Here and There
91 Days 2025, Issue 2
Here and There
Things previously hidden seemed to emerge, cautious and hesitant, from their secret spaces this week; for me, this week started with a trip to Tokyo to meet an old friend for the first time. There was food and drink and merriment and I found myself wanting more time both with my friend and to spend in Tokyo just walking and taking pictures. I hadn’t done that for a very long time and now, well, now I can’t wait to do it again.
And yet. By the time I returned home and got back out into my local neighborhood, the appeal of walking anywhere had lost its charm and I just wanted to huddle inside my warm house and wait for spring to fully arrive. But I made it outside anyway, searching for those early signs of spring that keep us moving forward.
I found them in the middle five of this week’s series of photos: in the transition of the trees from leafless to budding, in the anti-climax of the dried and unharvested vegetables falling to the ground, and in the buds of new flowers that are blooming even through the late season snow and rain.
Finally, I ended my week much as I began it, meeting a friend somewhere with food and drink and merriment. I took along a chess board. Loser had to buy lunch. I bought lunch. And yet, with the food and company and the warm winds outside, it would be hard to call any part of the day a loss.
Index:
8 March 2025 - Shimbashi - I’m not all that familiar with the Ginza and Shimbashi area of Tokyo, but one thing I can say is that it, like much of Tokyo’s core belt of stations has been under construction ever since the first time I came here 20-something years ago.
9 March 2025 - Train in the Distance - And, speaking of trains, did you spot it in this photo? Right dead center, right through the trees at the most distant point you can see my local train climbing the hill.
10 March 2025 - Curve - This curve sits at the junction of one proper road and three different agricultural roads. It’s a popular spot for people to take their dogs, hidden under the trees and along the canal. It’s also a spot where it’s really hard for drivers to see through the gloom, which can make for some interesting interactions sometimes.
11 March 2025 - Remnants - Last year’s okra never got properly harvested for a number of reasons, but no big loss as I really don’t like okra. But it does make for an interesting picture, contrasted against yet another rainy sky.
12 March 2025 - Post - There’s nothing hidden in this picture. And certainly not a velociraptor. Because they don’t exist. It was just a movie. A formative movie, sure, one that I’ve seen maybe a half-dozen times and one that never fails to send my imagination into overdrive imagining what sort of toothy terrors could be lurking behind any foliage in the area, but that’s ok. That’s fine. Velociraptor’s don’t exist. Really.
13 March 2025 - Not Actually Sakura - It’s easy to assume every white budding flower on a tree in early spring has got to be cherry blossoms, but no, these are plum blossoms, I think. I don’t know.
14 March 2025 - Long Live the Queen - Like I said, it’s been a long, long time since I played chess. But it was good. I wonder if I can turn ChatGPT into a chess tutor? My revenge will be sweet.
