Sunday, May 18, 2008

Sakura, Sakura Night

Do you all remember that Snowy, Snowy Night back in February? Well, I'm happy to report that after a little more than three months, Spring is finally in full bloom over here..... (click on the lantern a few times)

.騒がしき世をし祓って遅桜
sawagashiki yo wo oshi haratte oso-zakura
"the cure for
this raucous world…
late cherry blossoms"
Kobayashi Issa, 1789

If you haven't noticed it already, when you roll your mouse over the big pictures you can see what a difference three months can make.......(it may take a while to load, but wait for it, it'll be worth it)

Unfortunately, I've been a bit busy in the offline world. I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit you all more regularly. Not a lot of free time even to do offline stuff. I haven't had a chance to go hanami with Tu Anh, but let me go hanami with you on my blog, after all, you know what they say.... it's important to stop and smell the sakura once in a while.... BTW, they don't smell like anything, I tried it....
.上人は菩薩と見たる桜哉
shônin wa bosatsu to mitaru sakura kana
"to saintly eyes
they are bodhisattvas...
cherry blossoms"
.春の日や水さへあれば暮残り
haru no hi ya mizu sae areba kure nokori
"the spring day’s
remnants…
only in the water"
.夜ざくらや美人天から下るとも
yozakura ya bijin ten kara kudaru tomo

"night's cherry blossoms
--
heavenly ladies
among us"

.色鳥や木々にも花の放生会
iro tori ya kigi ni mo hana no hojoe
"like colorful birds
set free in the trees…
blossoms"
.天からでも降たるやうに桜哉
ten kara demo futtaru yô ni sakura kana
"like they fell
from heaven...
cherry blossoms"
.夕桜家ある人はとくかへる
yûzakura ie aru hito wa toku kaeru
"evening cherry blossoms--
people with homes
hurry home"
.もし降らば天津乙女ぞ花曇
moshi furaba amatsuotome zo hana kumori
"have celestial maidens
descended to earth?
blossom clouds"

.花咲や大権現の風定
hana saku ya dai gongen no kaze sadame
"cherry blossoms--
Buddha's karmic wind
awaits you"

Thanks for going hanami with me, Kamapai! I hope I can visit you all more regularly soon. In the meantime, Happy Birthday Ate Mae, and Kim, and a Happy Victoria Day/May 2-4 long weekend to everybody! Dust off those BBQ's, open up those cottages, start planting those tomatoes. No more frosty nights, cabin fever, or SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Summer is just around the corner. Hope you all enjoy it while it lasts.

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31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh so lovely! Is that your backyard? I love the photos.

Very nice Angelo. And yes, enjoy the lond weekeend.

Angelo said...

Leah: Hi Leah, yes the backyard, no time to go to the park.

Gina said...

How did you do that?? It's cool how the 2 images alternate when I rolled the mouse over the pic. What a difference 3 months make ano?
What beautiful shots of the yard and the trees.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Anonymous said...

OMG!!!I am speechless,Angelo!!what a genius work!!How did you post the 2 pics at once?Theyre amazing!thru moving the cursor,it would show another picture,great!really great!!

and whoah!Your Sakura looks soooooo perfect!I have never seen a tree that blooms like that here!This is true,really...

and wow,the Japanese phrases(proverbs?) really impress me,I bet you spent quite a time by researching them.Arent you a smart guy? ;)

Sorry to hear that you had no time to go hanami with Tu Anh,but she understands you,right?

Anonymous said...

And yes,I do agree that Sakura shows us how embellishing life is,that it is short and not forever,that we should learn how to appreciate and make the most of it in it`s existence. :)

your post makes me happy and more inspired...in every way... :)

Thanx Angelo!!

oh,btw,Gena is up now and I dubbed my own voice :) If you want to take a peek,let me give you the link in case you dont have the time to visit soon.

Click Here!

have a great week ahead of you,Angelo!ingat kahit super busy ha?

ghee

Anonymous said...

By the way,you`ve made your yard so Japanish!!I could see the bridges,the exterior that you`ve done!wow,it looks so romantic esp at night :) wish I can make a visit someday...

ghee

Angelo said...

Gina: Happy Victoria Day Gina, it's just the mouse rollover html code. I'll figure out which one it is, my blog is full of codes now, and I'll send it to you. Thanks and enjoy the holiday!

Angelo said...

Ghee: Ohayou Ghee! Thanks, I'll send you the mouse rollover code too :)

The first trees are called Kanzan or Kwanzan Japanese Cherry. They're the most common one planted here. I think because they can live through a Canadian winter, but I'm not sure. The last two pics are of a crab apple. Ya it's Japanish back there, I told you, I used to be a Kenji ;)

Anytime you're in Toronto Ghee, just let me know :)

Gina said...

send me the code to my email =)

minibearmaker@gmail.com


gina

haze said...

They look fabulous Angelo! In Marseilles there are also some flowers booming but I can identify few of them. I just know Colza, Coquelicot (of Kenzo), tulip and that's it :D! I should maybe research for the others (flower's name) and get familiar with them :D !

Just enjoy the Spring, blogging can wait and thank you for always visiting me, appreciate very much!

Angelo said...

Haze: Merci aussi Haze!

Anonymous said...

Ohayou,Angelo!

oh yeah,you used to be a Kenji?haha!thats cool!

Right,Haru means Spring :) Her full name is Haruna,actually,and thats her nickname.
Haru=Spring
Na=(kanji of)flowers

So,she`s a Spring Flower :)

Ally`s name is Arisa

A= Asia
Ri= (Rikka)Science
Sa=(Thread or Rare)

so...how do we define her name now? LOL!

I`ll research what kind of kanji fit "Kenji" for you,hehe..

Enjoy your night,Angelo!My day has just started and its raining too much.

ghee

Shosh said...

Angelo, these are simply beautiful! A nice post to see after doing all my laundry...sort of.

Shoshana

Anonymous said...

Wow... such amazing photos and written visualization. And, thanks for the side order of language (speaking english sometimes gets boring...LOL).

Heart of Rachel said...

Hi Angelo. Thank you for visiting. It's so nice of you to remember me.

It's so breathtaking looking at all those pictures of cherry blossoms. They are lovely in the morning but I realized they almost look magical at night.

Anonymous said...

nice.. nice. your backyard is just sooo lovely..

i wanna see a real live Sakura one of these days...

tc always.. and all the best!!

Anonymous said...

wonderful sakura, kuya angelo!!! you truly captured their beauty.

this post made me smile!!! cheers!!! =D

Anonymous said...

Hi Angelo,

hows your weekend so far?
you found out that Na is for Hana!gee,what a researcher you are! :)and yeah,Ally`s name could be Asian Science Thread :)

allergy season will be over,soon!and im really glad about it :)

enjoy your time,Angelo!!

meeoww,Nermal,haha!

Anonymous said...

Oh my, is that the backyard you are working on before? Looks great, Angelo! :)

How are you na?

Anonymous said...

Hello Angelo,

wassup?hows everything?its been a while :) I got a lil busy and been lazy to blog :)

its rainy season here already,and after that,summertime will follow.the temp is just fine,although its so gloomy almost everyday.

hows Nermal doing?
hope you guys are great out there!

hugs,
ghee

Anonymous said...

konnichiwa,Angelo!

Its been a while,I was a lil busy too and havent visited my blog(so as your blog) for a while.

Yes,we are ok here,Akihabara(Tokyo) is so far from my place.That guy was pathetic and disgusting eh?

I know you`re so busy too so I just wanna say hello to you and Nermal.

Ingat lagi,
Ghee

Anonymous said...

Hi Angelo,

Yeah,we had a big earthquake today...its happening...me and Ally hid under the table,thats the safest place daw during earthquakes.Yest was the 30th year of the biggest earthquake here,and it is coming again...it will,maybe not this year,but after a couple of years.Bullet trains stopped with people in them.Railways are closed,cars cant pass by.

and i am sick..waahhhh...

not a very good weekend for me,but i hope you have a good one!

hugs,
ghee

Puss-in-Boots said...

Hi Angelo! You're like me, too busy to blog.

How did you do that thing with you photos. Those cherry blossoms are just beautiful, what a contrast to winter.

We're in winter here, cold, but certainly not snowing...not in the subtropics! It's a beautiful day outside but the wind chill factor is biting.

How are you and the handsome Nermal? Hope you can pop over and say hello.

Robyn xo

rob said...

Angelo? Why no posts since May? I swear I saw you in High Park taking those pictures - but of course you have your blog set to Los Angeles. What's going on?

Anonymous said...

what a gorgeous set of pictures

Anonymous said...

Hello Angelo dear!

How have you been doing?I hope your testing prep is goin well out there.I have been busy in my real life too and its my habit to visit your blog first after updating,haha!But Im really sleep now...its already 2 40 am...

off to bed now.take care always and send my big hug to Nermal!!

miss yah!

dodong flores 도동 플로오리스 said...

Hi, Angelo...

It's been a while... I'd been a little bit busy this time so there was no time left for me into updating my site and visiting friends' sites. I thank you for having visited mine just recently so I was able to follow your entry. I noticed it's been awhile that you didn't update your site as well.

I love these photos especially that you had taken these all of these on low-light conditions which is very challenging. I like you also had included Japanese phrases with English translated. This is one of a kind post...

Good luck for now and I hope you'll be having more time soon with online activities.

Regards to Nermal...

Anonymous said...

Hello Angelo!

How are ya? It's been a while since my last visit here. Your latest post is very nice. You grew them (the Sakura or what they call the Cherry Blossoms tree) very well. It shows in their lovely blossoms. :)

Anonymous said...

thanks ninong pom! ngayon ko lang po nakita..been really busy kasi may work na po ako..teehee..and ang ganda ng sakura niyo! ;p

Anonymous said...

sugoi desu ne.

those are really good, and in your backyard! man i am envious! in tokyo we have to brave the crowds every summer just to see them ;-)

pumario said...

Foto fantastiche!!! Mario