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This is a story about an
international couple raising and home educating three
young boys on a small island in Japan, half living in
buses, engaged in organic, self-sufficient farming in
the middle of a mountain forest while dealing with
climate, cultural, and personal challenges. These pages
are about pretty much anything and everything all guided
by our family motto, Taking Chances, Making Changes,
Being Happy. Thank you very much for joining us on our
ongoing crazy adventure.
Comments or questions about this blog?....message me at
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October 2-5, 2021 - This was our fifth overnight
camping trip and another four days and three nights stay. This trip was all
about the campsite and accessing a bit of the view. The first day was spent
taking a few picture of the corner of the property where the access road and
walkway meet which will be the growing area for banana trees and turmeric. A bit
of work was also done on the campsite. The second day we all got to eat bananas
and sweet potatoes for the first time which were grown at home and at the farm
respectively. The same night we all had a lot of fun in the tent. The third day
was spent making a trail to the ravine which turned out to be quite a mess.
Determined the ravine would not be a good place for a huge compost pile since
any potash made might pollute the reservoir. This area will now be reserved for
hiking trails. The same day the baby wore shoes for the first time and really
enjoyed walking along the access road. Then in the afternoon I made a slingshot
and a mini figure. The kids collected a bunch of acorns for shooting purposes.
The fourth day the compost pile was set up....forgot to take a picture. The pet
bottle now collected tons of the worst bee. The weather was fantastic on this
trip.
Picture - Mountain - Us about to return home
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Picture - Mountain - Us about to return home
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October 7-8, 2021 - This was our sixth overnight
trip which was cut short to two days and one night for a couple of
reasons....more about those in a bit. The day before leaving we loaded the house
picnic table and benches onto the rack on the top of our Toyota Surf (name
4-Runner back in the states) truck. The first day of camping was spent cutting a
couple of trees and installing the table to the stumps. Then the benches were
converted into trees and connected on top of a couple of nice cypress trees logs
that were previously debarked. The entire shelf unit was then connected to a
couple of living trees. Was using an old screwdriver as the whereabouts of my
new screwdriver were unknown. Anyway, my arthritis and torn bicep kicked in and
many screws remained unscrewed all the way. That night it rained a lot but we
were okay thanks to the new shelves and a vinyl cover which protected our food.
The next day was spent on the parking area and making a kind of an entry gate
using old pieces of cypress. The weather forecast for the next day changed from
sunny and nice to rain, thanks to a quickly forming tropical storm. We decided
to return home in the afternoon. Then, in the afternoon, a worst bee turned up
eating some apple pieces in a bowl on the picnic table. I was wearing gloves and
took a thick cloth towel and bunched it up and tried to smash the bee in the
bowl. A really stupid decision. The bee made this loud and awful sound and then
I was stung on the back of the middle finger of my right hand. I yelled out "I
got stung" and the bee flew away. Within a matter of seconds the pain was
intense. This was by far the worst of any creature bites and stings endured up
until now including, several dogs, snakes, lizards, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils,
spiders, and ants. I quickly used my other hand to cut off the circulation of
the stung finger to prevent the venom from spreading. This along with an ice
pack possibly made all the difference. I somehow managed the 40 minute drive
home. That night drank tons of wine and went to sleep. I woke up in the middle
of the night with intense itching on the finger and the top half of my hand and
joints. That day my hand swelled up like crazy and the itching continued.
Anyway, this was easily the most difficult camping trip to date.
Picture - Mountain - Us about to return home
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Picture - Mountain - Us about to return home
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October 15-18, 2021 - This was overnight trip
number seven and except for a little bit of light rain, the trip turned out
great. We stayed four days and three nights. The temperatures turned a bit
colder the last two days and stayed close to 70 degrees both day and night and
the winds were really blowing. Once again we brought a bunch of sweet potatoes
and a huge bunch of ice cream (blue java) bananas grown at the house. The
bananas did not turn yellow as planned but we barbequed them with the peels
until black to take away the stickiness and basically ate them like plantains.
They tasted like potatoes, and with a little salt, tasted great. The worst bees
continued to be an issue and I moved the pet bottle used for catching them to a
spot far from the campsite. The compost pile is now finished and full of leaf
litter and potash and should be ready for use next Spring. Much of the trip was
spent on the entry to the campsite. All the hinoki and sugi trees cut weeks ago
were finally moved to the processing area. The last day was spent taking out
more understory trees on the north side of the campsite to take advantage of the
view and to prepare the rear slope for a bit of terraced farming next Spring.
Really looking forward to the next camping trip.
Picture - Mountain - Us about to return home
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Picture - Mountain - Us about to return home
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October 26-29, 2021 - This was overnight trip
number eight with this trip lasting four days and three nights again. The
weather was nice albeit a bit colder from sunset to sunrise. We brought extra
clothes but not quite enough. We arrived at the campsite moments before the
scheduled rocket launch from the space center. There was practically no noise
from the launch and the only evidence was the contrail almost straight up in the
sky. No need to watch from the mountains again. Anyway, this first two days was
all about the rear portion of the campsite and preparation for growing turmeric
in what will be terraced farming beds. The last two days were spent on a trail
through our property to the public walking trail leading to the bathroom. This
effectively cut out about four minutes walking time, making the total walk to
the bathroom now about six minutes. The trail is a bit too steep though and
planning to make switchbacks on the next trip. The last day ate too many hot
peppers for lunch and had extreme stomach pain for a couple of hours until
throwing up and then was in discomfort during the drive home and the entire
evening. The worst bees continued to show up. A few Halloween decorations were
made on the trees and wood.
Picture - Mountain - Us about to return home
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Picture - Mountain - Us about to return home
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