The summer’s cicadas are singing their song as I was making my way to Nishi Kasai.  The sun was high and clouds fluttered across the road, making it a bit cooler than it should have been.  I found a couple of MOZE tags that must have been pretty old, but nothing out of this world.

I pedaled past a small street and a huge patch of green caught my eye.  I circled back around and stood in front of a two story apartment building that was covered from top to bottom in morning glory vines.  At first I thought that the building had been abandoned, but one of the doors was clear from vines because of use.   There also was a small line up of bicycles in front too.

The flowers had only begun to bloom, but the entire building had been engulfed by the creeping vines.

Just another summer day spent pedaling through my neighborhood.

Sometimes we just feel out it.  It is hard to know why or where it comes from, but there it is.  It is right before us, sometimes seeping way down into our soul.  The important fact is what do what we do?  Do we stay paralyzed and afraid to do anything?

I say, NO!  I know it might be hard, but it is that struggle through the rough patches in our lives that make those vibrant days that much sweeter.    We have to make that conscious decision to seek the light.  To seek out the sunny side of the river if the side that we are traveling on is in darkness.

For me that is the only way to live.  It is easy to say, but to put it into practice take effort.  We need to discipline ourselves to focus on that light that shines into our lives.  If there is no light then it is time for us to go out and find that light.

For me this past Sunday I found that light on the sunny side of the river in a place called Minami Kasai.  It is nothing special.  It is just my daily stomping ground.  The light was there, in a way it was always there, I just had to open my heart to feel it.

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!

After a long exhausting day, I was glad to get out into the fresh air on my way home.  I came across this little front side garden with these amazing red bloomers, that were perfectly countered by the faux stained glass.  All and all it was a good day in the neighborhood.  I feel lucky not to be going through the heat that the east coast of America is feeling now.

Everyday is a day to give thanks.

I had gathered my coat, scarf, and bag before stumbling out into the cold Chiba night.  It was only 6:30 but the haze of the early party swirled in my head.  The air felt so refreshing after inhaling other peoples smoke for the last 2 hours.  I walked the familiar streets back to the station, pausing a few times to see some lights that caught my eye.

The lights just come alive at night.  Even though at times so much light pours onto the streets that becomes a artificial fluorescent day.

I kind of like it a bit when the darkness comes so early, but I look forward to those long summer days that aren’t to far away.

The rain came all day.  It lest a haze that was hung around after the rain vanished.  All the lights are aglow outside, flaking of the shiny pavements and sidings.  SNAP, Snap, snap.

Is there such a thing as Urban Nature?

The air dropped and became pleasant, out of the corner

i caught the glow of a yellow moon, calling m out onto the veranda.

the air wicked around me while i fumbled with my little GRII to get some long exposures

of the magic out my window.   Step out and see.