Chopsticks of Doom

Two and a half years ago, when we moved from our apartment to the house we are in now, Dustin bought me a young Japanese maple tree. We planted it in front of our house and I have been a bit doting and over protective ever since.

Our brave/crazy friend Danielle who biked home with our maple as well as two other
bushes in her bike baskets.

In the late spring and early summer of this year, I noticed a dozen or so small, green limpet like things munching away on my maple leaves.  I pulled them off and disposed of them before they could do much damage. I didn't find them on any other plants in my garden though. 

About a week and a half ago, since the weather has cooled down a bit, I noticed they were back on my maple and this time I didn't really bother about pulling them off right away. Partially it was laziness and partially it was not really caring if the leaves get chewed up a bit since the tree will be shedding its leaves soon anyway. During that time they grew much larger and more caterpillar like. 

I finally decided to do something about them when Dustin brushed past the tree and instantly had a bad skin reaction. He said it was an itchy, painful burning sensation like fiberglass rubbed into your skin. The spot where he had touched the caterpillar stayed red and puffy for a few hours. 

The tree was pretty infested with these wee beasties and quite a few were at Rosie's hight, so I decided they needed to go. 

They always hang out on the underside of the leaves. Unfortunately for them, their
neon green colour doesn't blend in too well and they are easy to spot.

When William got home from kindergarten today, we decided to tag team this problem. I wielded the chopsticks of doom while William put them down for a dirt nap.

Always happy to oblige

In the wake of their destruction

Before you think I am a completely cruel and heartless killer, I did do a little research on this species before I obliterated them from my garden. The species is Parasa lepida, or the Nettle Caterpillar, and they are a nuisance invasive species in Japan. I may have felt a small twinge of guilt wiping out a native species, but the ecologist in me feels absolutely no remorse about assisting in removing a poisonous, exotic pest.

I am curious if they will show up again next spring but if they do, William and I will be ready for them!

Collectibles

As a reward for all the hard work Theo has put in learning to ride his bike, I decided to take the boys on a trip to the Fukuyama Auto and Clock Museum (FACM) on Shūbun no Hi, or Autumnal Equinox Day. The last time we went there was over 2 years ago (I can't believe how fast the time has gone!) and wrote a post about it here. I absolutely love this museum and could spend hours looking on every shelf, corner, nook, and cranny at the random assortment of antiques they contain.

The boys of course love being at a museum where they are actually allowed to touch most things and take the vehicles for a "drive".

And I discovered my dream car: a 1949 Jeepster. It was so comfortable inside and everything was just the right size. I also loved that you had to crawl over the side of the car into the back seat. 

My mother insists that collecting things is a sign of intelligence and that you can add one point to your IQ for every collection you own. If there is any scientific credibility to that at all, the person who owns the FACM must be a genius. I tried to take a photo of every collection he had on display until my camera ran out of batteries. I then switched to taking photos with my phone for the rest of the collections. Now looking at them I realize that there are just far too many to post here so instead here is a list:

Clocks

Clock works

Old cars

Old motorcycles

Wax figures

Player pianos

Gravestone rubbings

Airplanes

Old optometry equipment

Children's party favours and prizes from the 1950's and 60's

Antique gas stoves 

Antique space heaters

Televisions

Radios

Victrolas and Phonographs

Cylinder records

Light bulbs

Typewriters

Cash registers

Telephones

Printing presses and mimeographs

Slide projectors and video recording equipment

Sewing machines

Pre war era metal lunch boxes, kitchen tins, and other kitchen goods

Tea pots

Irons

Carved and decorative light fixtures and lanterns

Oil lamps and gas lanterns

Rocking horses

Guns

Bullets and black powder pouches

Model railroad trains

Metal toy buses and other antique toys

World War II memorabilia and propaganda posters

Cameras

State flags

Sombreros

License plates

Water wheels

Antique vacuum cleaners

Antique coal and electric kotatsu 

And a few photos so you can get a feel for how these things are crammed in willy-nilly into display cases, on walls, shelves, or just stuck into the back of some of the old pick up trucks. 

The man who owns this museum owns a lot of property and business in and around Fukuyama City. As far as I know, the museum is just a display of his hobby and obsession with collecting and preserving the past. Tucked into one corner of the museum is a model of an old Japanese house that you can explore.

A view of the toilet cubicles. There was a sliding door separating the urinal and sink room and the squat toilet.

A close up of the under toilet catch basin. The chute on the left hand side leads from the urinal in the next room. 

 The kitchen area

Next to the toilet room is a rocket stove built into the floor and wall.

set into the space behind the stove was a large metal basin. I am not sure if this was for clothes washing, bathing, or just storing warm water.

Next to that was a washing area with a sink, clothes wringer, and refrigerator.

And lastly, the extremely tiny, 4 tatami size family room.

I found this display especially fascinating. I loved walking through imagining what it would be like to live every day with my family in this tiny space, cooking on the wood stove and cleaning out the little pit under the toilet every day. I can't say I really relish the thought.

After three hours of exploring we left the museum only to spend another 30 minutes wandering around the parking lot where there was a bit of overflow of larger items, like a metal steam engine, a giant waterwheel and koi pond. 

I can't recommend this museum enough to anyone with even a slight love of history or any of the many, many collections that this museum houses. If you live in Fukuyama or ever come to Fukuyama make sure you check it out!

Bentenjima Hanabi

This weekend, Dustin and Theo biked the Shimanami Kaido. This was the first time that Theo has been on this cycling route and the fifth or sixth time for Dustin. I will try to convince Dustin to write a post about their adventures in the next week. The two younger kids and I decided to stay home, firstly because I was working in the morning and early afternoon, and secondly because that evening was the annual Bentenjima fireworks festival. Our friends, the Oshimas, watched Rosie and William while I was at work and as soon as I returned home, I threw on some yukata and headed out the door.

The fireworks are held each year in Tomonoura and as always, it was incredibly lively and crowded. William was exited enough to add a new word to his repertoire: hanabi, or fireworks. We arrived early enough to get a parking spot, wander around the street stalls, and find a good spot to view the fireworks.

William demanded a photo in front of this firetruck 

Overpriced, unhealthy, but oh, so delicious!

This was my first time to see a chocolate and sprinkle covered banana stand

I thought these Anpanman candy covered apples were great. The lady in the background was busy
making a Hello Kitty candy apple. 

Happy as Larry he was

and totally oblivious to the samurai father and son sneaking up on him

There are a lot of different stalls that allow children to "fish" for toys. At this stall, you pay to get one metal hook attached to a short piece of twisted tissue paper. The object is to hook as many of these balloons without getting the piece of paper wet and losing your hook. Once the paper breaks, you must stop fishing, but until then you can keep whatever you hook. William got one balloon before he got impatient and ripped his hook off the paper for no reason. Maybe he is a bit too young for this game? 

A similar game involves a little plastic hoop with rice paper stretched in between and a collecting bowl. You then try and scoop as many balls, toys, or whatever out of the water and into your bowl before your paper net breaks. There is an art to it: you need to work fast because the paper breaks down quickly once it is wet, but you can't get too greedy and scoop too much. Whatever you collect in your bowl before your net breaks you can keep. 

This stand lets you scoop up goldfish with a paper net which I think is pretty sad.

I thought this mom and her tiny little girl in yukata were so incredibly cute.

William, Rosie, and me

All thoughts of fireworks were temporarily forgotten when William found a new little friend on the sidewalk. It was a funamushi, or sea slater, which was very friendly and docile. It is an oniscid isopod, very closely related to pill bugs, which are actually crustaceans and not insects like most people think. One of William's favourite pastimes is playing with pill bugs in our yard so it was not at all surprising that he found the sea slater so appealing. He discovered the "fun" in "funamushi" by letting it scamper all over his hands and arms, carrying it around, and creeping out anyone who came close enough to see.

I think someone drew on its back because they don't naturally have white markings

Rosie occupied herself by picking up rocks and trying to eat them, one of her all time favourite hobbies.

 And puttering around the street stalls taking in all the new sights.

This was her first real fireworks show and I was curious to see how she would react to all the noise and lights. Thankfully, she shrieked in joy and clapped her hands as each firework boomed in the sky. The boys were always pretty mellow about fireworks when they were babies, so her overboard enthusiasm surprised me.

Looks like we'll have to go to more fireworks shows this summer!