The Red Weeds, The New Kid

I don't know what these are, but they started popping up all over town as soon as the rice started getting harvested and are already starting to disappear as quick as they came. Most of them are right alongside the fields, so I'm guessing they are directly related to the harvest but I'm not 100% sure. They've been amazing to look at for the last week or so.



And here's the newest addition to the family, Kiyo. He's named after the very unfunny anecdote/warning about having children abroad my mom repeated to me about 75 times before I left. Kiyo is actually just one of his names though. He also goes by Square Bear and simply Square. I love his grumpy blank stare. You can tell he's a real badass.

Also this weekend the family dog died in Ohio. (R.I.P. Shy Baby.) She was 16 & I pretty much knew when I left it would be the last time I saw her, but it's still upsetting that I was so far away when she passed. We've been separated by plenty of miles the last few years, but she'd been my pup since elementary school. Rough. Luckily I've got Colleen & Kiyo to keep my spirits up.

And in less heavy news (said with a nice fake smile, like a horrible television anchor segueing from a report on a house fire), the Hanshin Tigers, the local baseball team, are going to the Japanese Baseball Championships while the Cleveland Indians, the old local team, blew their chance to make the playoffs. What else is new?

Mike