More Twin Love

We just can't stay away from these babies. They continue to gain weight and are doing very well.
And yes, I took the self-portrait, which wasn't easy.
Here's my baby with a grandbaby.

Osaka - The videogames city in Japan - With BZH World Tours and globe trotter David Picard

Panorama of the modern city of Osaka

Back in Japan with David Picard.
After visiting Tokyo, this time we are going to explore Osaka with David and he will tell us how are going his preparations for his world tour by bike he is going to start next year.
Located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, Osaka is Japan's third largest city by population after Tokyo and Yokohama.
Historically the commercial center of Japan, Osaka is one of the command centers for the Japanese economy andused to be referred to as the "nation's kitchen" because it was the centre of trading for rice, creating the first modern futures exchange market in the world.
Let's meet David and ask him to show us around!




Hi David! Thanks to be back with us!

So last month you told us about Tokyo and your eight months travel in Japan and you told us also about your project to travel around the world in 2014 with your bike only for 67760 Km! What an amazing challenge! (click here to read our July interview)
Today I am going to make you one question about your World Tour and one question about Osaka. OK?
So, last month you told us about your amazing itinerary around the world, your equipment and many other interesting things. We explored your website, it is very interesting! Can you tell us more about www.bzhworldstours.com?
BZH are the initials of the region of France where I live: Brittany (editor's note: The local word for the Brittany is "breizh" (pronounced "bray-tze"), often shortened to "bzh").
It is a very beautiful region of France, with many festivals where you are never bored living in.


And now let's speak about Osaka. What impressed you more of Osaka?


Osaka is a city not too different from Tokyo, although it is a bit smaller.

I really like to explore the narrow streets where, behind little doors, are disguised great video games shops with a huge selections of game. For me that I like video games that was heaven!
Do you have sponsors for your world tour travel? Are you still looking for sponsorships?
Unfortunately I haven't yet enough sponsors.
Many shops offered me a discount of the 10% of their prices to buy my equipment, which was good of them. I calculated a budget of around 15.000 Euros for my adventure, so I count a lot on donors and to the people who will be able to help me on my way.
Maybe the city of Vannes will give me some help, but I still looking for sponsorships at the moment...

One of the beautiful gardens where to rest and enjoy some quiet

There is something in particular you will advise to do / see in Osaka?
Osaka has great restaurants and wonderful video games shops.
If you love videogames Osaka is your place! You can find all the videogames you like there, known and unknown, it is great!
But you should also take some time to explore the mountains around and enjoy the nature and what the nature has to tell you, even just seating on a bench and admiring the panorama.
Which languages do you speak David? How you are planning to communicate with people of so many different countries and languages during your world tour?
I know it is funny and you may think I am mad but I only speak French and few words in English!
I just use the language of all the languages: body signs! ...and it is a funny way to communicate! But I may take some English lessons too...

Aerial view of the city

Japan is notoriously quite an expensive country to travel to. Where you stayed in Osaka? How is accommodation there?
Well, I didn't find Japan too expensive. I slept on a tent and sometimes I even got a quite comfortable room, this way I had enough money to buy food and other things I needed.
And finally, how you are managing accommodation during your 2014 world tour? Where you planned to sleep during your travel around the world ?
I will sleep in a tent again, some people will also give me hospitality in their houses along my way.I will avoid comfortable hotels and sometimes sleep in hostels too...


Thanks again David, good luck for your preparations and we look forward to see you again next month!
(This interview was made by email the 22nd July )

Want to read more about Japan and David Picard's WT? Read our post about Tokio

Visit another wonderful country in Asia: go to our page Visit Thailand

Misty morning

One of the great things about my two-wheeled mode of travel is the chance to see things that others miss. Often these can happen totally unexpectedly, such as this morning's mist that rolled in out of nowhere. It was on the latter part of the pre-work 40km ride that I do every so often (not the Hinze Dam one). It had been surprisingly cool at times, I even recorded 11 degrees C at one stage, but it really got interesting on the suburban part of the ride that's normally so boring, when a stream of low-lying cloud decided to move across the coast, on a day that was otherwise clear.



I'm not sure this picture does the thing justice, after all, suburbia did obscure the views for quite a while, but rest assured, it was beautiful. Actually, there were a few things I noticed about that ride that are quite pleasant and worthy of sharing. Perhaps I'll do it one day when I manage to avoid starting it 15 minutes late!

Frustrating Week

Weather has not been conducive to riding - rainy. When not rainy, very windy. But, have been getting in a couple rides. Saturday, the race was canceled from the rain.
Last week (Wednesday) I headed out from the bike shop for a ride on the Trace. When I got to Margaritaville, I was feeling good - so headed on down to Mineola. Was thinking of stopping in Mineola for lunch at the Steak House - but it was already 1:10. So just turned back up the hill.
Stopped just out of town to take this photo - well a "touched-up" version of the photo. This is the Keg Creek bridge.
Uneventful ride back. Had a great, relaxing ride on the hardtail.

Let me know if I get in your way

I don't think cats understand reading.

Goo Day

Happy Goo Day!

I was mistaken in thinking that I'd already missed Orange Goo Day this year... That is, the day the Cedar-Apple Rust and Cedar-Qunice Rust make their outlandish annual appearances.

Hooray! I hate to miss it. This year the appendages seem more noodly than ever, don't they? I wonder if that's because it's rained so much in the past year.
Well, if you aren't hip to the whole orange goo phenomenon, don't fret. I wasn't either, until we moved out to the country. You can read my past posts (with slightly more scientific explanations) here.
So, was it Goo Day with you too? Did you have fun shouting sporulation and heteroecious and gelatinous telial spore horns?

Easy Street

Today it was Easy Street - the trail named Easy Street. Its a green trail in the Mahnomen Unit of Cuyuna Country SRA. Easy Street is a "2-way" trail. I rode (walked) the trail from E to W.
The trailhead is near the Pennington Lake parking lot (0.1 mile North of the lot). For nearly 1/2 mile, the trail climbs the "mountain" of overburden. Riders are treated views of Huntington Lake from most of the length of the trail.
After cresting the trail climb, the trail was a nice, flowing trail with short ups and downs. The trail turns away from the lake and the singletrack ended at a gravel road. Its about 1/4 mile down the road to the Boot Camp parking lot.
After the 1.8 miles on the singletrack, I was not ready to re-ride Easy Street on the way back to the car. While i had thought about riding Boot Camp again, I had enough of singletrack for this ride.
The Cuyuna Lakes State Trail - a paved bike trail - runs on the South side of Huntingtom Lake. A relaxing ride back to the car on the paved trail. Round trip - 4 miles.
The photo above is the view from East Street. More photos are on my fb page. Eventually, photos will be posted on my web site.

A little rusty

We couldn't work in the garden at all over the weekend, because it rained so much Friday night and Saturday morning.

It rained hard - the creek is always muddy when that happens.
I'm not sure exactly how much it rained... our old rain gauge cracked, and Jasmine apparently thinks the new one is a chew toy. Some areas got 2 - 4 inches.
After it stopped pouring on Saturday we went for a walk to see if we could see any migrant birds. But I got a little distracted.

I had a feeling that it was cedar-apple rust, which I'd read about but never noticed.

The bizarro-alien-invader-looking things were only on cedars.

They were easy to spot since they were so bright orange.
These roundish ones were the oddest looking, but there were also little sleeves of orange gelatinous goo on twigs, and bunches of it in clusters like this:

Here's what that one looked like the next day after drying out:

Big difference!

The roundish ones looked slightly less creepy when dry.
I didn't get a shot of the sleeve-like parts when wet, but here is a dry one.

If I've read this chart of rust differences correctly, the roundish ones are cedar-apple rust, and the others are cedar-quince rust.
It's an interesting fungus - it has to go back and forth between hosts (cedars and apples) to survive. Which is why the old timey remedy, if you're trying to grow apples, is to just cut down all the cedars! Hmm.
The other remedy is spraying fungicides. But since we're not trying to grow apples, I don't think it's worth it. I had a sad thought for all the crabapples I just planted, but since all the animals roam in those areas I'd rather not be spraying anything.

Playdate!

(From Mom here) Hello friends... Here's that picture of Shanti and her mama, Sue, winning their Novice B at Del Valle a few weeks ago. Sue was instrumental in finding Sammie for us through Norcal Golden Retriever Rescue. She lives quite near us and had a terrible infection that required hospitalization last night. (Sammie here now) Guess what? Shanti came over for a playdate!

Sorry that I keep using Roxio, but it is so very useful to present a story! Hope you'll indulge me yet another time!

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/aA9hs6VW

After all the Yogund and "escape" from the X-pen, Shanti (blue collar) and me got to snuggle with mama.

And Ozzie got to finally have a rest, later realizing that Shanti was just a guest and not a new permanent resident.

Paul Bunyan Country

Ya Betcha, that's olde Paul himself. Took this photo when I stopped for lunch after my ride. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

Plans were to ride the Paul Bunyan Trail this morning. When I stuck my head out of the hotel door, it was overcast and threatening rain. Weather.com was showing showers moving in the area, but looks good by 9/10 am. After light breakfast, I went back to bed for some more recovery. Before I knew it, the sun was shining.

The Paul Bunyan State Trail runs some 110 miles through the northcentral Minnesota woods from Brainard (Baxter) to Bemidji. Its a Rails-to-Trails on old railroad bed. The trail is paved the whole length.

Kitted up, prepared supplies, and loaded the road bike onto the car for the drive to the trail. Planned to park in Jenkins, ride South (into the wind) to Nisswa. There is no "trailhead" parking lot for the trail in Jenkins. At the convenience store, I was told most park along the road at the trail, or across the highway at the old "Dollar" store.

As it started heading South on the trail, it was 80+ degrees, humid, and partly cloudy. Wind was gusting, with some places no air moving. Stopped it several times to take photos of the trail. Rode on through Pequot Lakes.

My legs were telling me it was not a good idea to make Nisswa, even if I have the wind with my on the way back. At a little over 8 miles, I came across a bench with a view of Little Cullen Lake. Looked a great place to turn around and head for the car. Drank some of G2 and back on the bike.

Now, I thought I would have the wind with me on the way back, but it seamed at times I was back into the wind! Stopped at the old Depot in Perquot Lakes for a rest and finish my GC. Chatted with a couple others at the depot. I though the trail was very busy (at least Perquot Lakes and South. I was told that the traffic today was actually pretty light today.

North from Perquot Lakes to Jenkins, almost no one on the trail. Think met 2 folks total (counting both ways) on the 3 miles. Getting back to the car, I probably couple have made the extra miles making it to Nisswa. But, it was better to be safe. Did not want to bonk.

As I rode South from Jenkins, I noticed a crowd at A-Pine Restaurant at the South end of Jenkins. Looked it would be a good place to eat my late lunch. It was. After a sandwich (grilled ham & swiss) and wedge fries, treated myself to a slice of wild berry pie with ice cream.

Now that the photos are processed and blog entry is written, time to get horizontal and relax.

Heavenly Blue

Open, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The 'Heavenly Blue' morning glories are finally starting to bloom vigorously. What an amazing color for a flower...I have never seen anything like it.

Gold Lace Primrose

Gold Lace, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Sorry for not blogging in the past week...been busy!
This is the 'Victoriana Gold Laced' primrose from Annie's Annuals. The heirloom flower is very pretty and unique.
Annie's Annuals is a wonderful nursery in Richmond, California (which is sadly a dangerous town). When you enter the nursery though, you feel safe as you gaze upon variety after variety of very rare or heirloom plant. Everything I've ever purchased at Annie's has grown extremely well. If you can't make it out to California to visit them in person, you can order online.

http://www.anniesannuals.com/

Moose on the Pigeon River

These images were taken yesterday during my paddling outing on the Pigeon River. I saw these two Moose just minutes after putting in to the river. When I first came upon them there was one on each side of the river. After watching them for about 15 minutes, one swam across to join the other and they walked into the woods together. It was a beautiful day to be on the water and seeing these Moose made the day extra special!