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Now that we have our indoor gardens on wheels fully operational it was time to think of technical refinements. Maintaining a log of actual water usage suddenly seemed like a good idea. I could think of several benefits of measuring water usage, including: Learn how much water is optimal for each plant so we can… Continue reading The Impossible Takes a Little Longer

A manifold is a wide and/or bigger pipe, or channel, into which smaller pipes or channels lead. Scott, John S. (1992). Dictionary Of Civil Engineering. Springer. p. 269. Over the past few months I’ve been educating myself about ways to distribute water to indoor house plants by building a series of irrigation systems. A manifold… Continue reading Manifold Destiny

In early December we spent a week in Palm Springs in the Coachella Valley in California’s desert southwest. It was still low season, but temperatures were pleasant (60’s and 70’s Fahrenheit). In January, the population of the valley is about 800,000. By June, the population drops to around 200,000 as temperatures soar into the low… Continue reading Hiking above Palm Springs

A kipper is a whole herring, a small, oily fish, that has been split in a butterfly fashion from tail to head along the dorsal ridge, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold-smoked over smoldering woodchips (typically oak).  Wikipedia. Kippers are a breakfast treat in mainly Anglo locales. I grew up with them in the northeast… Continue reading Kippers for Breakfast

Getting rid of stuff before we moved into our present home has given me a new appreciation of uncluttered visual, mental, temporal, and aural space. I’ve gained capacity to think and imagine with fewer distractions; I can prize the space between things rather than the things. The Japanese have a term for this: ma, negative… Continue reading Imagining Art

As we near the end of our visit to Japan, I’ve been going through our photos looking for examples of “only in Japan.” Ryokan, Yufuin, Northern Kyushu A ryokan is a traditional Japanese guest house. Multi-course dinners and breakfasts were served in our room. After dinner, the table was moved and futons and duvets were… Continue reading Only in Japan

Whenever I visit the island of Shikoku, Japan, I like to walk to some of the 88 temples of the Shikoku 88 pilgrimage. This year, my partner and I walked to temples in the Matsuyama area, following in the footsteps of many pilgrims over the centuries. I also followed in my own footsteps as I… Continue reading Temple Plumbing 2019