Azalea and Rhododendron
Even among the same family of Ericaceae, Azalea and Rhododendron is
very close. Often their flowers are indistinguishable. (I don’t care. 🙂 )
A bit fragile branched tree is Azalea and having stiffer branches, thick leaves is
Rhododendron —– in general.
In fact, in the mountain, both Azalea and Rhododendron are quite common.
—– well, Azalea in the grassy meadow and Rhododendron grows much higher,
even rocky ridged area of the mountain.
Even in the wild, both of them got variety of colors though, in most of
the case, one area got the same kind and the same colored flower.
So, in Japan, we climbers are proudly boasting, has seen the special
variety of the Rhododendron in the particular mountain.
It seems, the Rhododendron has an alkaloid (poison or medicinal constituency)
which rise a blood pressure, hence some are believing it has an Aphrodisiac effect.
In the mountain Shelter, I observed a group of the people experimenting it and
showed the effects = feel hot and itchy on the skin and having a feeling that their
earlobe are swollen. (but not their part of the anatomy —– how shame) 😀 😀
So, when I read a description in the book “Third eyes” —— Tibetan family eat
honey pickled Rhododendron flowers. = I was very suspicious about the
authenticity of the book = then, later I discovered that the author was in fact
an English Milkman. Whole book was just a fiction.
So, don’t make a Rhododendron Salad.
They are pretty as they looks ! (nothing more, nothing less)
(Whole picture were taken by Canon Fish-eye Zoom 8~15 mm F4
—– it’s a pretty useful lens ! )
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Wash Grapes
Grape is one of the most ancient fruits recorded in the human history
though, as it is the cousin of Ivy, I guess, in the ancient time its
fruits must be as small as Ivy’s berry. (about 1/4″ — 6 mm big ?)
Any how, the matter here is not a big (or small) issue at all = the way to serve.
—– In my bad boy’s habit, there is nothing but a pleasure to steal a fruits.
(Fortunately or unfortunately I didn’t grown up to acquire the pleasure to
steal a woman. 😀 —– before read such menu available
I’ve become a monk (?) —– how shame, what a boring life isn’t it ! )
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To pick and eat a fruit in the (Somebody else’s) garden, I wouldn’t be bothered
to wash it while presuming that the dirt has been washed away by the rain, and
no human hand ever touched it anyway.
Though, when I bought it from a shop, I suspect it has been handled rather
dusty condition hence they are not clean. —– So, how to wash it ?
Long before, I was washing the bunch of grapes under a jet of water then later
changed to wash each individual fruits —– I mean one by one, since when
I noticed some time, some of them were covered with quite stubborn film of dirt.
( Remember, we eat grapes with its skin ! —– Japanese grapes can be skinned ! )
And these days, I separate each fruit from a bunch and wash them in a plastic
bawl under the running water while make them well rubbing each other.
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Considering the amount of dust we are inhaling and eating, which may consists
sand or dried soil, even dried dog shit etc etc, without knowing, some dirt on
the occasional grapes wouldn’t make any concern. —– So, is this a matter of
principal or most likely the personality ? —– A kind of contemplation such as
“Resisting the dirt would be useless” may have an effect still, the sense of
cleanliness came from one’s up-bringing, and IS the one’s second nature.
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So, as a practice, how about the point of so-called “Mindfulness” or “Middle way”
= how can we be “single-minded” and in the same time “be tolerant”.
(Is it a funny question ? )
If you think this is a funny question, your understanding of Buddhism was wrong.
Wrong in the “Thinking” of both “Mindfulness” and the ” Middle way”.
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We don’t need to think about how to wash or how to eat grapes. We should just Do.
= Wash or not wash what so ever you Do, IS a reflection of WHO YOU ARE. As you
are born to be under the own Karma, to follow it, is the most natural way to live.
And to be natural, need no thinking = just to be the own.
No thinking or no conscious mean no Self is there. And no Self, no conscious mean
no intentional thinking NOR being not natural, hence no over doing = Middle way.
Without the Self, still able to do what necessary to Do, IS the Mindful way.
In fact, all the teachings of Buddhism are [ To be done without conscious ].
= Live without a conscious of Self IS Selfless. Do without thinking IS Mushin.
When you Do the thing, there are no other things in the mind IS Mindfulness.
And when you Do, no intentional thinking is there, therefore
Do only naturally you need to Do, IS Middle way.
If you are Doing something special to be a Buddhist, IS not Buddhism.
[ Buddhism is Do nothing special, Think nothing as Thinking.
This IS why, Buddhism mean the VOID. —– And this was what
Lord Buddha taught though, it was not fully understood by even
the author of scripture. ]
___/\___
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Snap-shot by DD-Pinhole
All the photos here were taken by my ” Wide-angle Double-density Pinhole” on
Canon 5D Mk-III. In fact on that day, I went for a walk only with this lens (?)
and the Tamron 500 mm Mirror lens, hoping to see Parakeets.
Original pinhole got about 60 degree of view though, with the additional concave
lens ( from a Canon Zoom lens) the angle was greatly widened to nearly 100 degree.
You may guess that the Pinhole Camera needs to have long exposure though,
with the advantage of Hi-ISO digital camera, such as with ISO 12,500, the shutter
time can be 1/80~1/8 like this outside shot. —– who care with slightly
blared photo on 1/4 or 1/2 slow shutter any way. 😀
The best thing was, no visual details were given in the image,
no further information would be needed. Photo has atmosphere only.
So, the photography (for me at least) purely a fun.
No complicated notion about the subjects or message in the photo
= image or the subjects were there just as they are.
To see the world in clear eyes, the world showed its fuzzy nature.
This paradox is what the Dharma is.
___/\___
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Snap-shot in the Park
I think they are the Canadian Geese but I’m not sure as the
color is dark grey — or are they juvenile ?
And they are the Coots. Unlike ducklings, Coot’s chick looks rather odd.
Now I realized, Coot’s chicks got full-size foot ! But no web — how
those chicks can swim ? (Photo right )
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I think, most of the bird’s chicks are not cute or I rather say, they are ugly.
When I was young, I rose a pigeon chick whose mother didn’t return few
days after egg hatched. New born chick was almost naked with few yellow hair still,
the beak was quite big, and eat a lot. —– I had to feed the chick mouth-feed while
chowing the grain myself. When chick got stomach-full, the eaten grain or maze
were visible under the thin skin. So, chick walks with full-up chest while shaking ass.
= looks awful — not mention utterly noisy begging call, and shit everywhere. 😦 🙂
Still, this chick became a fully grown-up pigeon though, she (he ?) was completely
imprinted me as the kind, and couldn’t become a member of pigeon society. So,
even after became independent, she stayed under the roof many many years.
—– I don’t know whether I did good things to her or not = wasn’t that better, leave
her fate to the nature and let the chick dies ? Good but heavy question.
You may say, why Dandelion here ? —– Well, all the photos here were taken
by 500 mm Mirror lens. And my mirror lens works well as a Macro lens too.
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Daddy Long Legs
———————— HEALTH-WARNING = NOT suits for Squeamish person 🙂 ————————-
M
M
M
M
M
Well, this is about a visitor here / Daddy-long-legs. 🙂
In principal, I don’t discriminate any life form —– though, in practice,
I’m not welcome any visitor here. (Before, I invited the person to come and
see my work here. Though, since I started this blog, I just tell the person
“Just look into my Blog and Youtube”. Yet still, insects are kept flying in and
I knew the Spiders must be somewhere —– though, I didn’t expect to see a
Daddy-long-legs in my Kitchen. = She hanged on the inside of a fruits bag.
But, how she came here — walk-up all the way, outside wall ?
Or born and had been living under the floor board ?
(Photo Left / F5.6 , 1/60, ISO 3200. Photo Right / with Flash, F16, 1/100, ISO 400
by Canon 100 mm Macro F 2.8, 5D Mk-III )
( Part-enlarged Image —– It is an incredibly designed piece of mechanism ! )
Well, —– not so pretty face to watch. 😀
Though, she might not wish to born as a Daddy-long-legs, and a Hindu person
may even say that she could be a woman before ! Who knows.
—– still, what so ever, she is an amazing creature !
(How she could sense and catch small insect ? — by eyes or detects vibrations ?)
(To see how she hunt other insect, I should watch her all through the night
though, I’ll do it one day in my next life. —– I guess, somebody must have done.
= Isn’t there any video clip “Hunting of Daddy-long-leg” in YouTube ? )
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View from Roof-top
Me and my friends went up to a roof-top of a building in Greenwich.
One of the friend brought up 800 mm mirror lens on Canon and me with the
same D-D Pinhole, the other with a compact camera and we took some pictures.
Though we didn’t stay long as it was a bit windy and chilly. Still, I could see a kind
of potential with Wide-angle Pinhole for the land-scape photography = weather
permitted, with something great lighting such as a sky burning sunset.
(Something like the paintings of Turner ! 🙂 )
I borrowed 800 mm lens and clicked few pictures.
In the Photo left is the top of the Canary Wharf (1.8 mile / 2.8 km), and in
the Right photo, the Victorian Tower of the House of Parliament and the
Westminster Abbey (5 miles / 8 km away).
And this is the top of so-called O2 / Millennium Dome (1.8 mile / 2.8 km away).
Photo left, the mast of the Cutty Sark and the Church tower.
The clock face in the right photo was a part enlargement.
(Not too bad quality for a £150 second-hand lens.)
Impressionists Flower Photo — like oil paintings/DD Pinhole Images
These are the Photos of [Wide-angle Double-density Pinhole] 😀
Just a pretty pretty sweet pictures. Nothing else. (Don’t ask too much.)
Now a day, sharp pan-focused images are everywhere, especially “Phone-Camera”
become even more popular. (The smaller the camera, image become more
Pan-Focused) —– Though, our eyes are not Pan-Focus = Brain only sees where and
what the person wants to see and feel irritated to see Pan-Focus image —-> Thence,
Google issued a program for Android called [Google Camera (Google Play)] which
makes an image “Selectively Focused”.
I can make a photo, well Pan-Focused if I need but other than that I’m not much
fond of sharp image = rather like an ambiguous image, double image etc. 🙂
So, I’ve spent many years to seek and try all sorts of “Soft Focus” techniques. = This
Double-Density Pinhole with additional Concave Lens, which made it Wide-angle,
is the best so far. Not all-rounder yet it produces pretty jokey image. I like it. 😀
I don’t think even a Botanist wants to see the details of common garden flower.
What we need is just a coloful flowery air !
It seems what I need to add here is, a distant back ground
and the blue sky over it and the Victorian Ladies with umbrella !
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Quasi-Portrait — another Population
Dummy or Figure what ever called,
they are there —– are they ?
Same as a children’s toy or even a pet animal,
how do you take count or to recognize them ?
Do they exists like a person or are they
just a piece of material ?
As some one suggested, aren’t they active in
the middle of night without us knowing ?
M m m m m ?
Why they are there in that shape ?
Who asked them there or created as they are ?
So, —– are they just a product of our delusion ? —– or even our desire ? ? ?
But are they or aren’t they ?
Or the commercialism expecting them to get our attention ?
Or we are having a delusion over them to act for our desire ?
Or we are having a misunderstanding “Once I had a time with him (or her)” ?
Is that a dream we want ? = a proof of “I was” —– a memory taken to where ?
To the heaven ? —– Do you believe is there such things exists ?
How bizarre isn’t it ! Is this a nature of us, human mind ? ? ?
——-
(Those photos were taken by Leiz Elmarit-R 35mm F2.8 on Canon 5D Mk-III
—– This lens creates phenomenally crisp image ! )
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