Aki Matsuri (Fall Festival)

Time to party like it's fall.  Oh yeah.  Well, not so much in the way of party.  But it was fun.  We went to the Eastside Nihon Matsuri Association's Aki Matusri (visit them at enma.org).  It was pretty cool.  Lots of demonstrations and displays of traditional Japanese crafts and arts.  Everything from Ikebana to taiko to sumie.  It was fun to look through it all.  We even bought some art to decorate our humble abode.  Here's some pictures to look at.

Myself and my masterful brush strokes.

I thought this bonsai was pretty amazing.  It's growing around the rock!

And what festival would be complete without Kitty-chan?  

And kendo.  I really want to try it sometime.  Whacking someone with a bamboo sword just seems so much fun.  There were many martial arts demonstrations like aikido, kenjutsu, judo, karate, kyudo, ect.

The Joys and Woes of Gardening

One of the things I was most excited about when we moved back to Washington was the prospect of growing a big garden full of delicious things.  I guess I forgot about all of my natural enemies that exist here in the Great Northwest.  It was all worth it.  I tried growing a Japanese variety of corn called Mirai, it is really sweet.  Doesn't need any salt or butter, just pure deliciousness.  So here are some pictures of the Sunflowers, pumpkins, corn, birdhouse gourds, and everything else I got growing.  Enjoy.

Huge sunflowers (they must be 12 feet tall)

My hyotan (birdhouse gourd)

Big pumpkins

Watermelon

Strawberries and tomatoes

Monstrous zucchini ( I didn't even get pictures of the really big ones)

And of course damage due to my enemies.  Deer and chickens.  I'm thinking about putting a bounty on their heads.  This was a 24.6 pound pumpkin, and it would have kept growing.  I'm still mourning.