First Iris Blossoms of 2015 Spotted in Kin Town

Coming back from a long morning of photography, I discovered this.

It was windy and, flowers weren't on the schedule but, I had to take a shot.

The 300mm lens was on the camera for bird photos but, it worked for this quick snap.

It's usually March or April before we get to see these purple iris blossoms.

Somebody planted the things in the park at Okawa Spring.

Maybe, we'll start seeing these beauties, year round, right here in my hometown !

2014 Iris Report from Ogimi Okinawa (Photos)

Surprise !  The Purple Flowers Are Blooming !

 

 

Today we headed up the the northern hills to check on the flowers.

It's a little early, in the year, but, things are happening fast.

Don't let that first photo fool you, even though it was made today.

The truth is, this is what the fields look like, right now.

A person would have to be crazy to go in there and try to photograph those flowers.

The fields are wet, dangerous and slippery.

So, Doc and I, just pretended to be crazy.

We went slipping and sliding through the mud and water to get a closer look.

In a few weeks, the fields should be full of those purple beauties.

And, I'm guessing, busloads of people will be going in there, too.

One of these days, after my socks dry, I'll go back and get Iris Report #2.

Flower Photo: Purple Asian Melastoma in Okinawa

These flowers can be tricky when it comes to identification.

Another one gets out of my pending files, today.

A book from the local library, ISBN4-9901917-3-0, deserves all the credit.

You are looking at a Melastoma candidum.

Some folks use them for landscaping or, like their fragrance.

Others, have medicinal uses for them.

Here's what I do.  Shoot photos and save them for a non-shooting day.

Then I use them to drive myself crazy trying to get an ID on them.

There are 50 species of this flower the locals call, Nobotan (のぼたん).

This one was found on the Motobu Peninsula During the month of June 2013.

They grow, in the wild, all over Asia.

But, I guess they got out of control in Hawaii, because over there, they call them weeds !

Related Posts:

Asian Melastome in Higashi Son Okinawa

Asian Melastome a Wildflower in Okinawa

Flower (Photo) Purple Iris and an Okinawan Festival

There has been a massive jump in traffic on my Festivals of Okinawa page since I mentioned in a Cherryblossom post that we have all kinds of flower festivals in Okinawa, Japan.

So, I figure I'd better start filling the place up with whatever I have on the Festivals (Matsuri) and see what else I'll need to shoot more photos of to give everyone a year-round schedule to follow.

This photo was taken 5 APR 2009 in the village of Ogimi Okinawa, Japan. It was a cold and windy day.
I don't forget what the conditions were at the time I composed a photo, even if it was years ago.

There have been several people who live in countries where it's snowing, right now, telling me they wish it was springtime where they are like it is here.

Hah !  It's winter here in Okinawa, right now, too. It's freezing cold, to us.
It'll keep getting colder until sometime around March. We just don't have any snow.

Instead, we get the 90% humid wind blowing off the ocean and it makes us shiver just like we were up in the Arctic Circle.

People from Canada, Alaska, Hokkaido, Sweden and even North Korea would probably be running around in their underwear laughing at me bundled-up in a flannel shirt and three jackets.

I don't care. I do whatever I have to do. We don't have heaters built into our homes.
So, sometimes I turn on a 500W lightbulb and hang it over my head just to stay warm!

The Purple Iris photo makes me look forward to spring. I hope it makes you look forward to spring, too.
There won't be a scheduled date for the festival this year until someone figures the weather out. This post will be updated with the dates for events as soon as mother nature gives us some clues.

When it's time for the Iris Flower Festival this year, in Ogimi, I'll go back and shoot some more pictures for you.

Hopefully, it'll be warm enough for me to just wear a t shirt. To be on the safe side, I'll bring along a jacket.