One Week!

Only a week left of living in Tsurui Mura Hokkaido Japan.

For the last three weeks, we have been undoing what we have done here in the last three and a half years! As I busily pack boxes and bags and say our good-byes to the many friends we have made it is surprising I have had any time to notice what else is going on around here.

The Japanese cranes are no longer coming to the village to feed but are instead feasting on fish, frogs, insects and more in the marshland. The couples are taking turns sitting on their eggs keeping them warm and guarding them from fox, weasels, and birds of prey.

The pussy willows are transforming into yellow balls and some are already leaves.

Birds we have not heard since October sound happy to be back.

The third baby pony and the fourth dosanko foal were born.

What will this last week bring?

I'll let you know.



t

Easter Hunt

With snow still on the ground it seems strange that the Easter Bunny would be out hiding eggs...but luckily for us...he showed up early on the ranch so that our tNt Adventures in English students could enjoy an Easter Egg hunt in the forest!



Thanks to the charity event a few weeks ago, the Easter Bunny's treats had a real Canadian flavour!



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Just Missed Her

We were in Kushiro City all day running errands.
At 6:30 pm, just thirty minutes before we got home...a baby dosanko horse was born.
She was already standing and trying to nurse when we got to the stall.
It is about 1 degree Celsius tonight and the little one was shivering.
I put some fresh hay around her and soon after our landowner arrived with a warm blue blanket.




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Delicate Spring

Spring in a northern climate like Hokkaido is really special. Signs of this season appear slowly as if wary that another cold spell will come.

There is about 20 centimeters of snow here now and the white fluffy stuff is still falling from the sky. Saturday was warm with very little snow on the ground. It was a great opportunity to observe and celebrate signs of spring.


In the last few weeks we have seen lady bugs, pussy willows, and the new baby pony.
The first edible mountain plants of this season are butterburs (fukinoto). We went down to the river to pick these bitter greens. We then washed them and fried them up in tempura batter.




They were a little bitter but very delicious. The kids liked them too!
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Easter at the Auction!

When Ryan held up these bunny and egg jellies on a stick, I yelled out...
"Easter!"

Not many others in the room knew what I was so excited about because Easter is not a Japanese holiday.

I haven't been in Canada for Easter in three years, so I was even more excited to see the solid chocolate bunnies appear! I bid on these and then my friend Julia, who had outbid me on the Easter jellies donated the jellies to me too!

All of these Easter treats will end up in the Easter Bunny basket so that he can hide them in the forest for our tNt Adventures in English Easter Egg Hunt!

So how did Easter candy end up at the charity auction? Mrs. Wakiko Yule brought them from Canada. She and her husband live in Alberta Canada and they were just here visiting their son Chris who plays for the Kushiro Cranes Hockey Team. Mrs. Yule was kind enough to donate some of the Easter souvenirs to the auction.

And am I ever happy she did.

It is going to be quite the Easter Egg Hunt!

Here are some photos from our last tNt Adventures Class.
We had the kids and moms build a fire all by themselves. They then made campfire bannock over the hot embers!

The recipe is super easy:

2 c flour
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c cold water

You mix all the dry ingredients first and then vigorously mix in the cold water. Pour batter in a hot oiled pan and cook until brown on both sides. Poke the middle with a toothpick 'til it comes out clean. Then enjoy!







t

Spring Moon Brings Early Gift

Today is the first day of spring, an actual holiday in Japan called Shunbunnohi (Spring Equinox Day).

Here on the ranch, I look forward to new life arriving! The first pony was expected to be born on March 31.

A few days ago the moon looked super full because it was the closest it has been to the Earth in 18 years.

I don't know if the moon had anything to do with it, but little baby pony 'Luna' arrived the evening of March 18.


Here you can see that Luna is not quite as dark as her sister Janet and she has a very appropriate white circle on her forehead.

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Action

Our friends run a English school called Green Hills and they also have a charity shop where they sell fair trade goods that are made in Japan and in many other countries.

Last night this kind couple hosted a charity auction. Family, friends and students donated used and new items and after the bidding was done, 160000 yen (almost $2000 Canadian) was raised. The money was then donated to Red Cross Japan to help those impacted by the tsunami that happened in northeastern Japan only 10 days ago.

A few of us talked about how lucky we are to be living in Hokkaido where we have food, fuel, clean air, heat, water... The charity event was a good community builder and a way for us to help our Japanese neighbours.

Thanks Ryan and Kyoko!

t

As Usual

Things were pretty much as usual yesterday. We had our two kids classes in which we spent the beginning talking about our concerns regarding the tsunami. But the rest of the time we enjoyed time down by the peaceful river. I taught the children the 'Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes' song and then had them review some of the body parts by creating faces using rocks, snow, and even river water.

I think they've got them now.







Being on the farm and disconnected to the pulse of the big city makes the tsunami disaster in northern Honshu seem very far away. Our friend just called from Kushiro (the closest city to our village). He wanted to let us know that each driver can only fill their car with 10 liters of gas at each fueling station.

Customers that Tomohiro is meant to guide and friends from Yukon Canada who are meant to visit us this week are reconsidering their holiday plans.

These are such minor inconveniences when considering what is going on in other parts of Japan .

One thing is for sure. When things like this happen close to home it makes me appreciate all I have even more.

t

Tsunami Alert

While running errands in Kushiro city yesterday we took a break and had a snack in our car. The warm sunshine shining through our windshield, and the view of flags blowing in wind and little girls laughing and playing in the snow on their walk home from school was enough to distract us from the wave-like 'dance moves' our car was making. As the girls passed and the movement continued, we realized that we were experiencing an earthquake!

Since living here in Hokkaido, I've experienced a mini quake about once a month. But this one in our car was the longest one I had ever felt.

Once the earth stopped moving, we headed to the bookstore to feel two more tremors. Not enough power to have books tumble off the shelves but enough to have the hanging lights and signs above our heads to swing...Enough to get us and a few other concerned customers out of the store.

As we waited in the parking lot we heard loud speaker announcements that Tomohiro translated to be...This is a tsunami alert. Get away from the coast. Go to higher ground. Go into the closest shopping mall.

So we headed home, which is inland, all the while listening to updates on our car radio. We found out that the earthquake happened in the Pacific Ocean about 125 kilometers from Miyagi Prefecture which is on the northeastern coast of Honshu - The main island of Japan.

We too live in Northeastern Japan but on the northernmost island of Hokkaido.

I received many e-mails today with the subject...Are you OK?
I responded with...We are fine!

After going to our landowners' home last night and watching television footage of the destructive tsunami in 'northeastern' Japan, I understood why family and friends were so worried about us.

Thanks for your concern everyone.

The evacuation alerts in Kushiro were a precaution and hardly any damage was done aside from some flooding in areas closest to the fisherman's wharf.

Please keep our neighbours in northern Honshu in your prayers. And we will do the same.


Miyagi prefecture is in north eastern Honshu (the main island of Japan)



You can see here that Hokkaido is the northernmost Island of Japan. Quite far from where the earthquake happened.
Much love from Hokkaido.

t

It's for the Boys

Women only give men gifts of chocolate on Valentine's Day.
They give it to their friends, co-workers and to the special guy to whom they wish to confess their love.

It is then the men's turn to return the favour on White Day....a month after Valentine's Day.

Today, I received a hand-made Valentine's Day card in the mail from my sister and Mother. It was a joint effort in which they glued photos, attached heart stickers, and wrote funny comments.

I can't begin to express the magnitude of joy I have when I open these unexpected gifts that come all the way from Canada to Japan...and on the actual day. How on earth did they manage that!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

With love,

t

Three Months to go!

We have three months left living in Hokkaido before moving back to Yukon Canada.

These days, many visitors are gracing our doorstep plus I have been busy teaching, learning pottery and now...taking Japanese cooking lessons!

For my very first lesson I made a fried omelet roll (tamagoyaki) and boiled spinach with a peanut sauce (hourensou no ohitashi pinatsudare).

Before eating we say "itadakimasu!" which literally means, "I receive".
After eating we say "gochisousamadeshita" which means "It was a real feast".

Here I am with my super talented cooking teacher, Keiko.



I am looking forward to trying some of the recipes I am learning in my homeland very soon.

t

Age really is just a number...

A few months ago I got an e-mail from my friend from Canada and in it she wrote that she and her husband took their 88 and 91 year old mothers to Mexico! They even braved taking public transit and, "like Elvis, ( ) got "all shook up"!

We recently had a guest who stayed with us a few nights at our mountain hut. She's in her 30's but equally inspiring as she is currently training for a trail race in Nagano that is 110 kilometers long. Her favourite activity while visiting us here was chopping firewood. Her energy is sure to keep us warm for at least three weeks.

Our journey to Wakkanai included an adorable 75 year old mountain climbing woman. At breakfast one morning she told us that she started climbing mountains at the age of 60, she loves traveling without her husband, and that she is "uncontrollably positive". At one point we stopped at a good photo spot. The wind was so strong and icy that my teeth hurt when I smiled. No one except for the 75 year old mountain climber wanted to get out of the warm van. Thankfully her attitude was enough to get me out the door too.

These ladies stories remind me of two years ago when I met Naomi, the 89 year old grandmother who traveled from America to Tsurui-Mura Japan on her own so she could be with her family.

Doesn't hurt to repeat the wise words she said to me:

Do what you love...life is too short to do anything else!

I love walking to our cabin under a starlit sky. So that is what I will do now.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

t

This is Wakkanai!

This is Yoriko-san and me at Cape Soya in Wakkanai, Hokkaido!

The Northernmost point in Japan didn't disappoint with a temperature of -8 degrees Celsius and freezing-cold strong winds.

The trip was about 500 kilometers (one way) from Tsurui-Mura Village. We spent the night, tooks some time to look at some spotted seals in the morning and then headed back home.



Thankfully our friend Makoto-san was in the drivers' seat. It was a little scary when the high winds blew snow across the roads causing frequent white-out conditions.

Dangerous. (Abunai)

But exciting too. (tanoshikatta)

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What's a Wakkanai?

It's a place. The northernmost place in Japan. And I am going there for two days.

Apparently you can see the Russian island of Sakhalin from Cape Soya.

When I get back I'll let you know a little more about Wakkanai.

Wakkanai...sounds like a location where I should be doing the hula. Don't you think?

But the northern winds and ice won't allow me to take off my touque and mittens never mind put on a grass skirt and move like a tropical sea!

t

Year of the Rabbit

The card sending tradition in Japan is all about wishing others a Happy New Year! Postcards (nengajō) are sent annually to family, friends, work colleagues...
Here are some of the cards we have received in the mail so far.



If you look closely you will see that many of the cards have pictures of bunny rabbits on them.

Before 1873, Japanese New Year was based on the Chinese lunar calendar. Even though the Japanese now follow the Gregorian calendar, they blended the two cultures by having New Year's celebrated on January 1 and by recognizing the Chinese zodiac sign of the New Year. The Chinese zodiac has a cycle of 12 years. Each year is represented by a different animal.

And 2011... is the rabbit.

Happy Year of the Rabbit everyone!

(shinnen) akemashite o-medetō-gozaimasu (Happiness to you on the dawn [of a New Year])

t