Hanami 2015

As a “poet,” you’d think that I would be all inspired and writing furiously, haiku after tanka after nature poem, but it’s not the case. Seriously, it is intimidating. I can’t do it. I don’t have the skill or imagination to bring to life the things that I see, feel, smell, hear, and taste with the words available to me. Unfortunately, I don’t have the photographic ability either! Nevertheless, please enjoy some beautiful cherry blossoms from my little town, Aizu-wakamatsu, Fukushima. I honestly can’t think of a place I’d rather be at this time.

m(_ _)m

Autumn Falls in Aizu (hur hur I am clever)

A Weekend in Oze National Park

I was fortunate to be able to visit Oze National Park and stay at a beautiful B&B this weekend.  While a current batch of writer’s block works its way through my system, I have just these pictures to share.  Please enjoy my beautiful Fukushima.  m(_ _)m

AB

 

お休み福島市

Beautiful sunset in Fukushima City.

お休み福島市

みんあさん、お休みなさい。

うつくしまふくしま

I would like to take a moment from my poetry to share some of my cell phone photography!  Part of my “mission” of being in Fukushima is to show that this massive prefecture is much more than just the disaster.  We’re not all irradiated, post-apocalyptic flesh eating zombies here.  We’re hard working folks trying to rebuild a prefecture.  At the very least, please enjoy some of these photos that I took while getting lost in the mountain roads.

 

Side note: my wife and I had a wonderful lunch of matsutake onigiri by the river with the red bridge in Yan-Aizu, a beautiful town to the west of my Aizu-Wakamatsu.

 

Mishima

Mishima

Mishima

Yan-Aizu

Yan-Aizu

Yan-Aizu

Yan-Aizu

Yan-Aizu

Yan-Aizu

Mishima

Mishima

Mishima

Hanami 2014

I’m neither poet nor photographer, but why let such a thing stop me from doing either?  (camera phone ftl)