Wildlife Photo: A Kingfisher Motion GIF

Captured with a Pentax K3 and Sigma 50-500

 

The lens was stretched all the way out to 500mm and, I was too far away to hear the bird.

Maybe, I should have taken better care of my ears when I was younger.

It would be nice to know if that bird was doing some sort of mating ritual.

Or, do you suppose, he was just singing for his supper ?

Sometimes a Kingfisher Loses the Fish

This photo was flipped horizontally, just for aesthetics.

The bird is looking for a fish, it just dropped back into the Okukubi River.

There's no telling, if the fish survived.

But, this sure beat, sitting around in the office all day !

Sometimes Construction Noises Ain't Such a Bad Thing

The Reason Behind Renting an Office

 

 

For me, it's the peace and quiet so, I can concentrate and get work done.

How people work at home, beats the devil out of me.

No distractions or interruptions is what I need.

And, it's nice, when I want a break, to unroll the sleeping bag.

The equipment, in front of my office, was he first hint.  There would be no napping today.

After a late night of Ryukyu style partying, my head was hurting.

My first thought was to yell, "Hey. Have you guys ever tried to work with a hangover?"

But, you know how construction workers are.

They might have said, "Yeah. We do it every day. What's your problem?"

So, I asked if it would be alright to shoot some photos of them working, instead.

They all agreed. 

This crew was good. They might be noisy but, they were friendly.

They work fast and efficiently.

A copy of their plans, will need some translation but, I like what I see.

It seems, the telephone poles and wires will disappear.

Then, all the wires will be placed underground.

Shade trees and shrubbery will line the highway, instead of guardrails.

It will be a cameraman's dream come true.

Maybe, I'll do a Then and Now on this street.

Just wait 'til we get some blue skies.

Flower Photo: Shell Ginger Blooming in Okinawa

Scientific name: Alpina zerumbet

Japanese name: Getto (ゲットウ)

These plants are blossoming all over the island this month.

There are many traditional uses for the leaves of these plants, also known as Butterfly Ginger.

Most commonly, in Okinawa, the leaves serve as wrappers for the rice cakes, called mochi.

The fruits, which haven't  been captured by my camera, yet, look like miniature pumpkins. 

I better get out there and, find some for your viewing entertainment.

Meanwhile, you can learn more about these plants here.

The little pumpkin-looking things will be posted as soon as I getterdun.

Happy International Museum Day !

This One Caught Me by Surprise

 

 

Around May 18th each year, the world celebrates Museum Day.

It has been going on since 1977 but, I just found out today.

It reminded me, it's time to come out of the Stone Age and get busy.

The photo above was taken in the Motobu Municipal Museum.

It shows the typical, early Okinawan dwelling, located in a cave near the sea.

International Council of Museums (ICOM) Has a Mission

 

 

It is, to make the public aware of the role museums play in the development of society.

Some locations, around the globe, celebrate Museum Day for a whole week.

Museums in Okinawa

 

 

There are some unique treasures to be found in these places.

Most of them are staffed with knowledgeable and helpful people.

But, you'll need to speak Japanese or, bring your own translator.

Whenever the weather doesn't suit me (outside) these are some of the places, I enjoy.

Ginoza Museum

Ginowan City Museum

Haebaru Museum

Ie Jima Museum

Itoman Fisherman's Museum

Motobu Cafe Museum

Motobu Municipal Museum

Nago Museum

Nago Private Museum

Nishihara Karate Museum

Oceanic Culture Museum

Okinawa Prefectural Museum

Okinawa World Snake Museum

Onna Son Museum

Tsushima Maru Museum

Wooden Toy Museum

This list is not all inclusive and, I probably still need to visit several other museums.

For directions to each location, I'll provide some links:

Map It Okinawa

TripAdvisor

The original focus of this blog was to give viewers some scenes of Okinawa.

And, the followers have been predominantly an international audience.

Keeping things light and giving readers a chuckle was my intention.

Note, the posts do not give directions.

Lately, there have been many requests for locations from readers.

So, we may have to start making some local travel guides, in the future.

 If Bill Gates or, somebody sends along a million dollars, I'll get it done a lot quicker.

Other Breaking News

In the wee hours of the morning something crazy happened at a karaoke bar.

I was sitting on a tall bar stool, singing a song.

A crowd of Saturday night revelers, came through the door from outside.

There was this girl.

She was probably half my age and twice as drunk.

She hopped up on my right leg and started riding me and singing along.

Maybe, she thought, I was some kind of musical, stationary exercise bike.

Pretending she wasn't there, was the best thing to do.

Anyway, it got me thinking.

When my body quits working maybe, I could donate it to one of these museums.

They could stuff me for display.

The only thing is, I'd want to be standing up and, have a sign put on me.

Please Do Not Touch !