More signs of spring

Oh, no! The flowers are starting to bloom in my yard and I won't be here to see them. I will be gone until the 1st of April. Oh, well. There may be a few surprises left. The roses and the snowball bush should be in full bloom by the time I get back. Hopefully some of the bulbs will wait for me. Meanwhile, this is what is happening this week around the yard.

Another primrose grouping.

The fiddleheads are starting to unfurl.

The grape buds are bursting out all over.

Lilacs will be in full bloom soon.

And here is the first tulip of the year!

Spring is Bustin" Out All Over

Signs of fall are fading.


















But with spring comes renewal and fresh flowers are beginning to appear.

Japanese Kites

Kristen gave me two miniature kites from Japan for Christmas. There are at least 61 different styles of kites in Japan. The ones she gave me are some of the more popular shapes. I decided to create shadow boxes to display them in. Although it is hard to tell from these photos, I placed a picture of several kites in the background and then suspended the kites in the front of the frame. They are really quite pretty if you see them in person.




ROKKAKU(SANJO)

Rokkaku means hexagon, and is famous for its excellent flight feature, stability and simplicity of the construction among Japanese kites. They are typically called Roks. This kite was bone in Sanjo, Niigata prefecture, in the northern center of Japan and is also called Sanjo-Rokkaku. Today, this type of kite is made by variety of materials and seen around the world. These kites are taller than they are wide and their cross spars are traditionally bowed. Any size can be built and its flight feature is very stable at any wind speed.

YAKKO

YAKKO-dako is one of the most popular kites in Japan. It is also know as a footman kite and depicts the lowest-ranking retainer of a samurai household, a person mocked by commoners and made famous on the Kabuki stage in the Yakko-odori, footman dance. The kite usually represents a favorite Kabuki. The T-shape of the Yakko may be the oldest kite shape in Japan. It is very difficult to fly without tails, so children attach a 2-4m length of tails made by cut newspaper or other tape.

Nutcrackers

You have heard the old saying: It all started with one...... Well, in my case it all started with my wife giving me one Nutcracker for Christmas. Since then, my collection has started expanding. I just acquired 2 more a couple of days ago. I am increasing my number by 2 to 4 a year. Some day, I hope to acquire some nutcrackers from the Black Forest in Germany. Right now, I am content with the offerings in the local shops.

Christmas Toy Run

Every year the Cappuccino Cruisers car club has a car show and toy run at Les Schwab tires to benefit the Folsom food bank. Due to the great weather, this year was a resounding success.

















This is the mechanical singing Santa at the display.




















Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived in their 57 Chevy!











































The old grey mare, she IS what she used to be.















Yes, that is Santa's real beard.











This is the pile of toys that were collected.

Towe Auto Museum Christmas Tree Trimming

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, we can start thinking about Christmas, unlike the stores who started a couple of months ago. Every year the Sacramento area car clubs gather at the Towe Auto Museum to decorate a Christmas tree and enjoy a pot luck dinner.

The photo at the left is the one that our Mustang club decorated.

The following are trees that other clubs decorated. If you look close, you might catch a glimpse of Elvis.