They say that some snow is on the way.  And by they, I mean those that profess the ability to predict the weather.  I don’t put any faith in what they say, but dang it surely is gray and cold now.

I had a few errands to do so I headed out into my neighborhood to hit the bank, and pick up some ingredients for dinner.  I stopped by Kawachiya, which was the first discount liquor store to open, to pick up some imported goods.  I amazingly got a 500 gram  box of cereal for 198 yen ($2.60).  All the way from the country of Lithuania.  I just never know what goodies I am going to find there.

Had a great simple curry lunch, before heading over to the OK Supermarket to get the fresh veggies.

The oranges on the tree were full of life even though the weather was dipping and dipping.  It still amazes me how they survive and thrive in the winter time.  Even in my little corner of Minami Kasai, next to Tokyo Bay.

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Some things will last forever.  Somethings change too quickly to be seen.  Some things move between one phase and an other. It is just temporary.

Water is fluid and full of motion at room temperature.  In the heat of the earth the water becomes steam.  In the dead of winter the fluidity of water becomes motionless.

Wet snowflakes fall from the sky moving from one to another.  Hitting the wet cement it quickly transforms its alternative self.

It sometimes it is all just moment between one phase and the next.

It’s cold.  Really cold.  It is the kind of wet cold that just goes through your skin and heads straight to your bones.  This is when my growing up in Miami has its drawbacks.  It is right on the threshold of what I can bear.

The rain came all night, and continued into the morning.  People living on the west side of Tokyo had snow in the morning, but us on the east side next to the bay it was just gray dreary rain.

At around 12:30 pm the rain started become a bit slushy.  Not ten minutes later did that slush become snow.  I stood in front of a large glass window watching the clumps of snow fall to the ground and then vanish once they hit the puddles.  Watching the snow come down always relaxes, and excites my soul.

Snow was always something special to me.  My family only got to experience snow when war were on a vacation.  So, as soon as I see snow I think, VACATION!  I don’t want to see to much snow.  But a few times a winter is enough for me.

On this shabbat a special shabbat shalom shout out to Christine for sending some goodies from the states.  May all my other friends and family have a beautiful day of rest too!

This lost and found object spoke to me on my way home from the station.  I haven’t been focusing too much on the lost and found items recently as I have been searching out new subjects.  However, this one spoke to me.

The tiny golden heart on a cold winter day was surrounded my the warm ring of fuzz.  The gold reflected the gentle dusk twilight.  As I looked into the heart I could see so much that is to come.  There are opportunities that will open up.

The unseen will be seen.  Those new subjects that I am searching for will be found.  Not only what I am searching for, but I pray that our communities will find them too.  There is so much distractions in the world.  People lust after the precious metals. Humans devour the earth in search for them.

But, this tiny scrap of gold is not what I desire.  In fact it is not what we all should be desiring.  We should be looking at the reflection.  We should be contemplating our path, and our place in this world.  We should be seeking our voice and perfection in what we choose to pursue.

Look into the golden heart. and see what it will show you.

I walked those Ichikawa streets for the last time for a few months today.  The sun’s rays were growing long, and the light was just perfect.  Sometimes, I just see, and observe how quickly the light changes around this time of day.

It is around that time of day, that a few minutes, even a few seconds can make the difference between the most amazing light and just in the shadows.  I love watching those changes.  Light, and seeing light has become integral part of what makes up life.

I wonder to myself, how can people just walk by with out seeing how amazing the light is.  I know other photographers know what I am talking about.  Golden, yellow, orange, white, they are all there.  All one has to do is pause and just open your heart, and see what is happening all around you.

So, for now, I bid a sweet farewell to Ichikawa.  Goodbye!  Take care!  I will walk your streets again come April.

I needed to head into Akihabara to pick up a few things at Yodobashi Camera. One thing I have got to say is that any electrical goods store, can’t even be compared with the selection at Yodobashi Camera. And the customer service is outstanding. A big shout out to Uehara, who allowed me to charge my Ricoh battery so that I could keep shooting.

I am not to big on Akihabara. It attracts some of the craziest otaku (geeks) in all of Japan. Some of the backstreets are amazing. They are lined with tiny shops that sell just about anything that requires an electrical current. These little junk shops are amazing.

But, what I spied today was how little greenery there was in this part of town. All of the space had been gobbled up by the energy hungry shops and Donner Kebab fast food joints. There were a few oases of green here and there. Sometimes confined to small rows of potted plants in front of a store. Other’s were bound in on all sides by concrete and iron.

There among all the neon sings and concrete there was my green. There were the otaku are allowed to roam freely the green pops its head. FInd, the green I will. It reminds me of our delicate connection to nature.  I is the beginning of the Limited Green series.

I am definitely on a learning to survive so that the next stage one can thrive these days.  And on this day of rest my thoughts return to the natural world.  Nature has a way of coping with pretty much anything that it encounters.

In the dead of winter, a succulent has the ability to keep on growing.  Lifting up its fleshy leaves up to the warm sunshine.  Not only are they reaching up, but this one was sending out new shoots.

New life is sprouting forth in the middle of winter in the deepest backwater suburbs of Ichikawa, just east of the sprawl of the Tokyo metropolis.

We all got to find our ways to thrive in adverse environments.  My way and your way most likely will not be the same.  But, we will find our style of thriving!

The cold winds have been blowing in the Tokyo area.  I myself haven’t seen any snow yet, but others have told me they have spotted some.  I have to don a pair of gloves to go shooting now.  That isn’t so bad, except my fluffily gloves keeping getting stuck on the velcro of my camera case.  I need to switch over to the neoprene gloves that I also use in the winter time.

This all being said that I was wandering down a street in Ichikawa, Chiba the other day when I spotted a small path that I had missed the other 100s of times I had walked down this path.  I felt an urge deep down in my soul to follow this little side path.  It wasn’t very long, only 20 or so meters when the path ended at a metallic gate, that was framed in by a tree full of some winter citrus.

It just made me realize that even a short journey could be fruitful. And then there are other journeys where you seem to get nowhere, and one never really knows which one in life will come your way.  Follow those paths and find your fruit.

This lost and found object really caught my eye today.  I haven’t taken many of the lost and found images over that last nine months or so as I have been exploring other subjects.  This little caught me by surprise.  He was just there.  Perched on the edge of a high brick wall in Ichikawa.  He was laying on his side, with a house key attached to him.  Even though he was lost, on his side and out and the cold, he still managed to smile.  His smiling made me smile.  Because of these chain reaction of events I knew I needed to take his portrait.

We need to never loose our sense of humor.  The unique human quality to laugh and refresh ourselves though our laughter.  I needed a good laugh today.  And this little guy gave it to me.  Even though he is made of plastic, he does not have a plastic smile to me.  His smile was genuine.  His smile was from the heart.

Laugh and smile.

It is sometimes hard to view myself as a survivor, but being part of life is a struggle.  Being able to maintain, strive and hopefully thrive is surviving.  I may have not have gone through some of what life’s more terrible dishing outs, but that doesn’t mean that our own personal troubles are any less real to us.

I think of this flower here on the edge of Tokyo bay.  It has somehow manages to wiggle its roots between the cracks in the concrete.  Not only was it able to get its roots in where there is no soil, but it has managed to be whipped by the winds, battered by the storms, and somehow bloomed in the middle of winter.  Now that is what I call a survivor.  If this weed can do it, so can we all.

First step survive, second step, learn to thrive.