaikePk_Uragus_sibiricus _LongTailedRosefinch47RC _LongTailedRosefinch54RC _LongTailedRosefinch61cRC End February 11th, Begin February 16th On February 16th we went to Tokyo University's Botanical Garden - the Koishikawa Botanical Garden. It was much larger than we expected and also more impressive then we expected it to be. The first 2 shots here are a very early Cherry Tree. The 3rd shot is Kazuya beside a HUGE Cinnamomum camphora (Camphor Tree).

Feb16_KoishikawaBG_Prunus_ Feb16_KoishikawaBG_Prunus_ Feb16_KoishikawaBG_Cinnamomum_ jamasakura_var_praecox02RC jamasakura_var_praecox09RC camphora_Kazuya02RC

The first shot here is looking up into that Camphor Tree shown in the 3rd shot in the previous row. The 2nd shot is a Lagerstroemia subcostata and the 3rd shot is a part of their Japanese Garden.

Feb16KoishikawaBG27 Feb16KoishikawaBG37_ Feb16KoishikawaBG40_ _CinnamomumCamphoraRC LagerstroemiaSubcostataRC JapaneseGardenRC

Here are 3 amazing Plum Blossom shots.

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Feb16_KoishikawaBG Feb16_KoishikawaBG Feb16_KoishikawaBG _PlumBlossom06RC _PlumBlossom09RC _PlumBlossom10RC

And here are 3 more amazing Plum Blossom shots. In the 2nd photo you can see white AND red blossoms.

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Here are 2 more Plum Blossom shots - note the backlighting in the 2nd shot.

Feb16KoishikawaBG75 Feb16_KoishikawaBG_Plum _GosechinomaiRC Blossom27_BacklightRC End February 16th, Begin February 23rd On February 23rd Kazuya and I went to Nogawa and Musashino Parks, both within easy bicycling distance of our house. The first shot here shows that buds are starting to expand and colors are beginning to show up in the trees. The 2nd shot is some sparrows in a tree and the 3rd shot is another Shibateranthis pinnatifida flower. They are at their peak now.

Feb23_NogawaPk_ Feb23_NogawaPk_ Feb23_NogawaPk_Shibateranthis EarlySpring01RC Sparrows06RC _pinnatifida06RC

One final shot of Shibateranthis pinnatifida to start. This shot has been cropped and brightness adjusted with Photoshop. The 2nd shot is an Anemone pseudoaltaica and the 3rd shot is an Adonis sp.

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The first 2 shots here are Plum blossoms - a white one and a red one. The final shot is a Hamamelis japonica taken from a distance with the sun shining from behind.

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The first 2 shots are again Hamamelis japonica. The 3rd shot is another plum tree with a Mejiro (Zosterops japonicus) or Japanese White-eye sitting in it.

Feb23_MusashinoPk03 Feb23_MusashinoPk07 Feb23_MusashinoPk10_Plum _HamamelisRC _HamamelisRC Blossoms_MejiroRC End February 23rd, End Page 2, End February 2008's Photos This is a link to a separate web page showing some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. November 11, 2007 DVD Collection, Movie of Home Theater System & Sharp Aquos TV Pictures (new window)

By the way - Kazuya is still maintaining his blog, which exhibits different photos than shown here (mostly - I have used some of his though). It looks very nice and you can find it HERE. (Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.)

And, that shows you what we saw from February 11th through the end of the month. Thanks so much Go To Page: for taking the time to look at the site this month, I hope you found something you enjoyed looking at. Any feedback is always appreciated.

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This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of February 2009! posted: February 28th, 2009

This page begins with February 8th and takes you through the 15th. There were no adventures after that date, unfortunately. I had to work on 3 of the 4 Saturday's in February and Kazuya had to work on the 1 Saturday which I did not have to work. In addition, Kazuya had to work on 1 Sunday. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 8th On February 8th Kazuya and I went out to Mitake and Sawai, on the Upper Tama River. We were hoping to maybe see some good birds, but we didn't. We ate lunch in this really nice Soba (a kind of noodles) Restaurant. The first 2 pictures show the restaurant from the outside and the 3rd picture shows what we had for lunch - Soba and Tempura. Very YUMMY!

Feb8th_Sawai_Mitake_Tama Feb08_TamaRiver_Mitake01_ Feb8th_Sawai_Mitake_Tama River01_RestaurantRC RestaurantRC River10_RestaurantMealRC

After we ate lunch we walked along the river - people were kayaking even in this cold and windy weather. We also found that the Pussy Willows were out.

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Here are 2 picturesque shots along the river. The first shot shows the Ginkgo tree which is so beautiful in November (See Pages 2 and 3 of November's photos).

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Here are 2 more river photos showing the sun reflecting off the surface of the river.

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Feb08_TamaRiver_Mitake20RC Feb08_TamaRiver_Mitake21RC End February 8th, Begin February 11th On February 11th Kazuya and I went to Bubaigawara and went to a Plum Blossom Festival there. Here are 3 shots of Plum Blossoms.

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And here is one more shot of a Plum Tree - a bit further back - so that you can see how dense the flowers are on the tree.

Feb11_Bubaigawara _Plum13RC End February 11th, Begin February 14th On the 14th of the month we went to Nogawa Park and found the Setsubun-sou (Shibateranthis pinnatifida) to be finishing up, but we found a few good flowers to photograph. Here are 3 of the best shots.

Feb14_NogawaPark29_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC

Feb14_NogawaPark11_ Feb14_NogawaPark16_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_BESTRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_BESTRC End February 14th, Begin February 15th On the 15th we went to Koishikawa Botanical Garden - I forgot to take my camera! Here are 2 of the best shots which Kazuya took. The first photo is a very early cherry tree. The http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:38:55 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 2nd shot is me and a "weeping" Plum Tree.

Feb15th_KoishikawaBG Feb15th_KoishikawaBG _22_CherryRC _71_Plum_DanRC End February 15th, End February 2009's Photos This is a link to a separate web page showing some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. February 22, 2009 DVD Collection, Movie of Home Theater System & Sharp Aquos TV Pictures (new window)

Kazuya has his - blog all updated now with his latest photos and writings and it is very beautiful. If you want to take a look at it you can find it HERE. (Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.)

Thanks so much for taking the time to look this month, sorry there isn't much to show. I had to work 3 of the 4 Saturdays of the month and Kazuya had to work on one of the Sundays, so we didn't get out as much as we might have hoped to.

http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:38:55 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

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Photos of Japan - we generally post the best photos from this month on the first of next month.

Click a button below if you don't want to go to the newest photos. Click on the photo to go to the newest pages.

Scroll down for a description of this month’s contents.

February 2010 - Favorite Photo "A Peaceful Snow Scene" - Taken From the "Tadami Line" Train Window by Kazuya. February 21st, 8:50 AM.

FEBRUARY 2010: TWO Pages This Month FEATURING Shibateranthis pinnatifida & Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) at Nogawa Park * Trip to Aizu-Wakamatsu - A Ride On The Tadami Train Line In Fukushima Prefecture * Hachi-Machi Hot Spring * Tama-Nashi Hot Spring * Yugura Hot Spring * The Awa-Shin-Sui Sparkling Water Well * Beautiful Snow Pictures in Fukushima Prefecture * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)

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http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:41:23 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

This is Page 1 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2010! posted: February 28th, 2010

This page begins with February 6th, a trip to Nogawa Park, and takes you through the 20th, a trip to Fukushima Prefecture. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 6th On February 6th Kazuya and I went to Nogawa Park again. These 2 photos show you how many Setsubun-sou (Shibateranthis pinnatifida) have suddenly shot up out of the ground.

Feb06_NogawaPark_14_ Feb06_NogawaPark_15_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC

There was a Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) at the pond which just stayed around and didn't want to move at all. It was so windy and cold that I can understand its reluctance to move! It did dive into the water once and came up with a freshwater shrimp. The final shot is an egret, which was standing in one of the other ponds.

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Feb06_NogawaPark _23C_Kingfisher_RC End February 6th, Begin February 20th On the weekend of February 20th & 21st Kazuya and I started off by taking a night bus to Aizu-Wakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture. We arrived at 5:20 AM and took a Tadami Line Train at 5:59 AM bound for Koide, but we got off before the end of the line. The first photo shows our train (on the left track). The 2nd photo shows some snow along the way and the 3rd photo shows it snowing very heavily at a station where we stopped for a few minutes.

Feb20th005_ Feb20_AizuWakamatsu_ Feb20th012_To AizuWakamatsuRC AizuKawaguchi05_SceneryRC AizuKawaguchiRC http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:41:23 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 The first shot in this row shows another snow scene. The 2nd shot is the first station where we got off the train - Aizu-Kawaguchi. We visited 2 Hot Springs in this town. The 3rd shot shows me walking along the highway towards the first 2 Hot Springs. We ended up being offered a ride by a very nice lady. We accepted her offer as it was several kilometers to where we were going. There were no buses and the only local taxi company was not answering their telephone.

Feb20th020_To Feb20th051_ Feb20th061_To AizuKawaguchiRC AizuKawaguchiRC TamanashiOnsenRC

The first shot in this row shows the first Hot Spring that we bathed in - Hachi-machi Hot Spring. The 2nd shot is the inside of it - as you can see, we were the only visitors at this time. The 3rd photo shows Hachi-machi Hot Spring from the bridge which crossed the river. The 2nd hot spring is on the other side of the river.

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Here is the 2nd hot spring - this is Tama-nashi Hot Spring - this photo was also taken from the bridge. The 2nd shot shows the building the hot spring is housed in. The 3rd shot is the hot spring itself. Notice that both of these hot springs contain lots of iron. Most of the hot springs we visit contain lots of sulfur and we leave them smelling of sulfur. After bathing in these hot springs, however, we smelled of iron.

Feb20_AizuWakamatsu_Aizu Feb20_AizuWakamatsu_Aizu Kawaguchi35_TamaNashiHSRC Kawaguchi40_TamaNashiHSRC

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After the above 2 hot springs we were able to find a bus which we took back to Aizu-Kawaguchi Station. We ate lunch near the station and then we hitchhiked to another hot spring. The first shot shows the small side-road road to Yugura Hot Springs. The 2nd photo shows the building and the 3rd shot shows Yugura Hot Spring itself. This one was VERY hot.

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The first shot in this row was taken from the window of Yugura Hot Spring. The 2nd photo shows some HEAVY snow at Honna Station, where we walked to from Yugura Hot Spring. From there we were able to take a train to Aizu-Yokota, where Kazuya had made reservations at a Minshuku. The owner of the Minshuku picked us up at Aizu-Yokota Station.

Feb20th127_ Feb20th137 Feb20th146_ YuguraOnsenRC _HonnaRC AizuYokotaRC

The first photo in this row shows the train as it left Aizu-Yokota Station. After we got checked into the Minshuku we took a walk to a neighborhood Sparkling Water Well!! The 2nd photo was taken along the road to the well. The 3rd shot is the Sparkling Water Bottling Works.

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The first photo in this row shows the Sparkling Water Bottle - it is called Awa-Shin-Sui. We could not find any to buy so I found this photo on the internet and borrowed it. We were, however, able to drink Sparkling Water directly from the well. Unfortunately we did not take any empty bottles with us and we did not even have a cup, but we were able to scoop water up in our hands and drink it that way. It was very delicious. The posters we found (and neglected to photograph) indicated that this water won some gold awards in 2008 and 2009. The 2nd and 3rd photos show the well - you can see bubbles coming up and if you look closely at the photos you see some interesting colors. The water was an equal to Perrier in our opinions.

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Feb20_AizuYokota_Oshio_ Feb20_AizuYokota_Oshio_ SparklingWaterWell_58RC SparklingWaterWell_59RC

AwaShinSui - Sparkling Water Bottle

The first thing in this row is a Sparkling Water Well MPG movie. It is only 2,041 kilobytes in size. If this movie does not work on your PC then there is a Miscellaneous page where you can download a version which is appropriate for your connection speed and computer or iPhone or whatever HERE. You can hear the bubbles coming to the surface quite easily. It was quite loud. Amazing! The 2nd shot is Kazuya leaning over the well. The 3rd shot shows the trail to the well.

Feb20_AizuYokota_Oshio_ Feb20_AizuYokota_Oshio SparklingWaterWell_60 _SparklingWaterWell_63RC

Feb20th158_ AizuYokotaRC End February 20th, End Page 1 Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the Go To Page: continuation of this weekend's adventure. By the way, the Misc. page shown to the right is a page with the Sparkling Water Well movie referred to in Row 11.

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If you would like to donate to our hiking & traveling fund or show your appreciation for our efforts you can donate through PayPal. A single donation will entitle you to request a single full-sized photo IN THE DONATION MONTH - which you may then use as a desktop wallpaper or whatever. The copyright will be retained by us and the photo will be inconspicuously marked with the copyright symbol (©), year and photographer's name. (Donation probably not tax deductible.)

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This is Page 2 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2010! posted: February 28th, 2010

This page begins with February 21st as we leave the Minshuku at Aizu-Yokota and continues through the end of that trip - which was the final adventure of the month. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 21st On February 21st we got up and it was a sunny day! The first shot in this row was taken out of the window of the Minshuku where we stayed overnight - the Tadami River. The 2nd shot is a series of "fish prints" of some kind of fish. Kazuya told me the name but I forgot. He also said that each print had a different person's name on it - so apparently these fish were caught by guests at the Minshuku during the summer months. The 3rd shot is back at Aizu Yokota Station as we waited for our train to arrive to take us to Koide in Niigata Prefecture.

Feb21_Minshuku Feb21_Minshuku Feb21_Aizu_Yokota _Tatsumi_Sou04RC _Tatsumi_Sou07RC Station06RC

And ... here comes our train. The 2nd and 3rd shots are snow scenery shots taken from the window of the train as we traveled to Koide.

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Here are 3 more snow scenery shots taken from the train. That is the Tadami River - and we are riding on the Tadami Line train. This train followed the Tadami River pretty much the whole way.

Feb21st030_Tadami Feb21_Aizu_Yokota Feb21st050_SIP_S_ LineToKoideRC _to_Koide_Scenery08RC TadamiLineToKoideRC

And here are 3 more incredible snow scenery shots taken from the windows of the train.

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Here are 2 more snow shots. The first shot is the one which is on the index page for this month - my choice of the "Best Photo of the Month".

Feb21st078_TadamiLine Feb21_Aizu_Yokota_ ToKoideRC to_Koide_Scenery28RC

And here are the final 2 snow shots. After we arrived at Koide there was nothing worth talking about. We took trains bound for home. We arrived in Koide at 10:13 AM and we were sitting at home in our living room less than 3 hours later. It was amazing - we rode the Shinkansen from Urawa and at Urawa there was still lots of snow. One stop later - on the way to Tokyo - there was not even a hint of snow on the ground. It changes that fast as you cross the mountains that block the snow from coming south.

Feb21st122_SIP_ Feb21st125_TadamiLine TadamiLineToKoideRC ToKoideRC End February 21st, End Page 2, End February 2010's Photos Here are links to separate web pages. The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT coverart of all of our DVDs. February 22, 2009 DVD Collection, Our DVD Collection Link to DVD collection in DVD Profiler Movie of Home Theater System Front Coverart Pages Click Here. & TV Pictures Click Here. (new window) (new window) (new window)

Kazuya has updated - his blog and it has some truly exquisite photos of all of our adventures! Please check it out HERE. (Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.)

Thanks so much for taking the time to look this month. We hope that you found something which you Go To Page: enjoyed looking at. By the way, the Misc. page shown to the right is a page with the Sparkling Water Well movie referred to on Page 1, Row 11.

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This is a Miscellaneous Page of February Go To Page: 2010! posted: February 28th, 2010

This is a Sparkling Water Well Movie. By clicking on it, a version which is optimized for your connection speed should be downloaded to your computer, iPhone or whatever. You can hear the bubbles coming to the surface quite easily. It was quite loud. Amazing!

Click to Play

Go To Page: Hope that you enjoyed watching the movie and I hope that it worked correctly for you.

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http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:41:23 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

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Photos of Japan - we generally post the best photos from this month on the first of next month.

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February 2011 - Favorite Photo "Plum Blossom" - A Single Beautiful Red Plum Blossom at Kyodo-No-Mori Park (Bubaigawara). February 26th, 2:02 PM.

FEBRUARY 2011: TWO Pages This Month FEATURING Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese) * Plum Blossoms in Nogawa Park * River Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) * Egret * Adonis amurensis * "The Tempest" - A Stage Play * Mountain or Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris) (Yama-semi in Japanese) Borrowed Photos * Very Early Cherry Blossoms * Plum Blossoms at Bubaigawara * 2012 Calendars Preview * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)

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http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:43:31 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

This is Page 1 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2011! posted: February 28th, 2011

This page begins with February 13th, a trip to Nogawa Park to check on the earliest spring flowers. Then it jumps to February 19th and "The Tempest" Stage Play. After that comes February 20th - a trip to the Upper Tama River and three borrowed photos. The final trip of the month was on the 26th - to Bubaigawara for Plum Blossoms. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 13th On February 13th Kazuya and I went to Nogawa Park to check on the progress of the earliest spring flowers. The order of the photos on this page is strictly chronological as we wandered around the park. In first position are 2 Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese) flowers. The 2nd photo shows a nice clump of Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese) flowers. The 3rd shot shows a very perfect flower - maybe it just opened today and has not had a chance to get rained or snowed on yet.

Feb13_17FR_NogawaPk_ Feb13_20FR_NogawaPk_ Feb13_24FR_NogawaPk_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC

In first position in this row is a small clump of Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese) flowers. The 2nd and 3rd shots are of some beautiful Plum Blossoms. We have not taken many photos of Plum Blossoms yet this spring. We took a few last month - you can see them HERE.

Feb13_36FR_NogawaPk Feb13_30FR_NogawaPk_ Feb13_35FR_NogawaPk _Plum_Blossom_RC Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC _Plum_Blossom_RC

In this row you can find a Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), an Egret with a very nice reflection and another Kingfisher. This Kingfisher stayed there for a long time and we took several shots, but these 2 are the best.

Feb13_42FR_NogawaPk Feb13_46FR_NogawaPk _Kingfisher_RC _Kingfisher_RC Feb13_43FR_Nogawa Pk_Egret_RC

Here are 2 shots of Adonis amurensis and another shot of a large bunch of Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese). Note that the Adonis sp. is a threatened species, primarily due to plant thieves taking it home for their yards.

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Feb13_48FR_Nogawa Feb13_51FR_Nogawa Feb13_57FR_NogawaPk_ Pk_Adonis_sp_RC Pk_Adonis_sp_RC Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC

Here are 2 final shots of Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese). The first shot is another near perfect flower. The 2nd shot shows 3 cute little buds just opening.

Feb13_59FR_NogawaPk_ Feb13_60FR_NogawaPk_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC End February 13th, Begin February 19th On February 19th, Sunday, Kazuya and I went to a play called The Tempest. It is a Romanesque Story of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Ryukyu Kingdom was the islands now known collectively as Okinawa. The Ryukyu Kingdom thrived from about the 16th to the 19th centuries. You can find very many articles on the history of the Ryukyu Kingdom through Google. The play was excellent and we had the very best seats in the house. One of my students these days is a producer of Stage Plays and he was the producer of this one. We discussed this play in our class several times and I told him I would like to see it. He gave me an invitation and I accepted it. That is how we ended up with the very best seats in the entire theater. The price for the public was ¥10,500 or about $128. If you would like to see a few more images you can go to the Tempest Website HERE (new window). The pages are in Japanese Language.

Feb19_Tempest2_R.jpg Feb19_Tempest1_R.jpg

Feb19_TempestGallery_R.jpg End February 19th, Begin February 20th On February 20th, Sunday, Kazuya and I went out to Sawai on the Ome Train Line to try and find a new kind of bird for us - the Mountain or Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris) (Yama-semi in Japanese). We arrived at Sawai and walked down to the Tama River and when we opened our backpacks to get our cameras out ---- I forgot my camera! I brought batteries, the Tele-extender lens, lens hood and everything except the camera - DOH! Well, I brought my nice Leitz 10 x 40 binoculars anyway, so I could enjoy actually seeing the bird, if we could find it. Kazuya had his camera, so he could take photos of it. We found the bird - and we found it quite easily. We just looked for some people with huge camera lenses and went down near them and we could see two of the Mountain Kingfishers! This is an amazing bird. We have searched for it in the past, but we never had any success before. We were amazed. Kazuya took several photos, but the birds were far away. You can find his photos on his blog. I borrowed these photos just to show you what we saw. The first 2 photos are borrowed from Wikipedia. The first image is a male bird and the 2nd image is a female bird. The 3rd photo was borrowed from http://photozou.jp and it is a female bird. We hope to go out to Sawai again next weekend and I'll do my best to remember my camera!

Megaceryle_lugubris_ Megaceryle_lugubris_ Megaceryle_lugubris_Crested http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:43:31 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 Crested_Kingfisher1_R Crested_Kingfisher2_R.jpg _Kingfisher5_Crop_R.jpg End February 20th, Begin February 26th On February 26th Kazuya and I went to Fuchu City. We walked from our apartment to Shin-Koganei Station, took a train from there to Koremasa and then walked to the Suntory Musashino Brewery. On the way to the Brewery we saw the very early cherry blossoms shown in the first photo. We took the special 1.5 hour tour at the brewery and that tour included 3 glasses of free beer. We had 1 glass of the regular Suntory Premium Malts Beer and 2 glasses of the Suntory Premium Malts Black Beer. The Black beer is generally only available if you go to a fancy restaurant, but they sell it in the stores one month of the year and we discovered it when it was in the stores in October of last year. It is SO DELICIOUS! Their English website is HERE (new window). The Black Beer is not shown on that page, but the 3rd image in this row shows the cans of their Regular Premium Malts Beer and their Black Premium Malts Beer. After we finished our Brewery tour we walked to Bubaigawara Plum Tree Park. The Plum Blossoms are still not at their peak, but it was nice (Next Row).

Feb26_09_ Bubaigawara_Cherry_RC Suntory Premium Malts Feb26_16_Suntory Light Beer & Dark Beer Cans BreweryTour_DarkBeer_RC

Here are 3 shots of the Plum Blossoms at Bubaigawara. There were many blossoms, but the trees were not yet "filled with color" as they will be in a week or two.

Feb26_23_Bubaigawara Feb26_38_Bubaigawara Feb26_41_Bubaigawara _WhitePlumBlossom_RC _RedPlumBlossom_RC _WhitePlumBlossom_RC

And, here are the final 3 shots of Plum Blossoms.

Feb26_44_Bubaigawara Feb26_56_Bubaigawara Feb26_67_Bubaigawara _RedPlumBlossom_RC _RedPlumBlossom_RC _WhitePlumBlossom_RC End February 26th, End Page 1 By the way, we DID return to the Tama River on February 27th in search of the Mountain Kingfisher so that I could get some pictures taken by myself (see Row 7 above). The bird did not show up, even Go To Page: though I remembered to take my camera and everything, even the tripod! Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the conclusion of this month.

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This is Page 2 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2011! posted: February 28th, 2011

This page shows you some of the work I have been doing during the month of February to keep myself busy during the cold weekends when we have not done much. I've been creating collages and making 2012 Calendars already. This is a preview of what is already available for 2012! You can take a look at and/or download the 2012 calendars which are already available HERE (new window). You CANNOT download any calendars from THIS page, you must go to the 2012 Calendars Page (link above) to do that, this is just to show you what I've been working on. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin 2012 Calendars Now Available A 2 Page Calendar with a Bird photo [Daurian Redstart or Jobitaki in Japanese (Phoenicurus auroreus)] on the January to June side and Red Maple Fall Color photo on the July to December side.

Calendar #1

Calendar #1 Calendar #1 Phoenicurus auroreus Chofu Park - Fall Colors January to June Side July to December Side

A 2 Page Calendar with 6 Violets images (Viola grypoceras f. variegata, V. kusanoana, V. orientalis, V. biflora, V. diffusa and V. brevistipulata) on the January to June side and another 6 Violets images (V. mirabilis var. subglabra, V. vaginata, V. bisseti (bissetii), V. mandshurica, V. yezoensis f. discolor and V. rostrata) on the July to December side.

Calendar #2

Calendar #2 Calendar #2 6 Violets 6 Violets January to June Side July to December Side http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:43:31 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

A 2 Page Calendar. The images on this Violets calendar are ALL DIFFERENT than on the calendar just above. The 8 Violets images on the January to June side are Viola selkirkii, V. violacea var. makinoi, V. sieboldi f. variegata, V. tokubuchiana var. takedana f. variegata, V. obtusa, V. maximowicziana, V. verecunda f. violacens and V. kamtschadalorum. The 8 Violets images on the July to December side are V. japonica #1 & V. japonica #2, V. eizanensis, V. keiskei, V. x taradakensis var. eizalacea, V. phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima, V. variegata var. variegata and V. hirtipes).

Calendar #3

Calendar #3 Calendar #3 8 Violets 8 Violets January to June Side July to December Side

A 2 Page Calendar with 6 images of Mt. Fuji on the January to June side and 6 images of Fall Colors at Mitake on the July to December side.

Calendar #4

Calendar #4 Calendar #4 6 Views of Mt. Fuji 6 Views of Mitake Ginkgo January to June Side July to December Side

A 2 Page Calendar with 2 images taken in Daisetsuzan National Park on the January to June side and 2 different images taken in Daisetsuzan National Park on the July to December side.

Calendar #5

Calendar #5 Calendar #5 Daisetsuzan Mountains Daisetsuzan Mountains January to June Side July to December Side

A 2 Page Calendar with 2 images of the Tateyama Mountains on the January to June side and 2 different images of the Tateyama Mountains on the July to December side.

http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:43:31 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

Calendar #6

Calendar #6 Calendar #6 Tateyama Mountains Tateyama Mountains January to June Side July to December Side

A 2 Page Calendar with 2 images of the Hakuba Mountains on the January to June side and 2 different images of the Hakuba Mountains on the July to December side.

Calendar #7

Calendar #7 Calendar #7 Hakuba Mountains Hakuba Mountains January to June Side July to December Side

A 2 Page Calendar with several flower images on the January to June side and several different flower images on the July to December side.

Calendar #8

Calendar #8 Calendar #8 Several Flowers Several Flowers January to June Side July to December Side End 2012 Calendars Now Available, End Page 2, End February 2011 Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.

February 22, 2009 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System

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Photos of Japan - we generally post the best photos from this month on the first of next month.

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February 2012 - Favorite Photo "Winter Pampas Grass" - (Cortaderia selloana) at Jindai Botanical Garden. February 5th, 1:50 PM.

FEBRUARY 2012: ONE Page This Month FEATURING Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese) * Alcedo atthis (River Kingfisher) (Kawa-semi in Japanese) * A Cormorant * Sasa veitchii var. veitchii (Bamboo Grass) * Cortaderia selloana (Pampas Grass) * Adonis amurensis * Chimonanthus praecox f. concolor (Roubai in Japanese) * Hamamelis sp. * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)

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This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of February 2012! posted: February 29th, 2012

This page begins with February 5th and a trip to Jindai Botanical Garden on our bicycles. Then we jump to February 12th and a trip to Nogawa Park on our bicycles. After that there is nothing else! I caught a bad cold, which kept us at home for one weekend, and then it rained the following weekend, which also kept us at home. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 5th On February 5th Kazuya and I went to Jindai Botanical Garden to check on the progress of early spring flowers. One thing we very much expected to see was the first of the Plum Blossoms. In most years the first of the Plum Blossoms occur in the later part of January. We know that this is a cold winter and that everything is late, but we were not prepared for what we found at the Plum Garden at Jindai Botanical Garden! We found less than 5 Plum Blossoms open! Therefore, there are no photos of Plum Blossoms from this date. What you see here, in first position is Setsubunsou in Japanese, Shibateranthis pinnatifida in Latin. In most years we show you the first of this flower with the late January photos too, not this year though. In addition, this one is in a flower pot. The 2nd and 3rd shots are a River Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, waiting for a small fish or freshwater shrimp to come by.

Feb05_02_JindaiBG_ Feb05_03_JindaiBG Feb05_06_JindaiBG Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC _Alcedo_atthis_RC _Alcedo_atthis_RC

Here are 3 more shots of the River Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).

Feb05_07_JindaiBG Feb05_08_JindaiBG Feb05_11_JindaiBG _Alcedo_atthis_RC _Alcedo_atthis_RC _Alcedo_atthis_RC

Here are 2 shots of a cormorant that was sitting there and the 3rd shot is a shot of Sasa veitchii var. veitchii - what we call bamboo grass.

Feb05_13_Jindai Feb05_14_Jindai Feb05_17_JindaiBG_Sasa BG_Cormorant_RC BG_Cormorant_RC _veitchii_var_veitchii_RC

Here is another shot of Sasa veitchii var. veitchii (bamboo grass) followed by a shot of Pampas Grass Cortaderia solloana and then a shot of one flower of Adonis amurensis. In most years this flower is becoming rather common by this date in February - this year this single flower was all we found of it.

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Feb05_22_JindaiBG_Sasa Feb05_23_JindaiBG_ Feb05_25_JindaiBG_ _veitchii_var_veitchii_RC Cortaderia_selloana_RC Adonis_amurensis_RC

The Roubai (Chimonanthus praecox f. concolor) was in bloom, but the majority of the flowers were damaged by frost. Here are a very few flowers which are not showing frost damage.

Feb05_35_JindaiBG_Chimonanthus Feb05_38_JindaiBG_Chimonanthus _praecox_f_concolor_RC _praecox_f_concolor_RC

The Hamamalis sp. was just barely starting to bloom - as you can see in these 2 shots. And, that's all we found on February 5th.

Feb05_40_JindaiBG Feb05_42_JindaiBG _Hamamelis_sp_RC _Hamamelis_sp_RC End February 5th, Begin February 12th Now it's February 12th and we took a bicycle ride to Nogawa Park to again check on the progress of early spring flowers. As you can see, we DID find Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese) in the wild (as opposed to growing in a pot as in Row #1). We also found one small clump of Adonis amurensis in bloom. The single Plum tree growing in the wild plants area of Nogawa Park still had no flowers!

Feb12_01_NogawaPark_ Feb12_02_NogawaPark_ Feb12_11_Nogawa Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC Park_Adonis_sp_RC End February 12th, End Page 1, End February 2012's Photos Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.

February 22, 2009 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:44:50 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

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February 2013 - Favorite Photo "Spring Allergy Time" - Hikage Creek Cedar Pollen Sacs. Oh my! February 23rd, 10:51 AM.

FEBRUARY 2013: TWO Pages This Month FEATURING A February 3rd Climb of Mt. Takao * A February 9th Visit to Nogawa Park for Early Spring Flowers * A Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) * A Japanese Chickadee (Parus minor) * Adonis amurensis Flowers * Shibateranthis pinnatifida Flowers * Chimonanthus praecox Flowers * Symplocarpus foetidus Flowers * A February 23rd Climb of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama * Snow * Scenery * Chrysosplenium album var. stamineum Buds * Cedar Forest * Two Different Unknown Birds * The First Violets of the Season - Viola grypoceras * A Pile of Black Bear Scat (Probably) * Snow in the Hardwood Forest * The First Cymbidium goeringii Orchid Buds * Links to 2014 Print Edition Calendars & also PDF Calendars * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)

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This is Page 1 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2013! posted: February 28th, 2013

This page begins with February 3rd and shows you all 3 photos taken on that date. Then we jump to February 9th and a trip to Nogawa Park in a quest for the first spring flowers. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 3rd On February 3rd I went out and climbed Mt. Takao (599 m = 1,965 ft) for the 88th time and then continued on to Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama (670 m = 2,199 ft) for the 36th time (Kazuya had to work that day). Here are 3 photos taken from the summit of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama, as we've never shown you any photos similar to these. The first two are looking back from Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama to Mt. Takao. The 3rd photo shows the Hikage Creek Road, which obviously follows Hikage Creek down from the summit of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama to a bus stop from where one can take a bus back to Takao Station. Along that sunny clear-cut area is where we often find our first Violets of the spring.

Feb03_1_From Feb03_2_From Feb03_3_From KobotokeShiroYamaRC KobotokeShiroYamaRC KobotokeShiroYamaRC End February 3rd, Begin February 9th On February 9th Kazuya and I bicycled to Nogawa Park in a quest for the first spring flowers. We were successful in our quest too! But, first, here are some bird shots. The first 2 shots are Coccothraustes coccothraustes or Hawfinch - a pretty bird. The 3rd shot is a Japanese Chickadee (Parus minor). These things move around so quickly that it's a real challenge to capture a shot of one. They are quite common, but 99.9% of the time, by the time I get my camera turned on they are gone!

Feb9th_NogawaPark001_ Feb09_74_NogawaPk_Coccothraustes Feb09_76_NogawaPk_Japanese Coccothraustes_coccothraustes_HawfinchRC _coccothraustes_HawfinchRC Chickadee_Parus_minorRC

The first 2 shots in this row show Adonis amurensis - a very bright yellow early spring flower. There are only 3 or 4 plants here in Nogawa Park. The 3rd shot is what we were really wanting to find. This is Shibateranthis pinnatifida or Setsubun-sou in Japanese. Setsubun is the "Bean-Throwing Festival" or "Bean-Throwing Ceremony". It is the day before the beginning of Spring in Japan. The name literally means "seasonal division", but usually the term refers to the Spring Setsubun, properly called Risshun, celebrated yearly on February 3 as part of the Spring Festival. This flower (Sou) is called the Setsubun flower because it generally can be found on or near Setsubun.

Feb09_05_NogawaPk Feb09_57_NogawaPk Feb9th_NogawaPark004_ _Adonis_amurensisRC _Adonis_amurensisRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC

This is a VERY good year for Setsubun-sou (Shibateranthis pinnatifida). We found more here than ever before I think. And, there were some really nice ones. Unfortunately we hit here just when it was most difficult to get good pictures due to the sun angle. We want to come again earlier in the morning.

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Feb09_01_NogawaPk_ Feb09_02_NogawaPk_ Feb9th_NogawaPark009_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC

Three more Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubun-sou) shots. So, a little more information about Setsubun. The custom of Mamemaki (bean throwing) first appeared in the Muromachi period. It can be performed by any member of the household. Roasted soybeans (called "fortune beans") are thrown either out the door or at a member of the family wearing an Oni (demon or ogre) mask, while the people say "Demons out! Luck in!" and slam the door. This is still common practice in households. The beans are thought to symbolically purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them. Then, as part of bringing luck in, it is customary to eat roasted soybeans, one for each year of one's life, and in some areas, one for each year of one's life plus one more for bringing good luck for the year to come.

Feb09_10_NogawaPk_ Feb9th_NogawaPark010_ Feb9th_NogawaPark011_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC

And, another three Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubun-sou) shots. And, the Setsubun story continues. It is customary in some areas to eat uncut special sushi rolls in silence on Setsubun while facing the year's lucky compass direction (it was SSE this year), determined by the zodiac symbol of the year. This custom started in Osaka, but in recent years, thanks to modern marketing methods, these special sushi rolls can be purchased at stores in other areas and it is becoming more recognized as a part of Setsubun tradition.

Feb9th_NogawaPark014_ Feb09_15_NogawaPk_ Feb9th_NogawaPark018_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC

And, another three Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubun-sou) shots.

Feb9th_NogawaPark020_ Feb09_18_NogawaPk_ Feb9th_NogawaPark022_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC

And, another three Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubun-sou) shots.

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Feb09_20_NogawaPk_ Feb9th_NogawaPark024_ Feb09_24_NogawaPk_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC

And, another three Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubun-sou) shots.

Feb9th_NogawaPark027_ Feb9th_NogawaPark028_ Feb09_32_NogawaPk_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC

The final shot of Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubun-sou) and then 2 shots of Chimonanthus praecox or Roubai in Japanese. This is another yellow early spring flower.

Feb09_37_NogawaPk_ Feb9th_NogawaPark033_ Feb09_55_NogawaPk_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Chimonanthus_praecoxRC Chimonanthus_praecoxRC

Here are 2 additional shots of Chimonanthus praecox or Roubai in Japanese.

Feb9th_NogawaPark034_ Feb09_56_NogawaPk_ Chimonanthus_praecoxRC Chimonanthus_praecoxRC

Here are the final 3 photos we'll show you from this date in Nogawa Park. This is a type of Skunk Cabbage - Symplocarpus foetidus or Zazen-sou in Japanese.

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Feb09_65_NogawaPk_ Feb09_65_NogawaPk_ Feb09_68_NogawaPk_ Symplocarpus_foetidusRC Symplocarpus_foetidusRC Symplocarpus_foetidusRC End February 9th, End Page 1

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the Go To Page: continuation of this month's adventures. Page 2 begins with February 23rd.

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This page begins with February 23rd and a trip out to Takao and a hike up the Hikage Creek road; lunch at Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama and then a hike down a new trail - the Hikage Creek Ridge trail. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 23rd As the header says, on Saturday, February 23rd, Kazuya and I went out to Takao and then took a bus to the Hikage Creek Bus Stop. From there we hiked down to Hikage Creek to check on the status of the Chrysosplenium album var. stamineum. As you can see in the first photo, it is budding, but it's still going to be a while before the flowers open. The 2nd shot shows you the amount of snow on the Hikage Creek Road - we did not expect this. This is the most snow we've ever seen here. The 3rd shot shows a small part of the Cedar Forest which covers this area. You can see that this year is going to be a very terrible year for people with pollen allergies. All of that orange color is Cedar Pollen Sacs and in a few weeks the pollen is going to start blowing around. Many people are already complaining about their allergies.

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Feb23rdHikage003_ Feb23_10_HikageCreek ChrysospleniumAlbumVStamineumRC _CedarPollenSacsRC

Feb23rd Hikage006SnowRC

Here are 3 shots of birds. The first shot is a Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida) or Kayakuguri in Japanese - it is indigenous to Japan. The 2nd and 3rd shots are of a different bird - a Gabichou in Japanese (Garrulax canorus) (the Chinese Hwamei or Melodious Laughingthrush). I am told that it is a very popular cagebird in China due to it's beautiful song.

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Well, well! We found the very first violets of the season today. Up near the top of the road, where the sun shines on the hillside we found these specimens of Viola grypoceras. Spring is coming!!

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Here is a final shot of Viola grypoceras. The 2nd shot is looking from the Hikage Creek Road to I-Ccho-Daira, which we have shown you many photos of over the years. The 3rd shot was taken from the summit of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama (670 m = 2,199 ft). Today we ended up hiking down that ridge which you see extending from the left edge of the photo - the one with the small patch of hardwoods on it. We never even realized that there was a trail there; we just discovered it today. It's a nice trail. By the way, this is the same ridge which you can see on Page 1 - the 3rd photo in Row 1.

Feb23_18_HikageCreek Feb23_21_HikageCreek Feb23rd _Viola_grypocerasRC _ICchoDairaRC Hikage030RC http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:45:45 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

Oops! What passed by here before us? From the size of the pile it just about had to be a Black Bear. The 2nd and 3rd shots show the snow up on this ridge under the hardwoods.

Feb23_22_HikageCreek Feb23rdHikage Feb23_23_HikageCreek _BearScatMaybeRC 031SnowRC _HardwoodForestRC

Here are the final 2 shots from this adventure. We found several Cymbidium goeringii orchid plants on this hike and this particular plant has the buds which were expanded the most. Another indication that spring is coming. In Japanese this Orchid is called "Shun Ran" which translates as Spring Orchid.

Feb23_26_HikageCreek_ Feb23_27_HikageCreek_ Cymbidium_goeringiiRC Cymbidium_goeringiiRC End February 23rd, End Page 2, End February 2013's Photos Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.

January 1, 2013 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System

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Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. As usual for February, there is not much here. Go To Page: Hope you found something which you considered worth looking at.

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February 2014 - Favorite Photo "Heaviest Tokyo Snow in 45 Years" - Our Apartment Parking Lot. February 8th, 10:43 PM.

FEBRUARY 2014: TWO Pages This Month FEATURING February 8th Porch Snow * Heaviest Snow in Tokyo in 45 Years * Heavy Snow Photos * February 15th - 2nd Snow Storm - Again the Heaviest in 45 Years * Mitake Area Heavy Snow * Okutama Area Heavy Snow * Links to 2014 & 2015 Calendars * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)

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This is Page 1 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2014! posted: February 28th, 2014

This page begins with February 8th and some photos of Tokyo's heaviest snow in 45 years! Then - one week later - on February 15th we had another amazing storm, which AGAIN dropped the most snow in 45 years. All of the photos were taken close to home. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 8th If you live in a place where it snows a lot then this month's photos may not interest you much beyond seeing what Tokyo considers a lot of snow. For us, though, this was the heaviest snowfall in 45 years! On Friday, February 7th we had a "Heavy Snow" warning - first I had ever seen in my 13 years in Tokyo. On Saturday the 8th it was snowing when we got up in the morning. The three photos in this row shows our porch "garden" at around 9:55 AM on Saturday.

Feb08_1_ Feb08_3_4_Porch PorchSnowRC Snow_Panorama_SIPRC Feb08_5_ PorchSnowRC

Here is what things looked like at around 2:00 PM. The first photo shows our porch Cymbidium goeringii orchid. The 2nd photo is zoomed in to the neighbor's roof and the 3rd shot shows our porch Rosemary plant.

Feb08_9_ PorchSnowRC

Feb08_7_ Feb08_6_PorchSnowRC PorchSnowRC

Here are 3 more shots of the neighbor's roof at about 2:00 PM. It has already accumulated to be more snow than we've ever seen here.

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Feb08_10_ Feb08_8_ Feb08_11_ PorchSnowRC PorchSnowRC PorchSnowRC

Now it's 10:40 PM! You can see that we might not be able to open our door in the morning!

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These 3 shots were also taken at about 10:40 PM. The center image is a panorama created from the photos on either side of it. It did not come out very good as the 2 photos were not shot with the intention of creating a panorama, but that panorama came out okay anyway.

Feb08_16_17_Porch Snow_PanoramaRC Feb08_17_ PorchSnowRC Feb08_16_ PorchSnowRC

These 3 shots were also taken at around 10:40 PM. They show our apartment parking lot. Somebody has been industrious enough to shovel a path so that the snow depth shows up very nicely. At this point there are warnings on the TV to stay at home and several screens which show the train lines which are stopped due to snow. On Sunday morning when we got up it had stopped and there was not much more than when we had taken the photos at 10:40 PM. The Japan Today website news articles about this storm are HERE. The first page article is datelined February 9, 7:00 PM. This is followed by reader's comments - some of which are interesting. An earlier article begins on page 4 - datelined February 8, 8:00 PM. It also includes reader comments.

Feb08_18_ Feb08_19_ Feb08_21_ PorchSnowRC PorchSnowRC PorchSnowRC http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:50:56 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 End February 8th, Begin February 15th Well, the same thing happened beginning on Friday, February 14th. It snowed even more than it did the previous week, but it was again reported as the heaviest snowfall in 45 years. That storm 45 years ago must have been a real killer! It was snowing when we got up on the 14th and snowed ALL DAY without ever stopping even briefly. It started raining during the night of the 14th though, and when we got up in the morning on the 15th it was raining and melting rapidly. The first shot in this row was taken at 11:35 AM - after I had removed the snow from our entryway walk, as shown in the 2nd photo. The 3rd shot shows the snow on a car in our apartment parking lot.

Feb15_1_ Feb15_4_ HeavySnowRC HeavySnowRC

Feb15_2_ HeavySnowRC

These 2 shots show the street which runs by our apartment. The first shot is looking to the south and the 2nd shot is looking to the north. In both shots you can see people shoveling snow. Tokyo has no snow removal equipment. It generally only snows about 1 or 2 inches during an entire winter, so it's really not economically feasible to buy snow removal equipment.

Feb15_5_ Feb15_6_ HeavySnowRC HeavySnowRC

These final 2 shots show our apartment parking lot and the piles of snow! By the way, after this 2nd storm in 1 week, some train lines were closed for the entire following week.

Feb15_7_ Feb15_8_ HeavySnowRC HeavySnowRC End February 15th, End Page 1

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for some out Go To Page: of town snow photos.

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This is Page 2 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2014! posted: February 28th, 2014

This page begins and ends with February 22nd and a trip out to the Mitake and Okutama Areas. After the snowfall of February 15th the train line from Ome to Okutama was stopped for 7 days. The 22nd was the first day this train had operated since the evening of the 15th! We were fortunate to be able to come out and see this much snow. Not many people were out walking around. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 22nd As it says up above, after that heavy snowfall of February 15th, the Ome Line train was stopped from Ome to Okutama. That line is the one we use to go to Mitake, Sawai and Okutama - names which you often see on these pages. It opened from Ome to Mitake on February 21st and then on Saturday morning, the 22nd, when we checked the status on the internet, it was reported that it was open all the way to Okutama again! We therefore decided to go out and see the snow! The first photo in this row was taken by Kazuya from the train window and it shows the terrible looking clearcuts as we approach Mitake. The 2nd shot shows 2 trains sitting at Mitake Station and shows a lot of snow on the station platform! The 3rd shot shows a portion of the UGLY Mitake Clearcut as seen from Mitake Station.

Feb22nd_11_FromTrain Feb22_01_Mitake Feb22_09_Mitake EnrouteMitakeRC StationAreaHeavySnowRC StationAreaHeavySnowRC

Three more images of the UGLY Mitake clearcut. What a blight on nature. And, did they have to make it so huge? I've been waiting for a record rainfall to super-saturate that mountainside with water and then send the entire thing careening down on to the houses and highway at the base of it.

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Feb22_10_Mitake StationAreaHeavySnowRC

Here is one more shot of that clearcut and then a shot of the Mitake Bridge over the Tama River. Of course you can see the clearcut from here too - you can see it from everywhere in the area. The 3rd shot was taken looking downstream from the bridge. In the 13 years I have lived in Japan I have never seen more than an inch of snow along this riverside.

Feb22_12_Mitake StationAreaHeavySnowRC Feb22nd_33_Mitake WalkingToRiverRC

Feb22nd_36_Mitake WalkingToRiverRC

The first shot in this row was taken looking upstream from the Mitake Bridge. The 2nd shot shows the bank of the Tama River and shows lots of snow! The 3rd shot shows the steps which lead down to the river from near the bus stop in Mitake.

Feb22nd_39_Mitake WalkingToRiverRC

Feb22_17_TamaRiver_Mitake_ Feb22nd_47_Mitake_ SawaiHeavySnowRC TamaRiver_SnowRC

We have not taken any photos of the naked guy statue at Sawai in several years now, so here are 2 of them - in 1st and 3rd position. You always see statues of naked women in parks and other places, but never any statues of naked guys - did you ever wonder why? The center shot was taken from about the same spot where we always take photos of the Famous Mitake Ginkgo Tree in the autumn. The tree which is embossed is the Ginkgo Tree. If you don't know what we are talking about them you can see one photo of it HERE and more photos of it starting HERE.

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Feb22nd_53_Mitake_ TamaRiver_SnowRC

Feb22nd_81_SawaiTama Feb22_28_TamaRiver_Mitake RiverNakedGuyStatueRC _SawaiNakedGuyRC

Here's the final photo taken as we hiked along the river from Mitake to Sawai. This is looking upstream along the Tama River. You'll note that they even clearcut right down to the river along this area. Could they have possibly have had any esthetic considerations in mind when they decided to do this? Well, the answer is obvious isn't it? After we finished up our hike from Mitake to Sawai and then ate lunch and drank some sake at the Sawanoi Sake Brewery we took a train from Sawai to the end of the line at Okutama. The center photo shows Okutama Station with a large pile of snow in front of it. The 3rd shot was taken as we looked downstream from the Okutama Bridge over the Tama River.

Feb22_24_TamaRiver_Mitake Feb22_32_Okutama Feb22_34_Okutama _SawaiHeavySnowRC AreaHeavySnowRC AreaHeavySnowRC

Here are the final 2 shots for this month - taken as we looked upstream on the Tama River from the Okutama Bridge. The 2nd shot is zoomed in to the pedestrian bridge over the river - the snow is pretty deep on that bridge.

Feb22_35_Okutama Feb22_36_Okutama AreaHeavySnowRC AreaHeavySnowRC End February 22nd, End February 2014's Photos, Begin Miscellaneous Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.

January 1, 2013 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System

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HERE IS

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Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the website this month, hope you enjoyed seeing Go To Page: photos of the heaviest snowfall in the Tokyo Area in 45 years.

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February 2015 - Favorite Photo "Skunk Cabbage" - At Nogawa Park. February 1st, 11:42 AM.

FEBRUARY 2015: ONE Page This Month FEATURING A Trip to Nogawa Park * Some Birds * Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubun-sou in Japanese * Symplocarpus foetidus - Zazen-sou in Japanese - A Type of Skunk Cabbage * Adonis sp. * Chimonanthus praecox - Roubai in Japanese * Field with a bit of snow * Cymbidium goeringii Seedhead - Shun-ran in Japanese * Sapindus mukurossi Tree & Seeds * A Lily Seedhead - Yuba Yuri (Old Women's Lily) in Japanese * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)

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This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of February 2015! posted: February 28th, 2015

This page begins and ends with February 1st, 2015. Our only outing during the entire month of February was a trip on our bicycles to the Nogawa Park Natural Area to check out the progress of spring flowers. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 1st As the header says, we went, via bicycle, to the Nogawa Park Natural Area on February 1st. In first position in this row is a bird - this is a Bull-headed Shrike (Mozu in Japanese) - a year-round resident of Tokyo. The second shot is one of the first signs of spring for us - a Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubun-sou in Japanese. We were a bit surprised to find them at such a state of blooming, we were expecting to see a few, but not as many as we saw. The third shot is a Symplocarpus foetidus - Zazen-sou in Japanese - A Type of Skunk Cabbage. We were also surprised to find this so pretty already.

Feb01_05_Nogawa Feb01_08_NogawaPk_ Pk_BirdRC Symplocarpus_foetidusRC Feb1st_21_NogawaPark_ ShibateranthisPinnatifidaRC

The first shot in this row gives you a better idea of the extent of the Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubun-sou in Japanese - which was already in bloom. The second shot is another bird - this is a Dusky Thrush (Tsugimi in Japanese). They migrate here from Siberia and will be gone back home by May. (Thanks to Norm F. for both of these bird names.) The third shot shows an Adonis sp. in bloom. There are only 3 or 4 Adonis plants here.

Feb1st_26_NogawaPark_ Feb01_14_Nogawa ShibateranthisPinnatifidaRC Pk_AdonisRC Feb01_09_Nogawa Pk_BirdRC

All three shots in this row show Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubun-sou in Japanese. The outlined area in the first shot shows the portion that was cropped out to create the second image.

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Feb1st_27_NogawaPark_ Feb01_18_NogawaPk_ ShibateranthisPinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Feb01_18Part_NogawaPk _Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC

In first position is the final shot of Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubun-sou in Japanese. The second and third images show the blossoms of Chimonanthus praecox - Roubai in Japanese. By the end of the month this species has already dropped most of its flowers.

Feb1st_57_NogawaPark_ Feb1st_38_Nogawa Feb1st_39_Nogawa ShibateranthisPinnatifidaRC Park_RoubaiRC Park_RoubaiRC

In first position in this row is a photo of the main "field" in the Natural Area of Nogawa Park. Note the light coating of snow. This was the most we have had on the ground during this 2014 - 2015 winter season. The second and third shots show a seedhead of the Cymbidium goeringii Orchid - Shun-ran (Spring Orchid) in Japanese. It seems that seedheads of this species are quite rare. Whatever insect pollinates this species must be in short supply when it is blooming. If you recall, we have this species growing in our porch garden and over the years, despite the fact that the plants can have 45 - 60 flowers each spring, we have only had two seedheads on our porch. The most recent photo of our porch plant is HERE.

Feb1st_68_Nogawa Feb01_52_NogawaPk_ Feb01_56_NogawaPk_ Park_FieldRC Cymbidium_goeringiiRC Cymbidium_goeringiiRC

Both photos in this row show a Sapindus mukurossi (Indian Soapberry) Tree & Seedpods. According to Wikipedia "The seed pods contain saponins which are a natural surfactant. They have been used for washing for thousands of years by native peoples in Asia as well as Native Americans. Soapnuts are being considered and used for commercial use in cosmetics and detergents as well as many other products." We have collected these seedpods and played around with them. They are certainly sticky, and after you play around with them and then go to wash your hands, the sticky residue on your hands lathers nicely and removes itself simply by rubbing your hands together.

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Feb01_62_NogawaPk_ Feb01_63_NogawaPk_ Sapindus_mukurossiRC Sapindus_mukurossiRC

Here is the final photo from our one and only outing during February. This photo shows the seedhead of the "Yuba-Yuri" (Old Women's Lily) in Japanese.

Feb1st_61_NogawaPark _LilySeedheadRC End February 1st, End February 2015's Photos, Begin Miscellaneous Links Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.

January 1, 2013 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System

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Here is a small hint to let you know that we'd be thrilled to have you buy one of our books. For additional information regarding http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[10/29/2017 5:52:51 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 any title please click the "General Information" tab on the "Our Books" button down at the bottom of this page. Click on any thumbnail to go to its Amazon.com webpage.

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End Miscellaneous Links, End Page 1 of 1, February 2015

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February 2016 - Favorite Image "Two Years in Paradise: A Peace Corps Philippines Journal" - Sneak Peek at Upcoming Book Cover.

FEBRUARY 2016: ONE Page This Month FEATURING Shibateranthis pinnatifida Flowers (Setsubunsou in Japanese) * A Sneak Peek at a New Book - Two Years in Paradise: A Peace Corps Philippines Journal - Hoping for Release to the World by June or July 2016 - Expected Length Probably About 500 Pages (Click on the Image or on this text to go directly to the February photos)

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This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of February 2016! posted: February 29th, 2016

This page begins (and ends) with February 7th and a images of an upcoming new book - Two Years in trip to Nogawa Park on our bicycles. The only thing Paradise: A Peace Corps Philippines Journal" which I we found that was even slightly picturesque was the hope to finish and release by midsummer 2016. Click Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubunsou in on any thumbnail to begin. Japanese, so that's all there is. After that are some

Begin February 7th On February 7th, as stated already, we bicycled to Nogawa Park to check out Setsubunsou (Shibateranthis pinnatifida). Over the years you have been shown this the progress of late winter/early spring flowers. The Roubai (see last month) was earliest spring ground flower many times, and here it is again. The second and third finished, only a few dried up old flowers remained. The skunk cabbage was still not in shots show the same flower, I just moved in closer for the 3rd shot. The first two shots bloom, the plum blossoms were not significantly different than they were back in in the next row are also of this same flower. January and we saw no birds to speak of. The only interesting thing we saw was the

Feb07_02_NogawaPk_ Feb07_07_NogawaPk_ Feb07_08_NogawaPk_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC

Here are two more shots of Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubunsou in Japanese, the same blossom as shown in Row 1, but moving in closer and closer. The third shot was taken at a different patch of Setsubunsou - there are three separate small patches of it. In this photo please notice the acorn on the left that is beginning to send a root down and please notice the acorn caps and use them for scale.

Feb07_10_NogawaPk_ Feb07_09_NogawaPk_ Feb07_24_NogawaPk_ Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC End February 7th, Begin New Book Sneak Peek Here is a Sneak Peek at a book which I am working on and HOPE to have stone, it may still change. The second image is a larger image of the blurb which will be ready for readers by June or July. The title is Two Years in Paradise: A Peace Corps on the back cover - please feel free to offer feedback. If you see any grammar, Philippines Journal I expect it to end up at about 500 pages or so. The first image is a punctuation or spelling errors PLEASE let me know. mockup of the cover. I am pretty sure that this will be the final cover, but it's not set in

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PeaceCorpsJournal _WhiteCoverRC

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And here are four interior pages. The first image shows pages 212 and 213. expenses for each day. Oh, by the way, I am hoping to be able to price this book at a You will note that the book has photos. There will only be about 20 images and they will very reasonable $17.98, but that's going to depend on the number of pages it ends up be presented in black and white to keep the price reasonable. The second image shows being. I know that probably not many of you will be interested in this Journal, but if you pages 214 and 215. Note that your name may be found in this book, but only the initial know any Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV's) or anybody who hopes to become of your last name; Mark W., Ardis B., Steve A. and so on. Note also that I have included a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) you might want to let them know of this upcoming book.

PeaceCorpsJournal PeaceCorpsJournal _Page212_213RC _Page214_215RC

There are actually three covers that I have mocked up for consideration for button at the bottom of the page and saying that you prefer cover #1, #2 or #3. Let this book. Would you like the opportunity to have a say on what the final cover should me hear from you please. be? You can be a part of the selection process simply by clicking on the "E-Mail Us"

Proposed Cover #1 Proposed Cover #2 Proposed Cover #3 End February 2016's Photos/Images, Begin Miscellaneous Links Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection. to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on

January 1, 2013 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System

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HERE IS

Please check it out by clicking on the above button. (Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.)

only search Kazuya's Blog site

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End Miscellaneous Links, End Page 1 of 1, February 2016

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the website this month. We're sorry that it's not a bit more exciting. We never made it out to Mt. Takao in search of Frost Flowers or anything very exciting at all. Surely next month will be better as it will be Violets season.

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Photos of Alaska - we generally post the best photos from this month on the first of next month.

Click a button below if you don't want to go to the newest photos. Click on the photo to go to the newest pages.

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February 2017 - Favorite Photo "Sunset Over Birch Hill" - Fairbanks, Alaska. February 6th, 4:43 PM.

FEBRUARY 2017: TWO Pages This Month FEATURING Northern Red-backed Vole Colors * Moose Alongside the Chena Hot Springs Road * A Heavy Snowstorm * Kazuya's (Myodes rutilus) * Sunset Over Birch Hill * Bright Sun on the Snow in our Yard * Moose in Baked Delights * A Baby Shower Cake * A Chocolate-Nutella-Mascarpone Cake * Lime our Yard * Sun, Blue Sky and Snow Covered Trees at Home * Sun Dogs and Sun Bow in Macarons (Not Macaroons) * Some Conversation Tarts (French: la tarte conversation) * Downtown Fairbanks * Bright Sunny Scenery along Chena Hot Springs Road * Sunrise More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)

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This is Page 1 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2017! posted: March 2nd, 2017

This page begins with February 5th and a Northern again and spent about an hour tearing apart a brush Red-backed Vole (Myodes rutilus) searching for pile to get the edible twigs and branches that were sunflower seeds under our bird feeders. Then we go in it. There are a few photos from February 9th to February 6th and some beautiful sunset shots showing snow in the trees on our property and then taken in a field near our house. February 7th was a there are some amazing Sun Dog photos, taken on beautiful sunny day and there are some photos the 11th. The final photos on this page are some taken from our porch. Then on the 8th two moose sunrise shots taken on the 14th of February. Click on (Alces alces) came wandering through the yard once any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 5th through 14th Here are two shots of a Northern Red-backed Vole (Myodes rutilus) searching for sunflower seeds under the bird feeders. The birds sometimes knock seeds out of the feeders and these small voles are often seen coming out of their snow tunnels and spending time searching for seeds.

Feb05_ Feb05_ 3_VoleRC 4_VoleRC

Here are three amazing sunset shots (about 4:40 PM). We can get to this spot by walking up the road from our house for about 10 minutes. The outlined area in the center photo shows the area that is included in the third photo.

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Here are three more sunset shots on February 6th. The sun is setting behind Birch Hill, a prominent hill on the east side of Fairbanks, Alaska.

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Here are the final two sunset shots - the sun is now gone.

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Feb06_15_ Feb6th_ SunsetTimeRC 014_SunsetRC

At about 1:00 PM on February 7th the sun was shining so brightly through the trees that it was just amazing to see. That 4" x 4" post which you can see out there is supposed to be a snow depth gauge, but the markings have all disappeared through the years and we did not get around to painting them back on. At this time I would have to estimate that the snow is at least 1 meter deep (about 3 feet).

Feb07_1_ SnowInTheYardRC

Feb07_2_ Feb07_3_ SnowInTheYardRC SnowInTheYardRC

Here are the final two shots of the sun shining through the trees on February 7th. These two shots are both looking up our driveway, which we shovel by hand. By the way, we've had at least another 1.5 feet of snow since these shots were taken.

Feb07_4_ Feb07_5_ SnowInTheYardRC SnowInTheYardRC

On February 8th two moose (Alces alces) came wandering through our property again. Usually they just wander across, browsing the brushy plants as they wander through. This time, however, they spent at least an hour tearing apart the brush pile which we made when we cut down some dying trees. In the winter, moose eat small branches and twigs and there was just too much delicious stuff in this pile to pass up!

Feb8th_002 Feb8th_013 Feb8th_021 _MooseRC _MooseRC _MooseRC

As you may have noticed in the moose photos just above, it snowed on February 8th, so on the 9th Kazuya took these amazing shots of blue sky and fresh snow in the trees.

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Here are two more photos of the fresh snow in the trees on our property on February 9th.

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Have you ever seen what are called Sun Dogs? Here is an amazing shot of sun dogs and even what might be considered a sun bow. HERE is a really nice article about them, you'll have to scroll down on that page though.

Feb11_1_ Feb11_2_ Feb11th_033 SunDogsAdjRC SunDogsAdjRC _SundogRC

On the same day that we saw the above sun dogs Kazuya shot these photos out the front window of our pickup as we were coming home. This was at about 3.0 mile on the Chena Hot Springs Road.

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These final three shots on this page were taken by Kazuya on February 14th at about 8:48 AM, some amazing sunrise colors. On the 14th the sunrise was at 8:51 AM. We have been gaining 6 - 7 minutes of sun per day since then and by February 28th the sunrise was at 8:02 AM.

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Feb14th_004 Feb14th_005 Feb14th_006 _SunriseRC _SunriseRC _SunriseRC End February 5th through 14th, End Page 1

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the Go To Page: continuation and conclusion of this month's adventures.

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This is Page 2 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2017! posted: March 2nd, 2017

This page begins with Monday, February 20th, which water into the 0° air, eating and so on and then we was a Saturday in Kazuya's work schedule at the headed home. On the way home we saw a different Alaska Coffee Roasting Company. We went out to cow and yearling calf moose. That cow moose was a Chena Hot Springs Resort for the day. This was my really interesting and strange color, so you'll see belated Valentine's Day present to Kazuya seeing as several photos of her. There are a few photos of a the weather was really bad on Valentine's Day itself "blizzard" on February 24th and then, starting in and we could not go on that day. We saw a cow and Row 8 you'll find this month's photos of some of a yearling calf moose (Alces alces) on the way to the Kazuya's Baked Delights. Click on any thumbnail to Hot Springs and then we had a great day at the Hot begin. Spring, soaking, watching the steam rise off the hot

Begin February 20th through 24th As it says up above, on Monday the 20th Kazuya and I went out to Chena Hot Springs for the day. On our way out there we spotted two moose (Alces alces), a cow and a yearling calf. The first shot in this row shows one of them. They were quite shy and disappeared into the forest pretty quickly. The second and third shots show cloudy scenery as we continued.

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Feb20th_002_ Feb20th_ Feb20th_ CHSR_MooseRC 006_CHSRRC 007_CHSRRC

After enjoying our day at the Hot Springs, soaking in the "Rock Lake", in this row shows both of them. The second shot shows the yearling calf and the third watching the steam rise off the hot water into the 0° air, eating and so on, we headed shot shows the mother. This cow moose was a really interesting and strange color, so home. On the way home we saw a different cow and yearling calf moose. The first shot Kazuya took lots of photos. I wonder if this is a sign of the animal's age or what?

Feb20th_016 Feb20th_024 _CHSR_MooseRC _CHSR_MooseRC Feb20th_012 _CHSR_MooseRC

Here are three shots of this amazingly colored cow moose. These two animals were not disturbed at all by our presence. We just sat in our pickup truck, we were not stupid enough to step out - they were only 30 feet away and therefore could have attacked and been upon us in about 1 second.

Feb20th_025 Feb20th_027 Feb20th_031 _CHSR_MooseRC _CHSR_MooseRC _CHSR_MooseRC

Here is a final shot of this amazingly colored cow moose. The second image is merely a cropped out portion of the first photo so that you can get a better view of the type of material they are eating.

Feb20th_045 _CHSR_MooseRC Feb20th_045Part _CHSR_MooseRC

Here is a shot of the yearling calf reaching up as far as possible to get some of those tasty twigs. The second shot is a scenery shot along the Chena Hot Springs Road as we continued towards home.

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Feb20th_058 Feb20th_ _CHSR_MooseRC 060_CHSRRC

On February 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th it snowed. The weather was all finished we'd had a total of about 18 inches of snow and had shoveled the people indicated that there were three separate snowstorms. At times it snowed driveway too many times. That is the primary reason that the web pages are kind of heavily, like shown in these photos, and at other times it snowed lightly. By the time it late this time, because snow removal work took priority over this.

Feb24_1_Heavy Feb24_2_Heavy Feb24_4_Heavy SnowAtHomeRC SnowAtHomeRC SnowAtHomeRC

Here are three more shots of the snowstorm on February 24th.

Feb24_5_Heavy Feb24_6_Heavy Feb24_7_Heavy SnowAtHomeRC SnowAtHomeRC SnowAtHomeRC End February 20th through 24th, Begin Kazuya's Baked Delights Early this month Kazuya received a special order from a friend of ours for a Special cake for a Baby Shower. This was to be a baby shower with both men and women, so we were invited to come too. Kazuya spent the first day just making Buttercream Flowers! The outlined area of the center shot shows what is shown in the third image.

Feb3rd_001_ Feb3rd_003_ ButtercreamFlowersRC ButtercreamFlowersRC Feb3rd_003Part_ ButtercreamFlowersRC

Here are two more shots of the Buttercream Flowers for the Baby Shower Cake. The third shot shows what was to be the bottom layer of the cake.

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Feb3rd_006_ Feb3rd_009_ Feb3rd_012_Chocolate ButtercreamFlowersRC ButtercreamFlowersRC CakeForBabyShowerRC

The upper layer of the cake was smaller than the bottom layer, so Kazuya placed it at the edge of the bottom layer so that there would be plenty of room for the flowers. Here are photos of the finished cake. The mother of the child-to-be asked us not to show the baby's name on our web pages because she does not want all of her Facebook friends to know the name just yet.

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In these two photos you can see the bottom layer better.

Feb04_2_ Feb04_5_ BabyShowerCakeRC BabyShowerCakeRC

Here are the final two photos of the Baby Shower Cake. The person who ordered it was so impressed that Kazuya received a nice tip. Everybody at the Baby Shower was very impressed by Kazuya's skills.

Feb4th_021a_ BabyShowerCakeRC

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Kazuya bought a lemon and when he cut it open this is what it looked like - I would call this "a lemon of a lemon" or merely "a lemon lemon". Fred Meyer thought so too and gave him a full refund when we took it back and showed it to them.

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Feb8th_002_ LemonRC

Here are some shots of a Chocolate-Nutella-Mascarpone Cake. It was so delicious!

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Here are some Macaron Lime, what do you call them, cookies, pastries, or something else? By the way, a Macaron is not equal to a Macaroon, do not be fooled. Google it if you need to. These were also soooooo delicious!

Feb15th_003_ Feb15th_010_ MacaronLimeRC MacaronLimeRC Feb15th_012_ MacaronLimeRC

Here are two shots of conversation tart (French: la tarte conversation), which are a type of pâtisserie made with puff pastry.

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Here are two final shots of conversation tart (French: la tarte conversation), which are a type of pâtisserie made with puff pastry. The second photo shows one split in half.

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Feb15th_022_ Feb15th_027_ TartConversationRC TartConversationRC End Kazuya's Baked Delights, End February 2017's Photos, Begin Miscellaneous Links Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.

January 1, 2013 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System

HERE IS

Please check it out by clicking on the above button. (Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.)

only search Kazuya's Blog site

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End Miscellaneous Links, End Page 2 of 2, February 2017

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Photos of Alaska - we generally post the best photos from this month on the first of next month.

Click a button below if you don't want to go to the newest photos. Click on the photo to go to the newest pages.

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February 2018 - Favorite Photo "Snow Covered Mountains" - Along Chena Hot Springs Road. February 18th, 10:03 AM.

FEBRUARY 2018: TWO Pages This Month FEATURING Scenic Photos From the Reindeer, Kazuya, Daniel, The Rock Lake * Our Christmas Cactus in Bloom * Honda University of Alaska - Fairbanks, West Ridge * The Super Blue Blood Moon Total Eclipse of HSS928AATD Snow Blower we Purchased * Kazuya's Baked Delights * Valentine Icing January 31st * Making Kale Chips * Scenic View from Hagelbarger Drive and Steese Cookies & Apple Cinnamon Rolls * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go Highway Intersection * Start and Finish of the Yukon Quest International Dogsled Race * directly to the February photos) Moose in our Yard * Views From Our Front Porch * A Trip to Chena Hot Springs - Scenery,

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This is Page 1 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2018! posted: February 28th, 2018

This page begins with January 30th and a visit to the the start of the Yukon Quest International Dogsled University of Alaska - Fairbanks (UAF) West Ridge Race on February 3rd. After that, in Rows 13 and overlook. Next, is the Super Blue Blood Moon 14, we jump ahead 12 days to our friend finishing Eclipse of January 31st. There are a couple of the Yukon Quest. Click on any thumbnail to begin. miscellaneous photos after that and then we jump to

Begin January 30th On January 30th we were in town when the sun rose and everything was very two shots looking out over the Tanana Valley kind of give you an idea. In the second ethereal in appearance, so we drove up to the University of Alaska (UAF) West Ridge to photo, the tall building near the center is the control tower of Fairbanks International see more of it. By the time we got there, the really cool lighting was finished, but these Airport.

Jan30_1_UAF Jan30_2_UAF WestRidgeRC WestRidgeRC

Still at the UAF West Ridge. The first shot is zoomed in and looks across the west side of Fairbanks - look at all of the chimneys! By the way, the temperature was about -15° at the time these shots were taken. The second shot in this row looks more or less at Chena Ridge.

Jan30_3_UAF Jan30_5_UAF WestRidgeRC WestRidgeRC End January 30th, Begin January 31st Of course you heard about, and maybe watched, the Super Blue Blood Moon moon moves in 10 seconds, every one of my shots were garbage due to blurriness. Oh, Total Eclipse on January 31st. We got up at 3:45 AM to go out and watch/photograph it. we used tripods, so that was not the reason for the blurriness of my shots, it was the All of these photos were taken by Kazuya. He used a shutter speed of 0.5 - 1.0 second. shutter speed. I used shutter speeds of about 10 - 12 seconds and you'd be surprised how much the

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Here are the two final shots of the Super Blue Blood Moon Total Eclipse on January 31st. Again, both taken by Kazuya.

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Do you eat Kale? Do you enjoy Kale? Have you ever made Kale Chips? We grew some in our garden this past summer and at the end of the season we dried it and had never eaten Kale before coming to Alaska and buying it at Farmer's Market after crumbled the dry leaves up and we use those crumbled leaves in most everything, we asking the farmer what to do with it and her suggesting chips. Dang, they are delicious. even put it on grilled cheese sandwiches. We also serve it cooked as a part of a salad and we also use it in soups and stews. We

Jan31st_059 Jan31st_062 _KaleChipsRC _KaleChipsRC End January 31st, Begin February 1st and 3rd This photo was taken from an overlook at the junction of the Steese Highway and Hagelbarger Avenue, north of Fairbanks about 6 miles or so.

Feb1st_001_ FromSteeseHWYRC

Now it's February 3rd and it's start day for the Yukon Quest International The house was about 1 mile from the start, but it was at the point where the racers had Dogsled Race, a race from Fairbanks to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. They refer to stop and then restart because the sleds were carrying passengers who had entered a to it as a 1,000 mile race, but this year it was 922.8 miles I believe. Of course the raffle to ride along for the first mile. Of course there was an entry fee to participate in actual distance is a bit different every year due to certain mountain passes being too the raffle. The first photo shows Bib #2 passing by. This person did not finish the race. dangerous, certain rivers not being frozen and whatever else. We were invited to the The second and third photos show the scenery at this point. house of one of the musher's parents to see him pass by and holler encouragement.

Feb3rd_004_ Feb3rd_005_ Feb3rd_007_ YukonQuestRC YukonQuestRC YukonQuestRC

The three photos in this row were taken looking back at the "restart" point. The third photo in this row is very weird due to the smoke from a warming fire drifting by. It nearly looks like a double-exposure, but it's not.

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Feb3_08_Yukon Feb3rd_058_ Feb3rd_073_ QuestStartRC YukonQuestRC YukonQuestRC

The first photo in this row shows Kazuya kneeling in the snow taking photos. River ice at the house we were at. All of these people were cheering on Alex Buetow, He's warm as toast in this -15° to -20° weather, thanks to his Canada Goose Expedition Bib #24. We refer to him as a friend, despite the fact that we have never even actually Parka and his Baffin Boots. Some of our friends were insufficiently dressed, got cold and met him. We met his parents and cheered him on as he went past and I continued to had to go in the house to warm up, but not Kazuya and I. We were dressed for the cheer him on through Facebook. In the third photo, that's Alex passing by his home and weather. The second photo shows all of the people who were gathered on the Chena being cheered on by all of his friends and acquaintances, including us.

Feb3_21_Yukon Feb3rd_091_ Feb3rd_152_ QuestStartRC YukonQuestRC YukonQuestRC

These three photos all show Alex Buetow just after he passed by his home and is continuing onward. Oh, by the way, the racers were staggered, there were 3 minutes between starts.

Feb3_26_Yukon Feb3rd_157_ Feb3_27_Yukon QuestStartRC YukonQuestRC QuestStartRC

Here are three more shots, all showing Alex Buetow.

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These two photos also show only Alex Buetow as he continues onward.

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Feb3_30_Yukon Feb3_31_Yukon QuestStartRC QuestStartRC End February 3rd, Begin Alex Buetow Finishes Yukon Quest Here are two photos from the Yukon Quest Facebook pages which show our starting it. You've got to understand that Alex was a rookie this year, it's saying a lot to friend, Alex Buetow finishing the Yukon Quest International Dogsled Race. The first shot even begin this amazing race, to say nothing of a rookie finishing it. The second shot is shows him crossing the finish line in 8th position, some 12 days and 8 hours or so after a posed shot with his lead dogs about 1 minute after finishing the race.

Alex Alex Finishes2RC Finishes1RC

In this first photo Alex Buetow is being interviewed after finishing the Yukon Quest International Dogsled Race in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. The second image shows the names and places of the 13 racers who finished the race. There were 11 teams which scratched for various reasons and two teams which withdrew for various reasons.

Alex Finishes3RC

YukonQuest FinishersRC End Yukon Quest, End Page 1

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the Go To Page: continuation of this month's adventures.

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This is Page 2 of 2 - the best of February Go To Page: 2018! posted: February 28th, 2018

The first six rows on this page show the moose Chena Hot Springs on February 18th. For the final (Alces alces) that visited us on February 7th and three rows we jump to Kazuya's Baked Delights for 8th. In Row 7 we show you three photos from our this month. Click on any thumbnail to begin. porch and then, in Row 8 we start a daytrip out to

Begin February 7th and 8th On February 7th at about 3:40 PM I looked out our front window and there were two moose bedded down and chewing their cuds in our front yard. We kind of went crazy shooting photos of them.

Feb7th_003 Feb7_06_ Feb7th_010 _2MooseRC MooseInYardRC _2MooseRC

The first two photos in this row show what we are pretty sure is a yearling. The third photo is, I am guessing, a 2-year old. The question is "why is a yearling hanging out with a 2-year old?" This is very strange. Note that the 2-year old has a broken antler.

Feb7th_015 Feb7_07_ Feb7_08_ _2MooseRC MooseInYardRC MooseInYardRC

In the first photo in this row you can get a good idea of how far off our front porch these animals were. The second shot was taken when we went out on the porch to get a better view. As soon as we were out on the porch, the yearling got up and moved away a little, but the 2-year old just ignored us. We came back in the house.

Feb7th_019 Feb7_09_ Feb7_17_ http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[02/28/2018 5:16:41 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 _2MooseRC MooseInYardRC MooseInYardRC

Here are three more photos of the moose.

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Feb7_24_ MooseInYardRC

The 2-year old got up and moved a bit too. In the second photo you can see that I am taking a shot and Kazuya got a shot of me and the moose. The third photo was taken from our upstairs window.

Feb7_35_ Feb7th_176 Feb7th_210 MooseInYardRC _2MooseRC _2MooseRC

The first photo in this row was taken from the upstairs window. You can see that the yearling is bedded down and chewing its cud again. The second and third photos were taken the following day as, possibly the same yearling, sniffs around the garden area. During this week we saw moose on our property just about every day. This was after not seeing any at all for three or four weeks.

Feb7_41_ Feb8th_003 Feb8th_006 MooseInYardRC _MooseRC _MooseRC End February 7th and 8th, Begin February 15th Here are three images taken on February 15. The pile of snow beside the have not finished shoveling the driveway of the latest snow. The third image is a 2-shot driveway is now overtopping the fence that we grew snap peas on during the summer. panorama zoomed in to the spot where we have shoveled to in the driveway. As of today (February 26) the snow is even deeper. The second shot shows that we

Feb15_5_6_AutoPano Feb15_3_4_SphPano _NewSnowInYardRC _NewSnowInYardRC

Feb15_1_New SnowInYardRC http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[02/28/2018 5:16:41 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 End February 15th, Begin February 18th On February 18th we took a trip out to Chena Hot Springs. We had intended Springs Road, the second shot is zoomed-in to the mountains near the center of the to go on Valentine's Day, but on Valentine's Day it was snowing like hell and the roads first shot and the third shot shows some granite tors - I think this is the Angel Rocks were pretty treacherous. The first shot here shows a pretty scene from the Chena Hot series of tors.

Feb18_08_Chena Feb18_09_Chena Feb18th_019_CHSR_ HotSpringsTripRC HotSpringsTripRC GraniteTorsRC

In this row the first shot is another of the granite tors which make up Angel Rocks, an area that we have taken you to on several occasions. The second shot shows me after our first soak in the Chena Hot Springs Rock Lake and the third shot shows Kazuya taking a rest, again, after our first nice long soak in the Rock Lake.

Feb18th_020_CHSR_ Feb18_14_Chena GraniteTorsRC HotSpringsTripRC

Feb18th_027_ ChenaHotSpring_DanRC

Here is a nice shot of Chena Hot Springs' Rock Lake. You can see that it is bottom in the entire lake and it is prohibited entry, you must be 18 years of age to quite large and there is room for lots of people. In the cold weather it is often so steamy enter it. The second and third shots show some Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), a that you really have no idea how many people are out there in the lake. You can touch domesticated Caribou that the Hot Springs raises.

Feb18_12_Chena Feb18_18_Chena Feb18_19_Chena HotSpringsTripRC HotSpringsTripRC HotSpringsTripRC

Here are two more shots of the reindeer.

Feb18_20_Chena Feb18th_029_ChenaHot HotSpringsTripRC Spring_RaindeerRC http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[02/28/2018 5:16:41 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 Here is a final reindeer shot and then a shot of the Chena Hot Springs airstrip. They offer scenic air tours to a few villages from here.

Feb18th_034_ChenaHot Feb18_26_Chena Spring_RaindeerRC HotSpringsTripRC End February 18th, Begin February 22nd & 24th The first shot shows that our Christmas Cactus is finally blooming. Nice. The are having to wait a week for it to arrive. It's snowed another foot since we ordered it. second image shows the Honda 28" snow thrower which we are getting to help us keep Go back up to Row 7 and in the first photo, the upper fence is pretty much totally our 300 foot driveway clear of snow. There has been so much snow this winter that we covered up now and the lower fence is also partly under the snow.

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Here are three shots of some Valentine Icing Cookies which Kazuya made for our latest gig, selling at the Fairbanks Arctic Market.

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More Valentine Icing Cookies for the Fairbanks Arctic Market. The third image shows that he made 98 of them!

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Here are some Apple Cinnamon Rolls for Arctic Market, another shot of friend of ours and the person who got us started in this business. Oh, by the way, at the Valentine Icing Cookies, packaged for sale, and then a shot of our set up at the Arctic end of the event, I believe that we came home with only 6 or 8 of the Valentine Icing Market. To save costs on the table fee we happily shared a spot with Salsa Rico, a good Cookies remaining. Everything else was sold out.

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Feb10_2_ ArcticMarketRC End Kazuya's Baked Delights, End February 2018's Photos, Begin Our Publications Links

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February 2019 - Favorite Photo "Cornucopia of the Sea" - Ice Carving. February 24, 7:49 PM.

FEBRUARY 2019: FOUR Pages This Month FEATURING A Drive up to Murphy Dome * Decorations in the Ice Park * A Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) at Home * Kazuya's Some Food Shots at Home * A Snowstorm at Home * A Partial Sun Halo * Kazuya, myself Baked Delights * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the and our friends Tom and Carol at the Fairbanks Ice Park on February 19th - 24th * An February photos) Abundance of Ice Sculpture Photos * Ice Carvings in Process and also Finished * Ice

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This is Page 1 of 4 - the best of February Go To Page: 2019! posted: March 1st, 2019

http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[03/01/2019 9:37:55 AM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 This page begins with February 2nd and a drive up porch during a moderate snowstorm, and those are to Murphy Dome. Murphy Dome is a 2,884 foot followed by a shot of a partial sun halo. Following (879m) dome on the west side of Fairbanks. After those photos, the remainder of the page shows that we jump to a few days later and some foods photos taken at the Fairbanks Tanana Valley which we had for our dinners on February 3rd and Fairgrounds, which is the "Ice Park" until March 6th. Then there are two photos taken from our 31st. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin February 2nd The first two shots here show the same snow artifact, just from different Dome Air Force Station with a dozen buildings and 250 personnel stationed here at angles. The snow here was fairly hard and it was windblown so there were an any given time. Now, the vast majority of the site has been cleared though one abundance of weird shapes. The third shot shows Kazuya standing and looking off to remaining facility still stands in working order as a Long Range Radar Station. The the north from the summit of Murphy Dome. Murphy Dome was once home to Murphy purpose is to detect military air threats from afar so that they might be intercepted.

Feb02_04_From Feb2nd_010_ Feb02_05_From MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC

The first photo here shows Kazuya on Murphy Dome. The wind was blowing like a banshee, so it was cold! The second shot shows what may be the Ray Mountains and the third shot shows the Radar Dome.

Feb02_07_From Feb02_14_From Feb2nd_015_ MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC

I have no idea what the name of the mountains shown in the first two shots in this row. If you know, please tell me via email. The third shot shows a nice sun, note the elevation above the horizon on this date at about 3:00 PM.

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Here is one shot of the radar dome on Murphy Dome and one shot of the Murphy Dome Road.

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Here is a final shot looking up at the radar dome and then a shot of our pickup truck on the Murphy Dome Road.

Feb02_44_From Feb2nd_037_ MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC End February 2nd, Begin February 3rd - 6th The first shot here shows what is known as Ehoumaki, which is a treat which we had for supper on Setsubun Day. We only get it once a year, so it's a very special treat. The second shot shows some nice fried gyouza and the third shot shows some wondrous boiled gyouza. We don't make gyouza very often, it involves a fair amount of work, so it's also a special treat for us.

Feb3rd_001_ Feb6th_004_ Feb6th_006_ EhoumakiRC GyouzaRC GyouzaRC End February 3rd - 6th, Begin February 12th - 15th This 2018-19 winter we've seen very little snow, so here are the best "snowstorm" photos we've managed to get all winter.

Feb12_1_ Feb12_5_ SnowstormAtHomeRC SnowstormAtHomeRC

Here is a great photo of a partial sun halo. If that cloud bank had not been there I suspect that we would have been able to see an entire halo.

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Feb15_01_ SunDogsRC End February 12th - 15th, Begin February 19th - 24th From here to the end of this page all of the photos were taken at the shows a friend of ours, the second shot shows Kazuya and the third shot shows me. Fairbanks Ice Park. There are two of them this year, so this is the one at the Tanana We have spent many hours at the Ice Park already this winter because our friends Valley Fairgrounds. If you're into this kind of stuff, their website is were in the competition for the "two-person classic" event. We bought a season pass, https://www.icealaska.org (CLICK HERE- New Tab). These three photos were all as the venue will be open until March 31st. We have already more than paid for the taken right at the entrance, at the King's Throne, made of course, of ice. The first shot season pass compared to buying a daily ticket.

Feb19th_003_World Feb19_01_ Feb19_03_ IceArtChampionshipsRC IceParkRC IceParkRC

Here is a shot of the King's Throne in the dark, shot with the aid of a flash so that it shows up much better. The second shot shows our friend on the seahorse she has been working on for several hours to get back in practice for the competition. The third shot shows me riding the seahorse.

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Here are two shots of our friend's seahorse taken five days after the photos above, and with the aid of a flash. Notice how clear and beautiful the ice has become.

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Feb24_007_IcePark Feb24th_002_Ice _2PersonFinishedRC ArtChampionshipsRC

Now let's start showing some of the competitive sculptures or carvings. This one is entitled "Final Trophy". This was at Site #1 and was carved by two Americans - Todd Dawson and Chris Currier. It placed #6 in the Two-Person Classic competition. The first shot was taken on the 22nd and the second shot was taken on the 24th.

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Here are two additional shots of "Final Trophy".

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This one is entitled "Hades Hound". This was at Site #2 and was carved by two Netherlanders - Roel van Wijlick and Erik van der Leur. It placed #20 in the Two- Person Classic competition.

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This one is entitled "Fire Bird". This was at Site #3 of the One-Person Classic competition and was carved by a Russian - Evgenii Gorbunov. It placed 5th in the One- Person Classic competition.

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This one is entitled "Spelling Bee". This was at Site #3 and was carved by two Americans - Jeff Kaiser and Brian McKinney. It placed #15 in the Two-Person Classic competition.

Feb24_08_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC Feb24_034_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC

The first two shots here are of a sculpture entitled "Samurai". This was at Site #15 of the One-Person Classic competition and was carved by a Japanese - Hiroaki Kimura. It placed 3rd in the One-Person Classic competition. The third shot is entitled "New Beginnings". It was on site #11 of the One-Person Classic Competition and took 4th place in that event.

Feb19_29_ Feb19th_035_World Feb19_31_ IceParkRC IceArtChampionshipsRC IceParkRC

The remainder of this page will take you through the creation of a single that they can get started on the carving on the following morning at 9:00 AM. The sculpture. It is on Site #13 and is called "Cornucopia of the Sea". It was created by third shot was taken on the first day in mid-afternoon, after the main portion of the our friends Tom and Carol Lewando. They used to live close-by, but now they live in sculpture has been roughed out. Anchorage. The first two shots show Tom just scraping the snow off the ice block so

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Feb19_17_ Feb19th_023_World Feb20_08_ IceParkRC IceArtChampionshipsRC IceParkRC

In the first photo here I am talking with Tom while Carol searches for a tool on the picnic table. In the second photo Tom is using the chain saw to get the rough shape of the piece which will become a spiral. In the third shot Tom has accomplished the first part of the task. These three photos were all taken on the second day.

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Feb20_11_ IceParkRC

In the first photo here Carol is starting the shaping of the spiral for the Cornucopia. The second shot shows that she has succeeded and is removing the paper template. In the third shot Tom works on the shell.

Feb20th_026_World Feb20th_031_World Feb20th_039_World IceArtChampionshipsRC IceArtChampionshipsRC IceArtChampionshipsRC End Page 1, but February 19th - 24th continue on Page 2

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the Go To Page: continuation of this month's adventures.

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This is Page 2 of 4 - the best of February Go To Page: 2019! posted: March 1st, 2019

This page continues with the Ice Carving have absolutely no interest in ice sculptures then Competition at the Fairbanks Ice Park, which is you can leave now. Click on any thumbnail to begin. located at the Tanana Valley Fairgrounds. If you

February 19th - 24th Continue from Page 1 Carol had a problem with creating the spiral for the Cornucopia, so in the first photo here, Tom is smoothing it all off so that she can try a different strategy. The second and third shots show Carol working on making a piece of coral.

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Things are taking shape here on Day 3. The spiral (Cornucopia) has been completed and glued to the shell and more coral is being made.

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Feb22nd_015_Ice ArtChampionshipsRC

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Things continue to take shape.

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Okay, "Cornucopia of the Sea" is completed. Isn't it amazing? And notice that even their stanchions where the entry ropes are tied are sea-themed coral posts.

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Here are three additional shots of "Cornucopia of the Sea", by Tom and Carol Lewando. Interestingly enough, they were on Site #13 and they won 13th place (out of 21). Unfortunately, only the first 5 places were awarded ribbons and cash prizes, but Tom and Carol are not in it for fame and glory, they do it because it's just plain fun for them!

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And three more shots of "Cornucopia of the Sea". Notice the detail work in the first shot.

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Three more shots of "Cornucopia of the Sea", from slightly different angles.

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These three photos of "Cornucopia of the Sea" all appear pretty much the same, but if you could see them all side by side you would see that there are different aspects to the lighting which came about while processing the photos. The third shot shows the most detail.

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Here are the final two photos of "Cornucopia of the Sea". You're probably thinking that there are too many shots of this carving, so please keep in mind that this was done by our friends and we were allowed to watch and ask questions and touch the ice and so on. The only thing we could not do was touch a tool, that would have resulted in Tom and Carol's disqualification.

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This one is entitled "Indian Warrior". This was at Site #19 and was carved by Angelito Baban, from the Philippines and Frederick Marquina, a Canadian. It took 5th place in the Two-Person Classic competition. The first and second photos were taken on Day 1 and the third photo was taken on Day 3.

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Here are two more photos of "Indian Warrior". Of course these two were shot after completion on Day 5.

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Here are more photos of "Indian Warrior". Note that it's detailed enough so that you can see that the Warrior has a 6-pack!

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Here are the final two shots of "Indian Warrior" -note the detail of the rope. You should know that the "rope" does NOT have a rope or wire inside of it. We don't know how they accomplished this task.

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This one is called "Venomous". It was carved for the One-Person Classic by an American David "Pablo" Smith. It did not place in the competition.

Feb19_34_ Feb24_072_IcePark IceParkRC _2PersonFinishedRC

Here is the beginning stage of "Sparring" on Day 1. The Russian carvers, Vitaliy Lednev and Evgenii Gorbunov told us that this is a Guppy (small fish). I don't understand the title of Sparring, but... The first shot was taken on Day 1 and the second and third shots were taken on Day 3.

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Here are three more shots of "Sparring". In the first two photos here they are placing the lens of the eye and the third shot shows it after being glued on.

Feb22nd_052_Ice Feb22_26_ Feb22_27_ ArtChampionshipsRC IceParkRC IceParkRC

Here are three more shots of "Sparring". These shots show the working and placing of the lens on the other eye. In the second shot notice how they are getting the surfaces of the eye lens and the main sculpture to match perfectly. In the third shot note the hypodermic syringe of "glue".

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Here are three shots of "Sparring" after it was finished and had been awarded 2nd place in the Two-Person Classic competition. In the center shot you can see a crawfish in front of the fish - maybe this is where the title of "Sparring" came from - the guppy is sparring with a crawfish.

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And here are another three shots of "Sparring". The first shot shows a close-up of the crawfish. The second shot is a nice portrait mode one and the third shot shows an overall scene.

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Here are the final two shots of "Sparring".

Feb24th_048_Ice Feb24th_054_Ice ArtChampionshipsRC ArtChampionshipsRC End Page 2, but February 19th - 24th continue on Page 3

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 3 for the Go To Page: continuation of this month's adventures.

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This is Page 3 of 4 - the best of February Go To Page: 2019! posted: March 1st, 2019

This page continues with the Ice Carving have absolutely no interest in ice sculptures then Competition at the Fairbanks Ice Park, which is you can leave now, but you'll be missing out on located at the Tanana Valley Fairgrounds. If you some cool stuff. Click on any thumbnail to begin. http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[03/01/2019 9:37:55 AM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1

February 19th - 24th Continue from Page 2 Here are two photos of "Chameleon" on Day 3. This was carved by Jostan Doderlein de Win and Rolf Doderlein de Win, from the Netherlands. It placed #9 in the Two-Person Classic competition.

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Here are three more photos of "Chameleon". The first one was taken on Day 3 and the final two were taken on Day 5.

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Here are two photos of "War Horse" on Day 3. This sculpture was created by two Americans, Stan Kolonko and Wei Sen Liang. He originally came from Taiwan, but calls Oneida, New York home now. "War Horse" took 7th place in the Two-Person Classic competition.

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Here are two additional photos of "War Horse". These were taken after completion and judging, on Day 5

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The first shot in this row shows the Raven which was destined to sit atop the "Kaktovik Carcass" carving. This photo was taken from about a foot away from it before it was set atop the carving. The second shot shows the raven as it appeared in its final resting place after completion of the sculpture. The third shot shows the complete sculpture.

Feb24_038_IcePark Feb24_039Exp_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC Feb22_18_ _2PersonFinishedRC IceParkRC

Here are two additional shots of "Kaktovik Carcass". This took 4th place in north coast of Alaska, in ANWR, and the carcass is a whale rib standing up, probably the Two-Person Classic competition and was carved by two Americans, Stephen Dean above the high water mark on the Arctic Ocean. A Polar Bear and a Raven try to get and Heather Brice, both from Fairbanks. If you don't understand it, Kaktovik is on the their share of the meat which is still attached to it.

Feb24th_033_Ice ArtChampionshipsRC Feb24th_035_Ice ArtChampionshipsRC

Here are two photos of "Sashay". This carving took 1st place in the One-Person Classic competition. The On-Person Classic competition was completed before the Two-Person Classic competition began.

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IceParkRC _2PersonFinishedRC

These photos show the "Mold Forest" sculpture. The first shot was taken on Day 3 and the second shot was taken on Day 5. This was carved by Ronald Daanen, a Netherlander, and Ina Timling, who represented Germany. It placed 16th in the Two-Person Classic competition.

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Here are two more shots of the "Mold Forest" sculpture. This is amazing!

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These two shots show the "Hymn of the Arctic Forest II" sculpture. This was created by an American, Jane Kang and a South Korean, Joshua Kang. Hmmm, is that correct I have to wonder? That's the only information I have, so I must assume it's correct. It placed 17th in the Two-Person Classic competition.

Feb24_018_IcePark Feb24_01_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC _2PersonFinishedRC

This one is called "Perspective is the Key". All three shots were taken on Day 5. Note the heart. How did they do that? It was carved by James and Robert Stugart, both Americans. It placed 10th in the Two-Person Classic competition.

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Feb24_041_IcePark Feb24_042_IcePark Feb24th_038_Ice _2PersonFinishedRC _2PersonFinishedRC ArtChampionshipsRC

This row shows the "Tribute to Jenny" sculpture. This airplane - the real one, not the ice one, hangs in the Fairbanks International Airport. I do not know the story behind it. It placed 11th in the Two-Person Classic competition and was carved by two Americans, Daniel Howell and Edwin Hutchison.

Feb24_066_IcePark Feb24th_088_Ice _2PersonFinishedRC ArtChampionshipsRC

Here are two additional shots of the "Tribute to Jenny" sculpture. These were taken on Day 5.

Feb24_065_IcePark Feb24_21_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC _2PersonFinishedRC

This sculpture, "The Cutest Dragon", took 1st place in the Two-Person Classic competition. It was carved by two Japanese artists, Junichi Nakamura and Hiroaki Kimura. The center image is a two-shot panorama.

Feb24_085_086_AutoPano_Ice Park_2PersonFinishedRC

Feb24_083_IcePark Feb24_084_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC _2PersonFinishedRC

The first two shots in this row show detail of "The Cutest Dragon" sculpture. Junichi placed his name on the sword. Please note the fine detail on the leg in the center shot.

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Feb24_087_IcePark Feb24_088_IcePark Feb24th_118_Ice _2PersonFinishedRC _2PersonFinishedRC ArtChampionshipsRC

Here are two photos of "Out of Reach", which is obviously an octopus. Note the detail! It placed 8th in the Two-Person Classic competition. It was carved by two Americans, Brian Connors and Stuart Grayson.

Feb24_074_IcePark Feb24th_104_Ice _2PersonFinishedRC ArtChampionshipsRC

Here are two more shots of "Out of Reach". We thought this one was pretty cool.

Feb24th_109_Ice Feb24_24_IcePark ArtChampionshipsRC _2PersonFinishedRC

Here are two shots of "Tie the Knot". This sculpture took 14th place in the decoration, but on the following page there are four more sculptures which were in the Two-Person Classic competition and it was carved by two Americans, Gina Eaton and competition. Dean De Maris. The following row shows a sculpture which was just used for

Feb24_079_IcePark Feb24_081_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC _2PersonFinishedRC

These two final shots on this page were just part of the "decorations", this big bear was not part of the competition. Of course the person holding hands with the bear is me.

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Feb20th_005_World Feb24_022_IcePark IceArtChampionshipsRC _2PersonFinishedRC End Page 3, but February 19th - 24th continue on Page 4

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Please continue on to page 4 for the Go To Page: conclusion of this adventure and also for the conclusion of this month's adventures and photos!

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This is Page 4 of 4 - the best of February Go To Page: 2019! posted: March 1st, 2019

This page continues with the Ice Carving the page you can find some photos other than ice, Competition at the Fairbanks Ice Park, which is including some Ruffed Grouse photos and some located at the Tanana Valley Fairgrounds. On this photos of Kazuya's Baked Delights. Click on any page you'll also find several ice objects which are thumbnail to begin. used for decorations at the Ice Park. Farther down

February 19th - 24th Continue from Page 3 The first photo in this row shows "The Last Kiss". This sculpture did not it was not finished when the competitors were required to stop - the wings of the place in the One-Person Classic competition. It was carved by an American, Todd butterfly sit on the ground! It was carved by two Americans, Mark Chapin and Brian Dawson. The second photo here shows "Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee". It "Tator" Edwards. competed in the Two-Person Classic and took 21st place, possibly due to the fact that

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Feb24_043_IcePark Feb24_024_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC _2PersonFinishedRC

The first photo in this row shows "2019". It placed 3rd in the Two-Person Affection" and took 19th place in the Two-Person Classic competition. It was carved Classic Competition and was carved by two Americans, Steve Brice and Steve Cox. The by two Americans, David "Pablo" Smith and Stephanie Hugel. final competitive sculpture is shown in the second photo. This is entitled "Forged

Feb22_22_ IceParkRC Feb24_071_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC

These three photos show the decorations which one sees as one walks from the entry gate towards the carving area. These three shots were taken on our first visit to the Ice Park, in the early evening when it was still fairly light out.

Feb19th_014_World IceArtChampionshipsRC

Feb19_36_ Feb19_37_ IceParkRC IceParkRC

These three photos again show the posts which one follows to get to the carving area. The first shot was taken in semi-daylight, but the remaining two shots were taken in the darkness. Note that the colors change every couple of seconds.

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Feb19th_043_World Feb24th_005_Ice IceArtChampionshipsRC ArtChampionshipsRC

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And here are three more photos of the posts which one follows to get to the carving area. These were all taken at night.

Feb24th_006_Ice Feb24th_007_Ice ArtChampionshipsRC ArtChampionshipsRC

Feb24_013_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC

Three more shots of these ice balls on top of ice blocks.

Feb24_014_IcePark Feb24_015_IcePark Feb24_016_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC _2PersonFinishedRC _2PersonFinishedRC

A final shot of the ice posts and then one shot of one of the decorations which was made for the kids. We are kids at heart, so Kazuya stuck his head in it for me.

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Feb24_017_IcePark Feb19_45_ _2PersonFinishedRC IceParkRC

One Iceman, Two Icemen and two ice balls.

Feb19_52_ Feb19_49_ Feb19_51_ IceParkRC IceParkRC IceParkRC

Note how these balls act as lenses - the trees appear upside down. The second shot shows an interesting Tool Box or Tool Bench! The third shot is another decorative carving near the Ice Park entrance.

Feb24_005_IcePark _2PersonFinishedRC Feb19_67_ Feb20_09_ IceParkRC IceParkRC

There are two Ice Slides which people enjoy using. These also change color at night.

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Here are two shots of Kazuya sliding down the Ice Slide.

Ice Ice Slide1RC Slide2RC

Here are three shots of me sliding down the Ice Slide.

Daniel Daniel Daniel IceSlide1RC IceSlide2RC IceSlide3RC

Here is one final shot of the ice slide.

Feb19_42_ IceParkRC End February 19th - 24th Ice Park, Begin February 21st at Home Ah, finally we are away from the Ice! These three shots show what we saw when we looked out the window on February 21st. This Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) sat on our porch rail looking around for several moments before flying away.

Feb21_01_ Feb21_09_ Feb21st_001 GrousePorchRailRC GrousePorchRailRC _GrouseRC

Here are two more shots of the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) which paid us a visit on February 21st.

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Feb21_10_ Feb21_31_ GrousePorchRailRC GrousePorchRailRC

Here are two final shots of the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) which paid us a visit on February 21st.

Feb21st_035 Feb21st_039 _GrouseRC _GrouseRC End February 21st at Home, Begin

(Link to Kazuya's Baked Delights Facebook Page) Maybe you've been wondering if there would be any shots of Kazuya's Baked Delights this month. The first shot here shows what has recently become a popular item - Japanese White Bread, called Shoku-Pan in Japanese. The second photo is obviously a birthday cake.

Feb6th_001_ Feb8th_007_ ShokuPanRC BirthdayChocolateCakeRC

Here is a second shot of the birthday cake shown just previously. The second shot in this row shows Valentine Icing Cookies.

Feb14th_ Feb8th_009_ ValentineCookiesRC BirthdayChocolateCakeRC End Kazuya's Baked Delights, End February 2019's Photos, Begin Our Publications Links

We'd be thrilled to have you buy one of our books. For additional information regarding any title please click the "General Information" tab on the "Our Books" button down at the bottom of this page. Click on any thumbnail to go to its Amazon.com http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[03/01/2019 9:37:55 AM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1 webpage.

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End Our Publications Links, End Page 4 of 4, February 2019

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Photos of Alaska - we generally post the best photos from this month on the first of next month.

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February 2020 - Favorite Photo "Bohemian Waxwings" (Bombycilla garrulus). February 7, 1:38 PM.

FEBRUARY 2020: THREE Pages This Month FEATURING A Shot of Our Platform Bird Feeder * Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) * Momma Moose and Two Yearling Calves in our Yard Moose on the Drive to Murphy Dome * Surprisingly Beautiful Hoarfrost at the Summit of Murphy * Diamond Dust Snow * A Few Photos at The 2020 World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks * Dome * Rabbit Tracks in the Snow * A Beautiful Sunrise Sky at Home * Going Crazy over More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)

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This is Page 1 of 3 - the best of February 2020! Go To Page:

posted: February 29th, 2020

This page begins with February 1st at home watching couple of moose on the drive to the summit and then our platform bird feeder and then proceeds through the found some exquisite hoarfrost and scenery. It was a day of a trip up to Murphy Dome to check on the good day. Click on any thumbnail to begin. weather and amount of snow and so on. We found a

Begin February 1st - 3rd This shot shows our platform bird feeder with a single Black-capped Chickadee the jar and then looks out now and then to check on its safety. The chunk of unsalted butter (Poecile atricapillus) sitting there. The peanut butter jar has just a bit of peanut butter fell on the floor, so we gave it to the Chickadees and there is one bird who loves it like the remaining in it and there is one bird who really loves peanut butter - it goes all the way into other one loves the peanut butter.

Feb1_1_ BirdFeederRC

On February 1st we drove up to the summit of Murphy Dome (2,884 foot, 879m) have been a different story if we had stepped out of our pickup truck, but we didn't step out to check on the snow depth, view and so on. On our way we spotted this large female moose to see if they'd be alarmed and run off, or if we'd be approached and attacked. We always and its yearling calf. We stopped the rig and Kazuya got several photos. They were very show a great deal of respect to these animals - they can move fast and they are huge. content to just stand around and eat, they were not alarmed by us at all. It would probably

Feb1st_014_ Feb1st_022_ Feb1st_029_ MurphyDome_MooseRC MurphyDome_MooseRC MurphyDome_MooseRC

Here is a photo (both images in this row are the same) which shows the hoarfrost on a small branch at the summit of Murphy Dome. The second image has been "Auto-toned" in Photoshop®. It's very interesting what the Auto-tone did to this photo.

Feb1st_037_ Feb1st_037a_ MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[02/28/2020 12:08:22 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, Temp

These three photos all show amazing hoarfrost on some brush. These shots are close-ups of the brush which is shown in the row above. The first shot has had the Levels adjusted in Photoshop® to make it more white.

Feb1_01Levels Feb1_02_ Feb1_04_ _MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC

These three shots all show more hoarfrost and some scenery at the summit of Murphy Dome. The wind was blowing like a banshee on this date and while at the summit it was about 30°F below zero (34.4°C below zero), so we could not stand outside of our pickup for more than a couple of minutes. The chill factor was probably 60°F or 70°F below zero.

Feb1_05_ Feb1_07_ Feb1_12_ MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC

The first two photos in this row show scenic shots taken from the summit of Murphy Dome and the third shot shows a scene as we began our drive back down the mountain.

Feb1_14_ Feb1st_040_ Feb1st_041_ MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC

Here are three shots we got as we were driving back down the Murphy Dome Road. Note the rabbit tracks in the first and third photos.

Feb1st_042_ Feb1st_045_ Feb1_17_ MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC

The first two shots in this row again show hoarfrost. The third shot is a strong telephoto (40x) and was really horribly vignetted due to the long lens effect, so I made the vignetting purposeful and created this vignetted frame.

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Feb1st_050_ Feb1st_051_ Feb1_20_ MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC

Is it obvious that both of these shots were taken to show the rabbit tracks? If it's not, that was the reason for them.

Feb1_19_ Feb1st_054_ MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC

These two photos were taken while looking out the window of our pickup truck. nicely. The second shot was taken with the window closed - in this shot there is no heat wave The first shot was taken with the window open and the blurriness is caused by the heat blurriness, but there are also no setting sun colors - because the window is tinted. waves - the heat escaping through the window. It does show the color of the setting sun

Feb1_23_ Feb1_24_ MurphyDomeRC MurphyDomeRC

These two shots were captured on February 3rd as the sun approached the horizon to show itself for the day.

Feb3_1_ Feb3_2_ SunriseTimeRC SunriseTimeRC

These two shots are zoomed less than the previous two, but they still show the wonderful sunrise colors we saw on February 3. http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[02/28/2020 12:08:22 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, Temp

Feb3_3_ Feb3_4_ SunriseTimeRC SunriseTimeRC End February 1st - 3rd, End Page 1

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the Go To Page: continuation of this month's adventures.

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This is Page 2 of 3 - the best of February 2020! Go To Page:

posted: February 29th, 2020

This page begins and ends with February 7th. When we Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus). WOW! This is a bird were driving home from town on that date we saw a which we have only seen a couple of times before, and flock of birds sitting in the road just 500 yards or so have never gotten any good photos of, so we went from the house, so as soon as we got everything out of crazy and shot photos for the entire hour which they our rig and into the house we took a walk down the hung around. Click on any thumbnail to begin. road and the birds were still there - Bohemian

Begin February 7th All three photos in this row show Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus), as kept 88 photos and Kazuya kept 150 of his photos, so we kept a total of 238 photos. Of does every photo on this page. I don't know how many photos we ended up taking during those we'll show you the 34 best photos. In the center photo note the huge frozen berry in the hour or so we spent shooting these beautiful birds, but when it was all said and done I the mouth of the bird.

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Feb7_02_ Feb7th_006_ Feb7th_016_ BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC

In the third photo in this row please note that the eye can be seen nicely, and also notice that bird also has a huge Mountain Ash berry in its mouth.

Feb7th_020_ Feb7_07_ Feb7_08_ BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC

In both the second and third photos in this row the eye of the bird can be seen.

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It's fortunate that we have cameras with 40X zoom lenses on them.

Feb7th_032_ Feb7_16_ Feb7th_044_ BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC

The eye can be seen in the first photo in this row.

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Feb7_20a_ Feb7th_047_ Feb7th_053_ BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC

The center shot in this row shows one bird passing a berry to a different bird. We saw this happen several times and we wonder if they pass berries to the old and less agile birds, pass them to their children, or just who they pass the berries to. Does anybody out there know the answer? If so please let us know through the email link at the bottom of the page.

Feb7_30a_ Feb7th_063_ Feb7_33_ BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC

The first image in this row consists of two photos. The third photo shows that they have now stripped all of the berries from the Mountain Ash tree and now they are going for a chokecherry tree. They didn't leave until they'd also stripped this tree.

Feb7th_080_081_ Feb7th_084_ Feb7_36_ BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC

The eye can be seen in the second and third photos in this row.

Feb7_37_ Feb7_42a_ BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC

Feb7th_086_ BohemianWaxwingRC

You can see the eye in the first photo in this row. The second and third photos show the birds eating the chokecherries. http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[02/28/2020 12:08:22 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, Temp

Feb7th_098_ Feb7th_102_ Feb7th_106_ BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC

The eye can be seen in the first and third photos in this row. The second photo shows an interesting alignment of three birds.

Feb7_53_ BohemianWaxwingRC Feb7_61a_ Feb7_65_ BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC

The first shot in this row shows the birds still cleaning up the fruits of the chokecherry tree. The second photo shows them sitting in a tall aspen, maybe having a conference about where to go now.

Feb7_70a_ Feb7th_142_ BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC

The first shot here shows several birds in flight as they scour the area for more berry trees. The second photo shows several birds sitting in a birch tree before they massed and flew away.

Feb7_80_ Feb7_83_ BohemianWaxwingRC BohemianWaxwingRC End February 7th, End Page 2

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 3 for the Go To Page: continuation and conclusion of this month's adventures. http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[02/28/2020 12:08:22 PM] Outdoor Photography of Japan, Temp

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This is Page 3 of 3 - the best of February 2020! Go To Page:

posted: February 29th, 2020

This page begins with February 15th and a long series show what we refer to as Diamond Dust Snow - it's of photos of moose in our back yard. There were two probably actually frozen fog, but who knows, it looks yearlings and the mother and they hung out browsing like diamond dust when it floats in the sunlight. The on our birch and aspen saplings from around 12:30 - final thing on this page are a few shots which were 4:00 PM and then they decided to go into the deeper taken at the Ice Park. Click on any thumbnail to begin. forest for the night. Then there are four images which

Begin February 15th As the header says, here begins a rather long series of Moose (Alces alces) in our back yard. There were two yearling calves and the mother and they hung out here on our property for about 4 hours browsing on the birch and aspen saplings. We wonder how many pounds of this kind of material they must eat every day to maintain their huge bodies.

Feb15th_004_ Feb15_07_ Feb15th_010_ Moose_HomeRC MooseInYardRC Moose_HomeRC

More moose photos. In the center shot I have outlined the moose so that there is no doubt that you can find it. By the way, most of these photos were taken from inside our house while looking out various windows. That explains weird reflections, the Aloe plant, feathers and whatever other weird things you may see.

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The third shot in this row shows the mother moose lying down and chewing her cud while her year-old children browse through the store.

Feb15th_035_ Feb15th_040_ Feb15th_045_ Moose_HomeRC Moose_HomeRC Moose_HomeRC

The third shot in this row again shows the mother moose lying down and chewing her cud. It's not going to be too much longer before she sends these yearlings off on their own. It is approaching the time when she is going to be having a new baby or new babies, and then she's going to tell the year old ones that they must leave and make it on their own.

Feb15_22_ Feb15_23_ Feb15th_069_ MooseInYardRC MooseInYardRC Moose_HomeRC

The center photo in this row shows the entire family and that photo is book-ended by photos of one of the yearlings.

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The first shot in this row shows the nice color of the moose when they stand in the sun. The second and third photos show the two yearlings.

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Feb15th_138_ Feb15th_175_ Feb15th_180_ Moose_HomeRC Moose_HomeRC Moose_HomeRC End February 15th, Begin February 21st On February 21st I looked out the window and saw this weird Diamond Dust snow drifting by. It was quite obvious to the naked eye, but it doesn't show up very well in the photos. In the second image here (which is the same photo as the first image) I have increased the contrast and it shows up a little better.

Feb21_2_Dia Feb21_2Contrast_ mondDustSnowRC DiamondDustSnowRC

These two images are also the same photo. In second position I have converted it to an HDR photo. The Diamond Dust Snow doesn't seem to show up any better, but I think it added a certain attractiveness to the photo.

Feb21_3_Dia Feb21_3a_HDR_ mondDustSnowRC DiamondDustSnowRC End February 21st, Begin February 22nd On February 22nd we went to the Fairbanks Fairgrounds Ice Park. This is where sculptures. A Single Entry ticket is $16, so we bought Season Tickets for $45 each. We need the 2020 World Ice Art Championships are being held. When we visited on this date the to visit only two more times to pay for the season tickets. By the way, in the third photo, you Multi-Block Event had been completed and the winners had been announced. We didn't take are reading that sign through at least 6 inches of very clear ice. many photos because night is a much better time to do photography of these incredible ice

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Feb22_05_ Feb22_06_ IceParkRC IceParkRC

Feb22_01_ IceParkRC

Here are two more sculptures, again, please note the clarity of the ice. The event obtained the ice from a different pond than usual this year, and they had never had such clear ice to work with in years past - they are calling it "Arctic Diamond" Ice,

Feb22_07_08_Auto Pano_IceParkRC

Feb22_10_ IceParkRC

This is only a small portion of one sculpture. I have included it, and a part of the photo to show the clarity of the "Arctic Diamond" ice.

Feb22_22_ Feb22_22Part IceParkRC _IceParkRC

Here is the grand Prize winner of the Multi-Block Event. The title is "The Heart of the Universe" and it was sculpted by a Latvian team. The second shot shows some blocks of blue ice. Interesting, to say the least. This is, apparently, being saved for something else.

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Feb22_26_ Feb22_31_ IceParkRC IceParkRC End February 22nd, End February 2020's Photos, Begin Our Publications Links

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End Our Publications Links, End Page 3 of 3, February 2020

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