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By the way, my internet access was cut off last weekend, so this might be the last update before August 9th or 10th. I'm returning to Wisconsin after two years in Japan. I'll do my best to keep my pictures interesting without the advantage of exotic locals.
This is a tree called, "Nanja Monja no Ki." It translates to basically, "What's up with this tree?" I did some looking into it, and if a tree happens to be really old and weird within a temple ground, sometimes it will receive this name. There's a Nanja Monja no Ki at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, and another in neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture. This one is in a little town near Narita called Kozaki.
Today was the first day of the big Yaegaki-jinja Gion Matsuri. Last year the big excitement was the second night, but I won't be in town on Saturday, so I won't see it. The temperature has been insane these last few days. I have two thermometers outside of my apartment. The one in the shade read 99'F, and the one in the sun was over 120'F, but didn't have markings any higher. Plus it's humid. I'm leaving Japan in just a few days, so I haven't had much food in my apartment. I went to get a premium grilled chicken salad at McDonalds (they're awesome) around noon, and I thought my hair was going to catch on fire.
Today I met up with a bunch of friends to watch the fireworks in Ichikawa.
The night was nice and clear tonight.
A solid red dragonfly in the park in Sosa, Japan.
I flew back to Wisconsin today. I was stuck in Minneapolis for 8 hours. The plane I should have been on was broken, and they couldn't fix it in time. Eventually, they brought in a plane from Canada to replace it.
I'm back in Wisconsin! The weather is great, and I have my new camera to play with. I bought the Canon 30D, with the 28-135mm image stabilizing lens. It blows my old camera away.
I've started moving into my new apartment. It's shaping up nicely! I took this picture with my new Canon 30D. It has quite a bit more zoom to work with than my old camera. I took this picture hand-held just like the picture on the 7th I took with my Sony. I brought back my tripod, but it's not heavy-duty enough for the new camera.
A couple of squirrels were in the tree right outside my window.
My roommate's cat was being very polite. Today I went to the pet store to buy a toad, but being Sunday, it closed early. I'll have to go tomorrow. I hope it gets along with the cats.
This is a toad I found outside. It's officially the first amphibian I've photographed with my new camera.
I headed out to Tiedeman Pond in Middleton to practice with my new camera. The weather was great, and I took some nice pictures.
My roommate's cat, "Georgia."
The UPS guy came!
These are my new toads. I haven't named them yet, but they sure are cute! They were pretty excited to explore their new home. I ordered them online, and they were in a styrofoam carton full of moss for two days in transit. I've had pet toads before, but this is the first time I've used moss and dirt as a substrate. The toads love it. When they're just relaxing they dig little burrows with their hind legs. It's much more natural than the gravel I used before.
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I went to an Armageddon party hosted by one of my previous employers. I got to see a bunch of my old coworkers and catch up. Fortunately the world didn't end.
Two of my pet toads.
A monarch butterfly on the bank of the Wisconsin River.
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All three of my toads together. Toads are awesome.
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My roommate's cat. She was getting quite riled up chasing my laser pointer.
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This is my toad Chii. Chii is the character from Chobits that would climb utility poles at night. My Chii also likes to climb at night.
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One of my toads keeping an eye on things at night.
I was working on my close-ups today.
A white feather on some clean Wisconsin water.
Today I helped my parents move furniture out of the house and rip up carpeting. They're getting the wood floors resurfaced next week. I think it will look nice.
This is about a five minute bike ride from my new house. The people along the shore have lawn chairs setup to watch the sunsets.
I went for a jog today around the nearby pond, and I came back later to take some pictures. I was hoping for another nice sunset, but the sky was too clear. You can't really complain about nice weather though, can you?
This is the Inohana Castle in Chiba city. You would never guess in a million years, but there is a planetarium inside.