Izumi Tanaka

Every morning before the sun-seeking crowd gets here, there are these trucks that scan the beach to clean and level the sands.  They are a part of the familiar scene I encounter when I I do my morning bike ride.

So far we’ve had three days of glorious sunshine in the morning this week, and the temperature is comfortable enough to ride my bike without a jacket.   And I see “regulars” on the bike path — they are the “characters” in the scene that I would miss if I don’t see them.  As I’m on the path at least three times a week between 7 and 8 in the morning,  I wonder if anyone notice when I’m not there, or everyone is just into their own morning rituals…

The morning glory was back this morning.  The same spot, the same ocean, the same time… basking in the morning sun.

The cats always know the warmest spot in the house.  This time of the year we have some nice morning sun coming into our bedroom and dining room.  Because it’s finally warming up, the window was open a little and there she was!

Hello, it’s almost at the end of April, and the rainy season is supposed to be over here in Southern California.  Yet I’m still using my space heater in my office and it was cold and drizzly last night.  What is up with that!?  Meanwhile, the little bit of precipitation fell in our neighborhood must be still a delight for our plants.  The trees and flowers all looked happy this morning in the sun.

The sun was pouring into the bedroom this morning, and Nicola was basking on the bed.  Resistible….  I picked up my camera, and ta-ta!  She posed!  May be she realized she needs to emulate her brother being a super model.  Pretty… but not quite flirty enough, kitty cat.

The morning was bright after a short downpour yesterday.  As I took a walk in the crisp air, I encountered a whole bunch of these guys crawling all over the side walks.  Suddenly I’m finding myself having compassion for these little slow-moving creatures even though I still can’t touch them.  There’s something rather “zen” about how they are going around in their world.  (I don’t like the frivolous use of the word, “zen” but couldn’t find a better word in this case.)  Please don’t step on them, people!

I went up to the mountains last Saturday for the weekend and woke up feeling sick on Sunday.  What better place is there to be sick surrounded by pine trees, lots of birds, and blue sky?!  Well, Monday morning I woke up to this snow wonderland!  The drizzle that started Sunday afternoon turned to snow at night and left about 6 inches of the wet white blanket all around.    During the course of the day on Monday, most of the snow melted away, but my flu bug hung around for another three days….  I’m finally back in the city and at my desk on Friday afternoon.  I must say I’m lucky that I got to convalesce in fresh and clean air at 5500 feet high under the piercingly blue sky — yes, I did soak some healing energy of the sun on my deck everyday.

We left Chicago on Monday.  It was a sunny and crisp morning after a thunderstorm the night before.  For a week, this place was home, and I was sad to leave.

It was almost hard to believe it rained last night….  I know I heard it, but I was already in for the evening when it started.  When I woke up this morning the sun was shining through our bedroom window, so I forgot about the rain until I walked outside and saw the refreshened plans.  They all looked happy.