Tuesday, July 30, 2013


What now my love?

Duke knows that somewhere out there 
his little girlfriend is waiting on the road 
while her master works in the cane fields.
But his obedience conquers love.
At least for now.
Occasionally, he sighs.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Eh?
I doubt I'll live to see the day when English 
becomes a natural second language in Japan. 
In the meantime, always good for a laugh.

                 A recent shipping notice:





Thursday, July 25, 2013


The awesome beauty of dawn skies 
 such as this 
 inspire one to write poetry.
        So here goes… 

Erm...
Danger! Dog at work.

Old Gypsy on her guard duties.
Another stray, she arrived fourteen years ago
in the middle of the night, in the middle of a storm .
Now blind and deaf she mostly naps but jumps up 
a couple of times a day for a quick bark - just in case, 
and to let the world know there's a fierce animal on patrol. 

Then she resumes her usual activity.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013


Lookada...eeek!



This crawly , more affectionately known 
by its familiar name Nephilia Clavata   
(yeah, okay, I looked it up) , 
like many of its kin has retreated to 
higher altitudes since I started wielding 
my spider stick in early July.

The clever fellow has positioned his web 
to catch anything flying towards the moon 
and is now busy digesting a careless bat.
They keep growing bigger throughout summer 
and into mid- October, 
when I have to call in air strikes.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Hi sugar!

Hi sugar!

This year's high sugar cane is due to last year's typhoons.
They made it too short to cut in January and it has now already reached harvesting heights.  
Problem is, cutting season is after the New Year break, 
still five months away. 
Can't imagine what size it will be by then. 
Maybe a good market for chainsaws.


(There's that damn dog again)

Tuesday, July 16, 2013


Oops!



Big surprise for Duke this morning. 
The sand crab he dug up turned 
out much bigger  than expected. 
And more aggressive.
It wasn't about to run away.
Duke ponders on his next move.

Friday, July 12, 2013


First Kiss


An unexpected encounter on the beach this morning
when Duke meets this little honey...

...displays traditional family shyness and then…


...the first kiss.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Skirts of the storm


As typhoon No.7 swept by to the south west
on its way to Taiwan it gave us 
bracing breezes and magnificent rollers
on the reef.
Dawn walk was a joy, with sea swept beaches 
and spectacular horizons.


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

'Ere dey come again!


Typhoon season is well under way 
and we've been lucky so far this year.
No7 is a whopper but fortunately is going to miss
little Yoron, we hope. 
Looks like Ishigaki island is going to get it on the nose.  
Poor Ishigakijians 

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Beach Fight

Beach Fight

Perched on my favourite rock this morning, the silent sand 
at my feet suddenly erupted into action.  
This cluster of small hermit crabs renewed a battle over 
occupancy of an empty shell. 
It was quite a scrap.
There were about ten of them. 
One would manage to 
scramble inside, only to be hauled out 
and the fight would continue.

 They're probably still at it. 
I'll check tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

COOL man!

COOL man!

Time for a rest after three quick laps around the island...


And then its off for a spin around Erabu, in the distance.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Flippin' 'Eck!



Flippin' 'Eck!


Just received some brand new super-flippers 
from daughter Maria. Thanks kid !
They're  bigger than my old ones, 
which look as though they've been chewed by sharks.
So now I can reach impressive speeds. 


Here they are on their trial run.
A great success.  Get me places fast;
outpace jellyfish and octopussies. 
Of course, I will obey local maritime law 
and slow down when going through harbours 
and passing small leisure vessels.