Week 87 September 29 - October 5 2014

Just a few random things to mention this week.

A while back I showed pictures of a bridge under re-construction.  It had this green beam, that we thought would indicate a heightened bridge.  We were wrong it is a construction aid to make a crane to lift materials and bridge parts.  The crane beam can be moved left or right and the crane with its pulleys can move back and forth on the green bean.  You can see it in this picture.

A friend of ours gave us these two huge Asian pears.  They taste wonderful and were protected by much packaging.

Here is the packaging removed.

At the international center this week there was a display of Philippine banana's but they got the orientation wrong.  Banana's grow pointing up.

The rice crop in southern Japan is now being harvested in some fields and this one is ready with heads heavy with rice.

Some place have modern mechanized methods of harvesting the rice but here is a field that has been hand cup and hung on bamboo racks for drying.

We believe these fully plastic wrapped cylinders are rice straw.

This Friday we got to do our 5 K run at the ocean in Oita again.  At the start end was a wonderful park and wharf.  We came back after breakfast and got these pictures.  Here is the park entrance.

The wharf.

While buying items for the Beppu Sisters we came across these posts being sold.  They are made from the common Sugi (cedar) trees in Kyushu.  These posts are made from the heart wood and thus on sale.  The Konji says in a literal translation "post lumber sale location"

Here is a Internet photo of typical pre-cut wood used in home building in Japan.  We saw this out our balcony this summer, as a load of this pre-cut lumber was delivered and it was erected very quickly.

Here is a image of a tunnel we went through with a cross section of Sugi trees above it showing the long trunks.
















This Friday typhoon Phanphon was coming directly at Kyushu as evidenced by this satellite image.

I took this sunset image as it was approaching, you see the fantastic cloud formations of the rotating structure.

 On Sunday a weather forcast showed the typhoon had side swiped Kyushu and is headed for Tokyo.

Here is a sunset after it had passed, we had fairly heavy winds and some rain, but we were blessed to miss the worst of it.

I have followed with quite a bit of interest the ESA mission to a comet, Rosetta.  The images have been delightful.  The comet is starting to become active as it gets closer to the sun as this composite image shows.  I wonder how active it will get.  A lander is set to land on the comet on November 12th.

The comet is named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and is composed of a duck shaped (almost like two fused parts).  The dust and gas is being emitted from the neck of these two parts.

The Cosmos is a beautiful and wondrous place.  There are so many things that have yet to be fully understood.  The spiritual realms of knowledge are just as wonderful and I look forward to the day when we see how they all mesh together.  It is such a wonderful experience being here in Japan and help as many as we can to understand how wondrous and great is the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his creations.