BullFrogs and Japanese Toads in the garden

Well today, as Daisy sat on her new little summer cot enjoying the fresh air in her garden, a huge BullFrog (called Ushi Gaeru in Japanese) jumped into the Dichondra lawn directly in front of her. Although this picture was taken before that 'event' this is exactly where it was (where she is looking towards in this photo above). At first I didn't know what it was in the lawn, then when I opened the door and stepped onto the lanai, that thing JUMPED! He lept at least 3 feet (about a meter) in one hop! He hit a potted plant and knocked it over and then hid in some dried leaves alongside the edge of the garden. Well this was quite interesting! I wanted to get a picture of him so I approached and then he took off. That thing can RUN and I also discovered it could climb a small fence! Finally he hid under a shed I have. I could barely get a look at him.

Daisy was so excited to try and chase him. I had to spend time taking her mind off of it with some juicy bones and treats for a while.

Here is a picture of what we saw and about the same size. This photo comes courtesy of a website on how to control Bullfrogs, I was unable to get a photo of 'our' visitor today. It was much too fast!

An American Bullfrog, they are not native to Japan but were introduced in the 1920's, originally to help farmers earn extra income by exporting frog legs. But they are great jumpers and runners, as we discovered today, and as some would escape the farms, they became established in the wild. Now they can be found all over Japan in the countryside as well as city parks, substantial ponds, rivers and larger irrigation ditches, and our humble urban garden!

click here to listen to a Bullfrog's call

UPDATE-Sept 1
We found the Bullfrog today hiding in the darkest wettest corner of the garden. After carefully holding back some leaves of the large plant he was sitting under, I was able to get this picture without upsetting him.

Funny thing is, it must have disturbed our regular Japanese Toads that live in our garden, under the sheds. They are called Azuma Hiki Gaeru in Japanese. Less than 10 minutes later, I saw one of our usual toads walking towards a shed we have on the opposite side of the garden looking dejected, like he just got kicked out of his house. He is lucky that BullFrog didn't eat him! Here is a picture of our regular Japanese Toad in the lawn. He doesn't move as fast as the BullFrog. The toads tend to freeze when you get too close, as if that would make you no longer interested in them. Silly toads, however the 'freeze' technique does make them very photogenic!

Japanese Toad as he is walking thru the Dichondra lawn. They seem to prefer walking like this and jump as a last resort. It looks funny as they walk across the lawn.

Azuma Hiki Gaeru, Japanese Toad acting like he isn't there, in a frozen position.

Hopefully our BullFrog will hang around, though he might have been traumatized by my trying to take his picture. I'm sure he is awesome pest control. He was so big and looked very well fed. I think he may have come from a nearby taro patch that someone is filling in partially to build some houses on. I used to hear the BullFrogs singing from there (at first I thought someone had cows or oxen!) but it's been pretty quiet over there now. I did however think I heard something outside along the dark damp side of our apartment for the last week or so. Guess it wasn't my imagination!

The next night, Daisy found this Japanese Toad in the garden. His markings are a little more pronounced than the one we saw during the day, maybe not the same toad. The poor thing was 'frozen' stiff in terror. Daisy was really not so interested in him after he stopped moving (she is actually quite gentle with things usually). I brought him in the apartment for a photo shoot, then put him back out in a bushy area so Daisy would give him some peace. Here are a couple really good close up photos for those of you that are interested and not squeamish about froggies.

Lemon Beagles can jump!

Running in the clover with the little soccer ball

Today we took Daisy to the dog park. The dog park provides a little box with some used balls for the dogs to play with there. Daisy likes to root around and select one from the box when we go there. Today she chose a small rubber 'soccer' ball. Ken was with us today and he was letting her jump for the soccer ball while I got some action shots with my new camera. She looks funny when she is jumping. She jumps on command (mostly).

Enjoy the pics!




All that jumping makes a Beagle tired! Here are a few pictures of some of the breaks she would take around the water bowl (she likes to put the ball in the water bowl sometimes!).

Golf with Daisy in Ibaraki, Kashimanomori C.C.

Daisy on the cart, ready to start!

This week, we found a place to golf in nearby Ibaraki that is dog friendly. This place was more welcoming to dogs than anywhere we've ever been before. Daisy was allowed to walk with us into the lobby and also during the lunch break, she was allowed to be in the room with us while we ate, though not in the main dining room. They even had a little bowl of water waiting for her!

We all had a great time. The place was called Kashimanomori Country Club and it only takes about an hour or so from our place, that is CLOSE for Tokyo area! It had very nice greens, not too fast and not too bumpy, so we had some very nice putts. There were however tons of bunkers and quite a bit of water. I managed to get myself in the bunkers pretty often on this day! But one needs to practice getting out of them once in a while and I managed to do so fairly well. Lunch was included and the locker rooms and hot spring bath was very nice. We already have reserved our next game there in a few weeks!

One view of the golf course, a kind of cloudy part of the day.

Here I am working my way out of one of the many bunkers!

Daisy was so funny! She really watched us as we would get ready to swing our club, then just like a human spectator, she'd watch the direction that the ball sailed off to. It was a little hot this day once the sun came out, so we got her T-shirt wet and put it on her to keep her cool. It worked really good, she wasn't even panting. We thought about getting ourselves wet too!

Here is a kind of photo log of how the day went. Video a the end of the post is cute of her running on the fairway. It was so cool that this place allows the dogs off the cart (just had to keep her off the greens and out of the bunkers).

In the car on the way to the Country Club, Daisy didn't mind getting up early to go "bye bye" in the car!

Enjoying a break in the grass with Ken.

After 17 holes and nearly 5 hours, I'm feeling alittle sleepy!

Just a few minutes later, after we started the 18th hole,
she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore!

Wow, it's amazing how cozy this cart is!

When we got home, she had dinner and then headed directly for her crate and passed out. Doesn't she look like a fat Caterpillar here? She was snoring like a freight train but slightly opened her eyes when she heard the camera switch on for this photo.

Video of Daisy and Ken running down the fairway as I drive by on the golf cart.

Summer 2008 Nagoya Exhibition

Memory Wire Necklace with a handblown glass bead, Aquamarine and Ruby colored Garnets. Silver "Daisy" beads between the gemstones and dangle accents on the ends of the necklace.

This summer, as usual, I had an exhibition for my Princess T line of jewelry at Art Space Sou in Nagoya. It is so nice to go to Nagoya for the weekend and meet up with some of my loyal customers, enjoy the other exhibitor's creations in the gallery (especially Miki Miyano and Naomi Kazawa's lampworked beads) but mostly it's great to visit with my friend Miki and her husband in Toyota city. I had a lovely time this year! The time past by so quickly!

This year I kept my displays pretty simple. I also kept the jewelry designs a bit simple this year as well, focusing mostly on just a few design types, such as Lariat/Wrap style necklaces and adjustable necklaces on a knotted cotton or linen cord. I also enjoyed working with Memory Wire for necklaces and bracelets this year. People really liked the free sizing of the Memory Wire and the ease of putting on and taking off the jewelry made with it.

In the previous post, I introduced Sora-chan, the sweet kitten I got to play with while staying with my friend Miki, but here are some photos from my show and from some sights around Nagoya I hope you will enjoy. I am working on posting some videos as well soon so check back!

Display with mostly Memory Wire Necklaces and Bracelets

Display with many Lariat/Wrap style Necklaces

A fun adjustable chain necklace with Mother of Pearl ovals, beautifully clear Smoky Quartz nuggets, Tiger's Eye, one Fresh Water Pearl and a gorgeous piece of Gold and Black Rutillated Quartz for the pendant.

Some adjustable knotted cord necklaces in blues

A spiral shaped building in Downtown Nagoya. Each of the triangular glass/windows are a different size due to the shape of the building, not one is exactly the same!

A more distant view of the spiral building

The cleanest bus stop I've ever seen, though most everything is very clean in Japan. I don't think there was one fingerprint on the glass here! Can you imagine seeing such a clean bus stop in USA? Not in Los Angeles that is for sure!

This is a sort of mannequin used on the back of a road construction truck to warn drivers that they are approaching a construction area. You see these in Japan from time to time. He has a flashing yellow light on his shoulder and his right arm moves the flag in his hand up and down. From a distance, it looks like a real person sometimes, especially at night. It is a good idea actually since a live person standing on the road doing this job can be really putting themselves in danger.

Sora, a most fortunate kitten

This is Sora. He belongs to my friends, the Miyano family in Toyota City (near Nagoya). I was visiting with them this weekend when I went to my show (exhibition) at Art Space Sou, which began on this past Saturday.

Sora was rescued shortly after he was born. It seems his mother was a stray cat and that she abandoned her kittens. Some of Sora's brother's and sisters didn't make it, but the Miyano family kindly took Sora in and hand fed him for the first 2 weeks they had him. He had to be fed with a kind of medicine dropper with a special formula since he was too weak to even drink/eat from a bottle. But after the 2 weeks, he started eating on his own and has gotten stronger and stronger. Now he is a very robust kitten who will be 3 months old soon. He is very loved and well cared for by his family. He is a very lucky little kitten!

I had alot of fun playing with him. He thinks he is a big and vicious lion! He really enjoys to tear into you with his needle-like teeth if you aren't paying attention, like any kitten his age. When he is being calm and relaxed, he starts purring right away when he sees you.

Aren't his markings adorable? I especially like the black spot that is right on the end of his chin. He is a real sweetie and I really enjoyed him. It's been a while since I've been able to spend time with a small kitten.

Sora in a mid-air jump trying to reach the fuzzy pink toy we were playing with.

One of Sora's first pictures when he was quite small.

CHECK OUT THE NEWLY POSTED VIDEOS BELOW! Sora is very funny!

Daisy goes for a bike ride

Daisy in my bike basket riding along the Edogawa riverside in Tokyo (the entrance to Tokyo Bay is behind us, just beyond the bridge).

Today was a beautiful early summer day in Tokyo. Not too hot, not too cold, a sun shiny day with a little cool breeze. We took Daisy for a ride on the bike to enjoy the Edogawa riverside. It was the first time she rode in the bike basket with the basket cover I'd made for her. She was a bit wiggly going down the road at first, wanting to jump out and sniff around like she does when we go outside for a walk, but after a few minutes, she just enjoyed breathing in the air as we rode along. She sat pretty well, and when she didn't after I told her "Sit" she would pretty quickly. I guess all the times we go to the home center in the shopping cart got her used to sitting in a basket. The pet shopping carts there have a kind of basket/box on top of where a child seat would be (on the shopping cart) and she is used to me telling her to keep seated in that while we shop.

After we got to the Edogawa riverside, I enjoyed sitting on a towel in the sunshine while Ken took Daisy for a jog. The riverside is very nice and grassy with a paved bike path from Tokyo Bay (where the Edogawa river dumps into) all the way up the river for miles and miles. Many people are jogging, biking, walking or enjoying a relaxing time in the grass with their families and or dogs. Today we even saw someone with a pet Pot Bellied Pig!

People also enjoy to bar-be-que along the banks of the riverside and there are places to rent boats for fishing etc along the river. Further up from where we were today, which is where the Tozai line train crosses the river (Myoden area of Gyotoku on the opposite bank from us), there is a place where there are ponies for kids to ride and many baseball and soccer fields. It's nice that the riverside is only less than a 10 minute bike ride from our home.

I was able to relax and have a real quiet sit in the sunshine, enjoying a feeling of peace down to my bones, the kind of peace that has eluded me for a very a long time....

I look forward to more bike rides with Daisy and Ken soon.

Here are some pictures.

Coming back from a jog with Ken, heading towards me full speed ahead!

Relaxing in the clover/grassy area after jogging.

Daisy watching the train pass by (this is the Tozai subway line in Tokyo which runs above ground in our area).

Watching the goings on around the riverside.

Some people enjoying different types of boats on the river and on the opposite riverbank, some people BBQ'ing can be seen.

Ready to go home.

Indoor Electric Composter - Made in Japan

A photo of the composter from Hitachi (Hitachi BGD-V18 Kitchen Magic)

This past week, Ken bought me the neatest new 'toy'. It's a composter. I have wanted a composter for a while, not having much space out in the garden for a pile, I have been looking for a good small barrel that could be turned easily. I was not that enthusiatic though since outdoor compost piles or containers can be pretty icky and attract unwanted 'visitors' (such as cockroaches and rats). That might not be such a big deal if you have a large yard and can place it far from the house. However, probably because most people in Japan have small or no gardens, here in Japan, they have made the ultimate electronic composter that can be used indoors or on your apartment's balcony! Several companies make one, Hitachi, National (Panasonic), etc. We got the Hitachi BGC-V18 model from Amazon Japan (and it arrived at our door less than 24 hours after placing the order!). I used it last night for the first time. I think this is a great machine!

First of all, it is nearly silent! Unbelievably quiet, I can only hear this or that being turned around inside. Last night I'd put some bits of a corn cob in there and I suspect those were responsible for most of the sounds I heard.

Second, it doesn't generate heat around it like I thought it might. The casing of the machine itself gets fairly warm to the touch, mostly on the back of the machine, but that is it.

Thirdly, it composted the things I'd put into it in only 4 hours and without any smell.

All this and it has a very minimal footprint!

Supposedly, it uses only a few pennies in electricity to run a full course (something like around 50 US cents/50 JP yen a month), which is drastically less than it ends up costing (in money and in the affects to the environment) to throw the material to be composed into the garbage/landfill instead. Because of this, our city will give us some money towards the purchase of this machine once we fill out a form they have. They pay for 1/3 of the cost of the machine. Pretty neato huh?

I am looking forward to seeing how my garden responds to the composted material this summer.

UPDATE June 21, 2009:

Well we have been using this composter for a year now. I really love it. There is some noise once in a while such as a squeak or tumbling sound, but hardly noticeable. I think it depends on what matter is being composted. There can be a slight smell when you open the lid to add things, but it is not repulsive. It smells something like burnt coffee in the bottom of the coffee pot (when someone has forgotten to turn off the coffeemaker). Again, it's not a horrible smell but I do try to pop the items into the machine all at once and close the lid quickly because my husband likes to comment that it's stinky. The final composted material works great in my garden and it seems my tomatoes this year are benefiting from it so far! What is really great is you can take out alittle compost at a time (after the machine has run it's approximately 4 hour cycle). You don't need to wait longer than even one day to use some of the compost, on the other hand, if you prefer, you don't have to use any of it for quite a while (in our 2 person household), just keep adding the matter to be composted and let it run a cycle, and on and on. I did empty all the compost out and give the inside a full cleaning about a month ago. I then had to add a new starter bag of compost accelerator. Very simple and easy.
Seems like these type of composters are STILL not available outside Japan. What a shame! I'm sure they would be wildly popular in the USA as well as many other places. Get smart Hitachi, Panasonic...start making these for the overseas market!!!

Here are some pics.

Here is the machine parked in our kitchen, next to the refrigerator.

The control panel on the top is easy for me to use even though it's in Japanese. Ken helped me with some translation which I have written on the protective plastic covering that it came with. I think I can memorize pretty quickly and remove the plastic and notes later on.

View of the inside after I had run the machine once. In 4 hours the corn cob, lemon peels, cuttings from the garden and other kitchen compostible wastes I put in, have turned into what you see here. The paddles turn around so quietly I hardly knew the machine was on.

Another picture from Hitachi showing how, once you open the front panel, you can have the machine expel the finished compost easily into a bucket.