More than 10 years ago I was slicing a grapefruit it half with a kitchen knife.  I don’t recall exactly when.  It may well be more than 10 years.  There was really nothing unusual about it until i looked inside one of the halves.  There, imbedded in the grapefruit’s flesh was a seed that had already sprouted.  I had never come across a seed that had sprouted inside a citrus fruit.

I took this as a good sign, and I planted in a small pot.

The plant grew and grew over the years.  I gradually transferred it to bigger and bigger pots in a nice sunny place on my Tokyo patio. For years, there was only growth.  No flowers.  No fruit.  Just some oddly shaped grapefruit leaves.  Perhaps two years ago three blossoms appeared on the tree only to be swept away by the strong bay winds.  I was ready to give up on the tree and chop it down.  I thought that after all these years perhaps this tree was just infertile and would never bear fruit.

This all changed this spring.  When the nights began to warm and the new green shoots were sprouting forth, that is when I noticed the little white bulbs.  Not just in one section of the tree as they had been a few years ago, but they cover the tree. The white flower’s sweet scent filling the air as I water the garden.

As spring will quickly become summer I pray that some of these flowers will hold on with all their might and transform themselves into fleshy grapefruit but that is greatly out of my hands.  I only tend the garden.  There is only One who can do that.

I am truly thankful that I waited and waited.  Now I can enjoy the sprouted seed from all those years ago from that halved grapefruit.

The air was refreshingly cool today.  A sign that the rainy season will begin within the next 10 days or so.  I really don’t mind the rainy season.  It reminds me of Miami.  The rain is pretty constant for about 3 to 4 weeks.  The only real problem for me is that I don’t get as much of a chance to ride my bicycle.

The skies were filled with clouds in all directions which muted all the hues, and let the colors pop off against the grayness of the asphalt.  The hydrangeas are just starting to bloom, another nod that the rainy season is coming.

The rains will come.  Droplets falling from the heavens will wash away our sins.  The rivers near my home will swell and turn into rushes of chocolate colored milk.

Be in tune with the natural world that surrounds us, even if that nature is filled with concrete and high powered wires.

Yesterday the temperature took a dive.  The dry crackling air rushed by as I zipped back from Nishi Kasai to my home in Minami Kasai.  It was cold enough that the weather forecast was calling for snow in the early am hours.

I was following a small creek that runs behind some houses where I came to an amazing aloe bush.  It was near freezing weather and this aloe was blooming with some bright red blossoms.  The aloe was so massive that is snake like branches were hovering only centimeters above the waterline.

Just a little nudge that even when I may be freezing and have wrapped my body from head to toe in winter clothing there is still life that manages to bloom.  There are colors that pop forth out of the gray.

You have to let your nose be your guide, or at least that is what I did.  That sweet fragrance of the the unmistakable kinmokusie ( 金木犀) drifted into my nostrils right before lunch.  My stomach was rumbling wanting to be nourished, but the scent drew me in.

As usual I had no idea where the scent was coming from. I knew it had to be pretty close by.  I wandered around for a bit, and to my astonishment, there were three of the largest orange sweet osmanthus I had ever seen.  The tiny blossoms were bursting all over the trees.  The trees were peeking as I strolled under their branches.

I noticed the the earth had begun to be dotted by them.  Little orange specks were scattered around the roots of the trees.  These little orange drops of fragrant dew had done their mission for the year, and sat patiently on a bed of green ground coverings to seep back into the soil.

The dew has begun to fall, another sign of autumn, and another signal that the crisp air will gradually dip closer and closer to freezing.  For now, I am content just being able to witness such a seasonal sensory festival of aroma.

The skies finally decided to dry out after a sopping wet Saturday.  I took a ride over the bridge into Urayasu to spend some time with friends.  The sun was strong and I was thankful for not wearing my windbreaker.

turned off the main street to pedal down one of the streets in the warehouse section along the water’s edge.  It being Sunday the streets were deserted.  The large aluminum sided building stood silently.  The gate closed till they reopen on Monday.

Door to door asphalt is what I thought I would find, and that was there, but there is an incredible amount of greening in process in the industrial neighborhood.  Small potted gardens lineup up outside the offices.  Gardens had been planted in the entrance ways to break the monotony of factories.

Flowers sprung up from the ground like notes on a musical score.  Reaching for the sunshine as they swayed in the breeze.

Nature given time will grind these factories into compostable dust.  All it takes is time and for the human element to leave them be.  In the meantime, I watch the struggle or the harmony of it all.  It all depend on how you choose to view the world.

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.

This little kitty was out enjoying the clear winter sunlight the other day, just like me.  The kitten was peeking out at me through the parking lot’s garden.  His/her eyes met my lens, as I pressed the shutter button. I hope that one day he/she will find a home.  Someone out there will take care of this kitten.  However, for now he’ll just continue to take advantage of winter’s sunny skies.

I know I have Miami blood.  I can get used to the cold weather here, even if that weather is never that cold, but I don’t really love the weather in the winter time.  I dress fro it.  Wrap my neck in a scarf, pull gloves over my fingers, and double up on socks.  It helps, but I still feel cold.

I spotted this little one the other day as I was walking through a quiet Chiba neighborhood.  Still amazed at how many flowers are actually in bloom, considering it is just about the end of December.  Here she was rolling its tint petals in on themselves trying to keep warm just like me.  Turning its head towards the sunshine to keep all of its petals warm, just as I love it as I ride the train and the sunlight flickers as we zoom past the concrete shapes of Tokyo.

Just being myself, trying to keep warm.  Bundle up everyone.

The weather is still in a state of an ever changing mind.  Today is gorgeous out.  The sun is rising high the temperatures are too.  I can sit comfortably on my patio as I write this blog.  All in all it a beautiful day to be resting in Tokyo.

Yesterday the light and the skies were as beautiful.  And all the weather patterns continue to have the plants confused.  I saw this dandelion in full bloom yesterday.  I was a bit surprised since the last time I saw them was back in July.  But who knows?  This crazy weather coupled with the typhoon that roared through 6 weeks ago and nature is dealing with those changes the best they can.

Mentioning change, there will be some upcoming changes to the postings here at Lucid Communication.  I won’t go into detail at the moment, but stay posted and I hope you all will follow and become intrigued by the changes.

Peace from the sunnyside of life!

An interesting phenomenon has been happening this autumn.  Flowering plants have bloomed multiple times and some plants have even been tricked into blooming early.  There have been some cases reported in Japan of cherry blossom trees blooming in October.  This is pretty insane.  Anyone who thinks that there isn’t any climate change should take a peep at the cherry blossoms that traditionally bloom in late March or early April, are now blooming in October.

I have even noticed it on my own little patio garden.  My pomegranate tree has sprouted blossoms three times this year.  The most recent blossoms appeared about two weeks ago.  Even with some golfball sized fruit on its branches the pomegranate tree has been coerced into blooming again.

Also, as I was making my way back to the station on Friday afternoon, I noticed that along the tracks the false dandelion,  have bloomed again.  We are living in some strange times.  However, I am happy to see the lovelies in my wanders.  They are a constant reminder of the fragile state of our ecosystem.  The flowers also help to through some color on some otherwise drab concrete surroundings.

The sun played a game of hide and seek with the clouds today.  The bright sun shone down upon the earth for a while, then darted behind the clouds as if it were a shy Japanese child.  The temperatures were on the cooler side today. A sign that this long summer is going through a transition.  According to the Japanese way of counting the seasons we have already moved into autumn.

This sunflower was deciding whether or not to bloom.  It felt as if it were holding something back.  Could it be aware that the long days have shortened, and that the leaves will soon be turning into autumn hues?

I don’t know.  But I sure enjoyed watching the dance.

First I must apologize for my absence over the last three weeks.  I had a project that needed finishing that left little time or energy for artistic pursuits.  Now that it has been finished I can happily return to working on my photographic craft.

Been thinking a lot about sunflowers.  These massive beauties that start off from lovely zebra-esque seeds.  They quickly grow reaching higher and higher for the sun.  They are one of the few flowers on the planet that I often have to look up at to enjoy.  I can not quite illustrate what it is about these yellow beauties that I am so attracted too.  Their size is amazing.  The speed in which they grow and bloom seems unreal.  The fact that the seeds make a tasty treat.

They are the new sunshine in my life.  They represent that energy that can renew the spirit.  That light that can uplift the mind and feed the soul.

A new dawn is coming.

First of all I would like to congratulate Japan’s National Women’s Team for winning the Women’s World Cup.  I am well aware of my American roots, and I usually would support my home team of America.  However, considering all that Japan has been though over the last four months I am pleased that Japan won.  It gives Japan a bit of good news when we all have been just keeping our heads above water in bad news.

Orange is one of those colors that I usually overlook. The hot sensation that orange gives me is one that I usually avoid.  However, these two, were just singing in the sun.  They speak color sound of summer time.  The speak of the heat, that shines from the closeness of the summer sun.

Orange

Heat

Hot

Humid

Beautiful

And there it was.  A tree that was completely covered in this little white star, that had had their edges dipped in a light shade of lavender.  All blooming, or about to bloom.  Signaling to me the hot summer that is to come, and the micro universe that lies right in front of our senses.

This thought crossed my mind today as I was taking some pictures of a tree with funky fresh red blossoms.  I was thinking to myself, I have never seen this flower before.  But, what I started to realize that it wasn’t that I hadn’t seen the flowers before, it is more that I never really took the time to explore, and see the flowers with all my senses.

This is the challenge for artists, and for me especially as a visual artist we are constantly learning to see again.  I just took nature for granted.  It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate nature, far from it, I love nature.  I love being out in nature.  It is more that I never took the opportunities that presented before me with my camera until I came to face the awesome power of the earth that contrasts with it’s diverse beauty.

I now see nature in my daily commute like I never have before.  The colors, the shapes, the varieties, the phases from bud to bloom, to shedding of the petals.  And now I am beginning to witness the flowers that are becoming the fruits of summer and fall.

I will continue to challenge myself through my art.  I must grow as an artist or what is the point.  I can never be truly satisfied.

Strive for that beauty out there in the world.  Let it envelope us in those kodachrome colors.